Remember how McGarity said he gives Richt a salary pool for the assistants and Richt figures out how to parcel the money out among them?
Well if that’s the case, either Mark Richt is a financial wizard or he’s not going to pay the new offensive coordinator anything, because Jeremy Pruitt just made bank.
As Georgia’s first-year defensive coordinator, Jeremy Pruitt made quite the impact for the Bulldogs this fall.
Friday, head coach Mark Richt extended Pruitt’s contract by a year to 2017 and boosted his salary to $1.3 million per season. Pruitt had two years left on his original deal at an annual salary of $850,000 per season.
“Our defense has performed at a very high level this season and much of it is due to Jeremy’s leadership,” head coach Mark Richt said in a statement. “It’s important that we solidify his tenure at Georgia and continue to build our defense in all areas, including recruiting, defense and player development.”
As Weiszer notes, that puts Pruitt in Kirby Smart territory. That’s a lot of love to show there.
The key words from Richt there are “solidify his tenure”. Dasher hints that McClendon and Rocker are next in line, presumably for the same reason. Nobody else is going anywhere. You could say that McGarity has given in to recognizing the reality of the current market for coaches.
It’s good to see this getting settled. Richt can move forward and point at this with recruits and the applicant pool for the open staff positions as evidence of administration’s support of the football program. It’s perfect timing for a sense of momentum.
B-M has stepped up. Now it’s time for the coaching staff to do the same thing.
Get The Picture 
Great to see this. But, I’ve got a question. McGarity gets no credit? He has to have just given in?
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“B-M has stepped up.” isn’t good enough for you?
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Call it a bit of a left handed compliment. I’m a little sensitive to this because I think there has been a lot piling on and shouts of incompetence in the B-M building that have been mostly unwarranted; never giving McGarity the opportunity to respond or act. I think he had some PR issues that he could have handled better, but I believe he was in a spot that no matter what he said (or didn’t say) he would have been scorned by some camp of UGA faithful. I for one think he’s doing a better than his predecessors, including Mr Dooley.
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All I can tell you is that the tension between the coaching staff and the athletic administration was real. McGarity isn’t blameless in that. The compliment wasn’t left-handed, by the way. I’m glad to see folks behaving reasonably about this.
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Uh huh, no way AD would have survived a Pruitt poaching after seeing Bobo snatched away, would have been his job, it was a desperate move to lock Pruitt down for another year in light of the development at LSU.
Senator nailed it, give credit when due, and on paying Richt and Pruitt, BM AT LAST stepped up.
And looks like the cinder block walls in the locker room will finally be replaced—-whoopee!!
Looks like seeing Bobo poached showed him the fans knew what we were talking about it when it came to his cheap ways.
Self preservation prevails.
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Yep. Survival is a powerful instinct.
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We can thank Jere Morehead for this change of heart by ADGM…
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+1 – I think since Morehead has been on the athletic board since he was a full-time faculty member in Terry, he gets the impact of a solid, stable, well supported athletic program on the university and its alumni. I think he’s been in the President’s office long enough to be his own person now.
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Thank god. Finally.
I am still holding my breath for the OC and S&C hires.
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S&C is done, or did you mean see how it turns out?
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How it turns out. From what I read, the guy has a business degree. His work experience is decent, but I am very concerned that yet again we don’t have a guy with degrees in actual S&C related fields (kinesiology or something of that nature).
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So…. 4 years of collegiate study would mean more to you than the 5+ years he’s actually been doing the job for a school that won 3 national titles in that time?
I mean… I have a “business” degree too. Can’t remember a single one of my professors, though.
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Amen. In my profession, 3 months on the job beats an advanced degree by a mile.
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Well, I’d prefer 4 years undergrad and at least one 3 year masters’ degree.
That’s 7 years of meaningful education.
Then I’d like to see certifications related to that scientific field of study, continuing education credits, etc.
The problem is that it isn’t that hard to just kinda skate by in a S&C program doing what the truly educated people above you tell you to do. Follow their work out plans, etc.
If you aren’t someone who takes a scientific approach to the science of strength and conditioning, what happens 3-5 years from now when copying what your old bosses did is no longer sufficient?
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Ye siree, buddy, this is the first positive thing the AD has done in 4 years, took him a while, but looks like he made up his mind that Richt is his guy, and he’s gonna have to spend the money to compete, it’s been kinda embarrasin the last few years seeing coaches snatched ever year. Losing Bobo REALLY hurt, he was super well loved. D really HAD to make some moves now, and you could see it comin with the way he was tryin to defend his self from all the critics in those interviews lately. But buddy, he stpeed up to thatold plate ans swung for them fences right dere.
