Thanksgiving Weekend Leftovers

Down the hall, Georgia Tech's football team was putting away its gear after suffering their seventh straight loss to Georgia. The room was buzzing Saturday as reporters waited on Chan Gailey, the Yellow Jacket coach. As he walked in, someone turned down the volume. It was like we were paying our final respects, and as we learned Monday, we were.

Tech pulled the plug on Gailey Monday afternoon, and it will cost them more than $4 million. So now the search begins for a new coach — one that can beat Georgia and put fannies in the seats at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The UConn coach was supposed to be a prospect but the former Tech assistant got embarrassed down the stretch. Navy's Paul Johnson, former coach at Georgia Southern, is interesting but his offensive system might not be attractive to big-time prospects. The name of Hawaii's June Jones may come up since the former Falcon head coach still has connections in Atlanta. His offensive schemes are attractive, but can he win without a locker room filled with Samoans? Ken Whisenhunt of the Arizona Cardinals would have been high on their list but the former Tech star probably won't be interested since he became a head coach in the NFL.

Because the Tech AD worked at LSU until two years ago, keep an eye on Bengal Tiger defensive coordinator Bo Pelini or former LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, now at FSU? Question is, would these guys come to Tech? If LSU's Les Myles goes to Michigan, Pelini might be a candidate there. He's already been mentioned for the Nebraska job. As for Fisher, surely he went to Florida State with some type of promise that he will succeed Bobby Bowden — if Papa Bowden ever retires. Fisher's successor at FSU, Gary Crowton, is the former head coach at BYU and a former Tech assistant. His name will also make the long list.

With jobs already open at Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Duke and Baylor, the weeks ahead will be lively. And the final dominoes haven't even fell.

For old times sake, I spent last Saturday in the press box for the Georgia Tech-Georgia clash. I first went to the press box at Tech when I was 21 years old with a head full of hair. Last time I was there I 45 years old, had less hair and had the title of sports editor.

Things had changed, as these scenes indicate:

Saw Larry Munson shuffle from the rest room back to the Bulldog broadcast booth. He was more feeble than I imagined.

Saw Furman Bisher of the AJC. I've read him since I was 6 or 7 years old. He's pushing 90 and still looked dapper and vital. Hard to believe I'm retiring and Bisher is still at it.

It's a computer world, all right. The press box at Tech has wi-fi, just like Publix and Starbucks.

Tech's pre-game cuisine has certainly improved. From cold pre-packaged sandwiches to Old Hickory House sandwiches to a barbecue buffet. For the sportswriter who is watching his weight — there must have been one or two of them — there was even a green salad. That was topped off with pizza at halftime. Two slices per writer, please.

Missed Kim King. When I was last there, the old quarterback, who still was known as the young lefthander, was assisting Al Ciraldo on the Tech radio team. Now both have passed away.

Vince Dooley seems to be recovering nicely from cancer surgery. He was in the press box with nothing to do but visit.

Memo to the Tech scoreboard operator: you spell it Pittsburgh, not Pittsburg. A reminder that they teach calculus at Tech, not spelling. (Wait a minute. Did I spell calculus right?)

Jack Wilkinson of the AJC, one of the nice guys in the press box, now writes for a Tech web site. He was one of the people who took a buyout last summer and was a talent the newspaper truly wasted.