I’m not one to call for a coach’s head, but there’s no doubt that plenty of you don’t feel similarly restrained. That’s okay, but I’d like to gauge how much of that is the result of thoughtful analysis and how much of it is simply an emotional reaction to what has been a frustrating season.
So here’s my experiment. In the comments section, tell me whom you want gone and why. If you’re expressing an “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore” sentiment, say so. If you’ve come to your decision more in sadness than in anger, then tell me why, who you think would be a better candidate and why and what you think it would take to get your preferred coach in red and black.
Please keep your comments non-obnoxious. This isn’t a forum for you to make personal insults. (I’m about ready to ban the next person who mocks Richt’s beliefs on general principle.) And I’d also suggest as you answer this that you remember the example of our Tennessee friends and the lesson of be careful what you wish for.
Also, there’s no need to jump in to announce you’re behind the current staff. If you’re not commenting, that’s already assumed. I’m more interested in hearing why people want new blood.
Get The Picture 
I don’t want anyone gone from B-M, per se. I would like a young-ish, ball-busting S & C guy brought in. I would also like all of our players tested for ADD and ADHD, then medicated accordingly…
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Couple more things…
1) yes, that ADD/ADHD comment was snark
2) Tod Grantham’s leash should be shortened significantly
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I, on the other hand, have come to the conclusion that there needs to be a total housecleaning at B-M. And I do mean TOTAL. We have so many non-productive hangers-on there that you can’t count that high. If we got rid of all of the Mike Cavans, etc. who cannot hold a real job and were just hired because of a previous connection to the University, and hired real productive workers in their place, there is no telling what UGA athletics could accomplish. If I were President of UGA (and this would take some time because of potential litigation considerations) I would see to it that by 4 years into my tenure every single employee at B-M had been replaced, starting with our current AD and following with the coaches of every sports team at the University after the new AD was in place. Then on to the administrative positions all the way down to the clerical jobs. Why not them first you may ask? Answer: If you fire the indians but keep the chiefs, the new indians get contaminated with the same old mindset. Gotta get new chiefs, then new indians. I would completely change the culture of the place from one that glorifies penny-pinching mediocrity to one that glorifies winning–IMO this type of drastic action is what it would take.
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(1) Give CMR an extra $5 million per year to spend on the program – however he chooses. (2) Keep suspensions the same but let the coaches choose the games where they will be served.
Fire anyone that disagrees with (1) & (2).
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I really would like to see Grantham put it together next year with everyone coming back except G. Smith. However, if he doesn’t then I hope that Muschamp gets fired bc of contiued offensive issues and we hire him as our DC. Muschamp is not a HC but is a very good DC.
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I’m OK with that. I’m willing to give Grantham a pass this year because of the turn over on D. With so many young first-time starters, it’s almost like his first year…most of these guys saw the system from the sideline. I get the feeling there is little leadership on the field because they are all to busy learning their own jobs to help the player beside them. My heart says Grantham is a good coach but the numbers don’t. Next year there will be no excuses.
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Why?
The turnover is HIS FAULT (and CMR).
Why does he get a pass on something that’s actually his fault.
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How is the player turnover his fault? Three of the defensive players lost were juniors. That’s actually a plus that he is recruiting good players. He just can’t seem to coach up the players which is his fault.
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Because it is his responsibility to manage the roster, duh.
Tons of Alabama players leave as juniors. They plan for it. They have enough depth to account for it.
I can’t believe I have to explain this.
/boggle
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The only person that I’m done with is #39. When he’s on the field it’s 10 on 11. Otherwise, I think that talent, effort and s&c have all been heading in the right direction over the last three seasons. What killed us this year were injuries and very bad luck. Stay the course.
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+1
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You will be as shocked as I was when you click this link. Walter Football (a respected website for NFL draft evals and predictions) has Moore leaving early and getting drafted by the Jets in the 3rd round.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_3.php
[Does Jackie Chan “what?” face]
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Wow, how the heck did you stumble on that? Good find. Don’t know that website but I’ll take your word for it that it’s a respectable site.
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No one can predict the future, that is why I don’t put a large amount of stock in early mock drafts. But Walter football does a pretty good job. They correctly picked Jarvis to the Steelers last year when I think the ESPN guys had him going to NOLA. That is why it surprised me to see Moore on their draft board…
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to piggy back off this, if anyone needs a reminder why to NOT DRINK the offseason koolaid, see this quote from richt back in august:
“When a guy like Corey Moore has the offseason that he has, starts out in the camp the way he started, he really made himself into a fine player,” Richt said. “Great shape, really understood the system, was leading, was practicing [well]. … Everybody noticed and he got the attention of the staff and then he gets banged up, so he can’t work.”
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Not interested in firing anyone. I do think Coach Lily should coordinate all Special Teams in addition to his TE and recruiting duties.
It has been a long, tough, and emotional draining season. Especially given our high expectations.
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What if we aren’t calling for a coach’s head, but wouldn’t be particularly sad if he was let go?
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A lot of the furor and the expressions of pain and disappointment are nothing more than the realization that, for many of us, our expectations were unrealistic.
The broken heart at Auburn aside, nothing that has happened this season is a complete shock to me. At the beginning of the season, I thought there were too many questions in the most important places on the football field…offensive line, secondary, special teams for this to be a magical season.
Combine the questions with the a horror of a schedule that was front-loaded in the worst possible way, a wave of injuries that reduced a powerful offense to a mere shadow, kids starting in the secondary….really, what could we possibly expect?
Was hiring Todd Grantham a mistake? I don’t know. What I do know is that the defense has not progressed the way it needed to if we were going to be a good football team.
Is this Grantham’s fault, or just the interaction of the Kharmic Bitches with the overconfidence? I am not sure.
Is there somebody I had rather have as DC?…yes, but I am told that is not a possibility.
Utlimately Mark Richt makes a lot more money making coaching decisions than I do. If he makes a change it is justified. If he does not make a change I will just have to grumble and live with it, because that’s probably justified, too.
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+100
Your comment should be required reading.
Our passion for Georgia, reading a newspaper/ blog, internet research of statistics or showing up for the game is not equal to the untold hours coaches put at practice, film room study, player evaluation, game planning etc.
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Perhaps we could all pitch in and make some sort of contribution to compensate these volunteer coaches for all of their donated time.
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what clarity of thought is this I have found amidst the ashes of discontent?
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“Was hiring Todd Grantham a mistake? I don’t know. What I do know is that the defense has not progressed the way it needed to if we were going to be a good football team.”
+1
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Winning cures all hot seats. Defensive coordinators included.
We’re 12 points away from being 9-1, and 27 points away from being 10-0. Don’t tell me injuries didn’t affect that.
We’re also 9 points away from being 3-7, and 20 points away from being 2-8. The margin of error is so close in college football it’s unbelievable.
The difference in those two scenarios is proclaiming Richt a genius and gearing up for a showdown with Saban, or running him out of town. And don’t think Richt and every other college football coach don’t know this.
I can only think what if this team had a defense and no injuries. Well, that’s the exact team we had last year, and we were 5 yards from winning it all.
I see improvement on the defense, even if it hasn’t shown itself in the stats just yet. I think we have the potential to be a 2011 type of defense next year, when everyone couldn’t get enough of Grantham.
The only question will be, will Hutson Mason be Joe Cox 2.0, or D.J. Shockley 2.0.
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Man. This is a good post.
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+1
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+2
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Most thoughtful, and reasonable post I have read all day. This difference in this year’s wins and losses (for the most part) have been razor thin. Take away two bad calls, and we’re 8-2. Take away injuries, and I’m including Gurley’s in the Clemson game, and we’re undefeated, having blown out several teams that played us much closer than should have. On the contrary, we defenitely had some wins swing on a single play, such as Pig fumbling an inch before the pylon in OT in UT, or various plays at the end of the USCe and LSU games. I say let Grantham coach for his job next year, and lets see what the guy can do with some talented Dawgs who have learned many lessons this year. Some of them in the worst ways possible. Would be a helluva redemption story if there were vast improvements in the D from this year to next, using mostly the same players.
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I would just say to the youth….they would still be young but not nearly so inexperienced if Dawson, Bailey, Ramik, Moore and JHC had played last year vs Vandy, Auburn, GT and some of the other big wins.
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Just being devils advocate here sj iii, but did you see the special teams being such hot mess in all phases outside of place kicking (and I am disregarding the botched snap against Clemson, special teams miscues always seem more common through out the NCAA in week one). Due to the issues we have had in kicking off and punting (both doing it and returning), I don’t think it was reasonable to assume we would be this bad at so much throughout the year.
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Yep, I did. New long snappah….no fixed return specialist, funky start for Morgan as a freshman, although that has turned out to be fine. But I would be less than candid if I did not tell you I have been concerned about our kicking game since Bill Hartman retired. And, for the kicking game, no for dead certain starters on the offensive line. So, yeah, I was worried about “special teams” from the git go.
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It’s hard to really gauge who’s fault it is to be honest. We’ve had special team blunders, confusion on the defense and injuries on the offense. When the offense sputters our defense suffers and when special teams puts our defense at our own 20 we give up points. I mean just imagine if we dont have special team issues this year! We beat Mizzou and Vandy at least. So who’s fault is it? Well if I made the decision:
I’d hand Grantham the million and upgrade Wilson to DC. Also coach Lakatos might as well go since he is in charge of coaching up the secondary and well you see where we are with that..
Coach Friend…im on the fence about him. We still dont have consistent line play and that is what causes our offense to sputter. Imagine if the OL is ready first half of the Auburn game? I know we wouldn’t have been in such a deep hole.
Just my two cents. Love the blog Senator keep up the good work!
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Thanks for the blog praise.
Wilson was demoted from the DC spot by Mullen. Why, then, would he be the answer at Georgia?
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Grantham was run out of Cleveland, why would he be the answer at Georgia? Just sayin, gettin fired from a job at one place may not be an indication of failure at the next.
Coaches fire other coaches to save their own jobs, too, not for any performance reasons.
I am NOT saying Wilson is the answer, but your argument against him makes me itch.
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Wilson wasn’t fired. He was demoted.
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I see what you did there…typical lawyering…I stand by my itch.
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BTW boss. this is an interesting excercise.
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Interesting indeed! I want Rodney Garner back as DC. That is all.
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ah hell no to RG.
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Not simply a difference in linguistics. Mullen was willing to keep Wilson on staff.
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Ok, well, my itch is still bothering me. I guess the question is, if he got “demoted” (which is the functional sister of fired…) why did we hire him in the first place?
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Wilson is by all accounts a good position coach. That doesn’t automatically mean he’s coordinator material.
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Sure it does.
Sincerely,
Willie Martinez
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Before I want Grantham run off…I’d like to know how much he has to do with bringing in stud Defensive recruits. We have a lot of good young’ns on that side.
Maybe they just need to start tackling at practice more.
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That’s r-u-n-n-o-f-t.
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Fulmers ex-qb coach seems to be doing an adequate job at FSU. Duke beat Miami and Chavis is doing his thing at LSU. While some of those coaches weren’t out and out terminations I think they were encouraged to move on. Fans were just as unhappy about the Chavis job performance at uT as fans here are about CTG. None of CMR first three replacements wanted to work at Georgia. CTG was suggested by Foster. When a program is a dumpster fire ( uT), I understand why coaches hesitate to sign on. We are not that program but it is hard for us to find a great coach with great potential. It’s a mystery to me.
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We were almost a dumpster fire when Richt conducted his last DC search. I think we forget how remarkable the turn around was that Richt led the program through. No high profile DC with a half a brain would have left a good stable job for a program where things are trending downward and the coach is a step away from the hot seat. The same DC search after last years SEC championship game would have netted far better results. imho
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This is a good point.
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DL has been the only bright spot on the defense and i think that’s due to coaching not just recruiting. He made due with what he had at Mississippi State and I think that’s impressive. I think the Dan Mullen demotion was due to a lot of things not just Wilson and if you recall he immediately interviewed with Georgia after that season. There could have been something going on behind close doors that we dont know about with that.
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Wilson was co-DC with Diaz. When Diaz left, Wilson was put in charge by himself. Defense declined and in fact Wilson was relieved of playcalling duties before the season was over and then demoted afterwards.
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I’m with you. I don’t see any way that a guy who couldn’t cut it as DC at Mississippi State would be the best pick for DC at UGA.
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But that’s not fired, right? 🙂
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Honestly, you don’t see the difference?
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Of course I see the semantic differential, but I should quit arguing?
I don’t think so. 🙂
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Dude, How hard is this? The guy is a good position coach, thus NOT fired, but demoted, as he was NOT a good coordinator. There is a big difference between doing your job and managing other people doing their jobs. Some are great at the former and suck at the latter. It doesn’t mean you fire them completely, as they can still excel at doing the job they used to do.
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Fire Todd Grantham. I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.
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Will Friend.
I think the the position group with the least amount of talent is, and has been for some time, the OL. They are exceptionally inconsistent: above average on their best day and abysmal on their worst. Who do I want? Whoever Stanford’s OL coach is. Oh, and a pony too.
I’m less than enthused with Grantham this year. I take some of his comments to be blaming the players rather than owning it himself. But you can’t go through the growing pains of this year without giving it the opportunity to pay off down the road.
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“you can’t go through the growing pains of this year without giving it the opportunity to pay off down the road” —- Agreed!
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If the OL has the least amount of talent, hasn’t Friend gotten an awful lot out of it this year then?
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No. Gurley makes them look better than they are. Look at the blocking for Green and Douglas when they’re in. Do you have any confidence in short yardage situations? If you do, is that a function of Gurley or the OL?
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TG has had enough time to develop players and teach his system. We have too many defenders running around with no clue as to how to attack the offense and cannot seem to adjust to what the offense. I believe a lot of that falls on coaching. We are on pace to give up the most points in a season in UGA history. Something is wrong and TG needs to go!
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I would like on the defensive side to get rid of everybody but Coach Wilson. I’m tired of pre-snap confusion and disorganization. Last year our defense was poor with veterans, this year it is poor with youth. On the offensive side I would like to upgrade the offensive line coach. We returned everybody and have done well in spots but have been really inconsistent in others. I also think Bobo has had to gameplan around the offensive line. Bama has changed o-line coaches several times and still have a consistently good line. Coach Friend has done a good job, I think we can do better.
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I don’t think he should be fired – but a long, hard look at Lakatos has to happen. This has absolutely nothing to do with the AU outcome.
The secondary is painfully young and we knew mistakes would happen – I simply don’t see pursuit angles and down field tackling improving at all. This was a problem when Rambo & Co. were starting. I don’t see much attention to detail and I think it’s creating bad habits.
I do not have a replacement candidate in mind – I simply want him read the riot act in hopes his 2014 coaching/preparation will improve.
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The bigger issue to me w/r/t to Lakatos was the secondary getting burned for big plays with experienced guys back there in 2011 and 2012. And that was with Jarvis Jones terrorizing QBs.
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I 100% support Richt. He has the best winning % in our schools history and for anyone who says he can’t get us a national title he was 1 play away last year and a loss by Miami or Ohio State from getting us there in 2002 as well as a UT loss in 2007 from getting to play LSU for the right to go to the NCG. Given that a 4 team playoff is coming I can only seeing us having a better chance now.
