Next OC, who ya got? (It’s Godsey)

[Eli]

I mean I’m not sure why we’re even excited about his “NFL level experience”. He’s been a horrible position coach in the NFL everywhere he’s gone and has been promptly fired or let go.

2012-2013 (TE coach for the Pats):
It’s hard to tell here because of Gronk’s injuries, but Gronk performed around the same or slightly worse after Godsey got there

2014 (QB coach for the Texans):
Again hard to tell because it was a crappy set of QBs, but none of the QBs he had played or looked any better from before he got there

2015-2016 (Texans OC):
Before Godsey got there, they were around 17th in the NFL in offense
In the 2 years Godsey was there, they fell to 19th and then 29th
After Godsey left, the jumped back up to 20th (even though to be fair, this was helped by the drafting of Deshaun Watson)

2018 (Lions QB Coach):
(Outside of his first 2 years), this was arguably the worst season of Stafford’s career. He was much better before this season and much better after, but massively regressed in 2018

2019-2020 (Dolphins TE Coach):
Not much to say here, but I’ll give credit for the development of Mike Gesicki

2021 (Dolphins Co-OC):
The offense got worse compared to 2020, but got way better in 2022 (But you can attribute that to Tyreek)

2022-Present (Ravens TE Coach):
Mark Andrews had an elite year in 2021 and has gotten worse every following year since Godsey took over to the point where he’s a joke. Isaiah Likely has looked the same since he got drafted and has regressed slightly. I have a couple of Ravens fan who hate Godsey because of how crappy the TE position has gone with him

So what I see in Godsey is a coach that has never shown the ability to elevate and develop players in the NFL, but has shown the ability to make offenses and players worse (as also demonstrated by how frequently he moves teams after terrible seasons). That, added with the fact that it’s been 15 years since he last was in the college game (So does he have any recruiting connections or know how to work recruiting in the modern day) and that he’s not coming from another school and can bring players over makes him a shockingly bad hire; Especially since the administration made it seem like they would have no stone unturned to have an elite OC.

The only reason I can imagine Key wanting to hire Godsey would be because they’re friends (Played/coached together at GT and then coached together at UCF)

Fact checked

2012-2013: Gronk played in 18 games and accounted for 15 touchdowns. (He was injured both years) to say he preformed “better” when he left is also inaccurate in 2012 he had 11 touchdowns in 11 games. He only accounted for more than 10 touchdowns one other time in the following 7 seasons.

Stafford career completion % 63.5%
2018 Stafford completion % 66.1%
Stafford average TD passes per year: 24.64
2018: Stafford TD passes: 21
Stafford average INT per year: 11.68
2018: Stafford INTs: 11
Stafford was also sacked a career high in 2018 his average times saved per year has been 30. He was sacked 47x in 18.

2015-2016: The Texans were the only team since 1950 to make the playoffs with 4 different starting QBs.

2021: Jaylen Waddle set a rookie receiving record and this was Tuas first year as a full time starter but he still split some snaps with Jacoby Brissett. Also in 2021 the Dolphins didn’t have a primary play caller which is why the Co-Oc experiment ended.

2022: Todd Monken was hired as the OC which has affected Mark Andrew’s role if you combine Isiah Likley and Mark Andrew’s #s they are similar to before Godsey arrived. Andrew’s had one breakout season but before 2021 he was rather average. You must also look at the targets each are getting and that has remained pretty consistent under Monken the difference it the Ravens added more weapons (Henry) and Zay Flowers emerged as Lamar’s go to.

Point being you can pick apart stats in either direction but to say each group “got worse” isn’t factual. I honestly don’t believe Godsey has been given the opportunity that some coaches in the NFL get as a primary play caller. Similar to Weinke if you looked at his resume you wouldn’t even want him on the staff..

 

[4shotB]

As someone who isn’t old enough to care about 1999 QBs, what makes Godsey qualified for this job? We wouldn’t even sniff him if he didn’t play here.

Our HC knows him and worked with him. When I was hiring people, that meant a lot to me. Probably more than anything on paper or resume or any personal recommendations. All of these guys come "highly recommended" as CPJ used to say but when you work with someone day in and day out there is no better way to assess someone's strengths and weaknesses.

 

[stinger 1957]

George Godsey has one hell of a mind, he has never lacked smarts, appears we got him like it or not. Let him prove himself or not. Get some big lineman on both sides of the ball and lets go get 'em. Weinke, Bohannon, CBK, Godsey, lot's of offensive experience and mind power.

