Where Are the Offers for this Man?
Know who the man in the foreground is? I'll give you a few hints. He's a defensive coordinator in the South. His team is playing for a conference championship this Saturday. His defenses have carried the team for the past 5 seasons thanks to an extremely inconsistent quarterback. He's Jon Tenuta of Georgia Tech. Here's where his defenses have ranked in terms of scoring (points allowed per game) and total defense (yards allowed per game) for the 7 seasons he has been a defensive coordinator along with some notes where applicable.
2000
Ohio State
Scoring: 12th
Total: 23rd
Lost Outback Bowl to South Carolina. Not retained when John Cooper was fired.
2001
Scoring: 32nd
Total: 15th
Lone winning season for John Bunting at Chapel Hill. Statistically strong defense despite playing Texas and Oklahoma in non-conference tilts.
2002
Georgia Tech
Scoring: 27th
Total: 50th
Worst ranking in total defense for any Tetuna coached defense.
2003
Georgia Tech
Scoring: 27th
Total: 20th
2004
Georgia Tech
Scoring: 21st
Total: 12th
2005
Georgia Tech
Scoring: 23rd
Total: 22nd
2006
Georgia Tech
Scoring: 24th
Total: 20th
Not only have defenses coached by Tenuta been good, they have been remarkably consistent--always ranking between 12th and 32nd in scoring and 15th and 50th in total. If we remove the 2002 season, always ranking between 15th and 23rd. Maybe some school with a head coaching vacancy is quietly pursuing him, but I for one am shocked not to have heard his name in any coaching rumors. He probably won't end up there, but a I think perfect fit would be Arizona State, which historically has a good offense and lackluster defense.
posted by matt at 4:47 PM
5 Comments:
Matt,
Good post, but you are not going to hear Tenuto's name mentioned for any head coaching vacancies.
Tenuto's personality is not head coaching material. He is a fantastic coordinator, but he cannot deal with boosters. Him on the speaking circuit at the spring meetings would be about like a whore giving her testimony in church.
Also, the players he coaches love the guy, but the bottom line is that he would not be a great recruiter. He does not have a lot of charisma or charm in the living room. Imagine Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer, and John Tenuto sitting down in a kid's living room. I am putting my money on Spurrier and Meyer.
My last reason...media. Check out and see how many interviews this guy has given the AJC during his tenure at Tech. Hint...you can count it on one hand.
By the way, I do know for a fact that Tenuto did interview for the Nebraska job before Callahan was hired. They were unimpressed though.
11:42 PM
Jeff, when Tenuto gets a head coaching job, I'll make sure to e-maili him the comment you just made. You've been loving on this guy like a little girl and a cabbage patch doll all year long and now you say that no one is interested in him?
10:21 AM
I love him because he is a great defensive coordinator...just not a great head coach.
11:00 AM
Good thoughts Jeff, but I have to disagree just a bit. I don't necessarily think you have to have great charisma to be a head coach. Look at Bill Callahan--pretty much the definition of a social cripple. Plus all good head coaches delegate. if recruiting is not his thing, maybe he can find somone who does it well. He may not get a job this offseason, but I'll think he'll eventually get one.
10:26 PM
I work for a guy who worked with Tenuto at Georgia Tech. He loves Tenuto, but says that Tenuto is going to be hard pressed to get a head coaching job.
You have a good point about Callahan, but the counterpoint to that is that Callahan had head coaching experience. Tenuto does not have any head coaching experience.
11:21 PM
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