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Nice to see a change in the BM. I like to see top shelf OC, OL coach and player development replacements roll in soon since the money is flowing.
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yes siree, AD’s see it like trappin, you see the best ones get away a few times, so you start settin them traps a bunch better necks times so they don’t keep gettin away ever times. buddy, we got ole Pruitt locked in now, couldn’t let that sly fox get away. could of ruined the whole opration right dere.
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I’m going to give them a lot of credit for this. Nice to see this done before we lost Pruitt. Although with Chavis and Boom making $1.8M, if the D improves further next year will B-M have the fore-sight to do this again?
For now, the hell with worrying about next year….I’m really encouraged tonight that they’re making the right moves for CMR and CJP.
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Me too. Can’t wait for the OC hire. Go Dawgs
Man UCLA has some hot ass cheerleaders
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I’m still not sure what Chavis did to deserve a raise, other than name recognition.
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hey buddy, Chavis finished in the top 15 in scoring pretty much ever year at LSU but one out a 6 seasons there. He earned ever penny.
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20 years of excellence as a DC in the SEC without missing a beat. His record as a DC is as impressive as anyone to coach the game.
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There is a reason the phrase “3rd and Chavis” was a core piece of the UT lexicon and it was beginning to seep into Baton Rouge. I don’t doubt he’s been around the block in the SEC a few times, but Saban, Strong, Muschamp, and Pruitt are all better in-game coordinators (and recruiters) than the Great Pumpkin, Jr.
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I agree. Their d wasn’t good this year or last year.
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About damn time. I can quit holding my breath now!
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Agree completely! The road was a little bumpier than I (and many others) would’ve liked, but very glad to see us ponying up the money for key assistant coaches and CMR! Now if we can fast track some of the football facilities improvements and other funding requests, I’ll be very happy! Then the coaches will clearly not have any excuses for bringing in top flight talent and delivering the goods on the field.
I’m realistic in that we won’t win a NC every year, but I define success as some combination of the following:
In order to accomplish some or all of the above, it assumes we’ll consistently defeat our key opponents, bring in top 5 recruiting classes, win some of the big games, etc. If we’re able accomplish some or all of the above, then I’ll be very happy with our program. Others may disagree and expect better results, but that’s certainly their call.
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Please name the programs that has matched those benchmarks over the past 14 years. I’ll hang-up and listen.
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Playing for a national championship 1-2 times every 10 years is a quantum leap from playing for a national championship every 35 years or so, which is our history. It also might be educational to note that Auburn went 56 years between national championships, despite all the “advantages” Auburn has. 🙂
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First, thank you for making some good comments and not reverting to name calling! I realize none of us will always agree and I like reading different points of view and REALLY do appreciate it when people can make good counterpoints in a rational way, so thank you!
In terms of my comments, I’ve tried to define the criteria that I believe would define “successfully meeting expectations” for the football team going forward. I’m interested in hearing what others would use because it’s easy for us to complain about the on field results without explaining what results would satisfy us. In terms of teams that would meet the above criteria, off the cuff I’d bet Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, LSU and Oklahoma fall into the above categories. I also think that Michigan State, Notre Dame and Auburn are close on most of the criteria. It’s difficult to truly compare old vs. new with the change in CFP appearance criteria that now allows 4 teams into the mix as opposed to only 2 teams playing for the NC. Either way, would you expect UGA to perform on par with the above schools? Assuming the B-M crowd provides the level of support needed to meet these goals, I certainly do. However, I’m not locked into them and would be interested in hearing how others define “success” for our football team. Thanks again
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I also forgot to include Ohio State and USCJR in the list of teams who’ve met the criteria over the past 14 years.
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Damn auto correct – USC not USCjr LOL
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Write a reasonable comment, you get reasonable replies. I would suggest “Every 5 years” is the problem with your metrics. What you’ve described is a dynasty. I believe only Florida, LSU, and Bama have done what you’ve described ONCE each in the last 14 years and mixed in some awful years. Others may have done it, but with scandle (USC, tOSU, Auburn). Some would take that. We’re losing to those big 3 in the SEC, so you could argue we’re in the mix, must not winning the opportunities enough. Richt nearly did it in his first 5 years but missed out on the BCS selection.
Honestly, I think adding 5 years to about each cycle you listed is a reasonable expectation. I’m more about what I don’t want to see:
Losing to Fl, tech, Auburn and Spurrier 3 in a row.