 

[pittkesh99]

Fact checked

2012-2013: Gronk played in 18 games and accounted for 15 touchdowns. (He was injured both years) to say he preformed “better” when he left is also inaccurate in 2012 he had 11 touchdowns in 11 games. He only accounted for more than 10 touchdowns one other time in the following 7 seasons.

Stafford career completion % 63.5%
2018 Stafford completion % 66.1%
Stafford average TD passes per year: 24.64
2018: Stafford TD passes: 21
Stafford average INT per year: 11.68
2018: Stafford INTs: 11
Stafford was also sacked a career high in 2018 his average times saved per year has been 30. He was sacked 47x in 18.

2015-2016: The Texans were the only team since 1950 to make the playoffs with 4 different starting QBs.

2021: Jaylen Waddle set a rookie receiving record and this was Tuas first year as a full time starter but he still split some snaps with Jacoby Brissett. Also in 2021 the Dolphins didn’t have a primary play caller which is why the Co-Oc experiment ended.

2022: Todd Monken was hired as the OC which has affected Mark Andrew’s role if you combine Isiah Likley and Mark Andrew’s #s they are similar to before Godsey arrived. Andrew’s had one breakout season but before 2021 he was rather average. You must also look at the targets each are getting and that has remained pretty consistent under Monken the difference it the Ravens added more weapons (Henry) and Zay Flowers emerged as Lamar’s go to.

Point being you can pick apart stats in either direction but to say each group “got worse” isn’t factual. I honestly don’t believe Godsey has been given the opportunity that some coaches in the NFL get as a primary play caller. Similar to Weinke if you looked at his resume you wouldn’t even want him on the staff..

I understand the stats you are pulling out. For Gronk and Stafford, I was mostly referring to AV per game when it comes to saying they were around the same or regressed. I get that it’s very hard to exactly pinpoint what Godsey directly contributed to since he’s been a position coach most of the time and the times he was an OC were short stints.

But I’m still confused on what part of his resume is exciting? Let’s say all the offensive regressions that we saw in the NFL are not his fault but are circumstantial. Is there any demonstrable proof that he has coached a team to be better around him? I will again point to the fact that teams have not really kept him around for too long (and that he hasn’t really gotten many promotions) as a sign that certain teams in the NFL don’t think so.

I just think when you come into a season and say we are going to use as much money as possible to get a truly elite OC hire, you can’t go ahead and hire a guy who’s has a middling NFL resume, very limited recent college experience, and someone, who it seems, most teams wouldn’t even think about talking to

 

[yellajacket20]

As a Ravens fan, I don't think it's appropriate to look at Andrews' stats as an indication of Godsey's ability as a position coach. Andrews is older, had a horrible injury that he worked his way back from and has always been one to come up small in the biggest moments (fumbling in the playoffs, dropped 2 point conversion against the Bills last year, etc).

If anything, you could say that Likely looked great last season before his injury and Kolar has improved steadily during his time with the Ravens.

I don't know enough about him and his history, but as much as I dislike Harbaugh, there have been a bunch of coaches that have moved on from the Ravens to be successful elsewhere. Admittedly, most of those have been from the defensive side though.

 

[a5ehren]

Our HC knows him and worked with him. When I was hiring people, that meant a lot to me. Probably more than anything on paper or resume or any personal recommendations. All of these guys come "highly recommended" as CPJ used to say but when you work with someone day in and day out there is no better way to assess someone's strengths and weaknesses.

So if I hand you a resume of a guy that hasn’t held a job more than 3 years, accomplished nothing of note since he made Honors in college, but was a good hang, you’d hire them?

 

[cpf2001]

His resume's probably better than Faulkner's at the time? That's about all I've got for the hype-up department.

 

[jeffgt14]

As someone who isn’t old enough to care about 1999 QBs, what makes Godsey qualified for this job? We wouldn’t even sniff him if he didn’t play here.

Not to say I'm overly excited about the hire but this isn't fair. You could equally say Godsey wouldn't sniff a college job if he didn't play here with Key.

