February 11, 2014 · 6:47 AM

“Take a walk in the woods, be creative. Listen to the birds.”

Sure sounds like Jon Fabris wants back in Athens, doesn’t it?

14 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football

14 responses to ““Take a walk in the woods, be creative. Listen to the birds.””

  1. Scorpio Jones, III
    February 11, 2014 at 7:28 AM

    Gypsy Dawg makes it sound as though Fabris never wanted to leave…the genius of directional kicking will remain forever in the mind of Scorpio Jones.

    Like

  2. eethomaswfnc
    February 11, 2014 at 7:40 AM

    If Fabris had not wanted his players to love a challenge on kick-off coverage, he may still be in Athens as special teams and defensive ends coach. One thing you can say for the guy is he still seems to love the place.

    Like

  3. Hogbody Spradlin
    February 11, 2014 at 7:55 AM

    “Take a walk in the woods”? I dunno. I thought football coaches were more like: “Go kill those c**ksuckers!!”

    Like

  4. Reverend Whitewall
    February 11, 2014 at 8:38 AM

    David Pollack to this day raves about how good of a coach Fabris was. And when you look at the list of DE’s that he was responsible for developing, it was an impressive list. A big part of our success under BVG was being able to get pressure while only rushing 4 players, and our DE’s were a huge part of that.

    It’s just a shame he was so boneheaded about kickoff coverage. That by itself makes people automatically jump to the thought that he was a terrible coach. But our DE’s were really good under him, our punt return units actually returned punts, and he was that guy that every coaching staff needs that has a screw or two loose (I think Ekeler is going to be that guy for us now).

    I don’t know how I’d feel about Fabris coming back as a coach, it would be mixed feelings for sure, but would love to have back as part of the family as an “analyst”, if we ever become so inclined to hire some of those.

    Like

    • Go Dawgs!
      February 11, 2014 at 8:58 AM

      This. I’ll admit that his obstinate refusal to change his philosophy on kickoffs and kickoff coverage (despite a MOUNTAIN of evidence that it either wouldn’t work or we simply didn’t have the ability to execute it even if it would) has completely colored my opinion of him as a coach. He did a great job as our defensive ends coach. There’s no doubt.

      Like

    • peacedogattack
      February 11, 2014 at 9:25 AM

      Well, the punt return units returned punts. . . however the unit’s effectiveness began to degrade undre him. It started with the famous Sugar Bowl fake punt, but it seemed like the real problem was Fabris not adjusting with the times. A combination of the increasing prevalence of rugby punting/changes in punt philosophy was clearly aimed at neutralizing the return games. But Fabris kept right on doing the same things he had been. Which made us famously vulnerable to fakes (we were selling out for the return, basically).

      Like

      • AusDawg85
        February 11, 2014 at 10:47 AM

        You can return punts? I thought they changed the rule so you could only fair catch or fumble. Does the new D staff know about this? Next thing you’ll tell me, it’s a penalty to fake your blitz or jump up in front of the punter to try to block the kick.

        Like

      • Reverend Whitewall
        February 11, 2014 at 12:18 PM

        Definitely agree that while our ability to return punts has all but disappeared, we at least rarely get burned on fakes anymore. That had become a maddening trend, for sure.

        Guess it’s too much to hope for a punt return unit that can occasionally create a big return but also not give up fakes at the worst time possible. 🙂

        Like

    • IveyLeaguer
      February 11, 2014 at 12:14 PM

      David Pollack to this day raves about how good of a coach Fabris was. And when you look at the list of DE’s that he was responsible for developing, it was an impressive list. A big part of our success under BVG was being able to get pressure while only rushing 4 players, and our DE’s were a huge part of that.

      It’s just a shame he was so boneheaded about kickoff coverage. That by itself makes people automatically jump to the thought that he was a terrible coach. But our DE’s were really good under him, our punt return units actually returned punts, and he was that guy that every coaching staff needs that has a screw or two loose (I think Ekeler is going to be that guy for us now).

      I don’t know how I’d feel about Fabris coming back as a coach, it would be mixed feelings for sure, but would love to have back as part of the family as an “analyst”, if we ever become so inclined to hire some of those.

      Excellent insight there, Reverend.
      ~~~

      Like

  5. Mr. Sanchez
    February 11, 2014 at 8:54 AM

    Did I miss it? He’s leaving Indiana for a new opportunity where? If he’s coming back to Athens as support staff, I think that’d be wonderful. But I couldn’t imagine Fabris accepting such a withdrawn role unless he was having severe health issues.

    Like

    • Reverend Whitewall
      February 11, 2014 at 12:16 PM

      He was fired from Indiana. Not sure what options he has on the table, and if coming back to Athens is even on the table, but there’s been some smoke. Radi Nabulsi (before Ekeler was hired) had reported that we had had some conversations with him possibly about that last spot on the defensive staff (obviously now filled), now this article kinda randomly pops up. I dunno, might be something there, might not. Like I said above, not sure how I’d feel about him returning as a coach, but would be happy if he were to rejoin the program as support staff.

      Like

  6. Bright Idea
    February 11, 2014 at 9:42 AM

    Ever heard the story on why Fab lasted only a couple of days at Louisville? It seems a slip of the tongue on his opinion of the Cardinal program was not appreciated. Now he’s been fired at Indiana and we wonder if we want him back?

    Like

  7. mdcgtp
    February 11, 2014 at 11:17 AM

    I think there are a lot of variables at play here. First, lets put aside special teams for a moment. One thing we can say for certain was that when given talent, Fabris maximized in at DE. Further, we know part of the reason for such was that he demanded excellence and was an integral part in the toughness of our program during that time period.

    Ultimately, we know that there were a lot of factors that contributed to our decline on defense from 05-09, and he was a part of it. as an outsider, i have no idea how his individual performance as a coach suffered. Perhaps he lost a bit of his effectiveness, as players tuned him out. Perhaps, he was no longer as “committed” because of the dysfunction of the defensive coaching staff at the time.

    As for the directional kick offs, I have no real insight or defense of them. It was awful. It seemed like the definition of insanity at the time, and I would love to know the full story behind them.

    That said, if Richt, Pruit, Bobo, and others have a legitimate reason to believe that he could meaningfully contribute to our program, I am all for bringing him back in some capacity.

    Like

  8. Brandon
    February 11, 2014 at 11:34 AM

    Jon Fabris, “part philosopher, minister, patriot, sentimentalist, soothsayer, historian and teacher”. Loran Smith, the Brent Musberger of the written word.

    Like