Not winning the SECE in a 3 year stretch
Consecutive losing seasons
Falling behind in on field competitiveness
This is why I support sticking with Richt. He is not hitting the “fails” and has had us in position to hit the Wins. We just need to break through for one of those 5 year “dynasty” runs, and you probably need a Heisman caliber player to do it. Stafford, Moreno, Murray, Gurley…so close. Maybe Chubb, Michel, Park will finally be it.
And I really don’t see another coach who would have a better chance at UGA right now, or I’d be more open to shortening the leash on CMR. Maybe Patterson…doing a lot with less.
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While I think there are 2-3 more teams that would fit the criteria (Oklahoma, FSU, Oregon), I can see the logic in using a 10 year horizon or reducing the expectations for a 5-year view. As you point out, UGA accomplished all of these things except a NC game appearance in the early to mid 2000s, so I don’t think the objectives are unattainable. Again, if we were to achieve most of these goals, I’d be satisfied.
One issue I have with your list is that it almost gives the appearance of maintaining the status quo. As you point out, CMR has done many of those things without necessarily moving the program forward the past 10 years. Having said that, I also believe we should retain him as our HC and give him greater support, which appears to be happening based on the announcements over the past couple of days. Setting aside my personal feelings that he’s a great person of high integrity and teaches the right morals to the team, his on field results have overall been very good. Although there are the occasional head scratching moments, we could give examples of where just about all coaches/teams have similar moments. To those people who complain about the lack of a NC, I think it’s interesting when you consider CMR started coaching in 2001 and compare him to other great coaches:
Bobby Bowden – HC starting in 1970 and won first NC in 1993
Joe Paterno – HC starting in 1966 and won first NC in 1982
Vince Dooley – HC starting in 1964 and won first NC in 1980
Tom Osburne – HC starting in 1973 and won first NC in 1994
Nick Saban – HC starting in 1990 and won first NC in 2003 (spent 1991-94 in NFL as an asst coach)
Yes, some of them won more than one NC and there have been outliers like Urban Meyer and Malzahn who’ve won a lot faster, but overall CMR isn’t out of line. I hope we give him the support he needs and that luck falls into place for him because the guy certainly deserves it!
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I am not sure expecting 3 out of 5 years winning the SECE is reasonable myself. Not when UF and UT not to mention SC and Mizzou are after the same prize.
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“$how me the money”- Rod Tidwell, Jerry Maguire
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Very exciting developments. CJP deserves it. That was nothing short of impressive what he did with our defensive (secondary) personnel this past season. And from what I understand from (albeit second hand) insiders, he has completely changed the culture in such a positive and productive way.
I’ll sa this: I always thought we were good for at least 3 losses going into this season, based on the lack of talent in the secondary. What I saw was, however, was a team that took major liabilities and made them into huge assets. I remember repeatedly saying that I would rather run a 4-4 and just leave Mauger off the field; well, damnit if he wasn’t one of the most exciting playmakers we fielded this season.
Future is bright, fellas.
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Bob, don’t go too far there buddy. We was favored in all 3 losses, and lost them all, so it should have been a 12-0 regular season.
Let’s shoot em strate there buddy all right?
But finishing with a win is a positive. Lville had a good defense, and they had come in scoring 32 a game, and were held to 14.
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Is it just me, or does it seem as if it’s being set up for CJP to take over in a few years when CMR decides to hang it up. He’s given a lot of input & has kind of been putting his stamp on a lot of the recent changes. Just feels like pieces are falling into place in a manner that makes it easy for him to transition up.
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no buddy, it was you don’t want to keep that rep the AD has of being the school that everbody poaches because you pay em so darn cheap, AD just had to change his ways to try and keep the wolfs at bay.
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I agree. I truly believe Pruitt is our HCIW, although its against the regs to openly say so. Otherwise, I don’t see why Pruitt would bother to stay. He can probably make just as much or more $$ someplace else. And with DCs like Steckel and Narduzzi getting head coach jobs, I gotta believe Pruitt has gotten plenty of phone calls too.
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Pruitt now has a chance to change his image of a opportunistic job hopper who leaves a school every year and lacks loyalty.
He really has no shot at a Head Coach job until he proves he is capable of loyalty beyond a year or two, no AD would ever trust him as a HC had he jumped to LSU or T A/m.
He’s got to put down some roots, or he won’t get no chance to run a program, but I think that’s why he came to Georgia, stay 3-4 years, win a Championship, then make that leap up to Head Coach.
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Scorpio is Hee Haw.
So what do I win?
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I thought it was Bluto.
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That wacky Thomas Brown changed his name again.
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Has to be.
