Georgia Tech’s search for its next head coach is far from complete and will include candidates beyond Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, a person familiar with the search told the AJC on Wednesday.
Athletic director Todd Stansbury will interview five or six candidates, and the decision may not arrive for another week and a half, according to the person, who also believed that Whisenhunt has not received an offer, as has been reported. Another candidate is Temple coach Geoff Collins, who previously served Tech as a graduate assistant, tight ends coach and player personnel director in two separate stops at the school.
Information on the search has been scarce. At the news conference Thursday where coach Paul Johnson addressed his decision to step down after 11 seasons, Stansbury said that “I’ve gone pretty dark” in regards to communication with people either interested in the job or wanting to offer candidates. In an email to donors and season-ticket holders sent out Tuesday, Stansbury said that the interview process was ongoing and that there was “great interest in becoming the next football head coach at Georgia Tech.”
That follows with Stansbury’s adherence to following a process and being thorough in his approach. Hiring Whisenhunt without talking to other candidates would not be consistent with his standard method of decision making.
“I firmly believe that Todd is going through the process in a professional and thorough manner and that a lot of the media speculation is false,” a person close to the program said. “I think that whatever decision he makes, it’ll come after a very reasonable and thorough process.”
There is some time pressure that Stansbury does face. Tech has a recruiting class of 16 prospects who, to this point, remain committed but are undoubtedly eager to know the identity of their new coach. Many of them will converge upon campus this weekend for official visits, and the first signing period begins Dec. 19.
“I think the sooner the better because it kind of brings clarity and everyone will kind of know what’s going on,” Stansbury said about the timeline Thursday. But, he added, he would not want to sacrifice getting the right hire in favor of a quick one.
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