Chan Gailey on CSS-TV "Sports Tonight"

I caught the interview. A good show, with Coach Gailey on the show for a long time, with about 3-4 different segments. I will miss a lot, and much of my writing will be paraphrased, not exact quotes, but here is my re-cap:

Segment #1
Guys talking about GT prior to Coach Gailey coming on the set. Talked about the low expectations of the program heading into last season. Jamie Dukes said that he thought Gailey should have been ACC Coach of the Year after losing 10 players to academics, having the injuries bug (Gathers / Hollings, etc).

Then Matt Stewart starts talking about how shocked he was when Coach Gailey welcomed the new ACC. Said he was surprised when coach said "bring on Miami" and that "FSU was lucky they don't have to play us this season". Of course he was making all this up - coach didn't say that. A little studio humor.

Segment #2
They first brought Gailey to the desk for a one-on-one interview with Matt Churnoff.

MC: Was last season one of the most satisfying in your coaching career?
CG: Well, it is much better to go into a new season on a winning note. The team relished the underdog role and really wanted to go out there and prove something. Winning going into this season certainly shows the guys what can be accomplished and sets the tone.

MC: Reggie Ball was ACC ROY last season. While he showed a lot of promise, can he get to the next level? It was clear he is not a polished QB yet.
QB: No doubt Reggie is not there yet. But one of the most important things a good QB has to have is consistency. Reggie has a real chance to make it to the next level with attention to all the details both on and off the field that make the difference.

MC: Reggie was criticized at times for being emotional. He has a lot of intensity. Does that hurt him?
CG: All that stuff with the UGA game got really blown out of proportion last year. Reggie is a competitor. We work so hard to put that spirit in players, why take it out? We want to let him play with that intensity, but just play smarter.

MC: Two years ago, you found Tony Hollings and last year PJ Daniels stepped up. You seem to find these RB's out of nowhere. Is this a product of the system or of just great backs.
CG: We work hard on the run. We had a great O-line and a great tight-end in JP Foschi last year. So the success with RB's has to be considered a team effort. PJ Daniels is a great North / South runner and gets stronger as the day wears on, a lot like Gerald Riggs (who was in studio).

MC: The offensive line was experienced last year, but you lost two key starters. Is the O-line weaker now versus last year?
CG: We are not as strong on the o-line as we were last season, but hopefully as the year progresses we will get there. Our two main issues are depth and experience. We did have some good news in that Leon Robinson could play, which will help. We weren't sure he would play football again with his injury. What it is going to take is for some people to step-up and for some of the new faces to prove themselves.

MC: You lost all three of your linebackers, including two to the NFL. You are moving Gerris Wilkeson from defensive end back to linebacker. Are there questions about this move?
CG: There are always questions, but he was a good linebacker before he moved to DE. He won't be in his natural SAM position, so he has a lot to learn, but Gerris has the physical tools to be good.

Segment #3
The next segment was a one-on-one with Ryan Stewart in the lounge chairs. Ryan started out with his quick-question segment, rapid-firing a series of names for Coach's comments.

RS: Kordell Stewart
CG: He had one great year the year I was there and I don't know what happened after that.

RS: The big 3 - Emmett Smith / Michael Irvin / Troy Aikman
CG: I only got to coach one year with those guys but we had a good year (went through the accomplishments).

RS: Jerry Jones
CG: He treated me and my family very well, but definitely a hard guy to work for.

RS: Bill Cower
CG: What you see is what you get. A tough competitor

RS: Tony Hargrove
CG: A shame. What a shame...... that he couldn't play for us last season (laugh). We really could have used him with his talent.

RS: FSU - if you had to do it over, would you have gone for the 2-point conversion?
CG: No, wouldn't change a thing.

RS: George O'Leary
CG: I don't know him. I don't think I've ever met him.

RS: Tony Hollings
CG: An explosion waiting to happen
RS: Was there ever a better 4-game career at RB?
CG: For someone who never played the position, I doubt it. He could have really made a run at the Heisman had he stayed healthy and stayed in school.

RS: Bobby Bowden
CG: Probably the most respected head coach in college football. A respected coach, husband and father.

RS: Who were special coaches to you?
CS: I had the great fortune to work with a lot of great people over my career. (mentioned his high school coach - couldn't get the name). Ken Hatfield was special to me also.

Ryan Stewart ended the segment by saying he was originally skeptical of the decision to make him coach, but after seeing what he is about, he backs coach 100%. Than he said "let's just go win a championship", to which coach replied "that's it".

Segment #4:
The next segment was with Coach Gailey, Matt Churnoff, Ryan Stewart and Jamie Dukes on the lounge chairs.

MC: First I want to start off and clarify that Coach Gailey did NOT say "bring on Miami" and that "FSU was lucky they don't have to play us". So all the people over at the Hive, don't start typing in your messages about what coach said.

