Back to School
Georgia Tech plucks Chan Gailey from the NFL to lead the Yellow Jackets’ program.
by: Bill Chastain©
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Chan Gailey File: 1974-75 University of Florida - graduate assistant
1976-78 Troy State University - defensive backs coach
1979-80 Air Force Academy - defensive assistant
1981-82 Air Force Academy - defensive coordinator
1983-84 Troy State University - head coach
1985 Denver Broncos - defensive assistant and special teams coach
1986-87 Denver Broncos - special teams and tight ends
1988 Denver Broncos - quarterbacks coach
1989-90 Denver Broncos - offensive coordinator/receivers coach
1991-92 Birmingham Fire (WLAF) - head coach
1993 Samford University - head coach
1994-95 Pittsburgh Steelers - wide receivers coach
1996-97 Pittsburgh Steelers - offensive coordinator
1998-99 Dallas Cowboys - head coach
2000-01 Miami Dolphins - offensive coordinator
The Georgia Tech football program was in hot pursuit of a new head coach after George O’Leary accepted the head-coaching position at Notre Dame. O’Leary’s departure left the Jackets without a coach for their date with Stanford in the Seattle Bowl. Mac McWhorter served as the interim coach during Tech’s victory over Stanford. The win instilled confidence in fans and alumni that McWhorter was capable of taking over as head coach. However, Tech athletic director Dave Braine included Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator Chan Gailey to his list of possible successors to O’leary.
Gailey’s NFL career spoke for itself. After holding the head coaching position of the Dallas Cowboys and then moving on to the Dolphins, many universities figured he was committed to ending his career in the NFL. In addition, he continuously displayed loyalty to his commitments, declaring he would not leave any pro job prior to the culmination of the season to assume the reigns at any college program.
Given the fact most colleges are in the heat of the recruiting season during that period of time, Gailey’s stipulation in essence withdrew his name from consideration.
“And so pretty soon, college teams quit paying attention or asking or wanting to talk to me,” Gailey said. “I never thought I’d coach college again.”
Tech viewed his loyalty as something to be admired, unlike the many schools that eliminated him from their list of possible successors due to his non-negotiable dedication to his obligations.
“I knew I was in the right kind of place and the right kind of people because they understood commitment and finishing your commitment.’’
On Dec. 29, Tech announced they hired Gailey to a five-year guaranteed contract that will pay him $900,000 this season, with incentives that could raise his salary to more than $1.2 million annually. True to form, he did not devote his full-time to his new post until the Dolphins were eliminated from the NFL’s postseason.
Gailey seemed humbled when he took the job. “How many times does a guy like myself get a chance to come to an institute like this? What’s up here with the alumni and the people that are involved, every day I get to go to work with people who exude character and class. That’s an enjoyable situation.”
“I did ask, ‘Do we have the ability to win a national championship?’ because I want to win and that’s part of the process. I want to win a championship and that’s why you play, that’s why you line up and that’s why you go out and work and lift weights in the off season, to have a chance to be the best of the best and that’s one of the goals.”
Braine paid Gailey the highest compliment imaginable to a coach assuming this particular position at Georgia Tech. “Besides all the great qualities he possesses as a football coach, he’s an even better human being. I believe his soft-spoken manner will remind people a great deal of the legendary Bobby Dodd.”
“I can’t believe you mentioned me in the same sentence with Bobby Dodd, I’ve got to earn that.”
O’Leary’s hard-nosed style was a winner in Atlanta, resuscitating a program that had dropped into the doldrums until his arrival. The Yellow Jackets have won an average of eight games and have been invited to a bowl game each of the last five seasons. O’leary’s success will be a tough act to follow, yet Gailey appears to be on the right track.
“Coach O’Leary meant a lot to us,” senior defensive end Greg Gathers said. “We believed in him and we didn’t know what to think when all that stuff happened. As soon as we heard Coach Gailey speak, it put our minds at ease. He’s somebody you feel like you can trust and his experience in the NFL gives you confidence that he’s also a great football coach. Coach Gailey is a little more laid back. He brings an NFL mentality and let’s the players police themselves and get others back in line.”
The bar has been set at a high level for the man who succeeds O’Leary, but nobody’s expectations are loftier than Gailey’s.
“I know what we have to do,” Gailey said. “We need to win the ACC and beat [in-state rival] Georgia.
