Alabama Baseball: Diving in to the Greg Goff Hire
By Chris Hale
What are Alabama baseball fans getting in new head coach Greg Goff? We take a look back at his records in his coaching career to get some clarity.
ICYMI: Greg Goff Named Alabama Baseball Head Coach
I know some Alabama baseball fans are disappointed and some are happy with the hire. Most of the “football only” folks got mad for the sake of getting mad.
For the ones that keep up with the games or go to them without fail every time, I could see some skepticism. I certainly have a little. We want a winning baseball program with a great coach that will benefit the kids on and off the field.
This is the cold, hard fact. Alabama was never going to hire a big-name man like a Tim Corbin, Paul Mainieri, etc. As much as I hate to say it, Alabama is not a destination baseball school. Yet. It doesn’t mean that it can’t. For this hire, Alabama was never going to snag a coach like some were wanting to lead the Tide next season.
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The facilities are there now. As sad as it is to say, wins will put butts in the seat. It would also help if the university and the Right Field Ragers could come to a compromise before next season, too.
As far as Alabama baseball head coach Greg Goff, the more I look back on old records and hear him speak, I am getting a little more sold on the idea by the minute.
Goff has made three head coaching stops, not counting Tuscaloosa. Every single program (Montevallo, Campbell, and Louisiana Tech) that Goff took over as a head coach finished the previous seasons before his arrival below .500 in their season records. Each program was better when we left than what he received. He notched two 40-plus win seasons at Montevallo with an appearance in a Division II NCAA Regional one season as well as a spot in the Division II College World Series in another. At Campbell, he finished up his last three seasons in North Carolina with three consecutive 40-plus win seasons.
As far as recruiting, he sounds like he has that under control as well. During his introductory press conference at Louisiana Tech asked Goff how he got some of the elite prospects in North Carolina commit to Campbell instead of the other big in-state schools and if he was going to that in Ruston. I loved his answer. Fast forward to 12:58 to hear his response.
Goff said, “This place won’t be for everybody. If you’re not committed to doing the right things, if you’re not going to be committed to going to class every day, if you’re not going to be committed to being a good citizen, if you’re not committed to winning a championship, don’t come to Louisiana Tech. Go somewhere else so that we can beat you”.
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He kind of has the Saban mentality already. And remember, Saban only had a 2-6 record if you count the vacated wins. Get behind the man and let’s make this thing great again.