Never gonna give it up.

Spurrier regrets 2-3 year comment. Should have stuck to 4-5 years.

— GamecockCentral.com (@GamecockCentral) December 17, 2014

Spurrier says He's back on the 4-5 plan. Tanner recommended adding another year to his contract.

— GamecockCentral.com (@GamecockCentral) December 17, 2014

I guess that means he plans on coaching until he’s dead.  Talk about a program held hostage.  Recruiting, for the win!

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And furthermore, f– you, too!

Say what you will about him as a coach, Bo Pelini certainly knows how to make an unforgettable exit.

Another meme bites the dust.

“Hey, man, if the coaching staff is so great, how come nobody ever interviews any of them for other job openings?”

For once, I know how Bobby Petrino feels.

“The last two days we’ve worked on game-planning and really getting to know Georgia,” Petrino said in his opening remarks. “That’s been fun and exciting, but makes you nervous.”

Lord knows that’s a sentiment I’ve experienced a few times this season, Coach.  Probably will during the Belk Bowl, too, now that I think about it.

While we’re on the subject of money…

Let AirForceDawg @ The Arch draw you a picture:

In Fiscal Year 2013, UGA’s Athletic Association realized $98.9M in revenues, $86M in operating expenses, and $9.6M in non-operating expenses (mainly debt payments). The $2.2M surplus was added to athletic association’s reserves (now $73.9M). Those reserves are offset by $109M in long-term construction debt.

Of the $98.9M, UGA Football raised $77,594,300 (~78.5%) while spending $26,325,257 (33.9%) of it on the program, making it the third most profitable program in FBS and the most profitable in the SEC (no trophy for that!). In comparison, Alabama was the fifth most profitable program in FBS, yet they chose to spend $14.2M more on their program that year than UGA did. Part of that money goes to pay their coaching staff ($5,635,803 more than UGA pays their staff). While Saban is the #1 paid Head Coach in FBS, Richt is tied for 18th. Similarly, Alabama’s assistants are the 2nd highest paid (LSU bested them by ~$285K) in FBS while UGA’s assistants are the 13th highest paid.

In other words, money should be no object.

This isn’t to advocate turning Athens into the next Knoxville.  I don’t think anybody believes that would be a healthy development.  But there shouldn’t be an ingrained reluctance to spend money on the football program in areas that would strengthen it.  Even if that’s merely for perception purposes on the recruiting trail.

The best laid plans of mice and Greg McGarity

Talk about your sense of timing – right on the heels of my noting that Georgia appears lucky enough to avoid the potential bidding war Jeremy Foley may face over keeping one of the football program’s assistant coaches comes word that Mike Bobo’s name is in the mix for the head coaching gig at Colorado State.  Is Bobo jonesing to run his own program?  Dunno, but the pay isn’t likely to be half bad.  Jim McElwain was making $1.5 million a year when he was hired away by Florida.  That ain’t Will Muschamp money, but it’s a shitload more than Bobo’s banking right now.

Which brings us, naturally, to Greg McGarity.  The man with the rules, like this one:

“To me it’s all about performance and results,” McGarity said. “And we address those at the end of the season. If adjustments need to be made, then we’ll make them. That’s how we do things with all our sports. Nothing’s changed over the last four years. I’ve always said you should see the whole body of work.”

Does that mean he’d hold to refusing to consider Bobo’s situation until after the bowl game, regardless of whether things heat up with CSU?  And that, if Bobo should emerge as Colorado State’s first choice, whatever he offers Bobo will be based solely on how Georgia has performed, no matter the size of CSU’s offer? I mean, I guess he could, but it’s hard to see how Georgia doesn’t lose its offensive coordinator with an approach like that.  If nothing else, it should provide the program with a terrific distraction during bowl preparation and down the recruiting stretch.

Even if McGarity ignores the niceties of that rule and steps up to keep Bobo in red and black at a price, then what about this?

But offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, whose offense has set records the past few years, continues to be paid nearly $300,000 less than the school’s defensive coordinator. McGarity said that’s Richt’s decision, or at least Richt’s decision within the salary pool that he is provided each year.

“Mark has a pool of money that he allocates however he allocates,” McGarity said. “There was a significant jump made after the ’12 season for Mike. The pool is reflective of team success. You basically see where the pool is and how it ranks and where you finish. It’s all based on results.”

Again with the results.  Will Bobo’s raise come out of the existing pool?  If so, which coach or coaches take a cut to make up for it?  I think we know that’s an empty effort to shift away responsibility.  But when Bobo gets his raise and the pool increases accordingly, what message should Georgia’s other coaches take from that?

The message I’d take is that while Greg McGarity claims he ignores the market, the reality is that the market ignores Greg McGarity.  That’s how you get reactive leadership instead of proactive leadership.  It’s a helluva way to run a railroad, one that grosses a hundred million a year, but that’s Butts-Mehre.  That’s the Georgia Way.