Kirby Smart said Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity was very receptive to his belief about player transfer releases. Smart said “about 80 percent” of players he has seen transfer later regret it, especially those who leave early in their careers. He has less issue with older players like A.J. Turman making a move.
Claiming that you’re doing it for the kids makes everything better. No doubt that’s a highly scientific study. I guess since Catalina’s a graduate transfer, Kirby assumes he has no regrets changing schools. What a lucky coincidence for both.
Keep in mind, though, that no matter what a player’s age may be, some aspects of transfer culture are immutable.
“Every situation is different,” Smart said. “But I don’t believe that you should allow guys to go within the conference, and I don’t believe it should be somebody on your schedule. That’s just my belief, and that’s what pretty much what every coach that I talked to believed.”
If he had just started with that and stuck with it, I wouldn’t have a problem with what’s happened (other than my general dislike for the NCAA’s transfer rules, of course). It’s the back-and-forth bullshit, the hardline stance combined with haggling, along with the flat-out dissembling about what Turman went through, that’s distressing. Evidently Smart didn’t absorb as much from Saban as I thought he had, particularly when it comes to something that was bound to happen with the coaching transition. How could he not be better prepared to deal with this?
Sure, he can learn and I hope that’s the case. But who’s gonna show him? Greg McGarity? As I said to someone yesterday, it’s astounding to me that an athletic department that boasts having someone as well-regarded as Claude Felton can manage to step in it as constantly on the PR front as Georgia’s does.
Get The Picture 
Senator, I agree with about 99% of you’re stuff, but I really think you’ve made this a bigger deal than it is. Gracious, Kirby is trying to win and wants to do it his way. He’s looking out for UGA instead of the kid first, and that’s a sea change for us, but not all that bad of one.
I adored Richt, but grew weary of the effort, lack of focus and Saturday no-shows. Kirby is about winning, and he should be because we just fired the nicest guy to ever coach who went 10-3 his last 2 seasons. Like, that literally happened. So, Kirby knows 10-3 will not be good enough, and I’m cool with that. We could use a little pettiness in the program.
We need to get off our high horse and get on the race horse. I’m an alumnus and proud we run a classy program, but I just don’t think this runs afoul. This is not morally reprehensible. We’re aligning with everyone else we compete with, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
We’re not cheating, but we’re going to push the edges harder than ever to be on the same playing field as everyone else. We hired the right hand man of the greatest dynasty in CFB we’ve seen in 40 years and then complain when he begins to implement a system designed to help make us a dynasty. We can’t have it both ways. Let the man coach and enjoy winning, a lot. It’s not what we’re used to, but it’s not auburn and Tennessee. It will, however, feel a whole lot more like bama, Ohio st and fsu.
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meh….
it’s the handling of the situation that keeps drawing this out, not the transfer. Kirby stepped in it on this one and the details just keep coming out that makes him look worse and worse about it.
He might have been the right hand of Saban, but sure looks like he missed a few of the lessons on handling your business quietly.
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So what?
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Again, as I said, I can understand the change in policy, even if it’s not my cup of tea. And if that’s all there were to this story, I would have moved on already.
But Smart jerked Turman around, originally because he was trying to keep him from transferring, but afterwards for reasons that look petty. And there’s no way to spin what he told the media at his presser other than to say it was deliberately misleading. Maybe you can explain to me what that has to do with winning, because I’m not seeing it.
Not to mention every time he and McGarity try to explain things, it comes out wrong. It’s not that hard to spin this if you know what you’re doing. And I thought that’s one reason Georgia hired Smart, because he’s a coach who knows what he’s doing.
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Kirby needs to cut his losses and quit stepping on his own testicles. Every time he “explains” his reasoning, he sounds less like Saban and more like Butch Jones. McGarity should just stop talking, period.
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I hate to say this, but to me the Tennessee coach he’s starting to sound like isn’t Booch. It’s SOD.
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Good grief, man…you’re losing it. Up until now you have been positive about his handling of things and his communication about the team. One instance that may (or may not) have been mishandled draws comparisons to Derek Dooley?
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This is what it reminds me of. YMMV, but I don’t think I’m losing it.
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If he busts-out a pair of $4,000 red slacks on Game Days, we are officially screwed.
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I might break if Kirby tells us that he is teaching these kids basic hygiene.
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There’s probably somebody added to the support staff who’s in charge of that. 😉
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So?
