Now this is some first-grade fish bait, Chip Towers.
Mike Gottfried says Georgia fans should be careful what they wish for with regard to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. The long time college football analyst predicts Bobo likely will be leaving the Bulldogs sooner than they think — and it won’t be under the circumstances they might expect.
“They won’t have him long,” said Gottfried, a sportscaster and former head coach at Pittsburgh and three other college programs. “He will be a head coach real soon. Coach Bobo is a great human being and a great coach and he’s going to be a great head coach some day, without any doubt.”
Mike Gottfried? I guess Bob Davie wasn’t available for comment.
It’s fair to say there’s some disconnect between Bobo’s production and his public perception. It’s also fair to say that Bobo bears some responsibility for that. But his agent is prepared to do something about it.
… But, salary talk aside, Campbell doesn’t believe his client gets enough respect.
“That’s something my partner and I have observed; the perception isn’t there on him that should be,” Campbell said. “If you look at the production, clearly he’s been very productive, very good for the offense. He’s a young coach and we really believe in him. But there’s a disjoint in perception and I find that curious. I think that’s one of the challenges we have, to try to change that a little bit.”
Campbell’s got some spare time freed up for that now, seeing as he’s also Bobby Petrino’s agent.
Get The Picture 
I’m guessing that going around and soliciting Bobopinions is task #1 for Campbell.
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So I guess Campbell is telling Arkansas’ coach, “so it didn’t work with that other guy but maybe you’d like to take a look at some of my other models.”
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Bobo needs to put a five pound lead plate in his right accelerator shoe.
Dude don’t know how to run away from the field coming down the backstretch – ergo getting outscored in the 4th quarter.
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I think bobo would be great if he always called plays like we were down by 7 regardless of what the score is. I think then people including myself would appreciate him but that could cause this prediction to come true if he gets to good. As long as bcs takes into account point spread at the end of the game you should never let off.
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You’re on to something with this…
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I thought the D was responsible for opponents scoring. So if the D lets them score 2 TDs in the 4th, Bobo, scoring 1TD, is responsible. Hey, I should call Campbell and tell him we have a clue to the perception problem.
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Count me among the folks who think Georgia fans won’t know what we had in Bobo until he’s gone. Yeah there’s things on the offensive side of the ball I wish were better like oline development and player execution, though i’m not sure if that’s richt or bobo’s fault or both. But all in all i think the guy’s been an above average SEC OC and a hell of a qb coach. I also think his critics like to completely ignore the offensive stats under Bobo’s tenure and the fact that he is in the top half or quarter of the league in almost every offensive category.
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Well said CD. With a less than average OL for many years, and generally unspectacular field position, UGA has often produced near the top in offensive production. Add QB development to the record and you would think the guy would get his just due. Like you, I wouldn’t mind some tweaking on offensive scheme but it is impossible to argue about the results….and that was achieved against SEC defenses.
But then you have to remember, while other fanbases have rallied behind the Cheetziks, Petrinos, Kiffins, Fulmers, Tressels, etc., the UGA fanbase has consistently been on the attack against Mark Richt. What does that say about their ability to reason?
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Richt likes what Bobo does or he would not be there.
I agree with Gottfried & CD. However, Due to the Athens connections & his family, I suspect that he will be around for a few more years.
In my opinion, Bobo is the only sure to be sucessful, future D1 HC, that is on or has been on Richt’s staff at UGA.
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Okay, let me give this a shot. I lo…, er, okay, I lo…, um (clears throat) I lo… Okay, I’m not there yet. But I ain’t blaming him for nothing. Bobo is our guy. How did I do?
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I think you just summed up my opinion of Bobo pretty well.
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You both did damn well.
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The anti-Bobo crowd should be wary. Bobo is an excellent recruiter and a very good developer of QBs and his offensive stats overall bear out. He would be harder to replace than people think.
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+1, particularly in South Georgia.
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I blame Bobo.
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+1
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The “I blame Bobo” should start getting -1. It’s been so overused on here that you sound like a 1980’s mall rat saying “NOT” at the end of every sentence.
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Bobo is a quality person, a terrific recruiter and a great QB coach. OC? I’m not as sure as some others on this blog. Will he be a head coach? Absolutely! I think he deserves to be given that chance. My problem with Bobo (and really this is CMR) is that UGA gave him all the on the job training and he made his learning mistakes at our expense. Assuming he is the guy who made the offensive calls at the end of games (he was the OC after all–who else would do it except maybe the HC?) his end of game screw-ups cost UGA about half a dozen games lost in the last 3 years or so.
