He spent several minutes with Cellini & Dimino today on the even of Georgia Tech Spring Practice. Here's some notes and quotes from the interview as everyone is getting to know Gideon a little better.
They started with some background on Gideon and talked about suffering a broken back in high school, then going on to play four years Texas and planning to go into the special forces before a shoulder injury ended those plans. He then decided to go into coaching as his father was a coach. They asked if he ever just sits back and reflects on the journey to get there. Gideon said he does all the time and his wife reminds him to slow down and take a look at "where we're at and how we got there." He said he definitely wouldn't be who he is now without all those things he's been through and God has helped guide him through.
Gideon was then asked about what it's like playing for your father to which he responded it was very hard at the time as his dad coached him to a high standard like everyone else on the team. He joked that he never got a break from it as he had to come home and sit and the dinner table with him unlike his teammates. He said in coaching now he understands why his dad did things the way he did, and his dad is now one of his best friends and someone to lean on with his experience.
Dimino asked if Gideon was invited to the combine after 52 consecutive starts. Gideon said he was initially before breaking his hand playing against Robert Griffin III in the last game of his senior year. He said he wore a big cast through the bowl game and training leading up to the draft so he didn't get to go to the combine.
Dimino followed up by asking about how he will use his experience to relate to every player that comes to Tech that expects to play in the NFL and focusing on doing things the right way now as that will hopefully lead in the future to playing in the NFL.
"I think it's pointing out to those guys that if we don't do this really well right now...playing really good defense, playing really well in your role here at Georgia Tech, then that opportunity never comes down the line," said Gideon. "That's kind of that five-year plan. What's your long-term goal? Well, your immediate goal needs to tie in with the long-term goal, right. Let's just worry about waking up, brushing our teeth every morning and then let's go kick butt for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets today. Let's win today. I know that's thrown around a lot, but it still reigns true. Let's focus on what we can control today."
Dimino then asked about his reaction when he was cut by the Broncos and how he responded when he knew his NFL dream wasn't going to come true. Gideon said he's not very accepting when something like that happens when it's something that he's set as a goal or something he's set his mind to do. He said he wants to be really good at whatever he's doing so being cut in the NFL was something he perceived in his mind as failure.
"That was the first time I was hit with real failure to where I gave everything I had and it didn't work out. And so for the most part, athletically up until that point, it was just work harder. Wake up earlier. Do things that other people aren't willing to do and eventually it will come around," said Gideon. "For the most part that reigned true in my athletic life to that point. Whether it be the military or professional football, I had to do some soul-searching, and thank God I had some really good strong personalities around me that weren't afraid to grab me by the arm and keep me on the right track."
Cellini talked about Gideon coaching at Georgia State a few years ago and what drew him back to Atlanta to coach at Georgia Tech. He said he and his wife got engaged here in Atlanta when he was at Georgia State and they've always loved the Atlanta area. He said being a coach and being in different places, Atlanta was always one that they circled as a "retirement spot" because they love the people, the culture of Atlanta. He said it's similar to where he grew up in Texas where people appreciate hard work and fighting through adversity. He said it was a place he always felt like he was going to find his way back to and had been focused the first part of his coaching career on recruiting East Coast and Atlanta area.
"This just made too much sense," said Gideon. "When Coach Santucci moved on, which I know Tucc really well, I was actually texting back and forth with my agent, and the first thing I said was that my wife and I loved Atlanta when we were there. It wasn't a couple hours later I was on the phone with Coach Key so I think we were both kind of thinking about each other from afar. And I'm glad the marriage worked out."
Dimino then asked about coaching physicality in a day where hitting in practice is limited. Gideon said you have to be very intentional about what you want to get out of every day at practice or what you are teaching that day.
"We want to lead the nation in toughness, and I think that shows itself a million different ways but the first thing that comes to mind is the physical part of it," said Gideon. "With the limited amount of time, there's not enough banging as there used to be so to speak. And I think that's a good thing. We need to protect our players and prolong either their career or No. 2, make sure they have a healthy life and play with their kids one day. That's certainly important. And you can still get what you want out of these practices. You've just got to have a plan. Each rep now means more, right? To where as you had those 100 reps a day of full contact and all that like when I played. Well now, that's cut into a half or maybe even two-thirds. So again, just being intentional about not wasting reps when we have a chance to be physical. Let's be the most physical unit on the field. That's going to be the first thing that playing good defense starts with. It's forced us to be better coaches with all the rule changes. To be more technical, to be more creative with how we design drills to where we can get double the work or double the reps with one drill."
