Lee will be head coach; Ragsdale asst. head coach

[DOOMS]

I don't think Brick's going to be the o.c. I would imagine that Berry would be o.c. and o-line coach. If that's the case then expect Night Train Nigel to get 35 carries a game. There's the answer about the offense.

Smash mouth. That is the core of true Aggie football.

[oleschoolaggie]

oh well, lee certainly wasn't my first choice. but i've said from the very beginning that i had confidence in wheels and would support whomever he hired. and that's exactly what i intend to do.

hopefully lee can bring some energy to our program. hopefully we'll have a publicized and meaningful spring game this year. hopefully he'll bring that 6'3" quarterback from maryland to greensboro.

lee wasn't my first pick, but i respect the hire. i'm just relieved that this fiasco is finally over! oh well , i had preserved a bottle of hennesy in anticipation of frazier getting the job. no need to let it go to waste!! its party time!! ;D

now let's get on with the business of restoring some "aggie pride" to our football program!

[Aggie One]

Lee will just fine as a head coach. The big difference between he and Small is attitude. Lee has been a real finalist for at least four jobs in the MEAC and two in the SWAC in just the last four years.

All of them opted to go with the the marquee name and I don't think any of them with the exception of maybe one or two of those choices have panned out like they thought it would.

I think that Dooms and I may be the only ones here on the whole board in agreement that Lee is more akin to Bill Hayes than anyone else mentioned or talked about for this job. Someone who wanted this job from day one, has a little chip on his shoulder (maybe not as verbose as Bill) but everything to prove that he was indeed the right pick.

He isn't the sexy choice, or the headline grabber that will put A&T on everybody's lips out of the chute but what he does bring to the table is a very high level of competence in 1-AA football, a strong experience in winning programs under winning coaches and leadership qualities which is what we badly need right now, a helluva defensive background, a guy who can recruit and a head coach that players will respect and listen to when he has something to say.

Most popular choice, maybe not, not by a long shot for most people. Best choice in the long run to do what we need to have done right now to re-establish this program and get it to be on the consistent side of winning in most years, I would say a definitive yes.

[oleschoolaggie]

aggie one, the only question that i have about lee is why did it take so long for him to finally get a head coach's job? why didn't someone else hire him by now?

and since rags will be an assistant head coach, why wouldn't he be the oc?

[Aggie One]

I really believe it was the luck of the draw going up against established name head coaches in almost every instance. There is always a releuctance to hire assistants, no matter how good they may be as coordinators, instead of established head coaches with a won-loss record to draw off of.

On question #2 - It puts Ragsdale in the Lee's ear each and everyday, player evaluation, tactics, recruiting, film reviews, taking the pulse of individuals that a head coach would not necessarily have the time or the inclination to do so.

As far as the OC goes, and believe me I like Ragsdale a lot, but I think there are people better suited to form specfic game plans and just have a better grasp on how to that than he does.

He's far more valuable to Lee as the cheif liaison for A&T football and being the devil's advocate, if you please, that sits on Lee's shoulder to help balance things out in rebuilding this program.

[trues]

I really believe it was the luck of the draw going up against established name head coaches in almost every instance. There is always a releuctance to hire assistants, no matter how good they may be as coordinators, instead of established head coaches with a won-loss record to draw off of.

But Aggie One why we have to always go out of the limb and get a non-proving HC to see if he can be a successful Head Coach. I just don't get it. We need to call our school the minor league coaching Football school. For those non-proving HC that want to get some experience A&T will have there hands out telling you to come on in we will give you a try. And we will sign you up for a 4 year contract just for fun.

Hopefully by Thurs or Friday when i speak to a Official A&T staff member maybe I will be in a different mind frame.

[DOOMS]

If not then, you will be by the first game.

I remember Fobbs' first game as coach. The first series against Winston I knew it was over. I feel like I'll have the exact opposite feeling come Labor Day Weekend.

[oleschoolaggie]

i don't have any background knowledge on this, but i've got a sneaky suspicion that "salary" had a lot to do with this selection. i'm not suggesting it was the only consideration, just a significant one. i guess we'll know once the salary figures are released.

yet, i also believe that no one on the planet wants to see our football program succeed more than wheels, not to mention his job will probably ride on this selection. for those reasons alone, i've got to believe that wheels made the best selection that he possibly could. and since he's far more knowledgeable of the coaching candidates and the financial constraints that we have than i am, i yield to his decision without second guessing. if wheels feels lee is the best we can do, then lee's my man!

welcome back to blue death valley coach lee!!

[DECKS]

I think Lee will do ok but I tend to agree with Trues. I see him averaging around five or six wins per season and ranking as high as an occasional third place finish. I've heard from two other people outside of this board that says he's definitely bringing Chennis Berry as offensive coordinator unless Battle vetos it.

[numberonebrave]

McGeorge

Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line


McGeorge brings over 20 years of collegiate and professional football coaching experience to the SU program. He comes to SU after a two year stint at NCCU as Offensive Line Coach. In his first season with the Eagles, the front line provided protection for the top-rated quarterback in the CIAA and paved the way for an 1,100 yard rusher. He also produced NCAA Division II All-American Ricardo Phillips. Prior to NCCU, he served a third stint as a Duke University assistant coach, serving as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach during the 2002-03 seasons.