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+1
Anyone in Smart’s position has to massage and spin the truth on occasion. What you can’t do is put yourself in a position where when the truth comes out, you are proven to be a liar. A very rookie screw up. Hopefully he’s a fast learner.
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Seems to me like you and 80% of the commenters are a lot more upset than AJ…shouldn’t that give you some pause as to whether or not it was handled all that poorly in actuality? We have a culture that loves to take a fraction of the information and draw full conclusions.
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I love how you can say something like “We have a culture that loves to take a fraction of the information and draw full conclusions” and in the same breath tell us how Turman feels.
If you’re okay with a coach assuring the media that something happened when it didn’t, that’s fine.
Don’t confuse your approval of the policy change with my distress over the clumsiness in the way it’s been applied. Those are two very different things.
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I’m just going off what AJ Turman said in his own comments. If he’s upset, he seems to hide it well. I don’t really care about this one way or another, to be perfectly honest. There are kids who are victims and then there are kids who are told a handful of schools they can’t go to and get a full scholarship to play football. First world problems. Maybe it was handled poorly with the media, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Kirby doesn’t really care what we or the media thinks because he’s focused on winning to keep his job. If he treats kids poorly in reality, not in the perception of people looking from the outside in, recruiting will suffer and UGA won’t win.
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So am I.
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Bottom line to me is that Kirby lost a lot of credibility with UGA fans because it looks like he flat out got caught in a lie. I realize as well that he doesn’t have to be a creditable person in order to win, but it sure would be nice going forward if we could feel like what he’s saying is the truth. It’s been said that the “Bulldawg Nation” has been (is) divided, and I don’t think this episode helps to rectify that if indeed it’s true. As the Senator pointed out, it’s not so much the transfer issue as it is in the terrible way it was handled.
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I’m sure Richt, Donnan and Dooley were always completely honest and forthcoming with every detail of how they ran the program.
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The difference here is that Kirby challenged the press to talk to AJ. They did and the result was that we found out Kirby was playing a bit fast and loose with the truth. Why can’t some here admit he handled it wrong and hope he learned a lesson about it?
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Senator, when it comes to personnel decisions (ex: transfers, scholly offers, scholly offer retractions, etc) due to the possible private reasons of such decisions (ex: health, family, character issues, etc.) coaches are not going to be completely open and honest with the details. That’s fine by me. As fans we aren’t entitled to every bit of info about a player’s private life. To act so offended about a head coach telling the media something that was “deliberately misleading” seems a bit ridiculous unless you honestly think that most head coaches are completely open and honest. And to say that Turman is OK with this prying due to his willingness to speak about it to the media, well have you ever considered that maybe Turman is being not completely honest about the situation? Perhaps, he had a falling out with Smart? Who knows? All I know is that this is making a mountain out of a he said/he said molehill.
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Why did Kirby have to discuss it publicly at all?
He made a mistake. Hopefully he’ll learn from it. But to act like nothing happened here? Nah.
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So your only gripe with this is that Smart should have just brickwalled questions regarding this issue? That one mistake (about a 4th string RB transfer) deserves this many posts from you?
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I don’t understand. You can’t tell from my posts what I’m concerned about?
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It appears that you are enveloping your dislike of College Football’s restrictive transfer rules regarding players within concerns over an aired-out quibble between a player and his new coach. Is this correct? Or am I missing something? Are you trying to elaborate that not controlling the media better over a he said/he said issue is a harbinger of bad judgement from Smart to come? Because I’m unaware of Saban even in his first year batting 1.000 in and off the field.
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I have repeatedly said that if this was merely a story about Smart changing the transfer policy, I would have moved on, because, while I don’t agree with it, I understand.
As far as I’m concerned this has changed from being a story about the policy to one about management of the program.
If you’ve got an example of Saban making up shit at a press conference three months into his term, please share. I’m all ears.
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I got Saban making shit up right before his term in Tuscaloosa. Is that indicative of how Saban managed Bama? http://espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=2718798&columnist=forde_pat
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That is not an example of Saban doing what Kirby just did.
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simpl_matter please explain
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You’re right that they’re both lying, but Saban’s was done out of an attempt to preserve his employment options. I’m not saying it was justified, but there’s a rationale there I can understand.
I have no idea why Kirby did what he did. There wasn’t any reason for it, since he and Turman had already worked things out.