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Bull fucking shit, Cos. I don’t know who this dipshit is, nor do I care. But I can tell you it ain’t me. Thank God.
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There is another option here. You can believe one of two things:
Ever since McGarity became the AD, he has always said that he will evaluate each sport at the conclusion of the season. The football season ended 3 days ago, and he has announced a pending extension of Richt and extended Pruitt at 1.3M per. The other assistants are next. It should be pointed out that this only puts Pruitt in the Top 4 of the confernece… just like Bobo’s raise in 2013.
One thing that y’all should keep in mind is that McGarity is running the Athletic Department and not the Football team. That is the way it should be. I don’t trust him run the football team. That is Richt’s job. It is Richt’s job to let him know what investments, and the respective timeframes, need to be made to be successful. Richt also needs the data to back it up. Remember, McGarity is the one who publicly brought up a new locker room and a recruiting room at Sanford. Richt let him know what his priorities were, and McGarity decided to provide them.
Mcgarity is just trying to avoid doing something stupid like Kentucky’s AD. Stoops started 5-1. The AD gave him a big raise / extension. Stoops proceded to loosed the next 6 games by a large margin. You can fault McGarity for being reactive vs. proactive, but the man isn’t cheap. He is just being prudent while in a position of public trust.
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You should start a “No shit, Sh3rlock” Award after those good defensive words. An award that is given to gutsy honesty in blogging, not style. My disagreement with the AD and admin has been voiced and is predicated on past coaching personnel slights that are irretrievable. Damage was done such that not all were pulling together in the direction of the cheering. That should never happen again.
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Congratulations, Cojones! After a substantial amount of time commenting on this blog, somone has finally said “No $#!&, Sh3rl0ck!”. It is a monumentous occasion that has been a long time coming.
My comments were not directed torward anyone in particular, but were meant to address the current zeitgueist that McGarity is too cheap to pay the current coaches the proper amount before firing them. There are WAY too many people on this blog who called for Richt’s head after the tech game (and USC, Florida, and every loss since 1896) that have subsequently called for McGarity’s head for not preemtively paying Richt 5M per year five seconds after Hugh Freeze received his extension
All that I really wanted to point out was that McGarity has done is EXACTLY what he said he would do. The season ended, and he made his decision. Y’all can blame him for being late to the party, but you can’t blame him for being cheap.
As a side note, Bobo did not leave because of money. He left because he wanted to be a head coach. That fact is Incontrovertible. Could the administration have kept Chris Wilson last year? Maybe. He wasn’t happy about being passed over for DC, but money may have solved that. Garner wasn’t worth the extra money. Olividati was going back to Washington as soon as his daughters cancer was cured. Almost everyone wanted Grantham gone.
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Sh3rlock, could you do an investigation to determine if you, Thomas Brown and Hee Haw are the same? Get back to us in about 6-8 years, maybe? Thanks
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I really hope that is true of CJP. If he puts down roots at UGA, we all will learn a great deal about how to win championships. And, maybe, the powers at be are lining him up to take over when the time comes, as was mentioned earlier.
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The thought has crossed my mind as well and I find it as exciting as you do.
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Ponying up for Pruitt was fine, but what does that say for not ponying up what Bobo is now receiving at CSU (1.3M)? What the hell did Bobo not do to deserve such a raise? He almost single-handed built an O machine that made life much more pleasurable for everyone. Part of all the raises now being given belong to Bobo. He made it possible for everyone by more than holding up his underpaid end.
We have to have the shortest memories on record not to sing Bobo’s accolades such that we allowed another school to reward him monetarily beyond what we were willing to pay him, HC position or not. It also points out some silly short-sighted fans who never gave him the objective praise that he deserved. After making stupid remarks about his abilities and play calling a few yrs ago, those fan’s ego still wouldn’t allow them to praise his last two years after he made them look like Pop Warners in their play-calling; now they will step up and praise hell out of a guy who hasn’t come close to paying the dues that Bobo paid as player and coach. . Don’t worry, I won’t regard a damn thing you say in the future as plausible, you hypocrites.
And if you aren’t trolls, you are disloyal no-guts hypocrites who don’t know crap about CFB or people.
Muckbeast may be an ahole (a group I fit purposefully into from time to many times) , but I think more of him and his opinion when defending the administration than I do of those hurling insults not predicated on their own opinion and who are just following the crowd. My disagreement was concerning the shitty way B-M was treating those who patiently build the CFB program brick by brick, no matter their pay. Muckbeast deserves the Cojones Brass Balls Award for sticking by his words and a Cojones “Kudos” (that’s a compliment) to those who voiced their sincere and experienced differences with him; however, that doesn’t excuse anyone for their slighting oversight of a great O coach who makes all play-calling idiot fans look childlike. Yall deserve a hosswhuppin’.
