Georgia Tech Head Coaching Candidate Profile: Bill Clark

Would former UAB head coach Bill Clark be a good candidate for Georgia Tech?

Jackson Caudell | Nov 2, 2022

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With the season winding down for Georgia Tech, the focus of the offseason is going to shift toward the coaching search for the Yellow Jackets. The rumor mill has been pretty quiet since Geoff Collins was fired, but expect that to be ramping up quickly.

After writing profiles for Deion Sanders, Jamey Chadwell, Bill O'Brien, Dan Mullen, Dell McGee, Matt Rhule, Todd Monken, Willie Fritz, Jeff Monken, and Sean Lewis, it is time for a new installation in this series.

One of the themes when writing these coaching candidate profiles is program building. I think a coach that has had experience with tough jobs and had to build a program up is the top quality the next Georgia Tech head coach should have (though not the only quality) and one guy that stands out from that perspective is former UAB head coach Bill Clark.

Former UAB Head Coach Bill Clark — Bill Clark helped get UAB back to winning after it had dropped football / Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Clark had been one of the top group of five head coaches in the country and had done a great job of building back the UAB program after football had been dropped at the school. However, Clark made a stunning decision to step away from football due to a back issue and retire ahead of the upcoming season.

pic.twitter.com/ieGO2u0ftP
— Bill Clark (@CoachBillClark) June 24, 2022

However, despite his recent retirement, Clark has been lined to job openings this fall and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic listed him as a wild card candidate for the open Georgia Tech job. Clark has gotten power five interest in the past and if he were to have an interest in getting back into coaching (nobody knows this as of now), Georgia Tech would be foolish to not look Clark's way.

Clark began his coaching career as a high school coach and he would remain at that level for several seasons. He was an assistant at Piedmont High School (AL) from 1990-1991, the defensive coordinator at Tuscaloosa County High School (AL) from 1992-1994, the defensive coordinator at Coffee County High School (GA) from 1995-1996, and the defensive coordinator at Dothan High School (AL) from 1997-1998. After years of being a high school assistant, Clark got his first opportunity to be a head coach at Prattville High School (AL) from 1999-2007. Clark had an excellent record as the head coach at Prattville, 106-11, and won two state championships in 2006 and 2007.

The jump to the collegiate level came in 2008 when Clark accepted the defensive coordinator job at South Alabama and he would hold that job until 2012. Clark then became the head coach at Jacksonville State and he was only there for one season. He led Jacksonville State to the quarterfinals and then left to become the head coach at UAB.

UAB went 6-6 in Clark's first season as the head coach, but in December of 2014, UAB decided to get rid of its football program in order to save money.

However, that decision did not last long. In June of 2015, just six months after the original decision, UAB decided to reinstate its football program and shortly after doing so, Clark was given a five-year contract extension.

UAB would resume play in 2017, but Clark was quite literally going to have to build the program back up. Coaches left, it was hard to recruit players, and this seemed like it was going to take a long time to get back to just a respectable level.

What Clark did in UAB's first season back is one of the greatest accomplishments in college football history in my opinion. After not having a football program for two seasons, Clark led the Blazers to an 8-5 record and an appearance in the Bahamas Bowl. UAB lost that game, but the mere fact that they were competitive and made a bowl game showed the ability of Clark as a coach and leader.

UAB was not just a one hit wonder in 2017. Clark led the team to an 11-3 record and an appearance in the C-USA Championship, which they won. UAB won the Boca Raton Bowl. UAB went 9-5 in 2019, 6-3 in 2020 with another C-USA Championship, and in his last season with the Blazers, Clark led them to a 9-4 record. His overall record with UAB was 49-26.

It was a shocking decision for everyone in college football for Clark to leave his job as the head coach. He has remained around the UAB program.

So the key questions will be: Does Clark want to get back into coaching and would Georgia Tech be a place that would interest him?

His health status is the biggest question. If Clark wants to get back into coaching, the Yellow Jackets and new athletic director J Batt need to give him a call. Clark led one of the best turnarounds in recent history and can clearly build a culture and program from scratch. That is something that Georgia Tech needs right now.

Overall, I think Georgia Tech should take a long look at Clark if he is interested. Whether he is or not will be key. In a story by Alex Scarborough at ESPN, Clark did have an interesting quote that might hint at a potential comeback:

"It's uncharted territory," Clark says. "When October gets here and jobs start being talked about, how do I feel? And that's why I've left the door open. I just don't know."

Clark would be a great option for Georgia Tech if interested and he will be a name to monitor going forward.

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Georgia Tech Head Coaching Candidate Profile: Bill Clark

Jackson Caudell | Nov 2, 2022

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