That said I would be in full support of spending the money to get a top notch DC. If we do it needs to be someone proven and someone that can use a scheme to take advantage of the players already on the roster. It needs to be a fast transition. Short of getting rid of the entire staff I would be in big favor of finding anyway we can of getting Belin back. He is a heck of a coach AND can get the special teams fixed without having to hire a ST specific guy.
On the offensive side I would be in support of getting rid of Will Friend and finding someone that is top notch AND that fits with what Bobo likes to do on offense.
That said the biggest problem within the program is above Richt. I am not in favor of spending money just to say we spent it but there is no reason why UGA should not have the WOW factor with all out facilities, from practice fields to the baseball field to women’s sports when we bring a recruit in they should say our facilities are second to none. We shouldn’t spend money on coaches just to say we have the highest paid staff but when we find the guy we think is right money should not ever be the reason he says no. I don’t know the right number of staff but the extra guys to help with on campus recruiting, logistics, breaking down film, analyst or whatever you want to call them should be hired to where every angle is covered twice over (by the coaches and the added staff). In short the culture around the athletic department needs to continue to be one of business to make sure we always are spending our money wisely but needs change as well into one where the coaches and players are given every advantage we can give them so nothing falls through the cracks.
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I’m willing to give Grantham another year, based on the inexperience and injuries he had this year. Having said that, if there’s not a significant improvement next year, let him go and throw whatever money we have at Michigan State’s D-coordinator.
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Good Lord Senator, what are you thinking?
At a minimum, I’ve seen enough of Grantham. His players play with effort and genuinely seem to like him, two things not true under Martinez, but it’s not working. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s too complicated of a scheme or maybe it’s personnel deployment. I do know that he will NEVER have as much next level talent as he had last year, and until Florida, that defense was a hot mess. As for a replacement? I don’t know or care as long as it’s not an NFL guy. Get someone familiar with the college game who emphasizes fundamentals and tackling over scheme and I’ll be happy.
Bigger picture, I’m not calling for Richt’s job, but if he decided he was done at the end of the year, I’m fine with that too. He looks emotionally drained to me and has since the middle of LAST year. If he took a few years off and then came back to UNC or UVA or wherever, I’d be happy for him and I thinking UGA fans would be too.
I’m not sure who we should go after if that happens. Charlie Strong is my first pick, but I don’t see that happening.
I do know that I don’t buy, or have never bought, the “who are you going to get better?” argument. The last 5-8 years have shown that there are plenty of GREAT coaches beyond the handful of names everyone knows. UGA is the flagship school in a state that produces bucketload of talent. The idea that Rucht is the only coach that can win big at Georgia is ludicrous.
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I don’t think Strong is a good match for Georgia’s admission policies.
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He seemed reasonably competent at Florida, given theirs…granted, not ours, but not chopped Gator, either.
But frankly, who is a good match for Georgia’s institutional positioning other than the poor old beat up, limpy guy we got now?
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Is Pinkle really the DC at Misery?
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I love your website, but I respectfully disagree on this one.
Our policies admitted Nick Marshall, Isaiah Crowell, John Jenkins, and many others. I don’t see it as a reason why Charlie would not achieve success here.
Charlie would be an excellent head coaching hire. He brings what is lacking most here, individual accountability, respect, and a lack of tolerance for mediocrity. He caries with him a fear factor which immediately earns the respect of players, coaches, officials, and administrators.
I also understand his discipline policies give the individual an immediate opportunity to atone for his mistake through additional work. It improves the player and brings him closer to his team by earning it, rather than futher alienating him through “timeout” policies. It also puts our best team on the field on Saturdays. With Charlie, there is no need to go to last resort zero-tolerance policies.
With all the rule changes favoring the offense, I believe the next opportunity for innovation is on the defensive side of the ball. His SEC track record gives us confidence he can bring in a coordinator who will innovate. Having recruited this part of the country for years and knowing our opposition well, Georgia would be a great place for Charlie to step up to the SEC head coaching level.
His buyout is significant, but we have the resources to do it.
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Wasn’t talking about academics, although UL’s standards are lower than UGA’s.
Charlie just took Michael Dyer this year. If you think there’s any way in hell he’d be allowed to do that in Athens, you’re kidding yourself.
For everybody who thinks fabulous head coaches all over America would be beating GM’s door down to take the job, it’s not quite as simple as you think.
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I, for one, have made the argument you make before…we got lucky with Mark Richt…
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I agree 100%. I was going to post but I couldn’t have said it better. I would also throw in:
Chris Peterson – same reasons as above.
I would look at:
David Shaw
Gary Patterson
Just to name a few.
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If it happened I wouldn’t mind having Dantonio
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You may not buy the “who are you going to get that is better?” argument, but you have to acknowledge the risk of hiring a coach that is worse. There are plenty of examples of poor coaches that looked like “can’t misses” out there too.
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I would like to see Coach Grantham let go, with Wilson, Olivadotti kept. I’m indifferent on Lakatos. Here’s why:
UGA’s scoring defenses have regressed in rank each year since 2010. Compared to our peers, particularly the elite defenses of the SEC, we are getting farther from our goal, not closer.
While I appreciate that youth is playing a major role this year in our defense’s ability to resemble a 12 year old pop-warner team, I can’t excuse how maddeningly slow we are to line up every play, often with players nowhere near the guy they’re supposed to cover. It is impossible to believe that anyone can play fast if they just figured out the play milliseconds before the ball is snapped. I do not see other SEC defenses with these issues and it’s squarely a coaching problem.
Last year’s defense reminded me of 2000 Donnan team. We know what happened to Donnan.
Richt and Bobo have proven they can develop a quarterback and recruit on offense for their system. The future is bright there, even if Bobo leaves. To return to 2002-2005 levels, we very simply need a good to elite defense and I’ve lost the confidence that Grantham has that in him. I recall 2008 when I started yelling to the rooftops how bad Willie is, and everyone wanted to stay the course. i see similar parallels here, and no real chance that our defense will progress to a top 3 SEC defense. We may get back to fair to middlin’, but if that’s all we can hope for then I’d rather change ships.
As for replacements, I don’t have a comprehensive list, and I do recognize that the hot candidate may not be a lock (See Diaz, Manny). But I’d rather give us a chance of being great than guarantee mediocrity.
Richt cannot win the SEC with Grantham. If it was going to happen, it would have last year, and our defense let us down. Again.
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I’d tell Grantham to start looking for another gig. It’s a body of work thing. Last year’s defense under achieved and this year’s defense is lost.
I have to admit that I was at the same spot with Bobo a few years back, and Richt was smart to be patient. Oh, but Bobo’s play calling still drives me crazy a few times a year.
Replacement? I don’t have a name, but I’d like a guy who is a career DC. Something like Chavis. I know Chavis ain’t coming. We need someone who has a plan to bring the kids from doe eyed freshman to seasoned veteran. Teach them stuff like tackling….
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“tackling?!” what a novel idea!!
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Grantham.
He’s visibly in over his head. It’s evident because he only knows how to do two basic things, blitz like hell or play a soft cover. As a D coordinator his one goal each is to take away ONE strength of the the opposing team. All year long he has shown an immense inability to to do that.
He is a great recruiter who obviously knows how to get his kids to buy in, but the man cannot make it ‘simple’ for his players. He may be a genius at the NFL level where they have nothing but time and talent, but he has proven incapable of making it stick to a bunch of 18-21 year olds.
I think he has to go while the defense is young and the cupboard is fairly well stocked. Do it after the tech game, let Wilson lead the guys through the bowl and then make a hire.
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I’d sit down with Grantham and have him tell me in detail what will change about his coaching that will significantly improve the defense next year. If I don’t like the answer then I’d help him find another job.
My hesitation in just firing outright is that I believe the pieces are there to have a great (not just good) defense. But even if they are merely good we should have an excellent chance for a great season next year. Wholesale change on defense will most likely upset that. Of course more of the same from the past 4 years will mess it up too. Hence the “come to Jesus” talk with Grantham and the requirement for specific changes.
I think Grantham has an ego problem and won’t admit his system doesn’t work here. He has to be made to change his flawed system or take it somewhere else.
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If we replace Grantham, I like the suggestion on Randy Shannon. I’ve always admired the guy and Richt could play on the Miami connection to get him to come. It would be a name hire, it would piss off the Gators and it would give the nerds at tech more to obsess on about UGA “thugs”. Always good to get in the other teams’ heads.
I also like the guy from North Texas based on their performance against us.
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Wow, some folks have written novels above me. Excuse me if I repeat something that’s already been said.
However, I want to replace Grantham, and I really don’t care who we replace him with as long as the person has a decent resume. Grantham just isn’t good. Our best year for scoring defense was 2011 and that was because our SEC schedule consisted of, no joke, the eight worst scoring offenses in the SEC (looking at conference competition only). Our scoring defense versus ranked teams was roughly 34 points per game, which was good for second to last in the SEC.
He’s just not that good and it’s hard to believe that any other DC couldn’t at LEAST match his performance (Willie and staff not included).
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That number against ranked teams is artifically inflated by the offense and special teams gifting TDs to South Carolina and LSU in bunches. Like 21 points in the South Carolina game alone (28 if you count fumbling and the other team returning it to your 5 yard line, that’s at least worth 3 points because they’re in chip shot field goal range, so 24 at a minimum).
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I shouldn’t have tried to go off of memory because the number is actually 38.8 ppg, not 34. The gifts we gave to SC and LSU hurt, for sure, but there’s no excuse for us giving up more than 30 and 20 ppg more than the best and 2nd best teams in the conference, respectively.
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Who should go
-Grantham, – i thought we had a good DC after 2011, in hindsight that seems to be more of a reflection of the caliber of competition we faced that year not the skill of our defense. After 4 years we have a pretty representative sample of his body of work and it’s mediocre at best. We’re not going to field an elite defense under Grantham at least not consistently enough to win championships. Youth is a poor excuse 1) because as a coach you’re responsible for succession planning and 2) these guys are not getting better, to the tune of we’re going to set school records for points and yards given up. I do think the guy’s actually a great OLB coach and recruiter but you’re not going to demote the guy and bring in a new DC, that would be organizational chaos.
Lakatos- secondary’s a dumpster fire even without that last play. I’ll just leave it at that.
I’m not quite sure about Will Friend (as in fire or keep) but it’s a complete waste to have the skill position players we have to go with the recruiting, and talent and play of the o line that we’ve had the last few years. I’d like to see some more consistent holes for Gurley and Murray deserves better for his senior year than to be running for his life.
Who to replace them with
-No idea, this is a complete cop out but I’m not paid the big bucks to make said decision so I won’t.
Overarching areas Richt needs to fix even though I think we’re better off with him as HC for multiple reasons.
-mental focus – I’m not sure how to fix it but in my opinion the biggest difference between us and say Alabama is that you have to beat Alabama, they’re not going to beat themselves for you. Us not so much.
-Oline recruiting, development etc- this is pretty self explanatory
-special teams- change how you divvy it up, hire a STC I don’t care. but this is terrible and its cost us many games. Don’t know how to fix it but it’s a gaping wound.
I realize I’ve spouted a bunch of problems with no solutions but these are just my observations. I don’t profess to know how to run a football program.
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That is a significant oversimplification of the differences between us and Bama.
The differences are huge, institutional and unchangeable for the most part.
A better comparison is Missouri.
To me 🙂
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Grantham should go now, he needs to head back to the NFL if he can get hired. He seems to cause more problems than he solves. He has a great agent and can flat sell himself so it shouldn’t be hard. I may be the only person who is worried about Kentucky and Tech’s quarterbacks suddenly looking like Cam against us, but I am. It could happen based on prior results.
I am trying not to judge Coach Friend because the O-line is the one area where we haven’t stocked great talent. I don’t know who is at fault for that since they recruit areas and not positions, or so I heard. O line has an issue since Dooley. Hutson better work on his mobility, he is going to need it next year unless some miracle happens to our O line. And don’t go to Neal Callaway for the next O line coach endorsement, it ain’t working out when you do.
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Grantham might have to move on. I am a big fan of the guy, but sometimes the pro scheme is too much for kids out of high school. We went through this with Marion Campbell. I knew some guys on the team then and they said that a lot of the players were just confused most of the time. You see this pre-snap a lot this year. Guys are looking to each other and to the sideline and don’t seem to be sure of where they need to be.
I like Grantham’s approach and the basic scheme, but I believe we would be markedly better if we simplified things a bit (just my opinion).
If he goes, here’s my scenario…Jerry Jones fires Monte Kiffin…Grantham returns to Dallas when they try to get the band back together. We pick up Muschamp off the waiver wire.
We have to fire our special teams coach too. It’s almost like that guy isn’t even there. (sorry…couldn’t resist). The Bill Goldberg experiment might be fun in that slot.
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That firing the special teams coach thing there is pretty funny Hassan…what do you think the chances are Mark Richt has thought the same thing.
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We don’t need Muschamp. We torched his defenses like others torch Grantham.
We don’t need a name. We need a guy who understands and has learned under the best. Look what FSU is doing with that Bama position guy. Look at the consistently best programs in the country on that side of the ball…Stanford, LSU, Bama, Michigan State and see what we might get. No, we are not going to get a lateral transfer, but those coordinators obviously have quality people working for them. Add Va Tech to that list.
And Senator, I would also like to add my thanks for this site. It is a pleasure to discuss football with thinking Georgia fans and be able to conduct rational discussions even when in complete disagreement. This is the only school blog I belong to because of the great folks on here.
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I wouldn’t say that Florida’s defense is 100% Boom’s. I was looking more at his history at Texas as the full time DC.
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Offensive staff – I’m for keeping this in tact. Even Friend, I’m willing to give him one more year. My worry is that it’s going to be harder and harder to keep Bobo, McClendon, and Ball. With the successes of our offense the past couple of years, all 3 of those guys are going to be in demand. Bobo won’t leave just for another coordinator position, but he’s getting to that age where he can be considered for some of the smaller head coaching jobs. The question is, does he want to go to a smaller school and work his way up, or does he have the same philosophy as Richt, who was happy to stay at FSU until the right big-time opportunity came by?
Defense – I really like Wilson and Olivadotti (yeah, I totally had to look up the spelling to make sure I got it right). Wilson has done a great job with the DL, and Ramik Wilson’s progress from game 1 to now has me sold on the job Coach O is doing. Neither Wilson or Herrera do well when matched up with a WR, but I think Grantham’s refusal to ever run a dime defense plays into this………….I don’t think any amount of coaching in the world would turn Herrara or Wilson into great cover guys.
Coach Lakatos, I lump in the same boat as Friend. I’d be fine if he stayed. This year has been maddening but in my opinion our secondary was really good the prior two years when we had everybody, and they were consistently among the most opportunistic secondaries around.
As for Grantham, I’ve gone back and forth over the past few weeks. There’s two things I like about him………..his players play hard, and he is the best recruiter we’ve had as a DC in a long time. He seems to actually enjoy the recruiting side of it. And I still think in some ways that I see similarities between his playcalling/scheming and Bobo’s playcalling/scheming from 4 or 5 years ago. Bobo was able to turn that corner. But Grantham is also a good bit older than Bobo was………..and can an old dawg learn new tricks?
