Grading Georgia Tech's Hire of George Godsey As The New Offensive Coordinator

Georgia Tech has replaced Buster Faulkner with George Godsey as the new playcaller. What kind of grade should this hire get?

Aug 22, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey on the sideline during the game against the Denver Broncos at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech has a new offensive coordinator, but it is a very familiar face to the program.

Former Yellow Jackets quarterback George Godsey is going to be the new play caller for the Yellow Jackets, returning to the college game for the first time since 2010 when he was at UCF. Godsey has been an NFL assistant since then including time as the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans and as co-offensive coordinator

As a quarterback at Georgia Tech from 1998-01, Godsey set the program record for career completion percentage (63.3) and ranked second in career pass efficiency rating (143.64). The rating is also the fifth-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference annals. As a senior in 2001, Godsey set a Georgia Tech record with 249 completions. He is third all-time at the school with 41 touchdown passes, fourth with 6,137 yards and 484 completions and fifth in attempts (765).

Let's dig into the pluses and minuses of Godsey as a hire.

Pluses

Jul 31, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey (left) talks with quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

I think there are two big things that stand out about Godsey that could make him a successful hire at Georgia Tech.

Godsey is bringing loads of NFL experience and worked under some of the top offensive minds in football. He has worked for Todd Monken and Bill O'Brien and has been a play-caller in the NFL before. The last offensive coordinator that Georgia Tech hired who had worked under Monken was Buster Faulkner and that turned out to be a pretty good hire for Georgia Tech.

Second, Godsey played at Georgia Tech and understands what it takes to win there. He should have good chemistry with head coach Brent Key and Key has proven that he can win at Georgia Tech. Sure there is improvement to be made, but Key's first three years have been successful and he should have some benefit of the doubt when it comes to hires.

The NFL experience could be appealing to recruits and transfers as well.

Minuses

I think there are some serious downsides to this hire.

First, Godsey has not coached in college since 2010 and the game has changed quite a bit since then. Not only has he not coached in college since 2010, he has never called plays in college.

Now, he has called plays at the NFL level, but they were not successful stints. The 2015 Houston Texans offense ranked 19th in total offense, 18th in passing offense, 15th in rushing offense and 22nd in points per game. In 2016, the Texans were 29th in points per game, 29th in total yards per game, 29th in passing offense, and 8th in rushing yards per game. He was let go after the 2016 season.

Godsey was also the co-offensive coordinator with the Dolphins under Brian Flores and Miami ranked 27th in total yards per game in 2019, 22nd in 2020, and 26th in 2021.

While he was a play-caller at the highest levels, he was not a very successful.

Will Godsey be able to recruit at either the High School level or in the transfer portal? Having Chris Weinke should help (assuming he is still on the staff), but there is no track record of quarterback development from Godsey and that is going to be one of his responsibilities as offensive coordinator. Quarterbacks from the portal or high school are going to want to go where they can get developed and become successful college players and NFL prospects and until Godsey proves he can do that as the coordinator, it could be tough to land the best prospects.

While Godsey did learn under both O'Brien and Monken in the NFL, not to mention playing for Ralph Friedgen in college, that does not always translate to being a successful play caller at any level.

Another thing to consider is if Godsey would be hired by any other program besides Georgia Tech. Godsey has not been mentioned for any other offensive coordinator positions at the collegiate level or at the NFL level.

With all the talk around Georgia Tech having more money to spend on assistants, is this the best that they can do? There are more proven coordinators at this level and more young up and coming coaches who have been successful play callers to choose from.

Overall

I think Key has earned some benefit of the doubt when it comes to making hires, but this is one that carries a lot of risk.

Godsey has not coached in college since 2010 and has never called plays or led a successful college offense, there is no proof that he can recruit and develop talent at this level, and he was not a very good play-caller at the NFL level.

Perhaps Godsey has learned a lot over the past few years under Monken and the NFL experience may have prepared him for this job. I think there is a world in which this turns out to be successful hire and everyone should wait and see what happens before coming to any conclusions, but it is going to get a low grade initially from me due to the many risks that come with making him the offensive coordinator.

Grade: C+