Many here have questioned Tech's history of football mediocrity. After some reflection, the reason is simple. We have a history of hiring mediocre to bad coaches, with a couple of exceptions.
I have been a Tech fan since the early 1960s and have witnessed a life-long parade of average to bad coaching hires. Tech presidents, athletic councils, big money donors and athletic directors have all contributed to our lack of making smart hires.
Here is the list and my personal grades:
JT King ... C
Jim Carlen ... B+
Steve Sloan ...C+
Rex Dockery ... C-
Jerry Moore ... D-
Spike Dykes...C+
Mike Leach... B
Tommy Tuberville... C-
Kliff Kingsbury... D+
Matt Wells... F
Joey McGuire... C (Final grade to be decided)
You can argue about my grades but I feel they are reasonably accurate. The point here is that besides Carlen and Leach, Tech has failed to hire anyone who has taken Tech to the next level. Even those two never won a league championship.
It remains to be seen how McGuire turns out. His current Tech record is 20-14, but between the narrow wins and results from the last two games, it's really difficult to say we are trending upward. The prospects of winning at least eight games this year seems completely out of reach. Nobody can blame the lack of support or the facilities, and we don't have to play Texas and Oklahoma anymore.
If Joey can't win big with the current scenario, then his C grade will be his ceiling. The final grade could be worse.
Choosing a new head coach can be an inexact science, but we have a history of hiring coaches without much if any (college) head coaching experience, and McGuire falls into this same category. Perhaps this is the reason for our lack of success over the last 63 years.
I'm 74 and frankly, I'm tired of waiting for the cavalry to come to the rescue.
I have been a Tech fan since the early 1960s and have witnessed a life-long parade of average to bad coaching hires. Tech presidents, athletic councils, big money donors and athletic directors have all contributed to our lack of making smart hires.
Here is the list and my personal grades:
JT King ... C
Jim Carlen ... B+
Steve Sloan ...C+
Rex Dockery ... C-
Jerry Moore ... D-
Spike Dykes...C+
Mike Leach... B
Tommy Tuberville... C-
Kliff Kingsbury... D+
Matt Wells... F
Joey McGuire... C (Final grade to be decided)
You can argue about my grades but I feel they are reasonably accurate. The point here is that besides Carlen and Leach, Tech has failed to hire anyone who has taken Tech to the next level. Even those two never won a league championship.
It remains to be seen how McGuire turns out. His current Tech record is 20-14, but between the narrow wins and results from the last two games, it's really difficult to say we are trending upward. The prospects of winning at least eight games this year seems completely out of reach. Nobody can blame the lack of support or the facilities, and we don't have to play Texas and Oklahoma anymore.
If Joey can't win big with the current scenario, then his C grade will be his ceiling. The final grade could be worse.
Choosing a new head coach can be an inexact science, but we have a history of hiring coaches without much if any (college) head coaching experience, and McGuire falls into this same category. Perhaps this is the reason for our lack of success over the last 63 years.
I'm 74 and frankly, I'm tired of waiting for the cavalry to come to the rescue.
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