Georgia assistant Dell McGee explains what it takes to win at Carver

As the Carver Tigers football program goes through another coaching change, one of the best to ever hold the job gave his advice to the next hire.

Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee became known statewide for his work at Carver, where he went 88-19 in eight seasons and led the team to the 2007 Class 3A state title. During Saturday’s National Championship Game Media Day, McGee was asked about the current situation at Carver.

McGee said he couldn’t say what another coach is going to do to be successful, but he knows from his personal experience the things that need to happen.

“Whatever the coach’s philosophy is, he’s got to get that spread across the entire staff,” McGee said. “They’ve definitely got to have discipline, hard work and a family atmosphere.”

McGee’s emphasis on discipline is no new notion for Carver principal Chris Lindsey. When Lindsey was asked about what made McGee so successful at Carver, that attribute was one of the first to come from his mouth.

“It was the discipline he had and the teaching he did, on and off the field,” Lindsey said. “All that factored into the success we had over the years.”

McGee brought stability to the Carver program during his eight-year run, but the Tigers have been anything but stable since he departed for Auburn. Four men have been Carver head coach in the last three years, including Calvin Arnold, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach in 2017 but was not retained after a 3-8 season.

Lindsey explained last week that the new head-coaching hire will probably happen sometime between now and the first of February. As far as the kind of coach he wants, it’s no secret Lindsey will try to find the second coming of McGee.

“Dell is the gold standard in regards to me finding a new head coach,” Lindsey said.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Georgia assistant Dell McGee explains what it takes to win at Carver."