New Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner will have an entirely new staff. His decision not to retain any of former coach Brian Gregory’s assistants or support staff was finalized Friday.
That includes assistant coaches Chad Dollar, Tom Herrion and Mamadou N’Diaye, player development director Bruce Evans, operations director Chris Jacobs and video coordinator Billy Hubly. All but Jacobs were brought to Tech during Gregory’s five-year tenure.
Pastner particularly considered asking Dollar to stay – he was Gregory’s principal recruiter for Atlanta and the state of Georgia and helped bring in Marcus Georges-Hunt, Robert Carter, Charles Mitchell and Adam Smith, among others. But the two came to a mutual agreement to part ways, Dollar said.
“He never came to me and told me ‘You’re fired’ and I never said, ‘I’m leaving,’” Dollar said. “We just sat down and I just think it was best for the program and best for him that we just kind of come to a mutual agreement that I’ll be looking for another opportunity.”
A clean break is hardly unusual. When Gregory replaced coach Paul Hewitt in March 2011, he replaced the three-man coaching staff and operations director.
“Sometimes, when the new coach comes in, there’s change,” Pastner said. “That’s just part of the profession. It’s not that it’s fair. It’s the profession.”
Pastner has made no hires yet and has repeatedly indicated that he will not rush the procedure. In the short term, it has left him feeling as though he were “wearing 20 hats right now,” he said. Among other tasks, Pastner has been overseeing offseason practices, beginning recruiting for the 2017 class and working to keep the Yellow Jackets’ three signees in the fold while also trying to hire his staff.
A three-day evaluation period for prospects began Friday and next week’s three-day recruiting period – when coaches can meet face-to-face with prospects and their families away from campus – will be the last one through at least July.
“I just need time so I can get my bearings straight,” Pastner said.
An assistant who is well connected in Atlanta is a priority.
“We’ve got to recruit nationally, too,” he said. “But I need a guy that does know the scene in Atlanta. I mean, I know it, but I need someone who knows it inside and out.”
Dollar, the only assistant to be with Gregory all five seasons, looked back proudly at his time at Tech.
“Coach Gregory gave me an unbelievable opportunity to come back home and work in Atlanta at Georgia Tech, and I’ll always be grateful and thank for that opportunity,” he said. “I think the thing that I’m most proud of is that the program is in better shape now than when we first got here.”
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