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.