I don’t know if Greg McGarity has all the answers on the football front, but I can appreciate that at least he appears to be sensitive to the concerns of the fan base.
If nothing else, that sure as hell beats Bill Martin’s personal absolution and finger-pointing at the “Michigan family” over the failure of the RichRod hire.
Get The Picture 
I like what I hear coming from McGarity. Unfortunately, nothing is going to satisfy a certain part of the fanbase. It sounds like he is doing everything he can to help CMR turn this thing around. I like the part where McGarity (talking about Richt being overloaded) said that Richt is “really looking forward to studying the game.” I don’t buy the mantra that Richt can’t get it done anymore. Richt being over-loaded would explain some things. If true you can hang that one on his former boss.
I also appreciate the realization that we were in every game. This team left some wins on the table. That’s a mixed bag, but it beats getting blown out and speaks to being closer than a lot of folks believe.
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White shark you bring up an interesting point that I heard someone else mention. Not only did Richt’s record start declining after Van Gorder left but it also coincides with the period when Evans took over. Maybe Evans did changed things up over time causing Richt to start having to moniter or completely do things he had not had to do in the past. I don’t know if I necessarily believe that. I think it has more to do with losing a top notch assistant in BVG however I guess we will find out soon enough.
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I know it seems in vogue to knock the Evans administration right now, but he took over in 2004. Football-wise (all-sport-wise), he presided over a fairly successful era in UGA’s history, on the field and at the bank. Our slide, as you state towards the end, has much more, if not all, to do with coaching–the head man and his assistants.
And this was the worst season of Richt’s tenure, and Evans wasn’t even here. Of his own doing, yes; but if other admin duties on Richt’s plate were such a problem, I wonder why it took so long for McGarity and Richt to come to a solution.
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I’m like you Sentor…I don’t know if he has all the answers but he did reveal what most of us have suspected and that are people are starting to question whether or not Georgia football is a wise investment given the results.
The only thing that I wish he would have added was the word “significant”. As in significant improvements across the board. Just saying showing improvement is too vague. Maybe he has told Richt in private that although 7-6 and 8-5 would be improvement it could and should be much more than that.
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I think the reason you don’t put a number on “improvement” is that so much can change (and what constitutes “change” is open to interpretation as well). For example, if we go 8-5 with everyone healthy, but we get blown out several times, and there are multiple arrests, that’s not improvement. If we go 8-5 due to season-ending injuries to key starters, but no arrests, and we’re in every game, that would be improvement in my book.
I’d prefer that we win 10-11 games so it’s a slam dunk and our long national nightmare can be declared over. I’m not sure that’s gonna happen, though.
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How does 10 or 11 wins equal a slam dunk and our national nightmare is over?
When Fulmer started his stall he let go of coordinators……..and won some games but…
2004 Tennessee 10–3 7–1 1st (East) W Cotton 15 13
2005 Tennessee 5–6 4–4 4th (East)
2006 Tennessee 9–4 5–3 2nd (East) L Outback 23 25
2007 Tennessee 10–4 6–2 T–1st (East) W Outback 12 12
2008 Tennessee 5–7 3–5 5th (East)
he ended up fired anyway. The history of college coaches tells us that once a college coach is perceived to be in a stall it is unlikely that he will remain. Richt has two years on his contract. Right now, I fully expect 7 wins in 2011. That buys him time thru 2012. But I don’t think he will get a contract extension and remain head coach at UGA. Alabama went through the DuBose-Franchione-Shula era (1997–2006) after Stallings 6 year coaching career. That was some merry go round. We went through an embarrassing period trying to find a coach to follow Dooley. Then we tried to hire a coach who quit before he was hired and settled on Donnan ,later firing him in a fashion which was less than a proud moment for our school. One only has to look at Tennessee to see what a circus hiring a head coach can become. I don’t look forward to it.
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AHD,
It might not mean an end to the nightmare – we’d have to wait until 2012 to see if it remains constant or if we slide back. But if we won 10-11 games with the same staff, no AJ, you’d still fire them? You wouldn’t give the changes any credit? They play the same schedule yet you wouldn’t give the staff credit for getting the effort and skill out of the same basic players that they couldn’t get this year? That they are moving forward and making progress? That perhaps the defense got on track in year 2?
