Coach Bill Curry is back in the game

cadillacattack · Jun 11, 2008

good see a good guy getting back in to the game ........ Georgia State, located in downtown Atlanta, is starting a football program at the Division-II level in 2010 in the Colonial league.

Dan Reaves is the program architect and is supervising the fundraising and foundation for the program. Now AD Mary McElroy is throwing another log on the fire by adding a Name Coach in Bill Curry.

He may have been away from coaching for 10-11 years, but Dude went 26-10 at Bama with a 10-win season and I daresay the Bama faithful wish they were even close that kind of record lately.

Link:
Ga. State hiring Curry as first coach | ajc.com

Ga. State hiring Curry as first coach
By STAN AWTREY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/11/08

Georgia State has reached for a high-profile name to start its football program.

The Panthers will today introduce former Georgia Tech coach Bill Curry as its first football coach, a school official confirmed. The search took GSU athletics director Mary McElroy less than two months to net Curry, who brings plenty of name recognition and high character to the job.

"They couldn't have picked a finer gentleman," said John Dewberry, now an Atlanta businessman who played quarterback for Curry. "He'll be great for pulling together all the different factions for getting support to start the program, from the alumni to the faculty to the students."

The move is comparable to the approach taken by Georgia Southern when it hired Erk Russell to start its program. Russell won a national championship in 1985, his fourth season, and won four before retiring in 1989.

Georgia State will play its first season in 2010, competing at the level formerly known as Division I-AA, now called Football Championship Subdivision. The Panthers will continue to play in the Colonial Athletic Association and will play their home games at the Georgia Dome.

The decision to hire Curry, who has been a college football analyst at ESPN since 1997, is expected to energize the Georgia State fan base and stir interest in the program. Curry will soon begin the process of hiring assistant coaches. The Panthers will begin recruiting its first class of players in the fall and will have spring practice in 2009. School officials are currently looking for possible sites for a downtown-area practice facility.

Curry did not return numerous calls from the AJC.

Curry, 65, grew up in College Park and played at Georgia Tech, where he graduated in 1965 with a degree in industrial management. Curry played in the NFL from 1965-74 with Green Bay, Houston, Baltimore and Los Angeles. He was an All-Pro center with the Colts in 1971 and 1972. He was the starting center for two Super Bowl teams: Green Bay in 1967 and Baltimore in 1971. After retirement he spent three seasons as an assistant at Green Bay under Bart Starr.

Curry spent 17 years as a head coach in college, starting with Georgia Tech from 1980-86, where his record was 31-43-4 and he was ACC Coach of the Year in 1985 after a 9-2-1 season. Curry was 26-10 during his three-year stint at Alabama (1987-89), won the SEC championship in 1989 and was named National Coach of the Year in 1989. He moved on to Kentucky from 1990-96, where his teams went 26-52. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

"People who know him think highly of him," Dewberry said. "I know those at Georgia Tech have fond feelings for him. Coach Curry has meant the world to me."
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luvdimtigers · Jun 11, 2008

Kind of surprised he wanted to get back into the rigors of coaching at 65, but that's not much older than Spurrier.

Brings up and interesting topic. Exactly, why was bama so unhappy with him? The Auburn losses, and the fact he wasn't a Bear disciple?

TigerBait3 · Jun 11, 2008

luvdimtigers said: ↑

Brings up and interesting topic. Exactly, why was bama so unhappy with him? The Auburn losses, and the fact he wasn't a Bear disciple?
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Probably has something to do with him making up stories that went against the laws of physics.

luvdimtigers · Jun 11, 2008

TigerBait3 said: ↑

Probably has something to do with him making up stories that went against the laws of physics.
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The brick? He was already a dead man walking by then!

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Coach Bill Curry is back in the game

cadillacattack Illegitimi non carborundum est

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