Dec. 14, 2001
Georgia Tech Director of Athletics Dave Braine:
“We are saddened by the news of the resignation of George O’Leary as the head coach at Notre Dame. We have the utmost respect for George and the job he did elevating our football program to one of national prominence, and we wish him the best. Meanwhile, we’ll continue on our present course with our preparations for the Seattle Bowl under our interim head coach, Mac McWhorter, and we will continue our search for a new head coach. Coach O’Leary’s resignation from Notre Dame has no effect on his relationship with Georgia Tech.”
Georgia Tech Interim Head Football Coach Mac McWhorter:
“We all feel for Coach O’Leary. We’re certainly not here to judge him. I don’t think there’s anybody who has not made a mistake in their life. We feel for Coach O’Leary greatly, he’s part of our family.
“It’s a distraction that we’ll deal with, but that’s part of life. Obviously it’s something that we’d rather not have to deal with, for a lot of reasons.
“Coach O’Leary has done wonderful things for Georgia Tech. We’re all very appreciative of what’s he done and our hearts are with him. His son, Marty, is a very integral part of our football team, and he’s part of our family that’s hurting, so we’re all rallying around him. We had a good team meeting, and I told them just what I told you. That we’re certainly not here to judge and we really don’t know anything about what happened, so we’re going to leave it at that and get ready for Stanford.
“I really hurt for Coach O’Leary because I know the kind of competitor that he is and the kind of integrity that he has. I really hate it for him because that resume sure didn’t have anything to do with why they wanted him up there in the first place or why he accomplished what he did at Georgia Tech. I loved working with him and I certainly would never have a problem working with him again.”