10-11 wins would almost guarantee an East title and even if not, recruiting would uptick (you think XDickson still picks Bama if we win the Liberty Bowl?)
Maybe I’m reading you wrong, but cripes, what do you consider “improvement” if not 10-11 wins?
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BCDawg-
10 or 11 wins would be incredible. He should get coach of the year! Recruiting uptick would play out on the field in the second year I think. But I’m not expecting a 10/11 win season. I’m expecting a 7 win season and that was my point about our Coach’s future at UGA. A lot of the talk on the blogs was that we needed the Liberty Bowl. I wish we’d nailed it. Man we were flat and disinterested. We needed a win. Even at the end of a disappointing season King is still screwing up. Our 2nd or 3rd leading tackling LB has legal issues and can’t play and apparently our coaches were out of the loop? Are we a team that can’t focus and is in disarray. And we play ball in a system where if you fire a player for breaking rules you may end up facing him on another opponents team. Richt is not gonna game the system like so many other SEC coaches have learned to do. That is not how he rolls. I wish it weren’t so but the reality is the Bulldogs are not competing on a level playing field. I don’t think it changes in time to help Mark Richt. But for the most part it’s been a sweet ride with some great victories. We’ll see.
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I agree with with the premise, my bad for misreading. I don’t know what to guess win wise. I do think anything less than 9 and he’s gone or it is to say I wouldn’t be surprised. And even 9 would have to include UF.
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ditto for me.
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Ditto to your ditto. I was merely pointing out the difficulty of putting a number on it. Still, I’m sure we’ll all continue to do it (as will I).
I think we all know what happens after next year if we win 10-11 games, or if we win 7 or fewer games. The big (huge, gi-normous) unknown to me is what happens if we win 8-9 games.
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I got nothin’! But CMR completes his contract, doesn’t he?
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How the hell did Evans get the job over this guy? I know the answer – Evans had the relationship with Dooley. Still.
I don’t think this is what he meant, but I like imagining this scenario the next time one of our guys gets in trouble.
Richt: I have no idea what the punnishment will be for him, you’ll have to ask Tereshinski.
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I’m not sure Evans was “Vince’s guy” as much as VD tried to spin it that way after the fact.
Evans was always Adams guy. The fact that VD liked/mentored Damon may have softened the blow to VD’s ego, but Adams won that battle and VD had no real control over his replacement.
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That’s how I saw it as well.
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I mean, it’s not like McGarity didn’t have a relationship with Vince and that’s why Evans got the job. I have no idea which guy Dooley would have preferred, but he worked with both of them. And, I have my own suspicions that Evans is the guy that Adams wanted, and Dooley chose to look like he was in the loop on it, rather than look like his last bit of influence was snatched away.
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It’s called a move towards diversity and political correctness, rather than just hiring the best man for the job.
Another example of what those two cancers can get you.
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“You’ve got a certain faction of fans out there that aren’t just disappointed; if they don’t have change, they’re going to drop out of the program.”
Actually, those people are not called fans. They are called bandwagon-jumpers.
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I disagree. I think he is referring to Hartman fund donors withholding donations. Sometimes, a fan cares and decides the only way to effect change is to withhold. Not the way I would do things but I don’t think you lose your ‘true Dawg’ status if that is you.
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Perhaps not, but I think if you stop donating just to get the man fired, the athletic department should hire a midget dressed in red and black to follow you around if Richt turns it around. And if he wins another championship, and you ever say anything like, “I believed in him the whole time”, that midget’s job is to kick you in the nuts as hard as he can until you admit you jumped ship on the University of Georgia and its athletes.
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Cool.
Just like Kid Rock.
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Oh God, it’s the TRUDAWGFAN argument. I’m not surprised to see it being made once again by some online posters. But I’m disappointed in seeing it now be made by Georgia’s athletic director.
I find it a bit rich that McGarity should say such a thing given his previous employment. In 1995 Florida drop 52 points in Sanford Stadium. While Georgia fans looked on in despair at what a failure to make a coaching change had wrought, McGarity was giving Steve Spurrier a big pat on the back and a thumbs up. You spent 18 years in Gainesville, Greg; you should be the last person to be bring up the “true dawgs are loyal no matter what” line.
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Actually that was me making that observation, not McGarity.
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Wow. Martin sound like a self-righteous and bitter a-hole. I don’t think he’ll be gettng an invite to the faculty summer BBQ this year.
