Georgia paid a search firm more than $42,000 to give Greg McGarity the answer he wanted.
On the bright side, at least McGarity has someone he can point a finger at if the Smart hire doesn’t work out.
You can’t put a price tag on peace of mind, y’all.
Filed under Georgia Football
ESPN’s Greg Ostendorf wants to know something. “Why is nobody talking about Tennessee?”
Several paragraphs later comes this:
Five straight wins to finish the season. The only SEC team who has a better winning streak is the conference champion, Alabama.
Now granted, not one of those five wins came against a team that was bowl eligible.
November’s been a joke of a month on Tennessee’s schedule since the dawn of time, it feels like. So pardon the rest of the world if we’re not ready to jump the Vols into the top ten right now.
(Before some of you start, we’ll talk about next preseason when it gets here.)
About that whole not mentioning Thomas Brown thing from this morning…
Georgia’s release about assistants returning on next year’s staff did not mention Thomas Brown, and there’s a good reason for that.
Brown, the team’s running backs coach this year, is to join Mark Richt’s staff at Miami, multiple people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
The offer would include some sort of title, possibly co-offensive coordinator. Richt has said he intends to call plays for the Hurricanes.
It sounds like it’s more a decision by Brown than by Kirby, so good for Thomas that he’s looking at what’s best for himself. And it sounds like he may not be the only one doing so.
Miami head coach Mark Richt appears willing to bring a number of his former staffers at Georgia with him to Coral Gables according to a report by the Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After reporting earlier on Monday that running backs coach Thomas Brown will be joining Richt at Miami, the AJC is now reporting that Georgia’s Director of Recruiting, Todd Hartley, will be doing the same as a “defensive assistant.”
Towers is also reporting that Bryan McClendon, John Lilly, and multiple UGA support staffers have also been extended the opportunity to make the move to Miami.
Honestly, I’d be surprised if Lilly didn’t wind up with Richt in Miami, given their long history together. But, in general, it’s good that these guys have options, since it’s the nature of the beast that a lot of them wouldn’t survive a coaching change otherwise.
Filed under Georgia Football
You’ll never guess, either.
Filed under Nick Saban Rules
Evidently there are so many early departures from Florida that Jim McElwain’s convinced there are kids leaving…
Jim McElwain talked departures on Monday — some clear-cut, one possibly not.
First, the UF coach elaborated on suspended quarterback Will Grier’s decision last weekend to transfer, saying the choice was completely of the redshirt freshman’s own volition. Then he announced running back Kelvin Taylor, defensive lineman Alex McCalister and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson have all decided to enter the NFL draft, joining defensive back Vernon Hargreaves.
… who actually haven’t made up their minds to do so yet.
Maybe he’s waiting for another vote by the seniors. But I digress.
The strange decision is that of Will Grier. He’d won the job as the starting quarterback this season, only to see that derailed by running afoul of NCAA drug policy. But whether he stays in Gainesville or goes, the six-game suspension he’s been ordered to serve follows him to any other D-1 program at which he enrolls.
It’s pretty clear from the tone of the linked piece that McElwain was surprised by Grier’s decision. Now he’s left with the likelihood that the Gators will lose Grier, as well as their leading rusher and receiver, best defensive back, and one of their top pass rushers. Not exactly a recipe for success.
Add that to the possibility Georgia, with its change in coaching staff, will consider the possibility of starting a true freshman quarterback next season, and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Tennessee will be the preseason favorite to win the SEC East in 2016. Dayum.
Filed under Gators Gators
Suddenly, the new staff is taking shape.
Tracy Rocker will be back to coach the defensive line another season for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Some of Rocker’s players hinted that was the case recently, and then a person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed later Monday night.
With Rocker’s spot solidifed, new coach Kirby Smart has now secured two-thirds of his first Georgia coaching staff.
To date, Kirby Smart has announced only the addition of three new coaches: offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, offensive line coach Sam Pittman and defensive assistant Glenn Schumann. But in addition to Rocker, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been able to confirm that running backs coach Thomas Brown and outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer are also being retained by Smart from coach Mark Richt’s previous staff…
I’m glad to see Rocker won’t be leaving, as I thought he got a lot this season out of a group that wasn’t particularly distinguished talentwise, Trent Thompson excepted. He’s also been a key to some very good high school d-linemen who are seriously considering Georgia.
That still leaves a few interesting questions left to be answered, of course. Right now, the weirdest thing about the new staff is that the rock star of the bunch is the offensive line coach. Not exactly what you’d expect in terms of making a splash, but I bet most Georgia fans are thrilled by what Pittman brings to the table.
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UPDATE: Georgia makes it official regarding Sherrer and Rocker. But no mention of Brown, for some reason.
Filed under Georgia Football
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