McGeorge got his start in coaching at Duke, coaching tight ends during the 1981 and 1982 seasons. He then spent two years on the staff of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions before serving as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Bandits under Head Coach Steve Spurrier in 1985. He returned to Duke with Spurrier to coach the offensive line for three seasons (1987-89) as the Blue Devils captured the 1989 ACC Championship. He then spent three seasons as the offensive line coach at Florida (1990-92), helping the Gators to an SEC Championship (1991) and two bowl game appearances (1991 Sugar & 1992 Gator).

McGeorge returned to the professional ranks in 1993 to begin a seven year stint with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, coaching tight ends and offensive line from 1993-99. During his tenure in Miami, the Dolphins won one AFC Eastern Division title (1994) and made five trips to the playoffs. After coaching stops with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and the Green Bay Packers in 2000, he spent 2001 as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator of the Memphis franchise of the XFL, helping the Maniax lead the league in total offense. A native of Roanoke, VA, McGeorge was a two-time first team All-America pick at Elon College in 1968 and 1969. He was a first round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers in 1970 and played nine seasons with them (1970-78), totaling 175 career pass receptions for 2,370 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was the Packers’ 1973 Offensive Player of the Year, and was inducted into the Elon University (1979) and NAIA (1980) Hall of Fame. McGeorge earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health and Physical Education from Elon in 1971. He is married to the former Bonnie Moore and they are the proud parents of two sons, Randy and Jason.

[Bornthrilla]

I've heard from two other people outside of this board that says he's definitely bringing Chennis Berry as offensive coordinator unless Battle vetos it.

So what does that say about Small? If you bring back the same OC and DC from those Small teams, are you saying that Small himself was the sole reason why the program faltered?

A&T is the only school in Western Civilization that would fire an offensive and defensive coordinator tandem and then turn around and hire them both back 4 years later.

God please help us.

[aggie62]

Good point, Thrilla.

I also agree with trues that A&T is a much better draw than a training ground for assistants to become head coaches. Look at our facilities and academics, we should only hire head coaches, let other schools train them. I'd rather bring in a Monroe from a lower division who has demonstrated he can do the job than take on the responsibility of training a perennial assistant coach. I may be proven wrong, and to a certain degree I hope I am, but as an Aggie I see my self as more developed than that and hope my school sees itself as being able to request and get top-of-the-line candidates like Frazier who came for the interview so he must be interested in the job. Why don't we hire him or someone of his caliber instead of a perennial assistant coach? Something here smells and it's not me!!!!!

[Bornthrilla]

Hell, why not just bring back Wayne Hicks and Alan Gerber. They won a black college national championship for us and we didn't even have to fire them.

Since we are just gonna play "one degree of separation" here, let's just reassemble the entire coaching staff we had under Hayes. We could probably get most of those guys back here with little or no hassle. The last I heard, Hicks was coaching at some high school in Hickory. And his defenses were waaaay more dominant than the defenses Lee had when he was last here.

This whole saga is sounding more and more asinine with each passing day. I can't believe I'm the only one who sees how ridiculous this process has been and will likely continue to be.

[aggiechamp]

Gosh, you guys are tough. If we followed your advice, we would never even look at an assistant coach for head coach. Where would Tony Dungy or Mike Tomlin be if the NFL followed that path. The answer, long time assistants while the same old head coaches continued to be recycled over and over again because they were once head coaches and won a few games. Like it or not, assistants move up and head coaches eventually move out (except Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden).
I personally don't care if our new coach is a life long position coach or a proven head coach. All I care about is whether our new coach can inspire confidence in our players and fans and win football games. Truth is, I believe that the majority of us, the fans, the players and the administration, want the same thing.
At this point, I trust that Wheeler understood this when he made the choice, whomever that might be. I know this, he had more information than I have about the candidates and our financial limitations. I will support his choice unless and until his choice proves that he is not worthy of my support.
Many on this board lobbied, pleaded, prayed for Wheeler to be named our AD. Well, guess what, we got him. Now, let's get behind him and his choice for our new football coach.
Aggie Pride

[Bornthrilla]

Gosh, you guys are tough.

Our football program has won a total of 9 games in 5 years. A&T fans have a right to be tough.

A&T fans also have a right to demand transparency and accountability from the school's leadership.

No one has been a bigger supporter of Wheeler on this board than I have. No one celebrated him getting the job more than I did. I consider him a great leader and a good friend. I lobbied hard for him to become athletics director because I felt he was the most talented candidate for the job and he had proven that he could help make A&T more successful. I still think that.

That doesn't mean that good friends can't disagree on some things from time to time. Dooms is my best friend and we disagree on almost everything, all the time.

I don't think Wheeler handled this search process particularly well and I have no problem stating that. However, that does not mean for a second that I am not glad Wheeler is our AD or that I don't still value our friendship. Because I do.