Pastner Deserves Another Year

Didn’t Tech just try this experiment a few years ago in the football program? Didn’t the Yellow Jacket braintrust run an expensive test, giving a persuasive salesman a big budget, a big staff , a big paycheck and a very big buyout? And how did that go? 4 years later, the program was stuck in a Grand Canyon-sized ditch, going nowhere. The money, the attendance and the plain old engagement of the fans were all far below what they had been prior to that expensive new hire.

Now comes the hue and cry to reset the basketball program. Seven years is enough, the critics say. Some even cite the Year of Success in 2021 that Pastner and his players enjoyed as outright evidence that he needs to go. Huh? That’s not only counterintuitive, it’s wrong.

Pastner has proven he can win. There’s value in that proof. What’s more, he’s proven he can win at Georgia Tech, which is a tall task unto itself. Certainly the program has faltered since 2021, and that’s disappointing.  Certainly there seems to be a relative dearth of truly big time talent on the current roster. But we know from the prior pigskin episode that merely being surrounded by talent in the state of Georgia does not equate to gaining better talent on the Geotgia Tech roster. We also know that any new coach with the requisite background to come to an ACC program– one that has known some sporadic but significant success over the years–will need and demand and get a better budget, stronger staff  support and certainly more NIL money. So before we whisk Josh Pastner out the door, let’s see how he performs with the higher level of support that any new coach would inevitably enjoy.

Granted, this comparison is inexact. There are certainly significant differences with these two scenarios. Tech football post-2018 had settled into a plateau of mediocrity and the arc of the program seemed stagnant. But the fix that was put in place by then AD Todd Stansbury turned out to be far worse – and more expensive–than the original problem.

Basketball on the other hand, has seen success in the form of winning an ACC tournament crown. Reminder–that doesn’t happen at Tech too often. Try 4 times in 42 years. When Pastner and troops cut down the nets in 2021, it was the first time Tech had won the tournament since 1993. That’s nearly 3 decades. And for those who point out that Tech’s 2021 ACC Championship team benefited from Covid (Virginia dropped out of the league tournament), we must likewise cite the fact that Tech’s first round exit from  the NCAA tournament was obviously also affected by Covid–in the form of forcing the Jackets to compete without Moses Wright, the ACC Player of the Year. That same Wright, remember, was found and signed and developed by Josh Pastner. There’s value in that type of coaching ability.

And if Pastner goes, where does Tech then turn? A few years back, as older Atlanta Braves fans might recall, Ted Turner addressed this conundrum when he was asked what he would be looking for in a new coach, after having fired Bobby Cox in 1981. Turner said that if Cox hadn’t just been fired, he would have been one of the leading candidates. Funny, yes. But also telling. If J Batt cuts Pastner loose this off- season, it’s difficult to believe the attention of Tech’s still new AD would not be attracted to the following post we can imagine on Indeed.

** Position wanted:

Division 1 basketball head coach. Applicant has 14 years of experience in D-1, with 9 winning seasons overall and a .600 winning percentage. Applicant’s teams have won 2 regular season titles and 4 tournament titles in 14 years. Applicant is universally described as very likable, with high character–and his players play hard for him no matter the circumstances.

Reason for leaving last position: fans and administrators with short memories.

If you were the Georgia Tech AD with a hole to fill, wouldn’t you be tempted to interview that guy? I would. In a hurry. Remember Ted’s lesson.

Instead, save the buyout and just give him another year– with conditions, sure. But also with the stouter level of support that his successor will definitely receive. If he falls short under those circumstances, then sure, honor the conditions.

But that won’t be necessary. He won’t fall short.

Patrick Conarro

RamblinSports.com