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Saban said “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach”. There are a myriad of different ways to preserve his employment options than saying those very direct words. I don’t understand why Saban said that and didn’t just deflect. But like my earlier point his stupidity in saying that quote to the media was not indicative of his future management of Bama.
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Saban said it because he was trying to deflect specific questions based on what the media was hearing. I get that. (I’d even argue that it did reflect his future management at Alabama.)
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Saban was scheming/conniving with an end goal. Kirby was making it up as he went along for all of us to see. Kirby stumbled through this whole matter; the closest Saban incident I can think of to this would be the Jonathan Taylor debacle.
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shameful. we might as well be auburn
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with or without the national championship?
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Touché, Mike.
In the end, for many that’ll be all that matters.
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I hope we don’t get to be like the Bama fans that constantly lament a 37-12 win over Slippery Rock as a slipshod wretched performance that “Coach Saban needs to get under control”
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Please review comments after the GSU game last year if the wailing over Mizzou and GT doesn’t count.
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You think bitching about OT with Southern is the same as a whining about 37-12 victory?
Not sure I can agree
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Then don’t, but the fact remains we have a very irrational segment of our fan base that doesn’t just expect us to win, but win big, all the time, when it counts, because…UGA….Atlanta…Georgia HS talent…
…except Kirby’s not expected to win just yet because…rational fans, which is different than accepting mediocrity somehow.
Go ask Finebaum for verification.
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Could we play dirty just until we win one Natty and then show some moral high-ground character? 😉
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I’ll will be looking forward to more of your comparisons later as Kirby moves forward. You’ll find yourself seeing each and every coach on Kirby’s character and management style as this is how college football is now.
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If Kirby had made it clear from the beginning about the conference or teams on the schedule, I think everyone would have said, “Fine. I see his point.” When he threw Miami in, it sounded petty. When AJ said Kirby wasn’t going to allow any transfer or anywhere outside Florida, he looked like an over-controlling jerk and a liar.
Regardless, he stepped in it and should own it.
Where the hell is Felton and/or a Grady PR professor to advise when all of these conversations happen to help with the PR?
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ee, you perfectly stated my opinion on this matter.
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Yep, you nailed it. He shouldn’t have time for this sh*t.
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Y’all, the more I hear him talk, the less I want to hear from him.
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Then don’t listen and read any news on GA football. Better yet don’t watch any college football at all. It will relieve you of stress in your life.
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I think your continued snark about Catalina’s transfer is off base. Unless the NCAA has changed its graduate transfer rule, the transferring player only has immediate eligibility if he is pursuing a degree in a major not offered by his current school. So what was Catalina supposed to do? Wait for Rhode Island to come up with a program in his chosen field? He was leaving Rhode Island; it was just a matter of where he was going to land.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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I’m totally fine with Catalina’s transfer. I fully support the NCAA graduate transfer policy (which, by the way, is under some pressure from coaches to be more restrictive).
My snark is over the contrast between a coach solemnly explaining how 80% of the kids who transfer come to regret it while welcoming a transfer.
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Most on here that have an issue with this is because he put Miami in there also. Saint Richt didn’t have to deal with this issue because Donnan did not coach anywhere else after UGA.
Nov 30, 2015 the day pussy football died in Athens!
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I hate to break it to you, but the field turf in the new IPF will lead to lots of abrasions and pussy wounds.
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Ah, casual misogyny.
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What brought up the smart — St Richt comment?
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Somebody wrote something about Georgia football. Lots of hammers around here.
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Senator, your axe is about ground to the handle on this one. I echo the first post.
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Yay, this thread again!!!
http://www.reactiongifs.us/popcorn-jon-stewart/
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Hey, if you don’t want to hear about this anymore, tell Kirby to quit talking about it.
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I don’t read Kirby’s blog 😉
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Kirby’s got a blog? My sympathies. 🙂
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Agree time to move on. Maybe the next blog will be about all the cultural changes for the better that have taken place since Kirby arrived. BTW Kirby has to keep talking about it because the media will not let it go. Bright side is at least we are not beating the Ledbetter story to death.
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If that’s the case, it’s just another example of not learning as much from Saban as I thought he had.
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And speaking of Ledbetter, how about Bryan Gnatt being on sped dial at 2:00AM in the morning. Suspect that is a new Kirby stance also, although ACC police not as forgiving as Tuscalooser PD.
