Chan Gailey thought he was going to be a NFL lifer. He was a pro guy. He spent 16 of the last 17 years coaching pro football, the one-year blip a head-coaching gig at Samford.

Sure, there were occasional calls from different colleges, but once Gailey let it be known he wouldn't leave until his team's season was completed, be it at the end of December or a Super Bowl run ending the last weekend in January, well, somehow the interest usually waned.

"And so pretty soon college teams quit paying attention or asking or wanting to talk to me," Gailey said. "I never thought I'd coach college again."

		Chan Gailey enters a complicated scenario. He has impeccable football credentials and a reputation for integrity. He is a good family man. But I wonder about this: Is Gailey too good to be true? Let me be clear: I do not question Gailey's ability or intentions. But I wonder about the gremlins. We all have them. They are lurking and lying in wait. They pounce at the most inopportune times, causing us to trip over words, make mistakes or lose our cool. They are hard to control ... sometimes they look like Jerry Jones. More...

The something strange -- literally -- happened. George O'Leary left Georgia Tech (wait, that's not the strange part) and Gailey went from not even being a thought in the search to replace him to being the only guy who really fit. Tech AD Dave Braine admitted Gailey wasn't on the original list of candidates, but former Tech LB George Morris planted the seed. A few calls later, Gailey, a Georgia native, and Tech were talking.

"I knew I was in the right kind of place and the right kind of people because they understood commitment and finishing your commitment," Gailey said. Braine, meanwhile, was comparing Gailey to the legendary Bobby Dodd.

Georgia Tech and Chan Gailey are the blind date that blossomed into the perfect marriage. Gailey's slow, easy manner is relaxing. His southern drawl disarming. He's softened the rules a little. Players can now wear their hats backwards. They can sport some facial hair. Gailey has bent the rules. The players just can't break them.

That's not a knock on O'Leary, who is now an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings. It's hard to argue with the success O'Leary achieved at Tech. It's just the matter of Gailey being the perfect tonic to O'Leary's harder style. "Coach Gailey is a little more laid back, said all-ACC DE Greg Gathers. "He brings an NFL mentality and let's the player police themselves and get others back in line"

But there have been some adjustments to make, mostly by Gailey.

First of all, college players can take a little getting used to. Moments after taking the job, the first player he met was punt returner Kelly Rhino. Now Rhino doesn't look like a football player. He barely looks old enough to be out of high school. He stands all of 5-foot-7 and maybe weighs 179 pounds if he's wearing ankle weights. He has blond hair and it's tough to get 10 words out of him even if you spot him the first nine.

	Chan Gailey has Georgia Tech off to a 2-0 start.

This was the player who made the first impression on Gailey.

"My first thought was 'Wow. I forgot how young they were'" Gailey said. "I'm used to much older guys."

Then there are the schedules. In the NFL, a coach has nothing but time. In college, it's not so easy. Players are in class in the morning and work hours are limited. But there are perks.

"The college player tends to be more enthusiastic. There is a little more electricity on the practice field," Gailey said. "I've been on the practice field through spring practice and I have not yet run into a hardened veteran or a prima donna."

But there are also expectations. The Yellow Jackets have won an average of eight games and been to a bowl each year over the last five year. Gailey helped make the transition a smooth one by keeping offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien around to run the offense, but there's isn't a proven running back and QB is still an big question as Tennessee transfer A.J. Suggs and redshirt freshman Damarius Bilbo battle for the job.

"The biggest challenge for me will be living without 4 or 5 preseason games," Gailey said. "The first one counts this year."

But Gailey wouldn't have it any other way. He didn't bother calling Virginia's Al Groh or North Carolina's John Bunting -- other coaches who left the NFL to coach in the ACC -- for advice on what to expect. He knows football. That's easy. He wants to do more. He wants to give something back, to make the players better both on and off the field.

"You have an impact on players lives a little impact more at the college level than in the NFL," Gailey said. "I like that. When I die and get to the pearly gates, and they talk to me and say 'Hey, why should you be here?' I don't think one time will it come up 'How many rings do you have?' Or 'What was your won-lost record.' But they might ask 'Did you make a difference in lives? Did you have an impact while you were there?'"

So Gailey runs the programs like a family. He made believers of the players and fans. It's what he's been dreaming about since he was a kid. Well, sort of. Actually, Gailey used to dream about coaching at Americus High School, his alma mater. "I thought If I could do that, how could it get any better than that?"

So the location was a little off -- Americus is 130 miles from Atlanta - but he's finally where he wants to be. He's home.