Report: All Signs Point To Willie Fritz as Next Georgia Tech Head Coach

Willie Fritz might be the next coach at Georgia Tech

Jackson Caudell | Nov 27, 2022

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Update (8:07 Sunday Night, 11/27):

Sugiura has retracted his earlier statement of saying a deal had been struck with Willie Fritz and says while Fritz does not have a deal in place to be the head coach at Georgia Tech, all signs point in that direction.

I need to clarify and retract my earlier tweet about the Georgia Tech coaching search and will accept all grief directed my way. My understanding is that a deal is not in place. However, all signs point to Willie Fritz as Tech's next head coach.https://t.co/QMpUjP9SUa
— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) November 28, 2022

According to Ken Sugiura of the AJC, Tulane head coach Willie Fritz is going to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech. Fritz has Tulane at 10-2 this season and playing for a conference title.

I’m told Georgia Tech has reached a deal for a new head coach from all indications it is Willie Fritz. Team meeting tonight.
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzATL) November 27, 2022

Athletic director J Batt arrived in October shortly after the firings of former athletic director Todd Stansbury and former head coach Geoff Collins and after looking at candidates for the past month or so, Batt has his choice for the Yellow Jackets' next program leader.

Tulane head coach Willie Fritz — Willie Fritz is going to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

After the season ended against Georgia on Saturday, the coaching search was beginning to take shape and move quickly, and Fritz was frequently mentioned in reports as being among those in contention to be the next head coach for Georgia Tech for the past couple of weeks.

Fritz got his first head coaching job as a junior college head coach at Blinn college in 1993. Blinn had been a struggling program before he had arrived, going 5-24-1 in the previous three seasons. Fritz won two junior college national championships at Blinn and had a 39-5-1 record.

Fritz would leave Blinn after the 1996 season to go and become the head coach at Division II Central Missouri and he would remain there through the 2009 season. During his 13 years at Central Missouri, Fritz posted 11 winning seasons and led them to their first-ever Division II playoff appearance. Fritz finished his career at Central Missouri with a record of 97-47.

Former Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz — Willie Fritz was a successful coach while at Sam Houston State / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Fritz's next job came when he took the head coaching job at Sam Houston State. He led Sam Houston State to back-to-back FCS national championship game appearances in 2011 and 2012. In three of his four seasons with Sam Houston State, Fritz had three winning seasons.

Georgia Southern was making the move up to the FBS level and their head coach, Jeff Monken, had just left to become the head coach at Army. This was going to be a big move up for the Eagles and they turned to Fritz to lead them. In his first season in Statesboro, he led the Eagles to a 9-3 record, including an unbeaten mark in conference play. Georgia Southern could not compete in a bowl game that year because it was their first season since moving up from the FCS level.

Former Georgia Southern head coach Willie Fritz — Willie Fritz led the transition at Georgia Southern to the FBS level / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

In 2015, Fritz helped guide the Eagles to its first bowl game in program history and he had a record of 8-4 and 6-2 in the Sun Belt. The Eagles almost pulled off a stunning upset against Georgia in Athens as well, losing in overtime to the Bulldogs.

Some notable players that went to the NFL and were drafted from Fritz's time at Georgia Southern include running back Matt Brieda and linebacker Antwione Williams. Current Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo also played for Fritz while at Georgia Southern.

While Fritz helped get the Eagles to their first bowl game, he did not coach in that bowl game. Fritz took the job at Tulane and while he went 4-8 and 5-7 in 2016 and 2017, he broke through and took the Green Wave to back-to-back-to-back bowl games in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Tulane won two of those three bowl games.

Notable NFL players he has coached while at Tulane include Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney and Tennessee Titans running back Dontrell Hilliard.

The program suffered a down season in 2021, going 2-10, but they have rebounded nicely and are currently 7-1. Tulane is in the top 25 and is seen as the biggest threat to Cincinnati to win the AAC, which could mean the Green Wave could be in a New Year's Six Game at the end of the season.

His cumulative coaching record up to this point is 192-113. Dating back to his time at Central Missouri, Fritz has only had five losing seasons since 1997, which is impressive.

Fritz is a proven program builder and has won at every stop that he has been to. His offenses are some of the best rushing attacks in the country, as evidenced by his time at both Georgia Southern and Tulane. In 2019, Tulane had a running game that averaged nearly 250 yards per game, which was good for 13th in the country.

He has guided Tulane to some of its best seasons in the last 40 years and has them competing for a bowl game year in and year out, which is quite an accomplishment at such a tough job.

He was in the mix for the Kansas job in 2021 before the Jayhawks hired Lance Leipold.

He has been able to identify guys that fit his program and system and then turn those guys into productive college players and some of them NFL players. I don't know that his familiarity with the state of Georgia is a big plus, considering that he only spent two years at Georgia Southern, but it certainly does not hurt. He made smart hires while at Georgia Southern (like Dell McGee) who knew the state and the recruiting landscape in Georgia well.

The chief concern with Fritz is that he is older for a head coach just starting out at a new program (62 years) and some will point to his overall record at Tulane being 41-45.

With the transfer portal and early signing period quickly approaching, Fritz is going to have to get to work evaluating the roster and hiring a staff. It will be interesting to see what coaches are mentioned as possibilities for this new Georgia Tech staff. Earlier today, Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims announced that he was entering the portal.

Other coaches rumored to be in the mix were interim head coach Brent Key, Coastal Carolina's Jamey Chadwell, and Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

Update:

After a report from the AJC seemed to suggest that Willie Fritz is going to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech, ESPN's Pete Thamel says that is not the case:

Sources: Georgia Tech interviewed Tulane coach Willie Fritz today. No deal has been struck to make him Tech’s next coach. Fritz is a top candidates, but there’s other interviews scheduled for upcoming days.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 27, 2022

Update (8:07):

Sugiura has retracted his earlier statement and says while Fritz does not have a deal in place to be the head coach at Georgia Tech, all signs point in that direction.

I need to clarify and retract my earlier tweet about the Georgia Tech coaching search and will accept all grief directed my way. My understanding is that a deal is not in place. However, all signs point to Willie Fritz as Tech's next head coach.https://t.co/QMpUjP9SUa
— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) November 28, 2022

Stay tuned for more updates as Georgia Tech's coaching search continues.

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