McGarity is certainly saying all the right things to a highly annoyed fanbase. Still, I don’t think this guy has had to deal with the kind of challenges facing him. I mean, he’s been 2nd in command during one of the most successful stretches of any sports program ever. He arrived in Florida the year after Spurrier won his first SEC title. They’ve since won 3 National Championships, 2 basketball titles, and couple more Final Fours. Talk about being spoiled.
I think he’s going to find we’re a little more success starved. He’ll get more grizzled in no time I suspect.
I don’t get some of the Damon Evans hate on the blogs. Yes what he did embarassed the University (and he deserved to be fired) but he also brought a well-rounded athletics program that was good in MANY sports. Not to mention he brought us Mark Fox. He gets a pass from me for bad judgement.
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I don’t know that Damon did all that much. I think he was a bit immature for the job. His true performance can only be speculation anyway since the university would never divulge if he was lazy and milking the job. It doesn’t matter anyway. I am glad McGarity is letting the coach just be a coach. Move forward!
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“I don’t buy the mantra that Richt can’t get it done anymore. ”
Neither do I. Richt didn’t magically forget how to coach the last 2 years.
“Actually, those people are not called fans. They are called bandwagon-jumpers.”
With you, truck, and those people can piss right off. Anybody claiming to be a Georgia fan who wants us to lose recruits or games so that Richt will get canned is no fan, and nobody I want to wearing my alma mater’s colors.
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to your first point i don’t think that Richt “forgot to coach” i just think that college football like many other things is a constantly changing environment. As such, there are once good if not great coaches that are unable to adapt and thus can no longer compete in the new in the new environment, see Bowden, Bobby.
personally i think that Richt no longer has what it takes to bring us back to the level of success we enjoyed from 01-05, i’d love to be proven wrong but i like i mentioned earlier i see UGA football wandering the wilderness for 3-4 years in a best case scenario before we become relevant again.
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I think CMR is overwhelmed. Poor hires, hangers-on, recruiting deficiencies, player issues, and improved competition have all piled up on him. Who hires Jancek to replace BVG? Who hires McClendon as an RB coach? Hangers-on like Eason & Van Hal contribute nothing. We rarely sign 24 recruits are year – that’s not oversigning. There’s all the off-field player issues. And competition – the sec has more championship coaches than…anybody. Finally, one has to question CMR’s on-field coaching decisions after witnessing the Liberty Bowl. He’s dug a huge hole for himself. I don’t believe he can get himself out.
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Jancek came to Richt’s attention as a BVG recommendation.
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Apparently BVG ‘s talents lie in player development… not coaching.
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Yep, BVG can’t coach. That’s why he was awarded #1 assistant in cfb while at UGA, and now is DC for the 1st seeded team in the NFC.
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I think he meant player development/evaluationnot coach development/evaluation.
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“Jancek came to Richt’s attention as BVG recommendation”.
Not to question your sources, Senator, as you know far more about everything UGA than I do, but I’d really like to see more on that. I’m a sceptic. What’s the connection between BVG and Jancek?
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they coached in some of the same places previously
the BVG tie-in to Jancek’s getting involved at Georgia is pretty well known – I saw it in several published reports, it’s not blog chatter/speculation
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W Cobb…I agree 100%. It has been a combination of all those things. Especially the poor and lazy hires. Which leads me to the latest hire….Joe T for S&C. How in the hell did he get that job? Is it because he bleeds bulldog red? Of all the things said and done by both Richt and McGarity since he arrived the hiring of Joe T as head of the S&C program remains the strangest. What qualifications does Joe have that make him qualified for this position? CMR says he wants to be on the cutting edge yet he makes this hire. Here is something that I found interesting and I agree with 100%. It was written by some guy named Chad Scott:
Joe Tereshinski is not a strength and conditioning specialist. He played football at Georgia, he worked in the weight room under Vince Dooley, he’s been in charge of filming Bulldog workouts for several years, but he’s a football guy, not a strength guy. Much like how the position of athletic director has evolved past a point at which the football coach could handle it, so has the position of strength and conditioning director. Now days, the top individuals in this field have post-graduate degrees in athletic performance, kineseology, or a related field, a half dozen certifications through top strength and performance organizations, regularly attend continuing education seminars and speak freqently at these seminars.