If you held a gun to my head and forced me to make a decision, I’d say it’s time for Grantham to go. I like the other position coaches, but realistically if Grantham goes, the new DC is going to want to bring in his own guys most likely.
Narduzzi (Mich St) would be my pipe dream, but that’s all it would be, a pipe dream. Plus I think he’s a 4-3 guy (don’t quote me on that though), so that transition might set us back next year more than bringing in another 3-4 guy. I would not be in favor of any of our current position coaches being promoted to DC. I don’t know who I would say we should go after, that we would have a reasonable chance of getting. There are guys out there though……….for example, I had never heard of Jeremy Pruitt before he was hired by FSU last year, and while Winston and the offense get all the hype for FSU, that defense is playing some shut-down ball. There are other Jeremy Pruitt’s out there, we need to find one.
As for strength & conditioning, I actually am surprised at how often criticism still comes up. I know we have a lot of injuries this year but I attribute that way more to dumb luck than anything. If anything, our players have looked fresher in the 4th quarter this year than I can remember in a long time. Granted we’ve had some dreadful mental breakdowns, but I can’t remember too many times thinking “Wow, the defense looks whipped”, which was a common thought in prior years. I think S&C is heading in the right direction and continuing to get better. I don’t look for changes in that area.
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Narduzzi is excellent, and makes far, far less than Grantham.
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You never know how those Midwestern guys will do trying to recruit in the SEC.
And he may not be willing to leave Mark Dantonio, even if we were shopping for a DC.
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I believe Pruitt was Bama’s DBs coach before coming to FSU.
The flip side to that is UT hiring Sunsari off Bama’s staff and it being an utter disaster.
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I’d get rid of Grantham for a couple of reasons. First, I do not think he is a match with the rest of the staff culturally. Grantham has much too much Buddy Ryan in him for Richt’s Tom Landry approach. Second, I suspect that a major problem with him is that the focus is too much on scheme and not enough on execution. These players are not finished products and, especially when you have good athletes, good college defenses aren’t always the most beautiful scheme wise, but are those that have players who understand what their job is and have been taught how to do it well. There is way too much thinking going on on that side of the field.
I’d nominate Derek Mason — current Stanford defensive coordinator — as a replacement. I think he would fit in beautifully with Richt’s temperament, and he’s done a great job at Stanford. I don’t know whether he also uses complex defenses and just has the players to grasp it thusfar at Stanford, but he’s been able to get the most out of his players, however he has done it. Also, I have a crush on all things associated with Stanford football.
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But why would he leave Stanford for a lateral move? I can why why the MSU guy would consider, but Stanford is pretty high up the food chain already.
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Have to think about this. Have been solid for D staff for most of season, but past two days I have paused. Offense have played 7 of the top 38 ranked teams. Defense has played 5 of the top 40 scoring offenses. Offense has played 4 of the top 38 teams in total defense. TG’s defense ranks 53rd in total Defense. Want to see how the defense plays in next 2 games.
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Check out these stats and look at our defense versus just conference opponents. We’ve avoided the two best scoring offenses in the SEC (A&M and Bama) and yet our scoring defense is still 9th in the conference.
Defense: http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/911/team/defense/split07/category09/sort01.html
Offense: http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/911/team/offense/split07/category09/sort01.html
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So our offense posted scoring on Mizzou, Sc, Florida & LSU greater than there average. Wonder if they all are considering DC changes
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Is this snark? Do you know the definition of “average?” Every school has to give up more points than its average at some point during the season, so I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.
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This is probably going to get lost in all of the comments, but maybe you should set up a poll, Senator. It’d make it a heck of a lot easier to see where most readers of the blog stand on the issue.
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Senator:
Thanks for keeping this discussion about principals…not principles.
😉
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Buy out Grantham and go get Randy Shannon. He’s the linebackers coach at Arkansas right now but he was the DC at Miami when they won the BCS championship in 2001 and he should have gotten a second BCS title in 2002 if not for a gift PI from the refs at the end of the game. He would have instant credibility with the players and recruits and could simplify the defense. We should have a pretty good offense again next year (barring injury) which will allow the defense to grow without being heavily leaned on. Is there something about Shannon I’ve missed that discounts him?
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Not trying to be snarky as I don’t really know that much about the guy, but if he’s so good why is he just a linebackers coach at Arkansas and not a DC somewhere?
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Two words; Nevin Shapiro
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Bulldawg165…
My guess is that after being head coach at Miami, he wanted to lay low until the investigation blew over so as not to be a distraction to a different team. I’m pretty sure he didn’t get in any trouble, so he wouldn’t be bringing that baggage.
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I agree with Dawg19 about Randy Shannon. I lost faith in Grantham when he wouldn’t quash the Philly rumors right at signing day. Do our defensive players know how to tackle when they are in high school? It seems that at least 5 or 6 times a game we have someone trapped behind the line but the first man always fails to bring him down.
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For all of the reasons stated by everybody above, and the added reason that Mark Richt looks very tired of trusting his success to Todd Grantham, I’d ask for Grantham’s resignation and offer his buyout.
I have no idea who would be a good successor. The Michigan State guy and the Stanford guy sound nice, but nobody knows who’s available until the position comes open.
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Four years is plenty of time for someone to master their job, or not.
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Injuries have been an issue, but Dawgs not alone. Look at Florida. I have concerns about the S&C program, practice, and game prep. What can be done and what is not being done to reduce those. Last two games have 4 starters gone. Go down that road to a degree in ’14 w/o a Murray [4 yrs] and one side of the line.
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Lot of focus on the D this season based on score board. Past two days I have looked at recruits and where we are. Not bullet proof because we have seen that history. My concern for next year is the offense. Have not looked at the line rotation during games, but virtually one side is gone. And theother side has had issues.
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Offensive line problems may be more of a talent issue than a coaching issue. That needs to be fixed in recruiting… which seems to be our major recruiting shortcoming.
I am utterly disappointed in the defensive production over Grantham’s tenure. The talent last season was above every team not located in Tuscaloosa and they failed to live up to apparent talent. This year, even accounting for the youth, the level of confusion on a consistent basis is a sign of coaching issues. I think the system is too complicated. Maybe it would work at Stanford or Navy or a school that admits minimum SATs of 1200… but that ain’t UGA. See the final defensive play of the Auburn game as evidence. The staff’s inability to simplify for this group seems to me to be a fatal flaw.
Would a new DC make a difference? At this point, ask yourself if it could get much worse. I don’t really see how. When you look at how Jeremy Pruitt went from defensive backs coach under Saban for 3 years to leading FSU’s impressive defense in his first year as DC you have to realize that UGA can do better and deserves better. I don’t know who we should go after. I honestly didn’t know Jeremy Pruitt’s name last year but now I think he leads the nations second best defense or possibly the very best (at least based on what I have seen on the TV screen.) I realize that FSU is richly talented and that their defense has been consistently good over the years, but they seem to be at an even higher level this season reminiscent of the teams they fielded in the 90’s. Maybe we should look at Saban’s staff for someone not named Kirby.
Oh, and hire the tacking guru from North Texas State.
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A few questions? Do you really expect our Special Teams to be hugely improved next year and not give up back-breaking plays that kill us? Do you really think we’ll not lose 2-3 games next year at least?
I’m guessing special teams will continue to be a problem despite Richt’s efforts to improve them and we’ll still lose a handful of games, some to teams we shouldn’t lose to. We’ll continue to play porous defense and struggle to stop 3rd and 4th down.
It won’t happen and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be fired, but until Richt goes things really aren’t going to change despite the position coaches that come and go.
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Grantham needs to find himself underemployed the moment the clock hits 00:00 on North Avenue. Make him walk back to Athens, for all I care. I agree with those who have said that 4 seasons is certainly representative of his body of work, at this point. Well will have played 50+ games with him at the helm of the defense, and those that can do better, do. CTG hasn’t. We’ve seen the best that he can bring to the game, and for the fans, the players and the school, it’s not enough. Sometimes a hire is just a bad fit for culture & philosophy of a team. I find 2011 to be the outlier of the trend that the defense is circling the drain due to a softer schedule and a function of the sheer talent of the players.
As for his replacement? I’m going to cop out there. Foster from VT? Michigan State’s or Stanford’s DC? Richt and Bobo have shown that they can recruit and develop offensive talent. That much has never been a fear of mine. What is maddening is the inability to field a potent offense and fearsome defense in the same season. The seesaw back and forth has to stop.
I’m not sure that Lakatos has built a strong enough case to retain his job, either. Since we’re calling for digital blood, we’ll nix him, too. I’m a believer in Coach O for the LBs, and the bar was set so low for Wilson to have been an improvement over Garner that it’s not funny. (That said, I like Wilson and the impact he has made on DL recruiting at the very least. Don’t think that Wilson is the answer at DC, but I wouldn’t preclude his leading the unit in CTG’s absence headed into the bowl game. Andy Reid is my cautionary tale that keeps me in check of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Being fired from your previous gig doesn’t mean that you won’t be a perfect fit elsewhere).
Will Friend appears to be an improvement over Searles, but does that really mean anything? We’re in the SEC, for cryin’ out loud. How much better would Gurley look behind Bama’s or LSU’s OL? Football in our league is won in the trenches. After being set at the skill positions, why are we not going after the top OL/DL recruits with a vengance?
I think that John Lilly is hysterical on Twitter, but in light of our ST cluster-eff this year (and previous ones), I can’t help but wonder if it pays to have a dedicated TE coach when we only have two TEs on scholarship (and a walk-on), and an OC who only dials up a crossing route to the TE for short yardage if we have every starting WR healthy to provide the deep threat. Special teams breakdowns have cost us more games this season than the TEs have won.
Finally, I’d ask Richt very candidly just how much gas is in the tank for him. No one’s threatening his job, but the team is never going to get to where we all want it to go if the head coach is running on fumes. From the second half of last season to this day, he appears to be haggard, exhausted and all together over it. His health, Kathryn’s health, and the over all stress of the position and its myriad obligations appear to be taking a toll on him at an accelerated rate.
(Editorial: It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see him voluntarily hang it up at the end of this season. It would actually explain an awful lot of his extremely emotional responses to the various ups and downs to this season. Granted, I don’t want to look for a HC in the same season that USC and possibly Texas are on the market, but it seems to be a very real possibility to me).
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Damn, I didn’t realize I was writing a full blown column. Apologies.
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Have definitely had the same thoughts about Richt. When he said, this is getting to be not fun anymore after that Missouri or UT game, I thought that it could be done time for CMR.
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Football in the end is about results. Grantham’s results are historically bad. The amount of times we’ve given up 30+ points in a game far exceeds Willie, and we will give up more points this year than any team in UGA history. He’s accomplishing that with experienced and inexperienced teams.
There’s no reason to expect it to get better.
He was bad at Cleveland; he’s been bad at UGA.
Solve the problem now before Richt has to bear all the blame.
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Since 2011, UGA has given up over 30 points 15 times, 25+ 16 times, and 20+ 23 times. For comparisons sake…
UGA-30+ 15; 25+ 16; 20+ 23
Florida-30+ 4; 25+ 5; 20+ 12
LSU-30+ 3; 25+ 8; 20+ 13
USCar-30+ 5; 25+ 10; 20+ 16
UGA has given up 30 points more times in the past 3 seasons than Bama, LSU, Florida, and South Carolina combined. Our peers have had the same issues to deal with…complacency, youth, thinking about the NFL, etc. and yet they have produced better results.
I don’t know what the answer is…dream scenario is that Florida fires Muschamp and we get Boom. Realistic scenario is that we take a chance with a little bit of an unknown…seems to be working at Clemson…not so much at Texas.
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Clemson has Venables, who was previously at co-DC at OU and hardly an unknown.
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You’re right…I was thinking of Morris, the OC coming from HS and 1 year at Tulsa. So stupid….I’m such an Idiot.
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Grantham. And this is the reason. You have to ask yourself, can we win a national title with this guy? I just think the answer is “no.” Can we be adequate? Maybe. He’s upgraded our talent, for sure. I just don’t think the message is getting through, and he seems too stubborn to change in order to fit our skill-set. We are not consistent enough and seem incapable of winning games 20-13 against quality offenses. At some point, you have to shut a team down to win a title.
The first call is to Kirby. How many times did Auburn come knocking before Garner left? Kirby didn’t come in 2010 because we were a dumpster fire. None of us were convinced Richt was going to survive the turmoil, and he saw it as a sinking ship. We are not that now. We have turned around the program in a miraculous way. We are a better opportunity. Kirby is the best recruiter in the conference. He’s also been the right hand man to the best defensive mind in the last 20 years of college football. I’d say three things to him:
1. $1.5 million
2. Head coach in waiting
3. Do you really want to be the guy that follows Saban?
Who do you think is more likely to retire first? Saban or Richt? Who would you rather follow? Do you want to be the HC at the school that thinks 11-1 is a failure and follow a guy that set a standard that probably can’t be matched or coach at your alma mater that is hungry to get behind a nasty defense and win a championship? Don’t think that defense is all Saban’s. That’s what people said about the FSU offense with Richt and Bobby. You learn a lot coaching under masters like that. You invite Kirby to come fix it and in 5-6 years, take it over and it’s all his. And it would all be his when he’s about 45 while Saban and Miles are retiring or at the tail-end of their careers. He and Mike would be a lethal force together on the recruiting trail.
If that doesn’t work:
-Bud Foster
-Narduzzi
-Mason
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In your “HC-in-waiting” scenario, Bobo is gone.
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I don’t think so, at least not in the near future. Kirby and Mike are best friends, and I think that could work for a while. Mike would eventually go on to be a head coach somewhere, but not now.
Kirby’s resume is simply better right now as far as his unit’s national rankings and team championships.
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Trying to let this sink in: A Saban-esque defense and a CMR/Bobo offense? THAT would be a dream team.
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Well, as of this moment, “publicly designated” HCIWs are on double secret probation thanks to the home office
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf/news/story?id=4903982
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Bobo has earned the right to at least being the first consideration.
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To be our head coach? How so?
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I like it. A lot.
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Lose Grantham, try to replace him with John Skladany from North Texas. His biggest problem is he is 63 years old but man can they tackle. Is our sorry tackling the result of Richt’s overall practice philosophy? Look up Skladany’s bio and results before you say they play in the Little Leagues. Allow him to bring at least one position coach of his choosing, if not all three. Give Friend one more year but give him the “significant improvement” speech.
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Muschamp’s last three games against Georgia while at LSU and Auburn were unmitigated disasters. He game up more than 30 in all three and 45 in two of them. I don’t understand the fascination with that guy…and his short temper makes Grantham look under control.
Do we really want to be embarrassed AGAIN by Kirby telling us to take a leap, or using us to get yet another raise? It ain’t happening. And how much of his success is really his anyway?
We need to change for sure. Those 30+ stats are amazing over the past 3 years. It is a miracle that we have been to Atlanta in two of those three seasons and likely would have done the same this year barring the injuries.