 

[BCJacket]

George Godsey is a good coach. The Texans made the playoffs both years he was OC. He never had an NFL caliber quarterback in those two years. The issues with the Texans had far more to do with Bill O'Brien. Bad coaches don't last in the NFL. There's only 32 teams and so many opportunities. He keeps getting hired. If he made it known he was interested in returning to college, there are plenty of teams that would be interested in hiring him. He is very qualified. It's not a bad hire.

Like Coach Key, he has worked for some of the best coaches in the business. He is a fellow O'Leary protege. He's like-minded and how the program should be run. Hopefully we are retaining Weinke as Co-OC. That would be an insane amount of experience and offensive brain power.

But to me, this is a cultural hire by Coach Key. And it's a statement. He wants staff that is 100% bought into his vision for the program. He is the head coach. If it doesn't work, it is on him.

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

His resume's probably better than Faulkner's at the time? That's about all I've got for the hype-up department.

I understand your point, but to play devil’s advocate; Do we know if that is even accurate? Faulkner’s resume wasn’t amazing, but he had a lot of experience at the college level calling plays and was (according to Kirby himself) a key in Bennett’s success at QB for 2 straight national titles. Not only that, we were coming off four straight losing seasons. We’re coming off our best year in a decade. I think it’s fair to hope for a hire with a better resume this time around.

I do think this is a cultural hire and an attempt to avoid being burned like we were by Faulkner during an 8-0 run. I get that, but I can’t lie that it feels underwhelming. I’ll give Godsey a chance, though.

 

[Techwood Relict]

Our HC knows him and worked with him. When I was hiring people, that meant a lot to me. Probably more than anything on paper or resume or any personal recommendations. All of these guys come "highly recommended" as CPJ used to say but when you work with someone day in and day out there is no better way to assess someone's strengths and weaknesses.

I say this, the highly recommended, about race horse pedigrees. There all great on paper, all of them have a War Front, Secretariat, or Mr. Prospector in their lineage. The one I own that sold for the most (to someone else) is not a racer, does not have the fight to win mentality.

Key knows Goose. I trust Goose to be good, I'm hopeful he's better than that and figure CBK thinks the same.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

LOL, I tried posting in the other thread but couldn't...then I found out why. Shame on you guys...

Anyhow, I'll post what I wrote here:

Ralph Friedgen (GT)
Charlie Taafe (UCF)
Bill O'Brien (Patriots, Texans)
Josh McDaniels (Patriots)
Chan Gailey (Dolphins)
Todd Monken (Ravens)

George O'Leary (GT, UCF)
Bill Belichick (Patriots)
Bill O'Brien (Texans)
Brian Flores (Dolphins)
John Harbaugh (Ravens)

The first list are the OCs Godsey has either played for or coached under.

The second list are HCs Godsey has either played for or coached under.

Godsey has coached under some Hall of Fame level coaches, and some of the best offensive minds this sport has seen. Does that translate into being a good OC at GT? No, but there's pedigree there, and it's a stamp that those level of coaches see a high level mind in Godsey. Everyone keeps pointing to his stint as OC of the Texans, I highly recommend you read up on that. There's a reason O'Brien and Godsey have not crossed paths since then. O'Brien Dabo Swinney'd Godsey there...and O'Brien was actually the main play caller. Godsey was not set up for success during his OC stint with the Texans.

IMO, I don't really think the hiring of Godsey changes all much in what GT will do. I think GT is going to do what Key said about his offense and defense: It's going to be a collaborative effort, with certain "core GT principles" that will continue on despite who the OC is. We saw it with Weinke as our OC in the Pop Tarts Bowl. There will be an option element, lots of 11 and 12 personnel, core Air Raid passing concepts, and Key wants GT to play smash mouth direct running the ball. At its best, I think our offense will look a LOT like what we saw against UGA in 2024:



Faulkner went away from that this year. Lots of east west behind the LOS passes, ineffective screens, stretch counter runs, and too much reliance on King in the run game.

You can see the difference in what we did last year and what we did this year from how much changed against UGA this year:



If you listened in the preseason, Faulkner made it known that he was installing new concepts from his visits to various pro and college teams in the offseason. Was Faulkner trying to show off all his "new toys" this year as a showcase for other teams? It was still an effective offense, but an offense that relied too much on the legs of its QB for the run game. Haynes King's 70% completion rate was masked by all the short east-west passing we did this year compared to last year.

