As an ACC school in a major metropolitan area and a talent-rich city for recruiting, Georgia Tech should be on the “A” list for a college basketball coach. Sadly, it isn’t.
There are perceptions of a fickle fan base, an administration that’s not fully committed and academic obstacles. The program has a wonderfully renovated arena and a nice practice facility but it lacks the economics, and maybe commitment, to pursue the nation’s most sought-after coaches and provide a healthy budget. Tech also plays in a conference that includes perennial national contenders Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Syracuse, as well as Virginia (a projected No. 1 seed this year), Notre Dame, Miami, Pittsburgh and North Carolina State.
When Paul Hewitt was fired in 2011 (four years ago Thursday), the school wanted to interview Harvard coach Tommy Amaker for the vacancy. But he wouldn’t even look in Tech’s direction and interview. He would, however, meet with Miami officials. Again, the Harvard coach wouldn’t talk to Georgia Tech but he would talk to Miami — not exactly the center of the college basketball universe.
The Jackets also were interested in UNLV’s Lon Kruger, who had been impressive in the college ranks despite his fizzle with the Hawks. But Kruger was out of their price range and took a job with Oklahoma. There were other coaches at majors and mid-majors who would’ve fit at Tech, but when an administration is committed to a $7.2 million buyout for an ex-coach ($900,000 annual payments to Hewitt for eight years through 2019) and was on a tight budget even before that, it forces the school to shop on a budget.
Not a budget: Virginia Tech. It gave Buzz Williams a reported seven-year, $18.2 million contract last year to fix its basketball program. Georgia Tech can’t afford that investment.
This all is worth bringing up now because, four years later, Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski is considering making a coaching change. It might seem like an easy decision, given Brian Gregory's team went 3-15 in the ACC this season and is 55-71 (19-51) over four years. But it's not. It shouldn't be.
Tech is a less desirable destination job than it was four years ago, if for no other reason than the ACC is more difficult now. Gregory has fixed some things internally in the program, notably the academic standing after Tech was slapped by the NCAA for low APR scores. But if Bobinski fires Gregory, it means the athletic department will be paying $1.975 million next season — $900,000 to Hewitt, $1.075 million to Gregory as part of his $2.4 million buyout over three years, according to our Ken Sugiura — to two former coaches. That's even before the cost of a new coach and a new staff and a new list of demands in negotiations as part of his plan to upgrade the program.
Economics shouldn’t be the only reason a school avoids firing a coach. But Bobinski needs to understand what he’s getting into if he makes a move here. If he chooses to fire Gregory, he’ll likely have two options for a replacement:
• Another coach, like Gregory, from a mid-major with a modest resume who seems on the verge of wearing out his welcome and figures it’s a good time to exit. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sought-after mid-major coaches don’t automatically leave any more. Look to VCU, Gonzaga and Wichita State for evidence. It took the Boston Celtics’ job for Brad Stevens to leave Butler.
• An assistant coach looking for his first head coaching job. Tech’s hope would be that the coach can recruit and catches lightning in a bottle as a head coach.
Here’s the question: Is either scenario certain to excite the fan base. Or recruits? Because if not, it’s probably better to give Gregory another season, hope he can turn things around after the work he put in fixing the program’s foundation and revisit this after next season, when a firing would be less costly (and theoretically create more financial space in a job search).
This isn’t meant to come off as a, “Keep Brian Gregory” campaign. I understand the typical social media and message board outrage (well, some of it). But that’s the reality check.
Tech wasn’t blown out of most games this season (but illogically went 0-11 in ACC games decided by five points or less and in overtime). It’s reasonable to assume improvement next season — the debate would be in how much.
If improvement is significant, great. If not, Gregory would be gone. But the school might be better positioned for a job search next season. Because right now, I’m not sensing a stampede of great candidates headed this way.
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