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I’m not ready to fire anyone yet, but I do see enough rudimentary mistakes made every Saturday (and not just by our players) to believe that more and more kids are coming out of high school with low football IQs. Fielding punts inside the 10, running interceptions out of the endzone, going for interceptions when you should bat the ball, etc.If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were more concerned with getting on SportsCXenter than making the smart play. Maybe we should consider a Football 101 class for incoming players.
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The staff has not performed giving over 30+ points is not acceptable for any Georgia Defense. Why do we seem to give CTG and the D staff a pass, because our players are young, BS. Our D should never be this bad, NEVER, Changes need to be made but I fear our AD does not have the balls to pay for changes
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Hire a special teams coach, so we can fire him.
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How has JTJr not been mentioned yet? An injury or two to starters is an tragedy. Losing as many players as we lost is a complete strength and conditioning failure.
I think we’ve given Grantham enough time. My only hesitation in firing him is the year or two of adjustment it will take us to get out of this 3-4 scheme we’re in. Personally, I’d like to see a Florida-fired Muschamp become our DC, but I think he’ll get another year.
I don’t think we should fire him by any means but I’d love to see Richt move into the AD position and get a hot head coach coming from a mid-major or low-level BCS program. I think Richt has the perfect temperament to be an AD, won’t be paralyzed at the idea of spending money, and can still help with the recruiting effort (which is his strongest asset IMHO).
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I’ve been behind the “AD Mark Richt” idea for quite a while. I just wonder if he can withstand the call of the task to save the heathen pygmies to take a desk job.
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I couldn’t disagree more with having Richt as an AD. He is way too reluctant to make changes when needed. For examples, see the Willie Mart debacle that went on for years, the slow deterioration of the strength and conditioning program under Van Halanger, the refusal to have a special teams coordinator, etc.
Mark Fox would be our head basketball coach for another 2-3 years if Richt was our AD.
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Senator, not one FIREREVERENDRICHT!!1!! taker? Where have they all hidden? If just because you asked nice and threatened the ban-hammer, can you just lead every post-game thread with that?!
I think Grantham stays for the year remaining on his contract, so I’m emotionally invested in his success but intellectually believe something is wrong with his fit here and would be fine with his departure if it happens. But if it does, they damn well better have the replacement already on the jet headed to Athens and not go through an embarrassing search that fouls-up recruiting.
Richt will be legendary for UGA and has earned the right to keep at it. But I think his achilles heal is….Bobo. (There…I said it.) Yeah, yeah….DGD, great stats, injuries, recrutiing, etc., etc. I get all that why he’s not on a hot seat, nor should he be. I just believe he would be better for Richt, UGA and himself if he got an opportunity to HC somewhere, and here’s why:
– Richt needs to get back involved with the O and ST for his own sake and focus. I think he’s deferring too much to both coordinators in order to be a CEO/GM and is more reactive to problems than pro-active.
– Bobo needs HC experience elsewhere so we can consider calling him back home in the future. He needs broader perspective and new challenges. Let’s see what he learns working with new coaching philosophies, having to manage a program, and perhaps not always having top talent.
The Dallas Cowboys are a dumpster fire, but a fine source of coaching material. Monte could come manage the D and we’d blitz every down, thrilling every blogger. Jason Garret is actually a fine OC and better suited for that position than HC. They could drag young Dooley along for improved mental preparedness and little Kiffy follows daddy and we assign him to annoy Spurrier full-time!
(NOTE: Some of the preceding may have been snark. You decide.)
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More than one Snark ….I believe.
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it’s a veritable plethora of snarknados (h/t normaltown a village where nothing is normal including but not limited to Mike)
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Bobby…Bobby….negative reinforcement….never, never works for very long. Go back to English class and learn some new words, you moron.
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AusDawg, your last paragraph scenario would cause my Hartman Fund check to bounce.
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Ah, I see that we’ve once again reached the “who you gonna replace him with?” stage. This stage is always the last line of defense when trying to justify keeping the coach.
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I’m glad we didn’t replace Richt with Mullen in 2010.
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Yep, Mullen was the only option in 2010. Incredible.
I remember hearing the “who you gonna replace him with” argument during the Goff and Donnan eras too. I’m all for being pragmatic and making a careful, measured decision but this scare tactic that there aren’t great options available is ridiculous.
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The thing to be wary of isn’t that there aren’t options. It’s that McGarity exercises the proper judgment and hires the right man for the job. Like when he hired…. um, give me a minute and I’ll think of somebody.
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I agree that’s a concern. No doubt about it. Actually, it’s a concern even when proven ADs who have made successful hires make a change. There’s not a guarantee that things will get better. But you’re right, it’s a little bit more of a concern when an unproven AD is at the helm.
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Great idea for a post, Senator…and the yin to your yang, the GTP commenters, are showing their usual restraint and thoughtfulness, much of why I love this blog.
Everyone has covered all the reasons I’d let Grantham go except for the one thing I feel he’s lacking in order to have future success at this point – humility. I think the guy probably knows him some footbaw, but from his interviews he seems impatient with hard questions, does not tend to acknowledge shortcomings, etc.
He may be very humble behind closed doors, who knows? And a good coach needs some swagger. But if he’s unwilling to change then whatever it is that ails the defense won’t either, and there’s no need to give him another year.
My hope is that CMR knows that CTG is the man for the job, keeps him around for 2014, we all let out a loud groan, and then our defense goes on to be lights out next year. But in my role as Cosmic Armchair Kibitzer, a dgd of no great football knowledge nor understanding of the hearts and minds of men….then (mostly) based on last year I’d let him go….
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If only Big Headed Todd could have the same monster humility that we have…
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You and me are the SUPREME MOST HUMBLEST ever. In history. Tops in lowness. Certain in our doubt, beloved for our self-loathing.
Except I think maybe you are humbler than me…that was, until just now.
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http://www.bikramyoga.com/press/press1a.htm
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I’m so humble, I thought they were taking me to a comedy club called and I shit you not, “Serenity Now” on Australian in West Palm across from a veterinarian clinic to see Costanza’a daddy and Kramer do stand up but they Baker Acted me instead. Somebody bust me out of here. BOLO for tall wrought iron fence with pointy things on top. Don’t think it’s electric though. I’ll be standing by for the evacuation operation
http://www.serenityrecovery.com/
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That is some seriously funny stuff right there.
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Bwahahaha.
Yeah 4 years in CTG is really showing he’s the man for the job.
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Get somebody who can teach the defense to TACKLE.
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As a side note, I don’t think promising “Head Coach in Waiting” is really an option. The NCAA changed the rules so that it severely limits the recruiting that the HCIW can do. So in the case of Kirby Smart, you would be hamstringing one of your best recruiters. This is why, to my knowledge, I don’t think there has been a head coach in waiting in the past few years anywhere in the country.
http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=4903982&city=dallas&src=desktop
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interesting to me that no one has mentioned disciplining the two idiot dbs who lost the game. we should be able to beat kentucky without harvey-clemons and matthews. make them run bleachers in sanford saturday morning til they puke then make them work in a soup kitchen somewhere during the game. bet they bat the damn ball down next time.
instead richt will ‘love’ them and we will get more of the same.
richt’s teams are notorious for being fundamentally unsound because players are not held accountable.
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Have you lost your mind? That’s like suspending a QB for throwing a pick. They made a mistake, but it was an effort mistake for goodness sakes. Lord, sometimes I wonder about our fans.
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Ugh, me too. That was one of the most ridiculous comments I’ve read on this blog, and I’ve read plenty.
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quarterbacks who throw picks are benched all the time particularly if they make a habit of it. do you disagree that we field a fundamentally unsound team. we cannot consistently make punt or placement snaps and we don’t tackle or block well for long stretches of games. these things are obvious.
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1. Please keep your comments non-obnoxious.
2. This isn’t a forum for you to make personal insults.
Your #1 makes #2 really hard to follow.
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I think Belicheck should bench Brady for that bad throw late Monday night. Make him run Gillette Stadium steps during the game.
Good gracious, that’s ridiculous. The kids made a mistake. You coach ’em up and go with it. Every QB knows better than to throw across their body back across the field and they all think they can squeeze it in once in a while. They learned a brutal lesson, and there’s no ‘discipline’ that can fix it. Do you ‘discipline’ Shaq Wiggins for dropping the INT on first down? I mean, doesn’t he know he’s supposed the catch the ball?
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Sadly, the “effort” they were expending was trying to heroically intercept the ball. For what purpose? Personal glory? I would hope not, but the evidence to the contrary isn’t compelling.
The real hero would knock it down like spiking a volleyball and walk off the field a winner. I remember a game in Kirby Smart’s senior year when he had a chance to set some sort of record (interceptions in a game, interceptions in a season, etc) but it was 4th and forever late in the game, the ball was thrown terribly, heading into the dirt, no receiver nearby, and Kirby went low and basically blocked the ball to the ground with his chest and elbows. He could have easily picked it. We would have won either way. But, he made the smart play. I am so disappointed we had not one, but two players fail to play that ball properly. I suppose it is great, though of little consolation, that they were in the right place to make the play.
Ironically, they will see that play many times for many years on replays like the Flutie play. I do hate it for them and I hope in the rest of their careers they have chances to erase that sickening memory for their own mental health. Still shaking my head.
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I would suggest you read this:
http://georgiasports.blogspot.com/2013/11/just-bat-it-down.html
Batting it down was not possible with the way both players were positioned. It hit off the shoulder pad.
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Not to beat a dead horse, but the ball never hit any shoulder pad. I appreciate what that article says. I also appreciate that things happening in the heat of the moment make it difficult to be perfect. The one part of the article that is most true is that if we only had one player reacting instead of two, the ball would most likely have been batted high into the air. But. JHC leaped over Matthews and tipped the ball with his right hand and the ball never touched Matthews. Matthews had his hands up to make an over-the-shoulder catch. If you care, this video replay shows this between the 1:37 and 1:38 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf5jnajTKJI I see two guys both trying to make a catch. Had JHC not tipped the ball, it probably all ends in glory, but…
With all respect to my friend Tony ((aka Tyler Dawgden), knocking the ball down was entirely possible. We can go out in the yard and demonstrate. And I am sure JHC is athletic enough to time a one-handed swat at the ball like a basketball player blocking a shot if he had that intent. Indeed, he got one hand on the ball but his hand was going from low to high instead of high to low… thus the ball was tipped up not down. It is just a colossally unlucky play that was played extremely well and then extremely bad by our guys. I’m sure they learned from it.
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The ball would most likely NOT have been batted hing into the air.
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High, not hing. I give up. Go Dawgs… beat Kentucky, Tech and some Big Ten squad hopefully in Jax.
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What a fucking dick.
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Sorry Ladies for the language.
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Thank you
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Everyone on here has seen the list of times we’ve given up 30 & 40+ points since Grantham’s been here. I know Richt probably won’t do anything but sit on his hands but I’m depressed at the thought of another year with Grantham. Does anyone think we should give up an average of 26 points (factoring out a bit for ST pts given) a game on D with the type of talent we have – even if they are young? Is this the first young D to ever play FBS football? Alabama has played a lot of first year players during their 6 year run & they still play good D.
Next year could be ugly unless there is significant improvement on D. There’s going to be some dropoff on O going from Murray to Mason. And, you know Bobo’s (assuming he doesn’t leave) going to be super conservative until he trusts Mason, or, he until he has no choice.
It’s a shame we didn’t get more mileage out of Murray, Gurley and the great offense these last 2 years. Our offense literally has to score almost every time they get the ball to beat any decent FBS team. If our offense didn’t keep us in games the D would never have had the chance to finally make a stop at the end of games.
The reason FSU and Baylor score 60-70+ points a game is because their defenses stop the other team and get the ball back to a good offense whose coaches don’t care if they beat the shit out of the other team.
We’ve had stout D before at UGA under Richt. No reason we can’t have it again.
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Well, and the offense takes advantage of the opportunities the defense gives it. That puts the other team on their heels and takes them out of their game plan and makes it easier to play defense. Especially for a defense like ours with a bunch of pass rushers.And a good front.
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There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. Frank Zappa 1940 – 1993
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Besides issues on defensive side of the ball which have been covered here ad nauseam, the inconsistency of the O line drives me bat shit. They closed out two games with time consuming, “you know what’s coming and can’t stop us”-type drives, which to me are a thing of beauty. At other times they couldn’t block the intramural team from Agnes Scott college. I just wish they could consistently mash the ball. A good O line affects the entire tempo of the game, keeps the D off the field, etc.
Which got me wondering (ain’t saying he should be a replacement), what’s Hugh Nall up to these days?
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I have always laugh at the comment Disney Dawgs! but after reading these comments…I cannot believe that we are discussing whom we should be firing when we were five yards from a National Title last year. Am I disappointed with this season sure! Anytime I half to listen to Clemson fans run their mouths about beating us fires me up, but this is the third year we have beaten Florida, and have ended the mental shitting of the bed that we normally do in Jacksonville.
This year has been cursed, no other way of putting it. I have never heard of any team dealing with the amount of season ending injuries than what we have dealt with, and look to Florida to see that it could be worse. I am confident that if the injury bug had not bitten us the way that it has we would be looking at a better outcome. That even goes back to Gurley being hurt in the Clemson Game. Again lost for words.
The biggest disappointment that I see in all of this is for Murray. Great Kid, Great QB, and a Great DAWG! Just wish he could have gone out better!! I hope that as far as our fans base, that they give him one hell of appreciation at Saturday’s game.
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Yes, Murray will go down as one of the greats at Georgia! It won’t be this seasons that he cherishes most….It will be the others….Wow, what a great Quarter Back. Love you Aaron…..Muah!
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Clemson won the ACC, then gave up 70 in the Orange Bowl. Dabo cut bait right then and there, and that D is improved and they’ve gone 11-2, beaten some tough SEC teams, and are poised to go back to a BCS bowl again.
It’s not always the answer to be reactionary, but sometimes you have to say, “Are we really going to recover/get better with this guy?”
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Not to split hairs (he said before doing it anyway), but 70 points is pretty damned apocalyptic. Not saying we shouldn’t get rid if Grantham, but that’s an entirely different scenario from ours.
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Clemson DC Venables is in his 2nd year, last year they had to outscore opponents to win ie 30 +points to LSU in chicken bowl
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Coach Friend really is an interesting case. I thought he did a pretty good job last year cobbling together a competent o-line considering how few pieces we had. However, with that in mind, I was expecting a pretty sizable jump this year due to experience and more bodies, and have instead been met with maddening inconsistency. The o-line really is our weakest recruiting area, so I’m willing to give him a little more time, but as others have said, we need to see some improvement.
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Bring back Marion Campbell.
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This guy is available. (NSFW)
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Isn’t this just Muschamp with gray hair?
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I really could not care less what dumb ass UGA fans think about hiring/firing. Any time we lose a game, I get more ashamed of our fanbase and university when I read the reactions.
To illustrate, chew on this about this: the time at which BY FAR the fanbase was clamoring for coaches heads (including Richt’s) was the Boise State/South Carolina skid to start 2010. Online commentary was overwhelmingly in favor of canning Richt.
That also happens to be the beginning of a 27-5 run, including 26-2 in the regular season and a hair’s breadth from an MNC. So the very moment we wanted to fire the staff the most was also the stupidest time to do so. We legitimately could not have been more wrong. Who gives a shit what we think?