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Couldn’t agree more with each of those points. Frustrating thing is that I’m still not sure anyone has actually learned from those strategic mistakes–or else we wouldn’t keep repeating them, right?
Oh well, I’ll always have Jacksonville 2011–where typical Richt/Bobo strategy was tossed aside for one glorious afternoon, and we finally won the damn game because of it.
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Correct MD. In order to learn from one’s mistakes one must understand (1) that there was a mistake made; (2) what the mistake was; and (3) how to correct the mistake. I see no evidence that any of that has occurred. Rather what I have seen time and time again is total denial that any mistakes were made.
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He makes some calls I don’t agree with, and I yell about him at football games when the offense sputters. I still blame his shift from being the aggressor to playing it conservative in the 2011 Auburn game and the 2012 LSU game for being the reason we lost the momentum and, ultimately, the game.
Still, you also can’t argue this point: our offense has been very productive on his watch. Not only have we scored a ton of points and rolled up a lot of yards, but he also developed a #1 overall pick at quarterback. I think our perception of Bobo would be dramatically different if Todd Grantham had showed up two years earlier.
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This pretty much nails my opinion of Bobo. When I’m irritated, it’s not the playcalling per se. It’s the strategy. It’s the “balance for balance’s sake” and the momentum-killing 4th quarter drives of “three runs and a punt” while trying to sit on a lead.
But the guy can coach up a QB and he can recruit, so it’s hard to be THAT mad at him.
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Ageed DC. Those get my goat, too. But the biggest thing in my mind is still the blown call at the end that loses the game–all the other things can be lived with but not that.
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I remember one fan’s quote on here that pretty well matches what both of you said, “When Bobo called that play, I just wanted to pull my hair out!” Re: MSU game. Any guesses as to who said words similar to those? HINT: He became famous after his fraternity was kicked off campus, they destroyed the School’s downtown parade and he was last seen in a big white Cadillac.
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Carl Sanders?
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Big numbers against weak opponents other average OC can do, but he has not been able to produce much against even just good defense like Michigan State etc. One can accumulate good statistics against weak opponents but total statistics becomes weak when detailed against the quality of opposition. PARDON ME GTP, IT IS STILL BOBO’S FAULT.
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Last I checked everyone’s stats are worse against good defenses.
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ericdawg forgets the responsibility that Grantham and the D took for letting MSU score in the last qtr. Conveniently, not many people read up on MSU’s O and D. They were closely matched on both sides of the ball. STs was the difference. No one seems to have enjoyed Tavarres King and Boykin’s greatest game.
Some people are never satisfied.
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Balls, I’m curious about something. Have you ever admitted to faults of Bobo, or do you honestly think he hasn’t done truly damaging things to our offense during critical points in games?
I only say this because I am on of Bobo’s biggest critics, and at the same time, I always praise him when he calls a great game (like the Tech game last year).
Everytime I read a Bobo thread on here, you’re trying to bully every person that disagrees with you. Maybe it’s because you’re trying to overcompensate for your lack of balls? Just curious.
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No, it just gets old repeating the same tired criticisms that aren’t entirely warranted at the guy and blaming him for every single thing that goes wrong with the football team.
My guess is that part of Cojones’ schtick is to be so absurdly over the top in praise to counter those that are absurdly over the top in criticism.
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Hmmmm…Let me get this straight. 2 wrongs make a right…Is that about it?
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No reply necessary. AuditDawg is point on. I’ve even agreed with some of the criticisms; its the coaching advice that is absurd and the inability to look at him fairly across the board coupled with over the top criticism of anything about Bobo that doesn’t match perfection that produces the retorts from me and others.
His O has put enough points on the board to win in the SEC year after year. If D keeps the opposition from scoring more, we win. If they don’t, we lose. Instead of harassing Bobo to score more points to make up for the points scored on our D, look at the entire game objectively before attacking him for the D letting them score. Look at game play as a whole instead of cherry pickin’ some archaic stats to try and bolster your reasoning. If we have inadequacies anywhere, you better bet the HC and AD have their heads around it as we type. There are umpteen dozen more areas those guys look for problems that none of you have ever contemplated.
I get p.o,’d when someone goes beyond reason trying to find problems in our staff and open up the blog for our stinky little friends from NATS to raise the argument anty just to watch us fuss and cross swords. Some of them sit like vultures on this blog waiting for something to get crippled in order that they may assist in it’s demise. No, I don’t get upset from normal wear and tear nit-pickin’ criticism that any make on CFB blogs, but when you begin to take yourself seriously about another man’s job in his profession, you are off base. Do your criticizing in the spirit that we are all in this together;Coaches, players, administration and University students plus alums. I will limit my criticism in the same vein. Pot stirred. GO DAWGS!
