Georgia Tech Football: Why Ken Whisenhunt wouldn’t be a good fit

Ken Whisenhunt is a strong offensive mind and is a Georgia Tech alum but that doesn’t make him the right man for the job or even a good fit for the program.

Let’s get something straight right now, Ken Whisenhunt would be a poor choice for Georgia Tech’s head coaching job. Sure, you can argue bringing an NFL mind who’s had success an offensive coordinator could bring good. You can argue that Herm Edwards had a strong season at Arizona State this season despite being out of the college game for an eternity. But no matter how you look at it, Ken Whisenhunt is not the best man for Georgia Tech’s head coaching job, he’s simply not a good fit for a program that would most likely be transitioning from the triple-option next season.

For a coaching search that can impact the program and athletic department for the next decade and beyond, the Yellow Jackets need to hit this hire out of the park and hiring a coach who has been in the NFL since 1997 is already a major issue and makes him a bad fit right away.

The problem with being out of college football for over 20 years lies in two ways; The first problem is by not being in college football since 1996, Whisenhunt has no relationship with high school coaches which would make recruiting extremely hard.

The Yellow Jackets need a coach who can recruit at a high level to reduce the gap between the Tech program and programs like Clemson and Georgia. Whisenhunt hasn’t walked into a recruit’s living room since 1996 and had to sell them on a program and a vision. It’s not an easy transition to make, to say the least, and having to recruit inside Georgia Tech’s strict academic limits would only make it more difficult for a candidate like Whisenhunt.

The second major issue with Whisenhunt’s minimal college coaching experience is the college game has changed immensely since 1996 and while it was once similar to the NFL. The college game is almost going in the exact opposite direction.  Yes, Ken Whisenhunt would bring things to the program that can be seen as advantages but overall, you would bring in a coach who has failed miserably in his last stint as head coach and one that hasn’t done anything remotely close to what a college head coach has to do since 1996.

For the Jackets offense to be similar next season, they’ll need an offense that at least fits their skill set which now is tailored for the triple-option. If the Jackets are not going to continue with a triple-option head coach, they’ll need to at least hire a head coach that can put the players in a position to be successful. Furthermore, while Whisenhunt is known for being creative in getting his key players the ball, he’s also been immensely criticized for not being more aggressive in key situations.

In reality with Whisenhunt, it comes down to this. If Georgia Tech interviewed and offered the job to five or so different coaches and they all said no, that would be one thing. Hiring Whisenhunt at that point would be probably one of the better scenarios. But when there are coaching options such as Neal Brown, Tony Elliot, and Scott Satterfield out there, you don’t make Ken Whisenhunt your top choice. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel put it best in this tweet below;

You don’t hire Ken Whisenhunt over those three names. Each of those names are bonafide coaches in college football (yes, Elliot has yet to be a head coach but he’s one of the best offensive coordinators in the nation.) All three have done incredible jobs with their respective programs and all three are considered great recruiters. All three are better choices than Whisenhunt. All three are coaches who would fit the program better offensively and recruiting wise than Ken Whisenhunt.

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If Georgia Tech hires Ken Whisenhunt there is a significant chance that he turns into Chan Gailey 2.0. Yes, there’s a chance he proves everyone wrong but if Todd Stansbury does hire Ken Whisenhunt, he is at risk of not upsetting and alienating the Tech fan base but also setting the program back. Having a “Tech guy and NFL mind” as head coach seems nice in theory but when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of college football, it simply isn’t a good fit at Georgia Tech a the Yellow Jackets enter a new era of football.