Of course we’re the first responders when a coach probably should lose his job (Martinez), but that’s just a natural consequence of calling for coaches to be fired at the first bad play. Broken clock and all that.
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Rick,
I am all with you on the fan base and the nutty reaction to every single loss. However, we have now experienced 4 years of Grantham. And I would submit that 90% + of that success has been due exclusively to the offense. Exactly how much longer are you willing to tolerate that type of performance? Hell, I am just as upset about some of those ridiculous wins than I am the heartbreaking wins. Tennessee scoring 38+ the last two years…TENNESSEE for goodness sakes.
We have won in spite of an utterly inept defense. And when we do heap praise on them it is for last year’s Florida game. FLORIDA and OFFENSE are an oxymoron in the Will Muschamp era.
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+111
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Bob – while I personally wouldn’t pull the trigger on Grantham this year due to the youth, 2012 was not a good precedent given the talent he had to work with. Would we do better than Grantham with whatever we got by throwing his salary at ‘the field’? I’d say chances are 50/50 or better, but in the name of continuity I think that buys him another year.
That said, I don’t begrudge anyone leaning the other way on him. What I object to is the assertion that Grantham is unambiguously a terrible coach, and that people were calling for his head over a year ago. There just wasn’t enough data, and those are the same folks that were calling for Richt’s head in 2008-2010 and Bobo’s head in…..well, always, including up to this moment. What annoys me is that Mike Bobo, despite a very impressive 3-4 year run, is one bad game away from being on the chopping block in the eyes of a large swath of the fanbase.
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Hell, I have friends who STILL hope Bobo gets hired away in the off season. There is no pleasing some people.
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The fear of Tennessee should not be relevant. 1, you shouldn’t live life and make decisions on fear. 2, that is a completely different program and state. The State is one of the worst for recruiting…ours is one of the best. Their Athletic Department has big issues with $$$. That is a talent problem in Tennessee…not our problem.
Our problem is getting our kids ready to play week in and week out. CMR has not been doing that for some time now. Look at record vs ranked opponents. Every year for 11 years, you can point to a game that our kids are not prepared to play in.
Let’s look at what we returned this year. I know we lost a lot of defensive players, BUT look at our stats last year…they are not good. When we lost games, it was because of the defense. We should have recognized the problem on defense LAST YEAR…it was alarming how bad that defense was with all the talent we had.
We returned our whole offense and they have played well even with the injuries.
Special Teams??? Do I need to say more???
This is a top down approach. CMR is not getting it done. How can a team that was 5 yards away from the NC last year, be a 6-4 team the next year? Not happening to BAMA? They lost one of the best O lines ever in college, they are 10-0.
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You are right about Bama. Then again, it helps to play LSU and A&M and nobody else.
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Two things. One, my point about UT isn’t recruiting. It’s that they wanted Fulmer out and had no plan about making sure they secured a competent replacement. And when Junior left, Hamilton hired somebody off the Saban recruiting tree. Worked splendidly, didn’t it?
Second, if you’re a Georgia fan who thinks this program should be just as good as Alabama, particularly Alabama under Saban, prepare yourself for many years of disappointment. It’s not likely to happen. B-M isn’t wired that way.
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Tenn is a different place period. They would be bad with Fulmer too…that is my point. Why would we assume there is no plan for another coach? Plenty of coaches can have success at UGA and many would do anything for the job. Should be easy to find a good plan for a new coach.
We should always look to the best program if we want to be great? What resources do they have that we don’t? Saban is the best coach we will see in our time…I agree. However, 6-4 and 10-0…that is a big difference.
You think Saban would have kept Kirby if they had our stats last year on defense? Giving up over 350 on the ground in the biggest game of the past how many years in our program? If we can’t hold CMR accountable for that and he doesn’t coach either side of the ball, how are we suppossed to evaluate him?
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“You think Saban would have kept Kirby if they had our stats last year on defense?”
He would have hired Todd away from us and made us more verklempt than usual:
“Todd is an outstanding coach, coached on our staff way back at Michigan State. That seems like a long time ago. But had a lot of good experience in the NFL. I’ve always been really close to Todd professionally and personally. I think he’s done a phenomenal job there (at Georgia). There are some similarities in the system and scheme they use relative to what we use. But I just think he has done a really good job. (He) has his own ideas and methods about how he does it. I think their players play extremely well. I think that always has something to do with the coach, the system, (and) how it’s taught. They do a really good job.”
“If you’re going to rank assistants, he’s one of the two or three best I’ve ever had on our staff. Did a phenomenal job for us. I certainly have a lot of respect for what he’s done at Georgia.”
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-georgia-sports/2012/11/25/nick-saban-gives-some-love-to-todd-grantham/
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Meh. What does Nick Saban know about defense?
No DC would look good with a special teams giving the other team points, the offense disappearing for long stretches of games, offensive/special teams turnovers, and like 8 or 9 new starters (most of whom are underclassmen). Especially if they faced our schedule.
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So the new narrative is that our stinking offense is to blame for our bad defense, even though scoring buckets of points means our defense regularly faces opponents starting on their own 25. The defense is off the hook for causing turnovers but the offense is required not to have any, and our DC was unfairly blindsided by the notion that student athletes graduate and must be replaced by younger students.
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Not what I said.
And actually opposing offenses often have good field position against us. Was it Vandy whose average starting field position was the Georgia 48? I forget.
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I think it was Vandy in the second half.
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What has to happen to get B-M “wired that way”?
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Nothing. It is not just BM….it is the University and the way it views itself as an academic institution. That is not going to change, and I doubt many of us here want it to, when the chips are down.
The administration at Georgia is never again going to give any football coach even the power Dooley had. And I don’t mean just the president of the University. He answers to the BOR and they are much more interested in the academic integrity of the University than in the football program.
What we all have to do is recognize this and realize that Mark Richt is a truly unusual, and damn near perfect coach for us.
He did not get this from Bobby. Mark Richt is his own man and has his own world view that just by happenstance does not conflict with the Institutional World View.
Nick Saban would never take a job in Athens…he took the job in Tuscaloosa because they agreed to give him everything he needed to get the job done in the way they wanted it done.
This is not meant to knock Bama in any way. Bama sees its mission one way. Georgia sees its mission another way. There is no right or wrong.
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Everybody read this, and don’t be offended. Come to Jesus moment right here.
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Nailed it.
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Dunno. Armed revolution, maybe.
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🙂
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Firing them all and replacing them with those “wired” the right way. That’s what it would take.
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Two plays define the complete opposite of what could have been for The Bulldog Nation. The last play of the SEC title game and the Hail Mary last Saturday. Both ended with our players making “effort” plays. One on Bobo the other on TG. Players play and coaches Im still not 100% sold on TG but one things for sure we return 10 starters on defense and open with Clemson minus Boyd and Watkins. Should see some improvement.
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Recent history seems to indicate two outcomes of coaching changes when performance is subpar. When a coaching staff loses the administration (TN with Fulmer, TTech with Leach, etc.) the results aren’t what was intended. When a coaching staff loses the players (Auburn with Chizic, USC with Kiffin, Texas with Diaz, etc.) the results are much improved. This isn’t scientific and not intended to prove anything but it doesn’t appear that our kids have given up on their coaches. Another example is Florida when Meyer was on his way out. He had lost those players.
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While not directly on topic, one thing I’ve heard from a few people close to the program, which if true I think needs to change immediately, is that Richt and company refuse to practice at full speed consistently. If true, I’d like to see a coach, whether currently on staff, or new to the program impress upon the current coaches the importance of going full tilt to be truly ready for premier competition. It would certainly explain some of the issues on defense which is by definition reactionary. If you practice at 80% speed, gameday reaction time won’t be fast enough against good and great competition.
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Keeping Grantham and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. I don’t consider CTG a top recruiter for the simple fact that we’ve missed on many, if not most, of the top D players from GA – Tuitt, Nkemdiche, M. Adams, Lawson, etc. FWIW I didn’t consider RG a top recruiter (or much of a coach) for the past several years either – he got by on reputation until malzahn forced him to bust his butt.
I don’t know who the hot DC’s are as replacements. I thought Warren Belin did well as our LB/ST coach, so we could interview him. For those who like Wilson – how could he do worse than CTG? CMR has done pretty good picking lesser-known assistants like Belin and Wilson from other sec programs, so I see that as a logical course. Otherwise, I’d look at colleges where up-and-coming DCs have begun to establish credentials.
Many folks seem to hate BVG, although I think CMR longs for those days of a dependable D. BVG wouldn’t surprise me at all, because he’s an easy pick if CMR doesn’t want to work hard on a search – and that seems to be CMR’s modus opperandi when hiring assistants. I liked Gary Gibbs when he was at UGA, but he’s over 60 and probably not leaving KC Chiefs to coach for us. I doubt we get some old retread, so I’m not gonna weigh in on it. Again, I think we’re looking at up-and-comers.
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I want S&C in the hands of someone with an advanced degree in kinesiology. We’re taking steps with Sherman Armstrong to put S&C under professional management, but we’ve still got a ways to go. I’ll admit the limitations of my expertise, but I’m coming at this from two angles:
1. How few of our players physically look like they play at the same level of competition as their counterparts at Bama, LSU, Stanford, Oregon, Mizzou, etc., and
2. The regular and widespread nature of the injuries that annually hold this program back.
I love Joe T and I love the inspiration he provides to the players. But we need some science to back up the rah-rah stuff.
I’d hand out the “significant improvement” mandate to the following:
Grantham: If you want to make the “what must be done eventually may as well be done immediately” argument here, I won’t disagree with you. The youth argument usually wears thin for me after the Florida game.
Lakatos: The youth excuse goes away next year. Time to see your pups grow up.
Will Friend: I am constantly reading about how Bobo’s playcalling success rises and falls with his ability to scheme around the inconsistency of Friend’s unit. We’re going into year 4 with Friend. Will, please don’t let me find you next year in the spot that Todd Grantham finds himself this year.
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the only coaching gripes i have are personnel goofs at corner and the continuing puzzlement of our corners as they come to the line of scrimmage trying to figure out the coverage.
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I am disappointed. I expected far more from Grantham at this point. I understand youth, blah, blah. Why are we always talking about youth, blah, blah, with respect to our defense, but not our offense? Why don’t we hear that youth crap from Alabama every few years? LSU?
I like Richt. I don’t think we’ll ever get a better head coach. But, he needs a really, really short leash on Grantham.
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For the most part, I’m not really the type of guy who is angry at coaches (or sports in general), just disappointed. Then I try to look at things calmly and analytically. I understand the “grass is always greener” mentality is pervasive, but I also know that sometimes a step up at a spot here or there can make a huge difference.
If I were the head coach and/or AD, here’s what I would like to see changed:
* Will Friend – he was hired in February of 2011 and has gone all the way through 2 signing classes. In those classes (per 247 sports) we got John Theus (5*), Greg Pyke (3*), Mark Beard (3* JUCO) in 2012 and Brandon Kublanow (4*), Josh Cardiello (3*), Aulden Bynum (3*), and Glenn Welch (2*). We also signed DeVondre Seymour (3*), but he didn’t make it into school. That’s a pretty unimpresssive bunch overall, though Kublanow looks promising. But we’re in a lot of trouble if we get 1 mediocre starter and 1 promising-looking reserve out of 8 players over a span of 2 years. Last year we lost Tunsil at the last second and tomorrow we are likely to lose David Sharpe, two players we had a very good chance of landing. But, to me, the worst part is that with the 2011 spring and summer, the 2011 season, the 2012 spring and summer, the 2012 season, the 2013 spring and summer, and almost the entirety of the 2013 season Friend has yet to patch together a reliable group. We have never done a good job protecting Murray and Friend has been here for 3 of those 4 years. I’m not the biggest Bobo fan, but any OC looks a lot better with a good offensive line (look at Bama’s OCs). Will Friend would be the first one to go for me. I would throw absurd money at Bob Bostad, currently with the Tampa Bay Bucs, although Schiano and his staff may not last past this year. He was the guy behind all those great offensive lines at Wisconsin.
* Scott Lakatos – I’m not totally sure that Lakatos needs to go. However, I question his prowess as a recruiter and his players in the secondary have a tendency to make some boneheaded mistakes. Last year’s secondary was actually quite good. However, Swann was the only player in that entire secondary who was recruited by the current defensive staff. Shawn Williams, Bacarri Rambo, Branden Smith, and Sanders Commings were all here when Lakatos arrive in Athens.
The safety play this year has been inconsistent at best. JHC and Tray look decent back there but Quincy Mauger has been pretty bad. Corey Moore, a junior, plays very poorly on the backend. Swann struggles, but I think he is trying to do too much and he has been let down by the safeties for big plays a few times, making him look worse than he is. In my mind, Lakatos is an alright coach and an alright recruiter. JHC was recruited as an OLB by Grantham. Tray Matthews was recruited by Lilly and Grantham. Wiggins is possibly Lakatos’s only good CB signing. Reggie Wilkerson was a starter at G-Day and looked promising, but, unfortunately, he has been out hurt all year. That doesn’t explain why Sheldon Dawson isn’t ready to play significant time, why Moore is so bad, why Swann is struggling, why Bowman can’t play, etc. Nick Marshall may have been a great player for us, but losing Chris Sanders and Quintavious Harrow shouldn’t have hurt us that badly. 2012 would have been the year to focus on DB recruiting because we had veteran starters. Instead we got: Sheldon Dawson annnnnnnnnnnnnd that’s it. You just can’t only take 1 DB in a signing class anyway when you need to have so many on campus.
I would love to have Travaris Robinson at this spot. He is the best recruiter in the country and a stellar DB coach. Even if Lakatos is doing an ok job, it would still be a huge upgrade to get Robinson in his position.
That’s all I would want to change right now.
Other possible thoughts:
* Kirk Olivadotti – Coach Olivadotti is a very good ILB coach. He is an ok ST coach and a mediocre recruiter. He was hired at the same time as Will Friend, February of 2011. He inherited Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson. Belin also signed Kent Turene who ended up at Marshall after having to go to prep school. Since then we have signed 0 ILBs in the 2012 class and Tim Kimbrough (4*), Ryne Rankin (3*), Reggie Carter (4*), and Johnny O’Neal (4*) in 2013. I remember reading earlier this year that the staff was looking to move Paris Bostick from safety to ILB as well, a la Alec Ogletree. That’s actually a pretty good looking group and he has done a great job with Amarlo and Ramik. Ramik has improved a ton this year. While I hate losing Reuben Foster to Bama and likely losing Raekwon McMillan this year to Ohio State, this could become a pretty good group and we will return both starters next year. Detric Dukes looks to be a decent commit for the 2014 class and we may yet get a few more ILBs. I have to wonder if our ILB recruiting suffered in 2012 because Olivadotti was coming straight for the NFL and his daughter was battling cancer. If his daughter’s illness held back his recruiting for one year, I have trouble asking for the guy’s job over that. He really is a very good position coach.