Godsey will be a litmus test for Key's "interchangeable and collaborative" assistant coaching philosophy. Personally, I'm excited to see how Godsey's time with McDaniels and Monken translates to GT. McDaniels is one of the first coaches in the NFL to bring Air Raid and RPO passing to the NFL. Monken has had a top 5 offense since 2020 at UGA and the Ravens. Godsey is an ULTRA smart guy. He'll bring some things to GT that Faulkner's offense didn't have, while retaining the foundation of "core GT principles".

If you're a QB and TE, you should be excited by Godsey's hire. QBs are going to get to have NFL level coaching, work with Weinke, and work in with NFL level schemes. TEs get to play for an OC who has coached some all time great TEs in the NFL.

If the OC truly is Godsey, I can understand some of the disappointment. Sure, there were sexy names out there. Sometimes, it's not the sexy name that turns out to be the best fit. Remember, Faulkner was about as "sexy" as a NY strip from Golden Corral, but Key helped turn him into one of the most coveted OCs in college football. I was not impressed at all with Faulkner's hire at the time, but I was gladly proven wrong.

Let's see what Godsey can do. I don't think GT fans will be disappointed when it's all said and done.

Well done. You captured many of the nuances of Key’s coaching hires.

On various boards and organizations I’ve had experience with I would say that a collaborative approach is by far a superior philosophy even though it is difficult for most organizations to accomplish. If it’s truly collaborative then everyone signs off on the results. It also becomes quickly apparent who the non-team players are and they frequently are glad to be shown the door.

If it is Godsey, as I think we are all now assuming, you will get yet one more coach who was shaped in the same coaching stew as Key. Being on the same page from the get go saves a lot of time. Conversations about basic tenets can be in short hand, and lots of things can happen without any conversation or oversight. Staff meetings can be efficient giving more time to particular problem solving puzzles where everyone’s input is valuable and critical.

This will be fun to watch.

 

[iceeater1969]

Count me in the unimpressed category. Two years of play calling experience for a mediocre and a horrible offense in the NFL. But here’s the thing - worst case we let Weinke take over play calling duties as co OC. The DC hire is probably way more important.

The most important person is the OC get that can get Key to let him change the in game play calling from dink and dunk to chunk and go before we have to change. We need tovhave at least 2 acc games were our lead is sufficient to get reps for key backups so they know we need them at end of year and next year. The win at last second with fg kicker is for uga after refs try to

As best i can tell Key trusts Wienke and Goose. Goose laid 50 on Uga. I had hoped the 24 uga loss when we were up 14 w 5mjnutes to go had taught key to err on side of being aggressive
Several times King had good yds in firdt half but then got hugecyds in 3rd q.

Key is focused on beating crap out of uga.

 

[4shotB]

So if I hand you a resume of a guy that hasn’t held a job more than 3 years, accomplished nothing of note since he made Honors in college, but was a good hang, you’d hire them?

Did you mean to leave out the part where I had personally worked with a guy. Look, when my job depends on what the people who work for me do (or fail to do), I don't give a tinker's damn about a resume if I have worked with him for more than just a year or two like Key has with GG.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

College ball is all copy cat. I like Faulkner fine but I didn’t see anything unique. Pretty much every team in the playoffs runs the same offense. It’s all about blocking for each play.

I’m excited for Godsey because he’s one of us. He’ll succeed or fail just like any coach will.

 

[gtee91]

At this point I will be excited if anybody will show up to work

 

[apatriot1776]

I hope Godsey is an elite OC and makes me eat my words. But I can’t see how one could possibly be excited about this hire unless you’re stuck with gold tinted glasses

I feel like we’re only in disagreement over whether this is a B- or a C+ hire so I’m on board with you there. I’m more curious about those who feel it’s a C- or D+ hire

 

[Mandingo Finkelstein]

I feel like we’re only in disagreement over whether this is a B- or a C+ hire so I’m on board with you there. I’m more curious about those who feel it’s a C- or D+ hire

Having been a C-student throughout my time at Tech, I'll take a B- any day.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I wonder what the opposite of gold colored glasses is? And don’t say realistic. With many on here we are not talking about that. We are talking about glasses that make you see a funeral pyre while attending a wedding.

It’s times like this I hope to god no recruits are reading these pages.

 

[TechPhi97]

Closed the barn door after the horses escaped.

Oh well, I'll start again. I'm happy with the hire...

I think it was just because the thread was started with a link to paid content. Perhaps something that obvious could create problems. Plenty of places to discuss the rumors.