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Yeah. Those Tech fans are a real problem on this blog.
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If you look at the 4 losses, the other team scored a lot of points in each:
Boise 35, SC 45, LSU 42, M St 33. It’s not fair to expect Bobo’s offense to put up 34 to 46 points on 4 top 10 defenses. In those type of matchups, the other 2 phases of the team, defense and special teams have to show up and play big. Put up 30 points against M St, a top 10 defense, should have been enough to win. Hung 42 points against SC, another top 10 defense, should also have been enough points to win.
The other thing is, in 3 of those 4 losses, SC, LSU, and M St, the offense turned the ball over I think at least 3 times per game. This has been an issue in big games for Bobo for at least 3 years and he hasn’t been able to fix it.
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To be objective though, Bobo’s guys scored a lot of points for the other team in those losses.
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Really, how many?
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I thnk it was close to 21 in the USCe game
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and 14 for the Spartans, a pick six to Claiborne and a fumble to set up a td in the SECCG….Point is, if the offense doesn’t score double digits for the other team we win at least 2 more games. And yes in this example, i count all points off turnovers against Bobo and company because a turnover is essentially a bonus possession for the other team.
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The way I look at it, the only way Bobo’s guys score points for the other team, is a fumble or interception returned for a touchdown. A turnover that is not returned immediately for a touchdown is not on Bobo’s guys, you have to be stout in the red zone and in instant change situations.
It’s tougher on your defense when you shorten the field, but the defense has to limit to field goals or get stops or turnovers if that happens, something they rarely did in 2011, as Grantham’s defense was 12th in the SEC in red zone touchdown conversion rate (yielded 21 td’s in 28 red zone situations).
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Greased Star – Pardon me, but you seem to contradict yourself a bit there. So, in the 3 loses, we scored enough to win so it’s defense and special teams fault, but we turned the ball over a bunch of times (a couple of times leading to defensive points scored by the other team) which is Bobo’s fault. So, is it Bobo’s fault or not?
I think the biggest problem with Bobo’s offenses since he took over as OC has been that we haven’t been able to RUN consistently against the good defenses. As has been well documented, this has been due to consistent OL issues and no real talent at RB since Knowshon left. If you recall, it was always CMR’s MO to get a lead and then ice the game by grinding our first downs on the ground (a la the Aurburn game this year). If we were able to run the ball consistently, then no one would be complaining about the conservative play calling in the 4th quarter because we would have won many of those games. The problem to me is Bobo’s lack of recognition that we didn’t have the talent at OL and RB to execute that strategy. He doesn’t seem to be the best at adjusting his strategy based on what will work best with the team that he has at the time. This is my (and I think a lost of fans frustration) – he seems to won’t to generally execute the exact same strategy regardless of the strengths and weaknesses of our team as well as the opposition.
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I think you are spot on with this anaysis… I would add that moving the ball throughout the game doesn’t seem to be a problem, but its the frequent sequences of 3 and outs and in game adjustments that seem to keep UGA from really taking off- 2011 cocktail party not withstanding. Then again, this offense seems to be stuck at young talent with potential for the last 5-6 years.
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Yielded 33 to 45 points in each loss, if you’re going to lay blame, lay it there, not on Bobo. But Bobo isn’t blame free, Bobo needs to realize teams under Richt lately have not been mentally tough, so cut out the turnovers in big games, because you won’t be able to mentally recover.
Take a team like Arkansas, they can lose the turnover battle, and still find a way to win 60% of those games last year.
Alabama lost turnover battle 3 times in 2011, but won 100% of those games. Mentally tough.
Under Richt, if you lose the turnover battle, going back 2 years, you lose 100% of those games. Team tends to give up easily.
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And that’s Bobo’s and no one else’s fault?
Gotta call Campbell. Picked up two perceptions that should help him solve his wrong perception problem. Both of them are related to fan dumbassery.
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Turnover margin is not just on Bobo.
Grantham needs to step it up too, which he didn’t do against Boise or LSU.
Grantham’s defense recovered 0 fumbles all year against 4 ranked teams.
Got 0 turnovers against LSU.
Got 1 against Boise.
Got 2 against South Carolina
Got 3 turnovers against Mich St.