* Mike Bobo – I’m not asking for Bobo to be fired. He has steadily improved. But I would like for him to continue to change the offense. We ran a ton of 3 back pistol against South Carolina and then it just disappeared. Last year we went 5-wide for the first time in Georgia history and that has gone away (I know that we have had a lot of WR injuries this year, but we could have used it against Clemson). I just want to see him continue to do interesting things. And I would fire ANYBODY if it meant the offense would stop the weird stretches of futility. It is so strange to see the offense just fall apart for long stretches of the game. This year it happened at Clemson, it happened at Auburn, it happened against Mizzou (with 4 turnovers!) and it happened against Vanderbilt. It also happened against Florida and North Texas. That drives me crazy and I don’t really know what the problem is nor do I know the solution. I do think that hiring someone like Todd Monken (if Southern Miss fires him this year) to replace Bobo (if Bobo moves on) could make a positive difference here. However, I’m not eagerly calling for Bobo’s job. I just think that it’s possible we could improve here. If Bobo would call the game like he does when we are trailing and running out of time, then I don’t think I would have any problems with him.
* Todd Grantham – Saved him for last because I know he’s the most controversial right now. Like Bobo, I think we could do better here but I’m not eagerly asking for his head. The defense has improved this year (but not nearly as much as we may have hoped). I wonder how much losing Wilkerson for the year and the injuries to Tray Matthews have hurt us this year on that side of the ball. With the possible exception of Lakatos, he has done an exceptional job hiring assistant coaches. I don’t think there is anything wrong with his scheme – Bama, FSU, and Florida run the same scheme we do (multiple defense, base 34, pattern-matching coverage). He may not be the best at game-planning and he may not be the best at in-game adjustments – I’m not sure. However, I have seen us shut down some teams in the 2nd half when the defense was struggling to start the game. His players play hard for him and they clearly respect him and the staff. He also really turned around the defense when he got here and his defense played a big part in us beating Florida in 2011 and 2012 when the offense struggled. I wouldn’t be surprised if the defense improves significantly going into next year. A healthy Wilkerson and Matthews could make a huge difference. I also think that the defense has struggled with some adversity and too many times this year they were left in a bad position (STs allowing TDs, offensive turnovers, STs turnovers, too many three and outs in a row, bad punts, long stretches without any scoring, etc.) This has been a rough year in that regard.
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Oh!
And…
* Strength and Conditioning – We need someone who can compete with Alabama, Florida, and Oregon. I think we have some good parts in place, but it’s not the same. They have insane, over-the-top, state-of-the-art programs. We do not seem to have the same kind of program.
* Front Office – We should be hiring more QC consultants, building an indoor practice facility (if Richt wants one), paying whatever we need to to get good coaches, etc. Our AD needs to commit to winning and stop worrying about stockpiling money. We sure do make a lot of money for a nonprofit.This could make a big difference almost immediately.
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“Our AD needs to commit to winning and stop worrying about stockpiling money”
Stockpiling money is the winning to which our Management is committed
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It’s working for Apple.. 😉
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For Apple stockpiling money *is* winning.
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For UGA it is, too.
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I’d say a possible fix for replacing Friend and getting Bobo to continue to improve the offense/keep his foot on the gas would be hiring Baylor’s offensive line coach.
They run tempo, they run spread, but also are very dedicated to power running and play-action passes.
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Their scheme is so different. I would rather bring over their whole offensive staff.
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Grantham is my “has to go” pick. I have simply lost confidence after last year with the talent he had and a system that wasn’t new. This year sealed the deal with the scheme that is obviously too complex and isn’t signaled in with time to be prepared. I was expecting some fall off due to youth but they never got better, especially in the secondary where we are rarely in the same zip code with receivers (until the one play I wish they weren’t.) Lakatos is certainly questionable due to DB performance, just not sure how much of that is him, and how much is CTG. I also feel Grantham is a bad fit from a chemistry standpoint. Pay the $900K, it is chump change compared to the upside of a $100MM program. I cannot be confident about nextyear without some optimism about the defense.
I am not in a position to judge replacements but names like Shannon, Foster, etc., all sound like good options, along with folks like the UNT DC. I only know I don’t want guys like Smart. Muschamp, etc., who are still looking to be a HC and will interview every year until they leave and hurt us at recruiting time. Give me a veteran who would love to make his mark at UGA for 10+ years and can communicate with players still in development.
The OL is a major concern, and has been since 2002 for me. I don’t know if it is Friend, or not, but I feel it is our recruiting and talent evaluation. Someone with connections into the Midwest would be a huge asset, teams from that area seem to have the road graders we need, not fat 300+ pound guys with bellies hanging over their belt. We neither run block. nor pass block, well….especially at the tackle position. And we haven’t in a decade.
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You say it so well. I have never called for any Coaches head at GEORGIA, But I am calling for Grantham’s. He’s very self important and the only Coach in College Football that has the right to be that is Little Nicky!
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Kentucky and Vanderbilt are ahead of us in scoring defense this year. Let that sink in for a minute. Our D coordinator should be relieved immediately following the Tech game.
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I would like to be rid of Grantham. I don’t know enough to judge whether his scheme is the problem. But, I’ve seen too many personnel penalties coming out of time outs, and linebackers/D-backs shrugging feverishly as the ball is snapped.
Who are we going to get? I’m firmly with you in the camp that is tired of seeing the names Smart, Chavis, Foster, Muschamp, and Pollack thrown around. We might as well propose cloning Erk Russel and letting him coach.
I have always really liked Bumpas, from TCU. I think Mason, from Stanford, and Mattison, from Michigan would also be upgrades. If we can’t get a big name from a big school, maybe Elko, from Bowling Green. Perhaps McGarity could be persuaded to buy out Grantham if we could replace him with a MAC coach at a bargain basement price.
If the new DC wants to get rid of Lakatos, fine with me. The only thing I can say about our secondary this year versus Willie’s final year is that these kids are bigger.
As for Friend, I’m ambivalent. Last year was a good coaching job. This year is a bad coaching job. Fortunately for us, Bobo has improved enough to mitigate many of the OL’s failures this year.
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Grantham needs to go. Last year, he had a squad full of NFL talent and could not get them to perform. This year, he has a squad full of talented, but inexperienced players and they are performing poorly. Coaching is about getting the most out of what you have to work with and improving performance as lessons are learned and mistakes are corrected. UGA is not doing that on defense and really never has under Grantham.
Also, we need to hire a Director of Strength and Conditioning that is actually educated in the field and will put together a successful program. Our current one would not get an interview as an assistant at most places with his lack of credentials.
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Last year’s defense finished 18th in scoring defense.
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18th with that loaded roster was terrible just goes to show that our ceiling with grantham is mediocrity and the floor is horrendous.
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A few stars, a few very good players, no real depth and lots of suspensions and little injuries.
They were really good when we actually had everyone on the field.
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which game was that exactly? the 44 we gave up to a terrible tennessee team in week 5?, the 35 to SC in week 6, or how about bowl game, were we good by then?
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Tennesse’s offense had 2 NFL receivers and a gunslinger QB. We also had a pick 6 and lost 2 fumbles (one that was returned to our 8 yard line and the other to our 18). The defense picked off Bray 3 times.The defense held Tennessee to 8-15 on third down while we went 6-11. Pretty good game for our offense, but 3 turnovers, especially a pick 6 and a fumble inside the 10 and one inside the 20. That’s not all on the defense.
And I’m already ok with replacing Lakatos.
And you can’t blame the defense alone for that South Carolina game either. The offense was effectively shut out (1 garbage TD) and South Carolina scored on a punt return TD.That was enough to lose the game right there and that was on the special teams.
Murray was 11/31 for 109 yards with 0 TDs and a pick. We were 7-16 on third down (bad for the offense). South Carolina was 5-12 (good for the defense). When we score 1 TD with 1:55 left in the game, we have 224 total yards of offense and it’s the defense’s fault we lost the game. Mmmmmhmmmmmmm.
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And gave up 200 yards rushing to Kentucky.
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Look no further than last years numbers on the ground against Vandy a 48-3 win with #3 and #4 going over 200yds over 8yds per touch on the ground and 4TD’s. Then fast fwd with the two frosh playing in Nashville. Huge drop off 116yds zero TD’s. Missing that kind of speed and skill at RB hurt us more than anything this yr. Injuries will go down as the biggest disclaimer for the 2013 season.
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This is the state of the program when Vandy is your gauge
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Vanderbilt absolutely shut down our offense for the entire second half.
The offense was missing 3 starters. The defense was missing JHC, Tray Matthews, and Ray Drew (after the ejection). 3 starters. So, there’s that.
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I could use 122yds and 2TD’s #3 had in the SEC title gm? Its not the who we played card, its who didn’t play. Vandy is the team I choose to show the gap between the starters at RB and those sitting at 4 or 5 on the depth chart. Bottom line we are a different team with those guys in the one up. Teams must account for them every snap. Did you see what A&M did the following week to Vandy with zero offensive starters out?
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Ole Miss doesn’t have a Todd Gurley.
I get that we were missing our best player, but that doesn’t excuse an entire half of offensive futility. 1 TD in the second half wins that game. 1. Against a defense that gave up 51 to the team before us and 56 to the team after, we scored 27. We still had Murray, Conley, Wooten, Lynch, Hicks, and the entire 2-deep at OL. And Douglas and Green are pretty good freshmen. It was a shameful performance all around.
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Ole Miss didn’t give Vandy two freebies on a muffed punt and a ball snapped over the punters head. 14pts. Nor did they have two bogus targeting penalties called on them that kept scoring drives alive. Game was clearly lost by our ST.
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Yeah, but they hit that magic 30 number, so #FireToddGrantham
That game was a true team loss. Except that the defense forced a few turnovers and scored a defensive TD.
And Vandy scored on a fake FG (special teams), got the ball at the Georgia 33 off a fumble (offense), and got the ball at the Georgia 13 off of a blown punt (special teams).
And the offense in the second half did this:
4 plays, punt.
12 plays FG
3 and out
3 and out
3 and out, messed up the punt
3 plays, a first down because of PI, then throw an INT
INT to end the game.
So, the 2nd half was 1 first down and then 3 and out, a FG drive, 3 3 and outs, and 2 interceptions. Woof.
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Murray and Gurley have made people look good, real good, better than they actually are good. The O line has been a point of weakness since Richt arrived. Hell, Mark Richt is here today because of BVG’d defenses. The offense under David Greene and Co. weren’t near as powerful as they are now. Those days the offense had to score 17 or so to win. Can you Imagine Georgia with a dominant O line with all the skilled talent over the last 13 years?
Everybody keeps talking about one play away from the MNC. They forget that Georgia was 10 points up and blew it. Georgia played 2 good teams last year. They lost to both. People talk about beating Florida for 3 years in a row, have they been good? I would argue that the SEC east has been down and Georgia has under performed with shit load of talent. Georgia is the NEW / OLD FSU. Win by out talenting them. That is why Georgia can’t beat a top shelf team and take it to the next level.
Defense…..these guys are lost ..next
Richt is the issue, and people won’t get rid of him. He is hard headed and slow in reacting. Similar to the way I think he handles this year. Gurley will return for a final year with what?? The defense is not going to be better and the O line will continue to be a spot of weakness. Don’t believe me, then go get a milkshake with Joe T and talk about old times.
The Georgia you are have witnessed the last 4 years is all Georgia will be. For whatever reason you want to pick. It has been hard to accept it, but I think I have learned to accept mediocrity like the rest of the Disneys. Moral victories and excuses have become the norm. It is a culture that has been created because it has been tolerated.
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UF was ranked second in the country in 2012 when Georgia won.
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and went on to give Teddy Bridgewater credibility in the Sugar Bowl.
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The same Teddy Bridgewater that all the NFL scouts were, and still are, salivating over?
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the question to you as why UGA should be settling for a head coach who is in the bottom half of the SEC in desire, recruiting, roster management, preparation, player development and on-field adjustments (Or worse….passion?). you are such a richt ass-kisser
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Richt must be head and shoulders above the rest of the coaches in the SEC at something because if he digs himself that big a hole and still wins 70% of his games…<—sarcasm
bottom half of the SEC in passion? Please rank coaches on passion. Please. Not because I will give it any weight, but because I think it would be hilarious.
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You want passion m*****f*****? YOU GOT IT!!!1!!11!!!
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Then go somewhere they’ll agree with you, jackass.
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You “mediocrity under Richt” whiners are the worst. If you don’t understand how hamstrung a UGA coach is due to the unlevel playing field brought about by varying standards on over-signing and drug/alcohol policy differences the you have no clue. Alabama signs an entire additional recruiting class more than Georiga EVERY 4 years simply due to the lack of consistent standards. And there aren’t 10 schools in the entire country in D1 who adhere as strictly to suspending athletes for so many “minor” infractions, only one is the same in the SEC for the over-signing issue, and one other for zero tolerance with drug and alcohol.
I would love to see the NCAA set standards and have all schools adhere to them, but until you do, we are handicapped relative to the vast majority of schools we are compared to. When those are standardized, then you can compare apples to apples. We had 67 scholarship athletes in the SECCG last year for Christ’s sake. And if you consider what UGA has done under CMR as “mediocrity”, then you do not even understand the definition of the word.
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In summary Alabama has made the move to semi-pro ball while Georgia continues to cling to its amateur status.
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Pretty accurate Homey….its that undefineable “institutional will” thingamabober.
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Why was he down to 67? The dream team came along during the hot seat period. They got some “questionable” characters because Georgia was down on talent. Richt’s roster management has been on him also.
Yes, Georgia can’t be Alabama because of the ” handcuffs” surrounding the program.. Look at the coaching and see the differences in Georgia and Alabama. Does Bama juggle all the O-lineman trying to find a good front in the 10th game? How about tackling, is there a difference? Special teams? Somebody said it earlier, Georgia will beat themselves, but you gotta beat Bama. Wonder if Bama does / did directional kicking.
FSU of the 90’s are very similar to UGA. For the reasons I stated.
Next year’s excuse will be “breaking in a new qb”. Bank it, and the trouble with teams that have similar talent will continue.
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The hell are you talking about? Are you comparing FSU of the nineties to UGA of recent vintage? FSU didn’t finish out of the top 5 for a decade! Two national championships! Generally, kicked everyones ass. How are you comparing the two?
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Because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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Because the ACC was a given for them. Talent wise, they were far and away better than anybody else in their conference. That alone set them up for runs at the MNC every year. Who else did the ACC have? Put that FSU team in the SEC and see how many losses they rack up. Even when the SEC wasn’t what it is today.I think it would be very similar to Georgia. When FSU played teams of equal or more talent, what happened?
Over the last 10 years, put Georgia in the ACC. Would Richt have a MNC? I say yes, or at least played for it.
The coaching at Georgia hasn’t been there and will continue to not be there. Georgia beats the majority of opponents on talent, just like the FSU of the 90’s. Difference is FSU was not playing the schedule Georgia is playing. Like I said, put Georgia in the ACC for the last 10 years and see what the results would be..
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Talent. We throw that word around too much. “Undeveloped talent is almost a proverb.” (Sorry Calvin) Talent is a means to measure the raw tools a given player possesses. Skill is developed once those talents are refined into a productive resource. With so much youth and some injury along with the CTG penchant for developing players for use in versatile roles, practice time is spread out over multiple positions. This prepares players to play multiple positions but it retards a player developing a skill quickly and thoroughly at their prime position. These limitations would be compounded given youth and inexperience at the college level and a players ability to absorb it all. That imho leads to confusion and hesitancy in live game action. Wouldn’t this be particularly noticeable at LB, CB and safety? I’ve also wondered if all our cross training along the O line leads to problems there. That and that fact that we have guards playing tackle and have under recruited but I digress.