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I believe that there is plenty of middle ground in your comments. I was quite questioning of Bobo’s calls in the run game during the 2009-2010 seasons. It was qutie frustrating to see the dawgs line up and run a sprint draw right in to the teeth of a 10 man front. After the 2010 season, Bobo went to California to study the run game under Harbaugh for a couple of weeks. I haven’t had a complaint about the offense since then (I’m quite knowledegable about the run game… the passing game… not so much).
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Sh3rlock, I went back and gave you a compliment for defending the admin. Muckbeast got it; you were defensive. Take a look at the timelines. There was no sarcasm and was inclusive, only I didn’t know how inclusive until you replied as if hit.
I’m sure you are better at calling the running game than Bobo, a 14 yr SEC coach who gave us the best Offense and RBs in the SEC yrs after he was the starting QB in the same venue, but you need to get a job in the same league before you pontificate your “strategy” here. You couldn’t even carry his hat when he was here.
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Thanks, I think. 🙂
Happy New Year!
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It was intended as a compliment. Don’t especially eat up your words, but I kinda like those who preach against the current once in a while.
Happy friggin’ New Year to you also.
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🙂
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🙂
/raises a glass of Kentucky bourbon in a New Years toast
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Bobo wanted to be a head coach. Why do so many Georgia fans find that hard to believe? He wanted to be in charge and one day parlay that into a bigger head coaching job. It’s not about the money for everyone.
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+1, Tennessee – Bobo’s departure was for nothing less than a promotion. The money was a side (but not insignificant) benefit.
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I agree he wanted to be a head coach but we should have made leaving harder just making the offer shows that we will reward excellence letting him go without any effort looks cheap.
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+1
I love the move for everyone.
One of my biggest gripes about Bobo was he just kinda slid into the OC position unqualified based on what felt like cronyism/legacy. As a result, his first 4-5 years were on the job training and we suffered for it.
I always wished he had taken an OC job somewhere else in 2006, then come back in 3-4 years with tons of experience. I think he would have been a better OC faster if he’d done that.
Instead, he may have learned and developed slower because the job was more overwhelming, and in the process generated a TON of negativity towards him and the program. I think that is a shame.
Bobo is a DGD and it pains me that the way his career was handled resulted in a lot of deserved but preventable negativity went his way.
I would love to see him go crush it as a HC for 3-4 years and then whaddayaknow, CMR decides then it is time for him to retire and Bobo returns as HC.
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Yebo …when it comes to loving your work, it is NOT always about the $$$. My Son coached for practically nothing in the beginning. Prove yourself then the $$$ will come. 🗻
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I hope CMR factored in the Florida debacle into the pay raise equation.
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Yes, because it’s fair to judge someone’s ability by their one worst showing rather than their multiple better outings.
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Once you take a look at Phil Steele’s list of SEC returning starters and perhaps McGarity was aware that no D-lineman starters are back for 2015, he got the picture.
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Yea, Dawgfan I do. in that game, which was so costly, no defensive adjustments were made at the half. None. They threw six passes and rolled up a huge amount of run yards. We lost to a coach that got fired three weeks later and to an inferior team that had a horrible year, one of the worst Gator teams in decades. Unfair?
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Unfair to base someone’s entire job performance review on his worst performance? Yes.
If I’m misreading what you are saying, I apologize. If I’m not, I’m glad you aren’t my boss. I’m generally thought of as a good teacher, but if you judged me just on my worst day I might not have a job.
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Agreed.
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Sigh. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve a raise. All I’m saying is temper the enthusiasm a little with his charges performance in one the of the biggest games of the year against an inferior opponent that was so costly. 450 +- rushing? Have you seen the Gator offense as late as yesterday? Don’t base his entire job performance on one bad day. But certainly it should be considered. We got our asses handed to us that day. All day. And, if you are a teacher, do you not examine students, demand performance, and grade their progress on an exam or two? You may not want me as a boss. Good. I would not want you as my employee.
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Double sigh. Yes, I grade my students, but not one or twice; I grade them continually throughout the year. If they show one area of weakness on one assessment, but that weakness doesn’t appear on other assessments, I don’t focus on it. That would tend to undermine their progress and their confidence in their abilities.
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You sound like a good teacher. The kind that students will always REMBER as having a positive effect on their lives. Hope you are compensated accordingly. 😉🎈
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