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That’s a move I approve of.
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If you didn’t think our new culture was going to be ‘over-controlling’, then you haven’t looked down the road in T-town the last 9 years.
We could use a little pettiness in our program. I just don’t understand the ire. I don’t think we’ve handled it that poorly. I’d be delighted if ADGM would be quiet, but I think Kirby is trying to honor the kid and be as forthright with the media as possible.
But, we’re going to get a ‘talk to the bottle’ comment real soon. Kirby’s all about football, and I’m okay with that. We pay him a lot to be the football coach.
This just seems much ado about nothing. And why WOULDN’T we block kids from going to Miami right now. They need to know that if they want out of the new ‘tougher’ environment that they are NOT going to be allowed to run to Richt. That actually might be the worst thing they could do for themselves. Maybe that IS what’s in their best interest. They also become recruiting risk in South Florida as kids come on officials to Miami and UGA the next 2-3 years of being a voice that says, “Oh man, it’s tough and crazy up in Athens. I’ve been with Kirby and Richt. Why do you think I transferred down here?” Am I only one who sees that as a potential problem?
Why do we have a problem with Kirby denying his transfer? We need running backs, particularly this spring. We’ve moaned and complained about Richt’s roster management for years and not having depth, then we complain about Kirby trying to keep needed depth at a thin position. He denied it because we need the kid. We’ve got Sony, a slow white kid who can’t hit the hole, a star coming off a catastrophic injury, and a big redshirt who flipped from Georgia Southern to us 2 days before signing day. You think he doesn’t want Turman on this team because we dadgum need him? He’s not jerking him around. He’s paid millions to look out for UGA and UGA needs tailbacks in a bad way right now.
He also didn’t lie. AJ didn’t appeal with the NCAA, and Kirby said he didn’t have interest in going to Miami. AJ said he had some interest in Florida…well, tough cookies. You don’t get to transfer to a rival. And who cares if Kirby limited it to Florida schools. The kid said he wanted to get closer to home, so we finally said ok. We finally backed off that, but that means AJ was being disingenuous, because it WASN’T, apparently, about getting closer to home but, rather, just getting out.
And you think there isn’t some chatter from 3rd string guys about maybe wanting out? We need those 3rd string guys like crazy on this team. We are thin almost everywhere. We’re setting a precedent that getting out is going to be much harder than it was before, and maybe that’s in the best interest of UGA long term.
We hired Kirby Smart because we decided to get in the College Football business. I’m quite pleased with that. That doesn’t mean he gets a green light to do whatever he wants, but the only way to win in this environment is to be about winning first. Again, we fired the nicest coach in college football history for going 10-3 for 2 straight years. 10-3 and nice are not good enough. We’ve already established that. 10-3 and nice will get Kirby fired.
11-2 or 12-1 and a little petty, I’d bet we can live with that. Maybe a little petty is what gets you to 11-2 or 12-1. That’s why I think this is much ado about nothing. What matters is september-january. And none of us made that decision, the university did. Frankly, I was cool with either. I loved Richt and thought he’d break through one day. Loved the way he ran the program, but when we were getting body-slammed by Bama every time we played them I wasn’t thinking, “Boy, I’m so glad we’re not petty about transfers, never grayshirt, and really manage our roster with class and don’t pull offers to recruits.” I was thinking, “I’m tired of not being able to compete with these guys.”
So, as long as we’re within the rules, I’m cool with trying to compete, too, for a decade or so. And if we do win a couple of natties, I won’t be thinking, “But, you know we had to get a little petty about transfers and we grayshirted a couple of kids and we pulled that offer from a few recruits and we medically DQ’d a few kids that couldn’t make the cut.” I’ll be thinking, “It sure was fun to beat Bama in the Dome and then see Urban’s sad face on the other sideline in the playoff.”
The question is, over time, will it make a difference. We don’t know. What we do know is that the way we’ve done things for 15 years got us to where we were, and the greatest lie in any organization is always “what got us here will get us there.” It won’t. It never does. If this doesn’t get us there the next few years, we’ll step back and re-calibrate. Maybe we’ll find a happy medium. But people act like we’ve turned into Baylor or Louisville Basketball.
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Kirby’s exact words from the presser were: “A.J. did not appeal anything.”
Turman has said repeatedly, with more than one paper of record, that he did file appeals. And here’s the thing – since he and Smart worked things out, the appeals are moot. That’s all Kirby had to say at the presser and he would have been fine. Instead, he chose to make up something that wasn’t true.