"I will say this about this place (Georgia Tech), since I've been here for three weeks, we've got really intelligent players. Really intelligent kids, and I think they understand a lot of what we're trying to get done without us having to say it. They have a good way about it and a good demeanor, and a lot of that credit goes to Coach Key and how he's shaped the culture around here. That's easily seen with how these guys play." (Continued below)
They started with some background on Gideon and talked about suffering a broken back in high school, then going on to play four years Texas and planning to go into the special forces before a shoulder injury ended those plans. He then decided to go into coaching as his father was a coach. They asked if he ever just sits back and reflects on the journey to get there. Gideon said he does all the time and his wife reminds him to slow down and take a look at "where we're at and how we got there." He said he definitely wouldn't be who he is now without all those things he's been through and God has helped guide him through.
Gideon was then asked about what it's like playing for your father to which he responded it was very hard at the time as his dad coached him to a high standard like everyone else on the team. He joked that he never got a break from it as he had to come home and sit and the dinner table with him unlike his teammates. He said in coaching now he understands why his dad did things the way he did, and his dad is now one of his best friends and someone to lean on with his experience.
Dimino asked if Gideon was invited to the combine after 52 consecutive starts. Gideon said he was initially before breaking his hand playing against Robert Griffin III in the last game of his senior year. He said he wore a big cast through the bowl game and training leading up to the draft so he didn't get to go to the combine.
Dimino followed up by asking about how he will use his experience to relate to every player that comes to Tech that expects to play in the NFL and focusing on doing things the right way now as that will hopefully lead in the future to playing in the NFL.
"I think it's pointing out to those guys that if we don't do this really well right now...playing really good defense, playing really well in your role here at Georgia Tech, then that opportunity never comes down the line," said Gideon. "That's kind of that five-year plan. What's your long-term goal? Well, your immediate goal needs to tie in with the long-term goal, right. Let's just worry about waking up, brushing our teeth every morning and then let's go kick butt for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets today. Let's win today. I know that's thrown around a lot, but it still reigns true. Let's focus on what we can control today."
Dimino then asked about his reaction when he was cut by the Broncos and how he responded when he knew his NFL dream wasn't going to come true. Gideon said he's not very accepting when something like that happens when it's something that he's set as a goal or something he's set his mind to do. He said he wants to be really good at whatever he's doing so being cut in the NFL was something he perceived in his mind as failure.
"That was the first time I was hit with real failure to where I gave everything I had and it didn't work out. And so for the most part, athletically up until that point, it was just work harder. Wake up earlier. Do things that other people aren't willing to do and eventually it will come around," said Gideon. "For the most part that reigned true in my athletic life to that point. Whether it be the military or professional football, I had to do some soul-searching, and thank God I had some really good strong personalities around me that weren't afraid to grab me by the arm and keep me on the right track."
Cellini talked about Gideon coaching at Georgia State a few years ago and what drew him back to Atlanta to coach at Georgia Tech. He said he and his wife got engaged here in Atlanta when he was at Georgia State and they've always loved the Atlanta area. He said being a coach and being in different places, Atlanta was always one that they circled as a "retirement spot" because they love the people, the culture of Atlanta. He said it's similar to where he grew up in Texas where people appreciate hard work and fighting through adversity. He said it was a place he always felt like he was going to find his way back to and had been focused the first part of his coaching career on recruiting East Coast and Atlanta area.
"This just made too much sense," said Gideon. "When Coach Santucci moved on, which I know Tucc really well, I was actually texting back and forth with my agent, and the first thing I said was that my wife and I loved Atlanta when we were there. It wasn't a couple hours later I was on the phone with Coach Key so I think we were both kind of thinking about each other from afar. And I'm glad the marriage worked out."
Dimino then asked about coaching physicality in a day where hitting in practice is limited. Gideon said you have to be very intentional about what you want to get out of every day at practice or what you are teaching that day.
"We want to lead the nation in toughness, and I think that shows itself a million different ways but the first thing that comes to mind is the physical part of it," said Gideon. "With the limited amount of time, there's not enough banging as there used to be so to speak. And I think that's a good thing. We need to protect our players and prolong either their career or No. 2, make sure they have a healthy life and play with their kids one day. That's certainly important. And you can still get what you want out of these practices. You've just got to have a plan. Each rep now means more, right? To where as you had those 100 reps a day of full contact and all that like when I played. Well now, that's cut into a half or maybe even two-thirds. So again, just being intentional about not wasting reps when we have a chance to be physical. Let's be the most physical unit on the field. That's going to be the first thing that playing good defense starts with. It's forced us to be better coaches with all the rule changes. To be more technical, to be more creative with how we design drills to where we can get double the work or double the reps with one drill."
"I will say this about this place (Georgia Tech), since I've been here for three weeks, we've got really intelligent players. Really intelligent kids, and I think they understand a lot of what we're trying to get done without us having to say it. They have a good way about it and a good demeanor, and a lot of that credit goes to Coach Key and how he's shaped the culture around here. That's easily seen with how these guys play." (Continued below)
