After two and a half years of constant struggle and battles on Georgia Tech turf, the administration finally decided to make a much-needed change by releasing their Head Landscaper, Al Groh, on Monday, October 8th. The troubles with Groh came to a head this year when the alumni threatened to pull donations in response to Groh’s Fall campaign to give away yards. In the week leading up to Groh’s departure, he gave away a staggering 601 Georgia Tech yards.
Other complaints about Groh include his inability to manage a team of landscapers. We interviewed a few people close to the situation and one of them had this to say about Groh’s direct reports: “his crew had trouble tackling the most basic assignments.”
Some believe the questionable 3-4 management scheme is to blame for his team’s below average performance. For those unfamiliar with the 3-4 scheme, it’s a strategy for deploying workers to complete a task. In Groh’s case, this often meant that 3 employees did the heavy lifting while 4 employees stood idly by. On any given Saturday, you would see 4 men standing in a field unable to wrap their arms around the task at hand while the other 3 were left to mow, edge, and blow the entire premises themselves. It sounds like the only thing that blows here is Groh’s management skills.
The students of Georgia Tech were especially ecstatic upon receiving the news of Groh’s departure. Last November, Groh hosted an open event to the public called “Bring Your Dawg to Dodd” day. Unfortunately, Groh didn’t have a plan in place to stop the Dawgs from destroying the football field. Since I live in the area, I was asked to report on the day's events and got to witness the debacle first hand. The students watched in horror while the mangy muts pooped up and down the sidelines. Nothing could stop them, it looked like the heavens had opened up and dropped thousands of giant Tootsie Rolls on the field…except instead of Tootsie Rolls it was steaming fresh Dawg turds.
Many people wonder how Georgia Tech could have made such a poor choice in selecting a Head Landscaper. While we may never know the logic behind such a decision, one thing is for certain: it was definitely time for Al to Groh….