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In one of my many, many blogging blunders, it took me until the end of the press conference to realize I can take great pictures a) without the flash on, and b) without hammering the button down all at once. Oh well. Below are photos of new AD Bobinski, President Bud Peterson, head of the search committee Steve Zelnak, and Associate AD Wayne Wogan. Below the gallery, we give answers to your questions and a wrap-up of the conference.
First of all, I know you're all clamoring about this man because his major college football experience doesn't really exist. I was concerned too. But Bobinski seems like he's got a pretty good idea of the state our program is in and where he wants it to go. He spoke a lot about the great amount of passion that the Georgia Tech faithful have (read: all of you) and how we should develop that and make that known to the outside world so maybe they'll want to buy a football ticket. He recognizes the need for that change in branding for a viable "sidewalk" culture to develop, while acknowledging that there's only so much the athletic department can do about this particular problem. The quote that convinced me he knows what he's doing is that he wants to "create a feel, create an energy, create an environment that people…__feel invited__ to be part of." It never really seems like we've tried to _invite_ people in before, it just seems like we've tried to entice them to show up. He also seems like he's going to focus more on season ticket sales, as he referenced the alumni and the passion they have for the school multiple times. When asked about his lack of major CFB experience directly, we got some question dodging at its finest. After speaking with him and listening to the way he answered our questions, I honestly don't think it will be a problem. This position is about leadership qualities and connections, both of which this man seems to have plenty of. Only time will tell, but I think he will manage the program well. You get the sense of a real method man who is detail oriented, a perfect fit for the Georgia Tech culture. He mentions lots of process-orientation in his approach to doing things; "[the first thing I've got to do is] get a sense of who we are and why we are who we are. Once we do that, the priority will be how do we move…but we've got to plan for that." I like where that goes.