Feb. 22, 2002
ATLANTA– – Georgia Tech head football coach Chan Gailey has completed his staff with the naming of former Navy assistant coach Tommy Raye to the position of special teams coach.
Raye, 38, had been named linebackers coach at Navy in December after an 18-month stint in private business in Atlanta, but now comes to Tech. He will coach tight ends in addition to coaching the Yellow Jackets’ special teams, which is his primary emphasis.
“Tommy has had extensive experience coaching special teams,” said Gailey. “He’s a Georgia native and will do a great job for us in all phases here at Georgia Tech.”
With the appointment of Raye, Gailey has also changed some of the assignments on the Tech staff. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien has been elevated to assistant head coach in addition to his offensive responsibilities. The rest of the offensive staff includes Joe D’Alessandris (offensive line), Patrick Nix (running backs/recruiting coordinator), and Tommie Robinson (wide receivers). The defensive staff includes Jon Tenuta (defensive coordinator), Glenn Spencer (defensive line), Brick Haley (linebackers) and Curtis Modkins (defensive backs).
Raye coached the Navy linebackers from 1995-99 and helped lead Navy to back-to-back winning seasons in 1996 (9-3) and 1997 (7-4), including a victory over California in the 1996 Aloha Bowl. Navy finished 38th in the country in total defense in 1996 and finished sixth in the nation in 1997. The 1997 season marked the fourth time in Raye’s coaching career that he had been associated with a defense that finished in the top 20 in the country. Navy’s 1995 defense and Auburn’s 1990 and 1992 defenses were also among the nation’s elite.
After a two-year tour in the Army, Raye got into coaching as a graduate assistant at Auburn in 1990 working with the Tigers’ secondary. He coached the outside linebackers and special teams in 1991 while still a graduate assistant before becoming a full-time assistant coach in 1992, continuing to coach the linebackers and was the special teams coordinator. In 1991, he was nominated for the Working-Coach-of-the-Year award in the Southeastern Conference..
Raye moved on to Texas Christian in 1993 and served as the Horned Frogs special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach for two seasons before moving on to Navy.
“You don’t get that many opportunities to coach in and represent your home state,” said Raye. “I grew up in Macon, and this is like a dream come true. Chan Gailey is as fine a person as there is, and he’s a great coach. I know some people on the staff already, and I feel very good about that. Georgia Tech is a great program, a great place with great people.”
Raye, who was born in Macon, Ga., and played football at Georgia Southern for two seasons (1981-82), is a 1986 graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. He is married to the former Kisa Korhonen and they have two daughters, Jackie and Hunter.
