Lamar Foe Ga State Announces HC

[TexasTerror]

Believe Ga State just built some excitement around their program. Now, this is a head coach that does this (unlike the hire of Woodard) and this is more along the hire of what I figured LU would have done or atleast more on the scale of what Old Dominion did (hire a proven commodity at the FCS level).

Bill Curry will be Georgia St.'s first football coach

Former Georgia Tech, Alabama coach picked to build Panthers' program

By STAN AWTREY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/11/08

Former Georgia Tech and Alabama coach Bill Curry has been chosen to start the football program at Georgia State and will be introduced Thursday as head coach at a 1:30 p.m. press conference, a school official has confirmed.

Georgia State will play its first season in 2010, competing at the level formerly known as Division I-AA. The Panthers will continue to play in the Colonial Athletic Association and will play their home games at the Georgia Dome.

The decision to hire Curry, who has been a college football analyst at ESPN since 1997, is expected to energize the Georgia State fan base and stir interest in the program.

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[KFDM COOP]

Very good hire!!!

[Guest coachacola]

He's 65 and he last coached at Kentucky from 1990-1996 and went 26-52.  He only had a winning record at Alabama in the 1980s where he coached for 3 years.  You just never know what the best way to start up a football program.  SELA went with a "proven" SEC coach and look where they are now.

[TexasTerror]

He's 65 and he last coached at Kentucky from 1990-1996 and went 26-52.  He only had a winning record at Alabama in the 1980s where he coached for 3 years.  You just never know what the best way to start up a football program.  SELA went with a "proven" SEC coach and look where they are now.

SLU had a very explosive offense under Hal Mumme. Their QB ended up transferring to Memphis and doing very well for himself. Set the place on fire and they even went into Lake Charles and pushed the Pokes around, in fact blew them out. LU only did that 4 out of 13 times if I am not mistaken. Humme left, Hankins left. They're the dark horse year in and year out.

Sure, the hire for Ga State is an old fart, but he has a name in SEC country and that's good for that region. Many thought you guys would hire an elder statesman from the SWC days...

[Guest mffl]

I thought Dan Reeves was going to take this job? I know it sounds ridiculous but i have heard this from somewhere.

[TexasTerror]

I thought Dan Reeves was going to take this job? I know it sounds ridiculous but i have heard this from somewhere.

Reeves was the consultant and the major guy pushing GA State football on their behalf, helping secure $$$ and providing insight. It had been thought for a good while that he may end up the head coach and he probably had the first shot at such.

[Guest coachacola]

Bill Curry was the head coach at Georgia Tech for a long time so I think he still lives in Atlanta so it's probably like home to him and he doesn't want to stop coaching just yet.  With Georgia State being a large school in a large city (like UTSA), it was probably easier for them to get someone like Bill Curry.  Lamar probably would have gone the same route but there wasn't a fit out there at this time.  I think Tubbs didn't want someone to come in for a couple of years and then leave and have to start over again.  That appears to be what's happened at SELA and they aren't doing that good now and they aren't getting much fan support.

But if you look at who Tubbs hired for the men's and women's basketball programs then the Woodard hire makes sense.  He's a coach with a lot of energy, somebody who can recruit, someone who's not real young and isn't looking at this job as a quick step up the coaching ladder.

[KFDM COOP]

Well said!! LU hired the right guy!!!

[UNLV]

Bill Curry was the head coach at Georgia Tech for a long time so I think he still lives in Atlanta so it's probably like home to him and he doesn't want to stop coaching just yet.  With Georgia State being a large school in a large city (like UTSA), it was probably easier for them to get someone like Bill Curry.  Lamar probably would have gone the same route but there wasn't a fit out there at this time.  I think Tubbs didn't want someone to come in for a couple of years and then leave and have to start over again.  That appears to be what's happened at SELA and they aren't doing that good now and they aren't getting much fan support.

But if you look at who Tubbs hired for the men's and women's basketball programs then the Woodard hire makes sense.  He's a coach with a lot of energy, somebody who can recruit, someone who's not real young and isn't looking at this job as a quick step up the coaching ladder.

What if Woodard is a great coach.

Year 1, 5-6 record.

year 2, 9-2 record.

year 3, 13-1 record.

Would not Woodard go bye bye too.

[Guest mffl]

If he goes 13-1 in his third then he is leaving us with something remarkable! But still, the only program he could get a job at is a sunbelt or something like that. 3 years in FCS isn't going to move you up to a BCS conference so I don't know where he'd go unless it was CUSA or MWC.

[TradinUp BH]

The gut hasn't even coached a game at LU and ya'll are figuring out where he's going next. wow

[Guest abovetherim]

;D ;D ;D

[UNLV]

The gut hasn't even coached a game at LU and ya'll are figuring out where he's going next. wow

Did you not see the word "if"?

[TexasTerror]

If he goes 13-1 in his third then he is leaving us with something remarkable! But still, the only program he could get a job at is a sunbelt or something like that. 3 years in FCS isn't going to move you up to a BCS conference so I don't know where he'd go unless it was CUSA or MWC.

It varies...each of the below guys had no prior Div I coaching experience skipped the Sun Belt, C-USA and MWC for more prestigious jobs. And yes, I do feel Navy is a bit prestigious in comparison to those other conferences.

Four years as HC at Georgia Southern sent Paul Johnson to Navy. Now at Georgia Tech.

Eight years as HC at Eastern Washington sent Paul Wulff to Washington State.

14 years as HC at Youngstown State sent Jim Tressel to Ohio State.

I'm drawing blanks on others, but there have been a few. FCS can be a great launching pad for a coach to the "next level". Starting a program and getting them to FCS national championship level in three years would amaze many.

FYI -- Lamar will be lucky to sniff the playoffs in their first five years. I think the mountain of McNeese is too high to climb and there's way too many schools coming into Texas, which has negative impacted the programs in the state. SHSU has had to change their recruiting philosophy because of such and has actually done better than the other FCS squads in the state thus far.

[Guest coachacola]

Here's a thread on a C-USA message board about this hire:

http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=301794

(The first half of the posts talk about ESPN commentators, but after that they actually talk about Bill Curry.)

[TexasTerror]

Curry is probably the highest paid coach in FCS...

Georgia State has offered new football coach Bill Curry an annual salary of $350,000, according to documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Freedom of Information Act.

This is not a contract but a memorandum of understanding. Curry has three months to sign the document. When Georgia State introduced him as head coach last week, Curry had agreed to a five-year contract.

In addition to his salary, he will receive an annual $50,000 bonus that's tied to certain athletic and academic achievements that will be included in the contract. He will also receive a $500 month car allowance. He will have a pool of $450,000 with which to hire six assistant coaches, a director of football operations and an administrative assistant.

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