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How did Nick Marshall get accepted at Georgia? The post game interview was priceless and would be a funny joke except he got into Georgia before Auburn.
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UGA led the SEC in scoring offense in 2002…(and was 4th in scoring defense BTW) and was 3rd in the SEC in total offense in 2004…
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Stats are huge in influence. Marshall Morgan you are just behind the SEC leader in scoring, Tre Mason who is on a BCS team, MNC contender team, leading rushing team in SEC, has 2 of the leading rushers in SEC.
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TG ranks 76 in D1 rushers. AU has 2 in top 50. Then you have to get into the 200’s to find Green and Douglas. Receivers, well, you will have to scroll down a lot to find the first Dawg. Murray, averaging one pic per game.
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Dude. Auburn practically runs the single wing. Of course they have prolific runners. We have the nation’s best running back who has been hobbled with injuries for most of the season. And Green and Douglas started the year #3 and #4 on the depth chart. If you’re not in the game, you can’t rack up gaudy stats.
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Fire Grantham. 20 thirty point games and at least 4 every season since he arrived. Last 13 ranked teams have all scored 30 or more except the sole game against Florida and 6 of them scored over 40. Even when loaded we were mediocre at best.
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All on a 6-4 team, not in top 25, but received “mention”. A very young, inexperienced team, injured riddled, unfavorable schedule. A team with the same road record as LSU. Maybe we can have Wagers call more Auburn games if they are scheduled back to back in Athens. Add Carolina and LSU to that schedul
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I’d like to add another thing. I think early in the year the problems were youth in the secondary. I think we have improved there, somewhat. Our D has been reasonably good on 1st & 2nd downs. Would love to see the comparison on YPP or PPP for 1st/2nd vs 3rd down.
What I’m getting at is I think it has something to do with how Grantham calls the game. I’m no expert but we seem to get better results when we’re aggressive. One of Van Gorder’s strengths was calling a great Defensive game. I remember Pollack speaking in awe of how well BVG called Defensive plays in a game. It also takes talent and fundamentals. We have the talent…..
I have no replacement option but I’m sure there are several good position coaches with SEC experience that are ready to make the move to DC.
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I’m wary of that approach. Wilson was an excellent position coach who appeared ready for the DC reins. He wasn’t. Bobo was an excellent position coach who took a good while to develop into an excellent coordinator. I would rather get a proven DC, even from another conference (even a non-AQ conference) than hope a position coach can translate to being a good coordinator.
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In addition to coaching changes, schedule changes, S&C changes, and etc, I would suggest CMR have a “suspension policy”. Next Marshall or Mettenburg do not dismiss so they become starters on 2 of your opposing teams in one year. Hold in reserve as a “preferred walk off” or as “consideration for future compm
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What impact does the Butts-Mehre culture have on the program. Bama and Auburn have a culture and a program. But me thinks West culture is changing. When you see the stats on MSU and Ole Miss and what will happen at Arkansas. The SEC office “favored teams” are in for a culture change.
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Todd needs to go. I and a lot of us have been saying since the 2nd year that his scheme is too complex for college where the players are restricted to 20 hours per week. The scheme is the DC’s main contribution to the team. The tackling, blocking, coverage, ball handling etc. are the responsibility of the position coaches. Just look at the ILB’s they lead the team in tackles. Our DL and OLB on the other hand have made plays to put them into position to make a tackle only to whiff. It seems the DB’s are good if they are in position at breaking up passes (forget Auburn) but are weak in run support.
I’d fire Todd because I would rather have the Chinese Bandit defense than the Chinese Fire Drill defense we have now.
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I’d get rid of Grantham. The reasins have been discussed enough above. I’d look at Jim Leavitt or Gene Chizik as replacements.
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Chizik’s biggest accomplishment was winning the bidding war for Cam Newton.
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Auburn never had an above average defense when Chizik was head coach.
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Chizik had a couple of top five defenses at Auburn and led the country in scoring defense in 2004. Maybe you and I have different definitions of “above average”.
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Tuberville was in charge of the defense, IIRC.
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or maybe we just have different definitions of “head coach” 😉
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You’re right. Missed your qualifier there. Mea culpa. I still think he could be a pretty solid coordinator though.
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On the flip side of the coin, Georgia needs to give Bobo a big raise. Even if only as matter of principle.
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Yeah I agree. He’s performed way above his pay-grade IMO
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Also more important than football, it appears Kirk Olivadotti’s daughter is now cancer free so great news there.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/11/19/2810064/olivadottis-daughter-is-officially.html
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+1 Nice thought.
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+1000. Great prespective
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I honestly have a bigger problem with ADGM that I do do w/ the coaches.
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A different target for sure but there is plenty of material available for that discussion. I understood when Vince sat on the piles of money, he is one really cheap SOB personally, and was influenced by the generation he was brought up in, but McFrugal came along in the days of opening the check book and investing for 21st century success. He has no excuse for the myopic decisions he is making. I am generally a fiscal conservative but not investing enough resources to maintain your growth rate will cause you to fall behind competition faster than any other way. We are going to get shot dead because we are afraid to fire the bullets we have due to the coast of replacing them. Crazy.
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Well I would say that Tennessee sure has shot it’s share of bullets and shot their wad in doing so. How is that working? ” to maintain your growth rate “? Seems like our growth rate is fine. We aren’t one of the ” wealthy few” in college ball by accident. You will be pissing away Georgia’s fiscal stability Unless the the DNA of Georgia becomes similar to Alabama. And that ain’t happening sir. Alabama spends and they best keep winning to keep spending.
just sayin’
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It was never my intention to piss away our financial stability, there is a lot of room between our current position and that of TN. I also feel the idea we could not spend wisely may be pre-mature. I don’t consider spending $900K, one time, to get rid of what many are seeing as a major problem with this team’s success (CTG) as wasteful. I also don’t think upgrading facilities for an indoor practice facility is out of line given our HC has been begging for 10 years for one (a HC that is underpaid by comparative standards, enough so that what we saving on his salary would pay for the facility in 10 years. In a way, I feel he would have already paid for about $10MM of that total cost on his own by making $2-3MM and not $5MM a year.)
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Short & Sweet….Richt ‘retires’….UGA hires Kirby Smart as head coach. Hopefully this is already in the works.
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It’s possible. Richt kind of has that look this year like this is it. Kirby would be our coach for a very long time, but he’d have a long discussion about our suspension policies before he took the job.
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I’d go for Gene Chizik purely for recruiting alone. Got Newton. Maybe he could shutdown the flow of players from Georgia to Auburn, Clemson, Bama, and now Ole Miss & Vandy. Or Coach O at USC. Or the former D& HC at UF & Indiana. Do you think T Matthews sends Marshall to the showers with a pic. No doubt!
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Targeting. 15 yards + 15 minute penalty box. 4th quarter cares to next game for unexpired time. Dawgs are the benficiary of one in UK game.
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I want a mirror image of Nick Saban’s program. From S/C coaches, to nutritionist, to recruiting coordinators and staffers, to the GA’s. CMR’s coaching tree should look just like Saban’s (and the 60 coaches that were hired away somewhere else). I want our coaches to eat what Saban’s coaches eat, drink sleep when they sleep. I want the same exact stretching exercises, drills, and practice times all the way down to pregame meals and same color Gatorade. I want the same killer demanding instinct to finish off the opponent. I want the same exact demand on the students to stay at the games. I want our coaches to have their coaches’ wireless and data plans. Drive the same cars. Give me their Netflix queue while you’re at it. I want this program to look so much like Nick Saban, I’m willing to contribute $$$ right now for a statue of him outside the stadium for being an “outstanding contributor” to the UGA football program. I’m exhausted with satisfaction of perpetual mediocrity.
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Your issue isn’t with Richt. It’s with McGarity and Morehead. There is literally no chance that McGarity, even if he wanted to, would be allowed to hire an additional 25 support staff to match Bama’s football operations personnel. I have no doubt that Richt would happily accept the help. But it’s not happening.
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McGarity could if he fired 25 hangers-on at B-M who basically do nothing except take up space and cash a check.
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You’re asking government to become more efficient? Would you also like a pony?
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I want Grantham gone. A loaded defense was middling (by SEC standards) a year ago, and this year’s defense is a disaster. Youth aside, there’s far too much talent on hand for them to be this bad. Even in his best year, the defense still had some frustrating meltdowns. I’m not going to pretend to know who can come in and succeed. Muschamp would probably be an upgrade if he gets fired at Florida. The guy at Baylor seems to be working wonders this year with that defense. Whoever is coordinating at Stanford is doing a fine job. Perhaps there’s someone at a lower level who could also be an improvement. The only thing I know for certain is that Georgia is wasting $800,000 a year on the current defensive coordinator. Any mediocre DC out there could get these results.
I’m also not high on Friend right now, but he’s only in his second year, and the offensive line seemed improved a year ago (skill talent may have covered for a lot of issues, I’ll grant you).
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At the end of the 2007 football season my son’s football coach (who I played high school football with in the early 80’s and highly respect) said “Georgia will never will a national championship with Mark Richt as coach, he lacks the killer instinct and discipline necessary to win a National Championship. After the Alabama game the following year he reiterated that statement and said see, “no killer instinct, not enough discipline”. Compare the Auburn game this year to 2008 Alabama. He’s right. Now, where does that leave us? I can’t think of a coach I’d rather have as our coach, so we’ll just have to wait for Satan to go to Texas, then maybe we’ll get our shot. Worked for Dooley with the Bear didn’t it?
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Maybe your son’s coach could come coach for us.
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What are you 12 fucking years old or some woman? Everytime someone makes a point about how shitty Richt is you cry like your Richt cherry just got popped. Damn son man up
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When they stop rehashing the same lame business over and over, I’ll stop defending him.
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Well, when you’re talking about the winningest coach in school history, it does make you sound a little silly.
The SECCG had been around 9 years before he came. We had been to ZERO of them as the East Champion. In the 13 years since he’s been coach, we’ve been to 5. That’s kind of all you need to know.
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That comment just showed me who you are and why your opinion is worthless.
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Past years we all said “Dawgs are #1, we missed our shot.” I can think of a couple. Next year, playoff. Who here thinks UGA this year would not have been one of the top 4 teams in the country minus injuries; I know that is part of the game. Everything changes next year. Stand pat I say. Hard lessons learned, and injuries healed. Bet we get sum. Hate it for AM though, but I think someone gets him in the 2nd round this year.
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Before it all starts though can I say, Fire Mark Richt and hire away the Dread Pirate, AAAARGH.
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I’m sure he’s better than I give him credit for, but would like to let Friend go. Hire Bob Bostad from Tampa Bay when the Bucs staff is all fired along with Schiano (he was formerly OL coach at Wisconsin before joining the Bucaneers). He might not be looking to return to college coaching though, but in my dream world, that’s the move.
And in addition to that, hire a handful more S&C coaches, and a handful of “quality control assistants” former HS, college, and pro coaches looking to stay around the game ala Kevin Steele at Bama. Watch film, give Richt advise, notice what we do wrong, do right, all that good stuff. With at least one if not 2 of the handful (3+) being devoted to special teams play so we don’t need to subtract/add a full ST coach, we can let Richt take a larger role there with better advise from the off field assistant coaches.
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I’ve had time to calm down from Saturday’s game but in doing so I realized that UGA will never win a MNC w/ Richt as the head coach. He is a GREAT man a decent coach, but with the recruiting talent in the state of GA these days, anyone doing a “decent” coaching job can win the 9-10 games per year that Richt has. Some years that will get him somewhere (see 2011 and 2012) but in other years it doesn’t. It’s time for a change just to shake things up. Even SOS knew that 12 years was long enough at one school (his alma mater). I’m not worried about going down like UT because we have the in-state resources (recruiting) to stay above most everyone else. Hell, we’re doing that now. The SEC has changed since Richt won it and we’re left doing the same things.
What I don’t like is “almost”. We almost won the MNC, we almost got to play for the SEC in 2007, we almost lost that game because we played not to lose, we almost always play down to our opponent, we almost always have a bonehead play, we almost always have multiple players suspended for the opener, we almost came back to beat them, we almost always shit the bed against one team per year, etc. If there is a change in the HC, at least I won’t have to be teased about this is almost our year, game, championship, etc. Either it will be or it won’t be, it’s that simple.
Listen, no one wins them all and there is no one like Nick Saban, I get that, but we shouldn’t be 6-4 with a non-contact fumble into the endzone the difference between that and 5-5. I’m done getting worked up over games until I see improvement and I don’t mean record either. No way in hell we should go to OT with UT this year, no way we should let UF back into the game, no way we start out flat against Auburn and not realize they were for real, no way we should be tied with N. Texas in the 3rd Q, no way Mason only sees 1Q of work this season, no way Vandy comes from behind to beat us.
If you gave me the opposing coach with our players, we’d have a better record than we do now. Our more talented players win us games, not the coaches. I’m tired of the status quo.
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^^This about where I am, too.
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Problem is, you’ve got to play the ‘almost’ for other games, too. We’re almost 10-0 as much as we’re almost 2-8. Can you please tell me the magical coach that can guarantee we go 12-0 and win multiple MNCs? I’ll gladly up my Hartman donation to pay him.
And I hate to tell you this, but the 2nd half vs UT and the whole game vs. Vandy, the opposing teams were trotting better skill talent out there due to our injuries.
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You really think Vandy has better talent than UGA (minus a few injuries)? if so, then our caoch really needs to go.
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No, but that day they had better skill talent. Matthews was the the best receiver on the field that day (minus Mitchell, JSW, and Bennett). Their RB would have started for us that day.
We should have won anyway, but that day, because of the injuries, they had more offensive weapons available.
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Oh…wait, did not Ed Orgeron coach the offensive line somewhere one time?
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DACOACHO was always a Dline coach, never a DC (I checked because I was curious).
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Oh…offense–defense, its all so confusing…
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Okay, seriously, no more Gene Chizek talk. If nothing more than that stupid fucking coat and turtle neck he wore on the sidelines. You cannot be taken seriously at all if you suggest we hire Gene Chizek. I’d rather Kevin Ramsey come back.
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Chizik is about as realistic as Spurrier taking over as HC.
I listen to Sirius college sport radio most days at work, and Chizik is on there several times a week. I hate to admit it in a way, but he is a pretty good commentator. I think he’s finally found something he’s good at.
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I think Grantham needs to be gone. After the UT game I realized that I enjoyed games a lot more by flipping the channel when we were on D. I didn’t do that under Willie or even Kevin Ramsey, so youth or not, it’s bad.
Would love to replace Lakatos with Travaris Robinson but doubt he makes a lateral move, and at 32 and only DB coach experience, I’m not sure he’s ready to make a leap to DC coach (partly do to Cool Breeze redux fears), but age aside, he has a similar bio to FSU’s Pruitt: led a top-shelf pass D and excellent recruiter.