You keep focusing on the new policy as if that excuses everything. I’m not worked up over the change, because I can understand it comes with the territory. But Kirby has badly mishandled something he should have seen coming, and since part of what we’ve been sold on is that, unlike Richt, our new coach is a master of details, I find what’s happened a bit troubling.
Don’t see what’s such a big deal about that.
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I think that makes sense. My quibble with all this, and I understand you need material for the blog, is that it seems like one instance of perceived mishandling is translated as gross incompetence. The volume of words being devoted to this shows a greater reaction than being a little troubled. And, maybe that’s an overreaction at this point. Time will tell.
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I don’t think it’s gross incompetence. But as someone who criticized Richt for being shoddy with details, I was hoping for better with Smart. And this sure doesn’t give me confidence about that.
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It’s in the news all over Georgia … Should the good Senator ignore it like the Gainesville media ignores the local police blotter in Alachua County?
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I don’t think ignoring it and concluding that, “as someone who criticized Richt for being shoddy with details, I was hoping for better with Smart. And this sure doesn’t give me confidence about that.”, are the same one. However, either one of those approaches beat over-blowing it, which is what I think is being done. Not just by the Senator, but by a lot of people.
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Every one of Smart’s decisions are going to be examined heavily because he hasn’t done this before. Wait until he makes his first clock management error that leads directly to a loss (see Auburn 2001). If this makes him uncomfortable, he will feel like an ant being burned by a magnifying glass on a summer day in Hahira.
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By the way, I don’t write this stuff because I need material for the blog. I do it because in one way or another it resonates with me and provokes a reaction.
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Understood. I respect your opinions and that’s why I read your blog regularly.
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I was wondering if you were going to let that one slip by. 🙂 You sure have caught a lot of grief over this one. Mostly misunderstandings I think.
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As you said it moot now, AJ did not file paperwork for what he thought he filed paperwork for. It makes me question if he had made a misstatement anywhere in this, which as you said is now a moot point. I wish I had a videa of what Kirby said to AJ about transferring but we don’t. The only people that are making a big deal of this are a handful in the blogosphere analyzing every move, which I appreciate the info. However, I disagree with the conclusion.
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I get that. He’ll get used to not saying much, but our lambasting him over this will simply mean he’ll learn to say less to the media and we’ll get less access to his mind. Maybe that’s a good thing.
But, I’d bet to Kirby, this is semantics. The ‘appeal’ Kirby mentioned is the NCAA appeal, which AJ did not do. It looks like AJ went through a process inside the University to reconsider his request. I’d bet they don’t call that an appeal inside the building.
The papers were reporting at the time that AJ was appealing through the NCAA process. That was not true, and Kirby wanted to make that clear. Did he do some kind of process inside UGA? Looks like it, but that’s not what the reporters were asking about.
That’s why I think this is much ado about nothing. Kirby will get better in front of the mic, but I’d bet he thought he was being very forthcoming and didn’t feel it necessary to go into every detail.
AND….One thing that he probably didn’t see coming is the AJC. No one can. The papers in Alabama are on your side (even if Saban doesn’t think they are). The AJC is going to dig and prod. That’s just what they do. They’re a much bigger outfit, and frankly, no other school in the South has to deal with a real newspaper that actually questions the start coaches and athletes. The coverage is different at UGA because of that. I’d bet there’s a learning curve there.
I just think we’re bored and it’s March and there’s nothing else to talk about.
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These appeals run through the school. Turman was mistaken about how they were routed, but not about filing them, or why he did.
And you’re reading way too much into what Kirby said.
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Maybe so. Saban didn’t call Richt about Taylor. How could he miss that detail? Maybe I’m just not as enamored with the idea of ‘attention to all the details’ as others were. I like the idea, just not sure any coach can cover every one, and I think Kirby will prove more attention to detail then many others.
If I was Kirby, I would’ve just said, “That’s between me and AJ, I’ve got some of my own ideas about transfers and I’ll leave it at that. Who wants to ask me about spring practice?” I’d imagine this will teach him to say that. Young coach. Gonna have some bumps.
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Taylor wasn’t about missing details; it was about making a controversial judgment call. Saban knew what he would have heard had he spoken with Richt.
I agree with your second paragraph.