“We have 12 regular season games plus a bowl, and I expect us to be 13-0. If I expect us to lose games, why not just skip them and cut the risk of someone getting hurt and go on to the next one? We plan and prepare and work to win every game we play. The goal is to be undefeated.”
Gailey will have to readjust to the college game after spending the bulk of his coaching years in the NFL. College players attend classes, so a coach doesn’t have unlimited time with his team. In addition, he won’t have preseason games to tune-up his squad before the regular season. He must also accept the transition of becoming an administrator rather than a hands-on coach.
“The last time I was a head coach, I was a head coach and an offensive coordinator. I won’t do that again. I feel like I’d shortchange both jobs if I tried to do them both. You don’t do either job justice when you try to do both.”
Gailey is well known for his offensive innovations, but he will allow offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien to run the offense. O’Brien took over for Ralph Friedgen following the offensive guru’s move to Maryland prior to the 2001 season. Under O’Brien’s tutelage Tech averaged 31.8 points per game.
“It’s [O’Brien’s] offense and I’m going to let him do it,” Gailey said. “I’m going to make a few suggestions and give him things to think about. They’re not mandated things, just things to think about. What you want to do is have good input, not hurtful or harmful input. That’s what I want to do.”
Despite the changes, Gailey has found his return to college football refreshing.
“The college player tends to be more enthusiastic. There is a little more electricity on the practice field. I’ve been on the practice field through spring practice and I have not yet run into a hardened veteran or a prima Donna.”
One common thread existing between the college game and professional is the health of a team.
Gailey understands the role of a coach goes further than X’s and O’s, which makes him the perfect tonic for a team in dire need of father figure.
“You have an impact on players’ lives more at the college level than in the NFL. I like that. When I die and get to the pearly gates, and they talk to me and say, ‘Hey, why should you be here?’ I don’t think one time will it come up, ‘How many rings do you have?’ Or, ‘What was your won-loss record?’ But they might ask, ‘Did you make a difference in lives? Did you have an impact while you were there?’ “
He drew this perspective while playing quarterback at Americus High School in South Georgia.
“I looked at my high school coach and I thought, ‘If I could do that, if I could coach at a school like Americus High, how could it get any better than that?”
Just one hundred and thirty miles north of his roots in Americus, Georgia, Gailey has outrun his dreams as he finds himself in command of one of college football’s finest programs.
John Tenuta • Defensive Coordinator
Tenuta begins his first season as Defensive Coordinator with the Yellow Jackets in 2002, but he is no stranger to ACC play. Tenuta led North Carolina to a #1 ACC ranking (#15 nationally) in total defense in 2001. Tenuta is well known for his unmatched skill of coaching defensive backs. “Jon Tenuta has a history of outstanding defenses and we’re excited about him joining our staff at Georgia Tech,” said Gailey. “It has taken awhile, but we feel that we have hired a great man for the job.” Every defensive back that started for him during his tenure at Ohio State(1994 - 2000) was drafted by an NFL team. Ohio State’s defense was ranked in the top three nationally in pass efficiency three out of the six years he was there. Atop the list of players he has coached are Shawn Springs, Ahmed Plummer, Antoine Winfield, and Nate Clements, all 1st round draft choices. Fully aware of the pass-happy offenses in the ACC, Tenuta hopes to improve the Yellow Jacket’s pass defense which ranked 53rd in the nation in 2001. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to be a part of an outstanding program at Georgia Tech,” said Tenuta, “and the chance to work with an excellent coach in Chan Gailey and a great staff he is putting together. I can’t wait to get started.” Bill O’Brien • Offensive Coordinator
Confident with a Tech offense that has averaged close to two hundred yards rushing per game over the past three seasons, Gailey elected to keep coach Bill O’Brien as the Offensive Coordinator. In fact, he is so impressed with O’Brien that he also honored him with the assistant head coach position. Known to be an understudy of current Maryland head coach and tabbed offensive genius Ralph Friedgen, O’Brien is thought to be a hot commodity throughout the college coaching ranks. As an assistant to Friedgen he helped mold the offense into the #1 ranked unit in the nation. “What we’ve done has been very successful, and I’ve learned a lot from Ralph. The best part about Ralph is that he’s a teacher, and he always taught me that you don’t fix something that’s not broken.” His offense ranked 17th in the nation and 1st in the ACC in passing yardage. The graduation of George Godsey at the quarterback position is a tough loss, but Tennessee transfer and former Georgia high school player of the year A.J. Suggs has caused a huge stir of excitement in Atlanta.
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