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Now ypu’re talking team football, not picking on one coach or player. Amen to everything you just said.
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Recovered fumbles?
You keep contradicting your statements, Greased Star. Pick an arguement and stick with it.
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LSU was #1 in recovered fumbles vs. ranked teams. Averaged over 1 recovered fumble per game.
Ark & South Carolina also averaged about 1 recovered fumble per game vs. ranked teams.
Georgia had 0.
Bobo gets blamed too much for the losses.
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Alabama was 95th in the country in recovered fumbles, GreasedStar. You know what that means? Nothing.
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Of the top 4 SEC teams in wins, 3 out of 4 averaged about 1 recovered fumble per game.
You sure it means nothing to LSU, South Carolina & Arkansas?
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Bobo won every game where the other team scored 28 points or less.
Bobo only losses in 2011 were where the other team scored 33 to 45 points.
Bobo is blamed too much for the losses, and given too little credit for the wins.
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I’m not arguiing that Bobo gets too much blame. Read your above posts, you contradict yourself.
What the hell do fumble recoveries even mean? Fumble recoveries are as much about luck as anything else. You should be looking at interceptions, forced fumbles, turnovers in general, not forced fumbles.
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Luck? Lawrence Taylor revolutionized defense by stripping the football. LSU, Arky, and SCaro AVERAGE 1 fumble recovery a game against ranked teams. That’s technique, not luck. LSU in particular makes their own luck.
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+1. Who gets a fumble has a certain amount of luck associated with that although I still believe hustle is the main factor. Causing the fumble is almost 100% about hitting. In football you make your own luck.
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Thought a study showed that once the ball hit the ground, chances were 50-50 who would end up with it. The skewed up part to those stats had to do with the successful teams. Otherwise, it’s just dumb luck.?
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Correction – the end of that statement should read not fumble recoveries.
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Could y’all see Mike Bobo screaming “Whoooo Pig Sooooooie” ?
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For a couple of million a year? Sure.
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Kirby should be a viable HC. Can he not? Or is he capable of going it away from Papa Saban.
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More likely a smaller job first before an SEC gig. I thought he had a chance at the Arkansas State vacancy last year.
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I’m really amazed that some people want to try to blame Bobo for not “controlling” the turnovers by Murray. Is Bobo supposed to metaphysically go inside Murray’s brain when he gets under extreme duress and say “don’t throw into triple coverage” or “don’t scramble into a pack of four huge defensive players while holding the football like a loaf of bread”? Don’t you think Bobo is constantly telling Murray, “don’t do dumb things when you’re under pressure”? As we all know, telling someone something even a thousand times doesn’t always mean they listen, remember and comply with directions every single time a situation presents itself… Neither our coaches nor are players are cyborgs – they are humans, which means they make mistakes, just like you and me….
All that being said, I do not believe Bobo is above criticism, but the question is whether Bobo – taken as a whole (i.e. QB coach, recruiter, OC, etc.) – is better than the realistic alternatives. My personal opinion is that the answer is a resounding “yes”.
I’d like to know who people think a realistic alternative to Bobo would be to be OC and call the plays if he were fired tomorrow?
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I hear that Bobby Petrino is available.
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No but Bobo’s the QB coach so Bobo either needs to A) coach it out of Murray or B) if Murray is such a head case that he can’t stop the turnovers, Bobo needs to have recruited and developed somebody who he can take Murray’s job and not turn the ball over. Anything less is basically an admission of failure for either player recruitment, development, or deployment, or a combination there of. And before someone starts crowing about how Murray is the starter, nobody’s going to take his job yada, yada, yada, yada. Murray’s been here going on 4 years. If he can’t stop turning the ball over and losing us games and nobody on the roster is capable of taking his job, you’re basically saying it’s ok that Bobo in four years could not recruit and develop a QB who doesn’t lose us games. At a program with the resources of Georgia, (i.e. can recruit top talent) aggregate results on the field are a direct reflection of the quality of the coaching staff.
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79dawg. i fully agree with every thing you said.
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I think Gottfried is full of ship and I challenge him to name one (1) school that is legitimately interested in Bobo as a HC. Bobo’s been here for over 11 seasons. He’s a known commodity in cfb. Wwl, ajc, Mr. college football, the rumor mill, not to mention agent Campbell, would have loudly broadcast the news if any school had ever expressed genuine interest in CMB. Truth is, CMB was lucky to keep his job when the axe fell on Willie, Fabris & Jancek. I don’t believe CMB is going anywhere because a legit offer doesn’t exist.
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