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The problem was his boss threw him under the bus the previous day by saying, “Kirby will be available tomorrow to discuss this.” Sort of sounds like what happened the morning of the Missouri game in ’14 when our AD threw our Heisman Trophy candidate under the bus as well.
Sort of a common thread developing there.
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Agreed, what Kirby has done may prevent the exodus UGA experienced after Grantham moved on. UGA should have never allowed kids to transfer to teams on the schedule or to programs with their former coach. If the kid is set on doing that he can go JUCO and then go where he wants without restriction. Was the news delivered in typical botched B-M PR fashion? likely. Will it hurt UGA in the long run? Doubt it.
On a side note, I hope to see 2 RBs in the next class.
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The exodus after Grantham moved on:
1) JHC – kicked off the team for violations of the university’s drug policy
2) Trigga – kicked off the team for yelling at a professor and committing fraud with his stipend check
3) Taylor – kicked out of school for beating up his girlfriend – went JUCO before Bama
4) Wiggins – left the team because he and Pruitt didn’t see eye to eye on practice habits
3 of the 4 couldn’t be prevented because they were dismissed by the university. Wiggins wanted to transfer because he didn’t like Pruitt after spring practice … I don’t think we’ve missed him.
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I usually agree with you, but the decision to block kids from Miami won’t make a bit of difference in the product on the field at UGA. With this decision, Smart is acting like Richt left UGA of his own accord to take the Miami job. In that case, I would see blocking transfers to Miami, but that’s not what happened. If a player sees that he’s going to get a better opportunity to play in Coral Gables than he is in Athens, why should Kirby care one damn bit if the guy goes to south Florida? That’s another scholarship freed up for a player that Kirby should think will upgrade the roster that he has said is deficient. If that player is willing to sit for a year to play for the coach he wants to play for, why should any of us care?
I understand to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs. I’m in full agreement about restricting transfers within the conference (Richt should have told Trigga if you want to go to Auburn, pay your own way or go JUCO rather than an unconditional release) or to teams we’re going to play during the player’s remaining eligibility (no to tech, ND, UNC, etc.). That’s what our peers do. Other than that, life is too short.
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sUGArdaddy wrote:
“So, as long as we’re within the rules, I’m cool with trying to compete, too, for a decade or so. And if we do win a couple of natties, I won’t be thinking, “But, you know we had to get a little petty about transfers and we grayshirted a couple of kids and we pulled that offer from a few recruits and we medically DQ’d a few kids that couldn’t make the cut.” I’ll be thinking, “It sure was fun to beat Bama in the Dome and then see Urban’s sad face on the other sideline in the playoff.’”
This illustrates two totally opposite views of the role of football in the college universe. It is the “Just win, baby” approach.
My opposite view is that the football program should be managed to reinforce the college lessons, such as development of character and creating better citizens. To me beating Bama in the Dome and then see Urban’s sad face on the other sideline in the playoff is not worth turning our backs on the greater college mission.
I am not saying my point of view is better than yours. I am just saying the the Alabama Way or the Auburn Way is not what I want, even if it generates more wins. The NFL is the “Just win, baby” league.
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As I mentioned yesterday, I find Kirby’s apparent lack of a plan for transfers troubling. This boils down to an essential element that Kirby would love to migrate from Tuscaloosa–team depth. Saban manages to somehow placate 4-5 star kids who are buried in the depth chart. This pretty much is what separates Bama from the other kids in the schoolyard.
I would venture to guess that Saban’s proven track record is the primary tonic that keeps the restless kids settled (perhaps BD would share some thoughts on this?). Looks like Kirby is going to need to prove his coaching chops in order to pull a deeper more talented roster and keep them happy. His plan of ‘really really REALLY discourage transfers’ has fallen flat on its face. Time for a backup plan Kirby, and preferably one that involves less PR faceplants.
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Good comment, Twist … I clearly hope he has learned from it.
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The Georgia Way is too timid to win. The Kirby way is too mean. Too bad you can’t be in charge Senator to perfectly calibrate the proper balance.
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I’ve never been in the arena, Bill, but I can pretty much guarantee I could handle PR better than McGarity and Smart have so far on this.
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I think most folks would move on to another topic if it was just about Kirby being ‘mean’ or unfair to the kids. It is the apparent look of ‘winging this transfer situation’ that looks disheveled and not thought out. We expected more on this front, but like eethomas mentioned, lets hope Kirby learns quick on the job. Mistakes are inevitable for a first time head coach, but its a little disconcerting that a mistake like this comes from an understudy of Saban.