Joe Tereshinski is none of those things. He’s an ex-jock whose loyalty to the UGA football program has been rewarded with a job he isn’t close to qualified for. How do I know? If there were a S&C opening at any other major college football program in the country, I can promise you Joe Tereshinski would not only not land the job, he wouldn’t even be interviewed or considered. Would UGA fans want a head football coach who wouldn’t be considered for any other opening in the nation?
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… and nobody I want to wearing my alma mater’s colors.
I think that’s the difference between graduates and non-graduates.
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What if somebody is wearing our colors and doesn’t have balls enough to go for it on 4th and inches against UCF?
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That would be a graduate of Miami.
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Let’s move past Evans and some of us have a more frank assessment of that hire. If you want to give Evans credit for the hire of Fox, I can understand that. But remember that hire was done under a system and was contracted out. The normal routine today to shield AD from taking total responsibility. His mistakes were letting CMR get involved into much of the details that CMR will not have to deal with anymore. McGarity could see that but not Evans. Also, McGairty understands the travel aspects, the home field games and advantage with a Sanford Stadium, and the scheduling. I think he spends time with his coaches and administration. He lsitens very well. He has very good judgement and decision making qualities. He his very mature, smart, and highly respected in the NCAA and among SEC ADs and Presidents. He understands the numbers…for an AD to use words like 50-50 and CMR’ s has a weakness in not showing enough passion. Yes he hears and understands the alumni base, supporters, and fans.
But now he has shifted a challenge and standard of performance to the football program. We are invested in you and we want you to focus on what coaches do…coach players to their max performance and effort…make improvements in who you are as a prorgram. When you do not set a number of wins that leaves an AD with a lot of room for further review and decision making. If McGarity was my AD and I was on the staff, I’d live and breath football 24/7 for awhile. In other words every player would know I was dialed in and my motor was at max RPM.
Let’s see if CMR, Bobo, Searels, Lilly, McClendon, and Ball can get a solid, tought running game goins again in Athens. And a team that plays and performs for the full 60. A team with a full roster for games and the season. An offense that does not have an opening drive of some success and goes into hiding the rest of the game [Okie State, MSU, UCF, and others], but gets quicker and stronger as the game progresses. An offense that is lethal.
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R U Serious?!?
Georgia needed to hire Bobby Knight so that they could get some “publicity” and “energy” in the program.
Instead they go out and get some guy that no southern football fan (much less the on air personalities at this station) have ever heard of. How dumb is that!
Sure, he’s from Kansas where people eat, drink, breathe and poop basketball, and he was a volunteer assistant to that Roy Williams guy and he took an unknown program to the dance and he understands Georgia is football country and has only passing interest in b-ball…. but I’ve never heard of him so he must not be the man for the job.
They need to fire him and hire Digger Phelps.
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For a recruit I’d take something from an ADs remarks. Things in the Dawgs program is more than change. It is a process well underway.
And if I was deemed the premier RB in a state, my decision would be easy if I knew the history of college football. There are colleges with a running game that we call a “sometimes program”. Those are your Alabamas, Auburns, Ole Miss, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Then you have your “never had one and never will”. That is you Missy State and Vandy types. But then you have a program with a long history and successful track record. That would be THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. Let’s see…Moreno, Edwards, Davis,Walker, and others…and how many RBs out of UGA were MVPs in Super Bowls. Yes, it is hard to argue with history and a record. But if you are deemed the best do you want to take the challenge and exceed that group. Or let another player not as well know sit in the ring of honor at New York or at a Super Bowl site. When you get down to it, it is an easy decision. I’d make it and start on my journey to that ring. I’d do it soon because some RB at UGA will cut that path soon. The question is who?
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Can you really include T. Davis? Really? Cause Davis did all that on his own. Like ..in spite of playing at Georgia.
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Okay, remove Davis and add Hearst.
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Fine… remove Moreno cause he was a mistaken camp follower that wandered into our scholarship. No real credit belongs with our staff there.
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“What if somebody is wearing our colors and doesn’t have balls enough to go for it on 4th and inches against UCF?”
I read that as Richt is fed up with our offensive line’s inability to get a push on any quality team this season. We were just deplorable on 3rd or 4th and inches all year. It was truly a sad year for a taleted O-line that was experienced, healthy and vastly underachieving.
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“I understand the frustration”
No, I don’t think you do……
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