Georgia Tech’s search for an athletic director could be completed within a couple of weeks. Former Auburn AD Allen Greene, who was seen externally as a possible candidate, is not believed to be in the running, according to two people familiar with the situation.
While he has been considered in the search, Georgia State AD Charlie Cobb is not believed to be a leading candidate, according to one of the people, but could remain a viable candidate.
Both Greene and Cobb have been seen as possible fits for Tech’s AD opening, given their experience in the AD chair and their hands in building football programs, Cobb in particular. In his introductory news conference Sept. 27, interim athletic director Frank Neville said that the ability to lead a football program would be a priority in the hire to replace Todd Stansbury, who was dismissed Sept. 26 after a six-year term.
Greene had been AD at Buffalo and helped then-coach Lance Leipold (whom Greene inherited when he became AD in 2015) take the Bulls from their status as a perennially losing team to three consecutive bowls. However, his out-of-the-box hire at Auburn of Bryan Harsin from Boise State (who appears to be on his way out in his second season), which led to his resignation in August, has not worked out well.
Cobb oversaw an FCS powerhouse at Appalachian State, which during his nine-year tenure won three national titles in a row before he guided the program to FBS. He also hired coach Scott Satterfield, who won bowl games in the team’s first three seasons at that level and put together a 51-24 record. At Georgia State since 2014, he hired coach Shawn Elliott and helped him build a program that has made four bowl games in Elliott’s first five seasons.
Tech President Ángel Cabrera and Neville are leading the search with the help of Parker Executive Search. Cabrera said at the same Sept. 27 news conference that “I am committed to doing anything that needs to happen to return our program to the place where it belongs – among the best in our conference, among the best programs in our country.”
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