Chan Gailey, a seasoned football coaching veteran, has spent 17 seasons in the college ranks and 16 years in professional football. He was named the 11th head coach in Georgia Tech football history on December 29, 2001. Gailey has guided the Yellow Jackets to bowl games in each of his five seasons on the Flats, becoming the first Georgia Tech head coach to do so. With Tech's invitation to the 2006 Gator Bowl, the Jackets recorded their 10th consecutive bowl berth, making them one of only six schools in the country to have a current 10- year bowl streak.

This past year, Tech captured the Coastal Division title with a 7-1 league record and earned a berth in the ACC Championship Game. In 2005, Georgia Tech finished third in the Coastal Division with a 5-3 league mark and a 7-5 overall record, besting its predicted finish for the third consecutive year. The Yellow Jackets posted a 7-5 record in 2004, including a win over No. 18 Clemson and a 51-14 victory over Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl. In 2001, in his first season at the helm of the Tech program, Gailey steered the Ramblin' Wreck through adversity, including season-ending injuries to the team's top offensive and defensive players, to a sixth consecutive bowl berth in the 2002 Silicon Valley Classic. In his five seasons at Georgia Tech, Gailey has posted a record of 37-27.

Gailey brought a history of success at every stop in his coaching career, including three seasons as a college head coach at Troy State University and Samford University, as well as two years as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and two at the helm of the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football. He made a name for himself as an innovative offensive mind during NFL stops in Pittsburgh, Dallas and Miami, among others.

Entering his eighth season as a college head coach, Gailey has compiled a record of 61-38, including a 19-5 mark in two years at Troy State where he led the Trojans to the Division II national championship in 1985 and a 5-6 slate at Samford.

By Al Featherston for theACC.com

Picking a pre-season favorite to win the ACC is a risky proposition.

Picking Georgia Tech to contend for the title is about as safe a prediction as it is possible to make. The Yellow Jackets, coming off a championship game appearance in 2006, have been the ACC's most consistent team over the last decade-plus - racking up a league-best 12 straight seasons without a losing ACC record.

That continuity of success is one of the strengths Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey is counting on headed into the new season.

"I love our experience and leadership," he said at the ACC Football Kickoff. "I think that they are going to accept challenges, without any frustrations. It's a mindset that has unfolded over the years. This group gets it, more than most of them. Senior leadership is strong, and if they get it, the rest of the guys will follow along."

Junior Linebacker
Philip Wheeler

Gailey will start the season with a veteran core of 17 starters returning from last year's 9-5 Coastal Division champions. His celebrated defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta has eight returning starters back off a unit that held Wake Forest without a touchdown in the ACC title game. Despite losing their leading tackler from a year ago in linebacker KaMichael Hall, the Yellow Jackets return five of their top six tacklers and each of those eight returning starters had 12 or more starts in 2006. Junior linebacker Philip Wheeler had 89 tackles a year ago, just two shy of the departed Hall, and is one of three All-ACC picks on defense. Safety Jamal Lewis was a first-team selection and Georgia Tech's third-leading tackler. Wheeler and defensive end Adamm Oliver were second-team honorees.

Gailey will also work with first-year offensive boss John Bond to rebuild an offensive unit that is strong in supporting players, but must fill a couple of vacant starring roles. The biggest gap is at wide receiver where ACC Offensive Player of the Year Calvin Johnson took his game to the NFL. In three seasons, the tall, sure-handed wide out caught 178 passes for 2,927 yards and 28 touchdowns, including 76 catches last season for 1,202 yards and 15 TDs.

That's quite a void to fill, but Gailey believes he has a nice combination of veterans and promising youngsters to share the receiving load.

"I'm excited about those guys," he said. "I get to see them in practice and that's why I am excited. James Johnson played a lot last year and has a ton of potential. Greg Smith played a little and has potential. We have two red-shirt freshmen that have a ton of talent. We also have some freshmen that we are going to take a look at when fall camp starts. So we are excited about what we have (at receiver)."

But he admits it won't be the same as having a once-in-a-lifetime talent such as Calvin Johnson.

"Well, we will not go into every game saying that there is this guy and make sure that there are 10 ways to get him the football," Gailey said.

The Yellow Jackets will also have to adjust to a new quarterback after four seasons with Reggie Ball under center. At least Gailey and the rest of the team got a preview of the future against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, when Taylor Bennett stepped in for the suspended Ball and passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns.

"Having Taylor step up last year in the Gator Bowl will be a big help for us this year," senior running back Tashard Choice said. "That experience will really help him going into this season. Taylor is not the same type of quarterback as Reggie. He's more of a drop-back passer. He reads the field well. He reads defenses well. He's a real student of the game. I think he'll get the ball where it needs to go."

One of the places the ball needs to go this season is to Choice. The 6-1, 205-pound tailback from Riverdale, Ga., led the ACC in rushing last season with 1,473 yards. He topped the 100-yard mark 10 times, including the last seven games.

Yet, somehow, the ACC's top runner only earned second-team All-ACC honors, a vote that baffles his teammates.

"I am not sure why that happened," junior linebacker Philip Wheeler said. "If it were up to me, if I were voting, he would be an All-American. He carried us at times last season. I think he deserves a lot more credit than what he gets. He's a polished runner. He has great vision. He's tough. I have played against him for a couple years and I know how good he really is."

Senior Running Back
Tashard Choice

Choice suggested that he was overlooked because so much of the attention last season was on Calvin Johnson.

"We had one of the best receivers in college football history and he deserved the publicity," Choice said. "He was the best player I've ever been around, the best I've ever seen. As long as my teammates know what type of player I am and what I can do, I'm happy. When the magazines say I am underrated or that I'm a sleeper, that's cool with me because I've been in that role my whole life. This year I'll get more publicity, more of the spotlight, so we'll see how I do in that role."

That's the question every member of the Georgia Tech offense must answer - how well will they perform without the nation's best wide receiver on the field to attract the attention of defenses? Will James Johnson improve on last year's excellent stats - 39 catches for 608 yards and seven touchdowns - now that he's the team's primary receiver ... or will his numbers drop now that he doesn't have Calvin Johnson drawing constant double coverage on the other side? Will Choice get more carries without the elusive Ball to contribute to the running game ... or will he be less productive carrying the rushing load himself as target of defenses?

"The attention last year was on Calvin and on Reggie," Choice said. "That was fine. I think our passing game has a chance to be better. With the experience of the offensive line, the balance of the wide receivers and with Taylor at quarterback, we have the potential to be a better passing team this year."

Gailey sounds confident that the Yellow Jackets can extend their streak of strong ACC showings. The question he's asking is whether Georgia Tech can take the next step and actually win the championship that was so close a year ago.

"We are determined to get there," Gailey said. "We have to realize as a team that getting there is not just going to be handed to us."

STRENGTH: Experience across the board ... Choice, the ACC's top rusher in 2006, returning at tailback ... the kicking game -- punter Durant Brooks is the nation's leading returning punter and dependable placekicker Travis Bell will be starting for the fourth straight season.

CONCERNS: Replacing the irreplaceable Calvin Johnson ... QB Taylor Bennett still has to prove he can handle the pressure of being the everyday starter.

EARLY BELLWEATHER GAME: Georgia Tech opens at Notre Dame on Sept. 1 in a game that will be nationally televised on NBC. A victory over the Irish, who must also replace a superstar (QB Brady Quinn), would catapult the Jackets into an ACC and national contention.