MC: Now, Coach, can you expound on working with Jerry Jones?
CG: NO (much laughter)

MC: Kordell Stewart had a great year but struggled later. How do you know when to pull a star QB. Do you give them a certain number of games or what?
CG: There is no magic number of games. You just have to go with your experience and your gut instincts.

Q (not sure who asked): Athletic QB's seem to thrive in your systems when looking at your career. How important is a mobile QB?
CG: There have historically been 2 keys for a good QB - decision making and accuracy. During the last 8-10 years mobility has become more important. You know the plays just don't always work the way I draw them up, so having a guy who can make something happen helps.

Q: How was you relationship with Coach Cower?
CG: It was great. He let me do my job. But he like to draw up plays. But I only let him bring in 3 new plays a week. I told him 3 was the limit. (laughter)

Q: You call your own plays. How long will you continue to do this?
CG: When you are new to a program, you want to make sure the system gets implemented how you envision it.
Q: Will you hand over the play calling duties at some point?
CG: When I think someone is ready I will hand over the play calling. Well, you know we name Patrick Nix our OC. He is a good young coach and he might be ready at some point for that role. He has that potential.

Q: You worked in Denver with Dan Reeves and J.Elway. There was some level of conflict between those guys and how they thought the offense should have been implemented. (there was more to the question, just didn't catch it all).
CG: I was there 6 years and we went to 3 Superbowls, so we must have been doing something right. While the focus was on QB, we did have some great runners. Not names you would recognize, but names I know well.

MC: I spent an hour with Dan Reeves about a month ago and he told me he wouldn't rule out trying his hand at coaching the college game.
CG: That's news to me. That would surprise me, but he loves a challenge.

Q: Is recruiting a frustrating process?
CG: Just all the rules are what frustrates me.

Q: Looking at the schedule, GT has added Miami and VT and dropped FSU. Is this a fair trade.
CG: You cannot say "fair" or "not fair". You deal with what you've got.

Q: Are you excited about the new ACC?
CG: VERY much, as we all really should be. It really creates another level for the conference. I am telling recruits that this is the best conference in football, and I should since I'm a coach in the league. But when you consider we were 5-1 in bowl games last season, and now we will be adding BC, Miami and VT. It is a legitimate claim that the ACC is the best.

Q: Miami puts more players in the NFL than almost anyone. How do you approach a team that successful?
CG: They are human. They have to play at a high level week-in and week-out. Don't forget they went to VaTech and had trouble last year. They are human, just like all of us.

Q: Chris Rix, is this his year?
CG: I don't even know if I hope so. Not sure I want a guy to get on a roll, even if we don't play them. It makes it hard to catch them at the top of the conference. Really, the key game for them will be the 1st one against Miami.

Q: The ACC has a few teams losing their QB - NCST, UVA, MD. How hard is that?
CG: Well, I am the right guy to talk to. It is not easy. The most important factor becomes the surrounding cast.

Q: Is Reggie Ball too aggressive?
CG: NO. You're asking me if a football player is too aggressive? No way.

Q: We haven't talked about Calvin Johnson. Is he all that is advertised?
CG: Well, he has been in throwing drills with the guys and we are getting great reports. He certainly has the physical tools and it will be great to see what he can do.

Q: Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst could be a Heisman candidate this season.
CG: He had a great year last year. In those last 4 games, Clemson might have been one of the best teams in the country. But dont' forget, they lost some weapons too. Isn't that what's great about the college game? Each year is a new adventure.

Q: The Clemson game last season was a tough one. We had a good defense, but did CW just have a great game and was that game their turning point for the season?
CG: Well, Charlie played well during that game. Can't take that away, but we made a lot of well-documented mistakes.

Q: What do you say at the half of a game like that?
CG: You give them the answers. You tell them what will happen if they do this, this and this. You give them the answer. That is our job. You cannot say to them - well they're having a good game, so just do what you can. You have to give them the answers.

RS: Travis Parker does a great job. He will move from the inside of the line to the outside. Are you worried now that he will not be there to protect your linebackers?
CG: Give us some credit here. If we didn't think we had guys to protect the LB's, we wouldn't move him. Mansfield Wrotto, at 300lb is a player. And Joe Anoi is basically a Parker clone, just 2 years younger (I used the word "clone", he didn't).

Q: Lastly, what are some good qualities you see in some of the other ACC teams?
CG: I don't EVER look for good in anybody (then he repeated that a couple of times. Much laughter).

Segment #5:
The last few minutes was a wrap-up. Not much said. Ryan Stewart said that he originally didn't think Coach Gailey had much of a sense of humor, but has since changed his mind, and sees that he was pretty lose on the set with them.

Overall a good segment. Good exposure for GT and for Coach. He was well-spoken, intelligent and insightful. He represented himself and the program with class.