I think if you surround him with some more experienced guys like Wilson and Olivadotti could balance out the youth. If it works we could have a young, very talented DC who’s also a great recruiter.
Then, as long as we’re dreaming and playing with other people’s money, we open the reserve fund for not only Balyor’s offensive line coach (to replace Friend, and teach Bobo the value of building really huge leads) but also their S&C coach.
Do just those things, even without the dozens of assistants Bama has, I think we could give them a stronger run for their money than we did in 2012, as well as have a far better season than this year.
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“…Spartans defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who has served in East Lansing since 2007, has been able to produce defensive sustainability even outside the talent-rich South. The Spartans (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten), strong from front to back, are first in yards allowed per play (3.46) this season.
“They’re sound and simple,” a top-10 defensive coordinator told me this week. “They have the best technique guys in the country. They line up to formations well. And they tackle.”
Don’t know how many of you saw this in Travis Haney’s blog on ESPN.com recently, but winner winner chicken dinner.
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Every one needs to step back and take a breath. When Willie was being dawggraded, no one noticed how pitiful our recruiting on defense had become. Coach Richt’s first few years, we had talent on the D side. When BVG left, the defense wasn’t near as talented as before. And we suffered for it. Since Coach Grantham has come to us, our talent on defense has improved. Green, but improved. I don’t think firing anybody right now is the thing to do. We are recruiting well and stocking the cupboard for years to come, hopefully. I also would like to point out that our defense would have been alot better had we had more seniors on the D side; several players were purged from our ranks, and several left early for the NFL. Jarvis had another year, Ogletree had another year. I imagine its hard to replace these players who have learned a difficult system and who aren’t there to teach the youngsters. My feeling is that in every game this year, we had a chance to win, but didn’t in a few of them. You can place the blame on the defense, special teams, or whatever floats your boat, but knee jerk reactions have unintended consequences (See Tennessee dumpster fire, or Auburn last 2 years). You have to persevere to reach the pinnacle. I feel like next year will be a repeat of Grantham’s second year, where the defense learns the system so well that there is no thinking, just reaction. I say stay the course and have faith in Coach Richt to do what is right for the team.
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The second year when we still got torched 4 times –basically by every good team we faced while playing a weak schedule? The 35 to Boise State, the 45 to SC, the 42 to LSU, and then getting throttled by a hapless Big Ten team in the bowl game. Gee, you sure are setting the bar pretty low. You are right though–2011 is indeed the pinnacle of a Grantham coached defense. Every few years we can stock the cupboard and be mediocre…. then go back to sucking again.
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Fire all of them. Scorched Earth policy.
“Because actions need consequences. LOTS and LOTS of consequences.”
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LOL +1
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Look, there is something that needs some s’plainin here.
Bama has ALWAYS….ALWAYS believed, institutionally, that championships in football made the whole institution better, that championship football teams enhanced the Alabama educational experience. And this idea is supported by the folks in Alabama, by the legislature and by the Alabama board of governors or whatever it is called.
It did not start with Nick, or Bear even…it started with Drew and Thomas, back in the days when targeting was something you did warming up for deer season. And you rode the train…yes, the train…to the Rose Bowl.
Championship football is part of the institutional heritage at Bama.
Georgia, for all of us who may wish it was that way, it ain’t, it could be, certainly, but it is not and it never will be.
That is the way it is.
So if you want to compare us to somebody, don’t pick Bama…that is not a fair comparison, and it never will be because, institutionally, that ain’t the way we roll.
So pick Missouri, or, God Forbid, Florida if you want to find a like program to compare us to.
Bama is a daydream.
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I am always intrigued to read comments such as your (and others like Mayor and AHD). If your point is valid (and I am not arguing one way or the other), then the Dawgs are merely collecting a check while riding the SEC gravy train. This philosophy and mentality that you suggest the university has is the same as any Patriot League or Ivy League school. While I applaud those kids for their intellect and love of football, they are simply not SEC athletes, much like UGA players are not Ivy League students. It appears the UGA admin, AD, and BOR has a choice to make. Either play SEC football and be all in or ride high upon their morals and reserve fund. Are we going to be the pig at the breakfast table, or are we the chicken?
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SD, see my post near the top of this thread for my solution.
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“merely collecting a check while riding the SEC gravy train.”
Like the new adventures of old Vanderbilt?
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Scorp, I agree with your overall post but not with your conclusion. All it would take for UGA to become the equal or even better of Bama is a University President strong enough to instill the institutional will to be the best. Jere Morehead hasn’t been President long enough to know if he will/can do that. If you look at things analytically UGA has better resources in every way than Bama. We just don’t use them to maximum advantage.
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“If you look at things analytically UGA has better resources in every way than Bama. We just don’t use them to maximum advantage.”
No argument about the resources, Mayor, but it is my contention that the institutional mindset is to use them for academics (a broad term) and NOT for football.
You could be right about Jere Morehead. But our institution does not get its will just from the president. The BOR is very active in setting overall institutional goals (probably a better word somewhere). My suspicion is that this won’t change till all those who remember Kemp are gone.
Anyone who does not believe Jan Kemp lives in the minds of BOR members and academics who have influence needs a new drug.
Each new coach since Ray Goff has had a few restrictions lifted…a few.
Mark Richt deals with a playing field dramatically more level than Ray had, but Mark Richt does not, and I fear, will not ever, have the same standing, institutionally that even Vince had.
The abuse of Ray Goff for being the first casualty of a unilateral disarming (Dooley’s words) of the Georgia football program, frankly makes me sick, but I digress.
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You can have an institutional commitment to success without treating the football coach like a deity and treating the football program as sacrosanct. There’s quite a lot of middle ground between the insanity of Alabama and the indifference of Vandy.
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Again, BR, I am not saying Bama is insane…they do what they want, and they have a different view of the importance of championship-level football than we do. Institutionally.
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And I think their “view of the importance of championship-level football” is insane.
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Thus endeth the lesson. 🙂
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Beautiful, Scorp. Some folks don’t get it. Add to that the suspension policies and it’s a tough road to hoe. Good guys don’t always win. We are the good guys.
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Let’s keep it simple with 10 quick points:
#1: This overall post is further evidence that it is time for Richt to go. While the Senator notes that he is just intrigued, it is not a post that would be presented by the Ohio State, Oregon, or Alabama blogs.
#2: It is safe to say we have been a mediocre program. The Bulldog nation is afraid; we fear the Ray Goff days and the possibility that we will be even worse without Richt. I would rather be consistently bad for a period of time than consistently mediocre. When you are bad, at least there is hope for change (please not “hope and change”). I fear that we are a program stuck in the mud. Stop saying we can’t be as good as other programs. That attitude gets you right where you would expect.
#3: We may take a couple steps backwards in order for our program to move forward. I’m ready to accept this risk. See Alabama (Debose, Shula, and even Mike Price), USC (Robinson and Hackett), and Florida (Zook) as examples of programs that suffered, but found success….greater success than we have found.
#4: If we were Alabama, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, etc.. would we still have Richt as our head coach? Then why does Georgia (especially when we have more talent in our state than half of these programs)
#5: Based on everything I read and hear, Mark Richt is a great man and a great individual. My pastor, Andy Stanley, is an amazing individual and a God fearing man as well. Guess what? That doesn’t make him qualified to be the head coach at Georgia
#6: We continue to lack disciple off (check Athens PD) and on (holding, 12 men, out of position, staying in your lane, being the deepest man on the field, deflecting the ball with one hand, wrapping with the other, batting the ball down!, etc..) the field. This is an epidemic and part of our culture, not an anomaly. It starts at the top.
#7: I can name at least 5 recent college coaches that I believe would have won national title at Georgia at some point in the last 5 years (with the same talent). Yes, you can name 5 as well
#8: We are a top 5 revenue producing college football program sitting in a top 5 talent state. Yes, we can afford a great coach and one that you wouldn’t think would walk away from their current program
#9: I’ve seen us lose some of the worst games all due to coaching. WVU, UCF, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma State, and more. Why do we always find ourselves being the win that puts programs on (or back on – e.g., Alabama) the map
#10: We are The University of Georgia. Nobody is going to give us anything, we need to go take it. This staff coaches to not lose; they do not coach to win. We need to win…we need to take it!
Bonus: I’ve invested a lot of money in this program (as many of you have). We deserve better, quite honestly. It isn’t chump change.
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in regard to bullet point #7….Please name those 5 better Coaches because I guarantee you i can rip any of your allegedly superior coaching choices to shreds. Criticizing is easy….. doing is much harder. Be specific and than let us all show you how easy it is . Remember, every TN fan just knew Kniffin would usher in a new golden age of TN football .Weiss will right the ship in Kansas . Bielema sure is kicking ass at Arky. Who takes a job at a school who has been to the SEC championship 2 out of the last 3 years but the fan base is so delusional that is not good enough……. No one for less than 6 million, that’s who.
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At least Bret has proven that he and $3,000,000.00 can get a #smoking hot wife.
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Proving that Coach Franklin would hire him at Vandy.
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There’s not an AD in the country that would fire him, dude. It’s ridiculous talk. Not. One. AD. Not Foley, not Battle, not Dodds, not Haden.
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SOS, David Shaw, Chris Peterson, Nick Saban, Kevin Sumlin, Jimbo Fisher, Urban Meyer, Gary Patterson, etc.
I agree with ktcred, he’s pretty much summed up what I thought.
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You listed some great ones. The challenge is that nobody thinks we can get these guys (or the next guy that hits gold like them), so we do nothing. It all comes back to point #2. I would rather take the risk and eventually hit gold.
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Fire CTG, his defense is terrible, gives up too many points, can’t teach his defense to college players, but, CMR is so stubborn he won’t let him go until Greg McGarity forces his hand. Richt seems to be burned out, I don’t know how much longer he will be at UGA either. So I will be happy when he leaves too. UGA will NEVER win a MNC with CMR!
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I think Richt should be gone – terrible coach.
You should replace him with Gene Chizik – winner of MNCs.
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Don’t trust WarD. I think this is just another Hail Mary trap
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Well done, WarD.
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Why aren’t these younger players better prepared when they finally step on the field? What are they doing while they are biding their time? That’s a coaching problem too.
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Three words: Hire Ron Zook [as DC]
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I rarely post but this subject is in my crawl. For all the CMR haters, get over it. We might find a better head cach than CMR but chances are we have a Dooley/Chizak/Kiffin type.
The hating on CMB is hilarious. I was on the fire Bobo wagon until I realized how bad CSS really was for the scheme CMR/CMB run. CWF has done a tremendous job of rebuilding and strengthening our Oline. The inability to stretch the field has impacted the running game more than anything (due to injuries)
CTG has got to go. His performance against equal talent is horrible. His coaching against sub par talent… Incredible. This points to poor coaching more than anything. Most of the players over the last three years were CWM players… Now this year our young team should be all CTG players who have not excelled in his system. We are 123 out of 125 in turnovers forced. CWM’s last year of coaching was ranked 118 of 120 in turnovers forced. We are unable to show the type of improvement needed.
As for replacements… foster? Really? Smart? seriously? The key in the search is to identify what base we want to run. I am partial to the 4-2 but truth be told, we need to return to a four down set no matter what.
As for our recruits, it makes no difference. If I recall correctly, Clowney chose USC over us because we ran a 3-4. Personally, I think it makes little difference. You get some and you lose some.
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Hire this guy and everything changes….
http://www.bgsufalcons.com/coaches.aspx?path=football&rc=258
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Not sure I want to fire anyone, although we do seem to have a lot of strength and conditioning coaches and some pretty weak ass O linemen for so many coaches. But mostly I think we need to hire a special teams coach, the guy from North Texas looked pretty good. We could see an improvement of 50 to 70 yards a game with decent special teams play. How can we not have a coach for 15 to 20 % of our plays? Even a D-III school like Whittier College has a special teams coach.
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Mark Richt’s beliefs. Samizdat.
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I read a lot of excuses here. If we didn’t have the injuries, if we didn’t tip the pass if we didn’t do this and that…..some excuses are legit and some are BS. But keep in mind one point: Tennessee and Florida are the worst they have been in 25 years. Horrible. Even handy got throttled by Missouri. This program is a mess. No fire. I hope it magically transforms next year with Malcolm Mitchell coming back and the defense young. But then the excuses will be “well how can you expect to win 10 games with 3 new OL and a new QB….”. Every year there are excuses and losses. Every year they have the one or to losses that are just puzzling. Not like losing to Alabama in the championship but games where you just don’t understand. Blown out by SC last year and they talked about a national chip team. When is the last time a national champion had been blown out earlier in the season? Richt is going nowhere. He doesn’t want to win bad enough and somehow mysteriously doesn’t get the subtleties of the psychological factors and motivation of his players. He doesn’t demand excellence. He accepts (I know it because he says it in every interview) mediocrity as long as we get a win. Nothing about playing to the highest level of your potential regardless of the opponent and when you face far inferior talented teams, you jump on them and put them away and blow some out. That doesn’t happen. It does with good teams. But he will be here. And I will support him and hope he gets it. The question is Grantham. But I think he stays one more year since everyone is coming back but Murray and the linemen. But they all better have a plan of how to correct these problems, especially special teams. It’s time to expect more.
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BINGO! Good teams lose, good teams don’t get blown out.
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I am saying this with as little snark as possible: Does that mean we are a good team this year, but we weren’t last year?
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+1
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Once I read a blog where someone said UGA fans were the worse fans in the SEC because they accept mediocre and have for 30 some years. You know what they were right!
We are, Do you think the top players leave Georgia for TN, Al, Au, Florida and now Mississippi? Because they want a change of scenery? They leave because they know that based on CMR performance to date they will never play for a championship at UGA. Every day I spend time reading every UGA web site I can find and in every one 90-95% of the comments defend CMR. At this point it’s hopeless we will never be a winner with a fan base that is happy with 9-10 wins a year and a bowl game in Podunk city USA.
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Georgia fans have the arrogance of Georgia fans and history of Georgia fans…them what knows the history.
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You may have a point with Alabama and Florida, maybe even Auburn, but I’m not sure top players are leaving for Mississippi or Tennessee because they think they are closer to winning a national championship than us.
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“Because they want a change of scenery?”
In the cases of Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn, they want a change of salary. Also, I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Georgia produces a shitload of football players. Georgia signs a lot of them. Florida, FSU and Miami don’t sign every highly rated player in Florida, but they have been good more often than not over the last 30 years.
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Out of total sadness, they all need to go.
Our program has clearly topped out under the current administration. There is a lack of accountability at so many levels that permeates the program. There is too much cronyism and too much people keeping their jobs because they are liked and nobody wants to fire them.
Our S&C program is trash.
Our recruiting has glaring holes every year.
We lack a killer instinct.
We rely completely on skill position super stars to pull off miracles.
Players consistently under-perform at Georgia, and then go on to be superstars in the pros.
Mark Richt restored our program to prominence, but I think his message has dulled and unfortunately we need the next step forward.
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There are only a few coaches in America I would rather have than Richt. But there are dozens of defensive coordinators who would be an improvement over CTG. There is ample evidence that we’re middling on Defense despite boatloads of talent. Don’t be afraid of change, folks.
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