ATHENS — At the time, it seemed a reach. It was a program reaching far down its list, after striking out on others. Arkansas, an SEC program that seemingly could have attracted bigger names, instead was going to hire a mere position coach: Sam Pittman, who had connections to the program but never had been a head coach or even a coordinator.
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Three years later, it looks like a brilliant hire.
And three years later, Georgia Tech, and perhaps another school or two in the region, should take notice. (Georgia Tech fired Geoff Collins on Monday).
The man’s name is Dell McGee, and for the past seven years, he has been a mere position coach at Georgia, coaching the running backs. But he’s also how Kirby Smart built the program into a national champion. McGee has a background as a high school coach, where he won state championships. And he, like Pittman, has connections that would serve him well: He has recruited Atlanta and the four-hour radius around it for years.
Oh, and should there ever be an opening at Auburn — just wildly guessing here, obviously — there’s an even greater connection: McGee is an Auburn man, playing safety there from 1992-95 and was a two-year starter who had an interception against Alabama in the 1993 Iron Bowl.
Auburn probably will prove to be a reach. The people on the Plains have great visions of grandeur for their program, so McGee likely would be far down their list, perhaps not even on it.
There also may be a case that McGee wouldn’t be the first or second coach on Georgia’s staff to get a call: Todd Monken already has been a successful FBS-level head coach at Southern Miss and has turned Georgia’s offense into a dynamic sledgehammer. Glenn Schumann, the only other assistant beside McGee to be on Smart’s staff from the start, is a 32-year-old rising star who is also a recruiting dynamo.
Geoff Collins’ Georgia Tech teams won 10 games in his three-plus seasons as their head coach. (Brett Davis / USA Today)But McGee, who essentially has lived and worked all his life in this part of the country, has what is increasingly taking on more importance in coaching hires: the right fit.
Pittman had that at Arkansas, where he was the beloved offensive line coach before joining Smart’s first staff at Georgia. When the Razorbacks couldn’t land some bigger names, including Lane Kiffin, they turned to the “Pit Boss,” and in less than three years, he vaulted a woebegone program into the Top 10, where it might still be if not for the size of the goalposts at Jerry World.
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Shane Beamer is also off to a solid start at South Carolina, despite never having been a coordinator (other than special teams). He might have been a reach for most programs, but he has a winning record at South Carolina, where he worked under Steve Spurrier in the late 2000s.
Would McGee be a guaranteed success? No one is. Head coaching hires are such a roll of the dice, at least when you’re dealing with first-time head coaches. But plenty of experienced head coaches have flamed out. Bryan Harsin had eight years of head coaching experience, one at Arkansas State and seven at Boise State, but in the heavier spotlight of Auburn, he has been exposed. Collins won some at Temple (although not as much as his predecessor).
Meanwhile, Georgia just won the national championship under a first-time head coach (albeit in his sixth year), and four of his former assistants have gone on to be head coaches: Beamer, Pittman, Mel Tucker at Colorado and then Michigan State and Dan Lanning at Oregon. The verdict is still out on virtually all of them, other than perhaps Pittman. But it seems clear something Smart is doing is working, and it’s not just coasting off the Nick Saban plan.
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Collins tried to change the dynamic at Georgia Tech with branding, and it was a noble effort. But he was too up against it, surrounded by recruiting powerhouses Georgia, Alabama and Clemson, plus the other ACC and SEC teams in the region.
McGee, meanwhile, knows the terrain. He has been a top recruiter for years, and while this year’s running back cycle for Georgia is lacking, McGee’s history boasts a number of five-star prospects at several positions, including Justin Fields. Beyond his resume, the feeling around Georgia’s program is McGee has been integral to the staff. Smart said a few years ago that McGee was the one he leaves in charge when Smart is out of town.
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(This is the point in the column where I acknowledge I am the Georgia beat writer and attest, scout’s honor, that nobody asked me to write this column. In fact, because of the muzzle Smart puts on his assistants I’ve had fewer conversations with McGee the past seven years than I did when he was at Carver High School in Columbus, Ga., where he coached Jarvis Jones, Isaiah Crowell and others. On and off the record, McGee struck me as a level-headed man with a great sense for his players, on and off the field. When tailback James Cook had to be away from the team before the 2021 Peach Bowl after the death of his father, McGee wore Cook’s No. 4 jersey during the game.)
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McGee just exudes competence. He’s not flashy, doesn’t jump up and down much on the sidelines and doesn’t engage in histrionics during practice. He just coaches.
Would this translate to winning as a Power 5 head coach? Who knows. You hardly ever do. The high school head coaching experience also shouldn’t be shrugged off. McGee ran the program Carver in Columbus (his hometown) from 2005 to 2012, winning at least 10 games seven times (Carver only has done that three times without McGee), winning one state title and going 88-19 overall. That was eight seasons of being captain of the ship. He was also the interim head coach at Georgia Southern for a bowl game in 2015 after Willie Fritz left for Tulane. (McGee won the game.)
Georgia Tech, and certain other programs looking for a coach, may in the coming days and weeks get a nibble from other candidates who are clear home runs. If they can get a proven winner as a head coach or an assistant with more compelling credentials, then sure. This is not advocating for McGee to absolutely get the job, without regard to who else it can get.
But if they’re looking for someone who knows what he’s getting into, and who may be the next Pittman or Beamer, then that man may be sitting in Athens, they would do well to at least give McGee a call.
(Top photo of Dell McGee: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
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