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How is it disconcerting that this comes from an understudy of Saban? He rarely allows his staff to speak to the press, and it isn’t shocking that any player leaving the program on the player’s terms faces limited options. It is actually rather expected.
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Not that at all. Its disconcerting that Kirby seemingly doesn’t have a method or plan for addressing the situation. Saban would of had it all worked out as a part of the ‘process’.
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I don’t care what we’re hearing in the media or even from Kirby on this issue. None of us were hired to make the decisions and none of us were there when the transfer was asked for. We will NEVER get the full details with the incident,therefore leading to a certain amount of speculation whether it be a lot or a little. I say we move on and wait for the summer player shenanigans and to see how Kirby handles more suspensions with the depth chart. Until then, I heard we have a freshman QB that we are expecting the world from…and a stud running back who is ahead of schedule in healing up. Good luck at UCF Mr. Turman, Godspeed.
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That makes it easier. 😉
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…I need a little easy, Senator. Apathy doesn’t suit me well, but I’m going to borrow it and a vest for a while. 🙂
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Bottom line for me. If Kirby is fumbling over statements, and lying to the media over the transfer of a 5th string running back that has never played a snap at UGA and likely never would have, what is going to happen when something of actual consequence happens? He’s going to have to do more than flip a couple of three stars from Bama to convince me that these ends are going to justify the means during his tenure.
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I guess you have not heard that Fromm is a 4 star and a highly ranked QB at that.
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O contraire, I’ve watched him play live several times. Cards on the table, I think he’s better than Eason, but he already flipped once and his papers won’t fax until next February at the earliest so I’m not taking out a loan on him yet.
We probably lost more talent to decommitment after Richt left than we gained with new commitments once Smart signed on. Not that I blame Smart for that, he had a lot on his plate, but you add that to the blundering of this transfer situation and it increases the caution in my optimism. I’l still be at G-Day though.
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A lot of folks may not agree with this but sometimes a bit of bad news or controversy may turn out to be an increase publicity like Harbaugh, LOL. The only way to keep your name on the news and on peoples mind, good or bad. Look at Trump, the media records his every fart, LOL. He does not have to spend too much of his private funds either.
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I guess the real question we should be asking is how much time did Kirby have to dedicate to a kid that doesn’t want to be with the program. can anyone say bigger fish to fry. I’m sure there was some misunderstandings from both sides. I am willing to give him a by on this one under the circumstances. I’m sure he’s learned his lesson, will set the precedent moving forward, and likely will have some administrative person handle these situations moving forward. End of story.
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I have stated my position on the transfer I do not think it is has ever hurt us. Kirby has egg on his face from how he handled it. I hope he learns from this PR mistake. This can affect recruitung in a negative way. This reminds me of Paul Johnson and his recruiting stances.
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Fire Kirby Smart!!!!111!!1!!!11!
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We at UGA do not just beat dead horses, we make glue out of them. I understand that it is March and we are in withdrawal but Kirby better get used to it. Kirby better get used to being second guessed on everything he does. That was what amazed me about Richt, he should have quit years before he was fired. The total bullshit that the press put on him was awful. Kirby has only watched Saban handle the press because Kirby wasn’t allowed to talk to the press. Now, with his Nick Jr. routine he is the only target of opportunity the press has and they will attack. He better win and win quick or the press will have him on the UGA hot seat. The QB decision should be good for at least two months of pissing and moaning.
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“We at UGA do not just beat dead horses, we make glue out of them.”
Perfect.
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I laughed, but seriously I could walk down between the cubes in my office and ask each one with UGA memorabilia, and I doubt 1 in 3 would know Turman is not on the team and 1 in 5 know the 1st thing about the transfer.
Meanwhile 9 out of 10 Bammers want to talk to Saban’s Coca Cola bottle.
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Taking the focus off the QB battle and allowing the team to practice with minimal scrutiny. Genius!
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Saban had decades to refine his art, as well as the benefit of some good influential mentors. Although Kirby’s spent plenty of time learning under saban, he’s essentially on his own at UGA. Other than perhaps Dooley, who’s been out of athletics for about 15 years, who the heck can Kirby call upon to bounce ideas or issues off of at UGA?
If feel for Kirby because he is on his own with damn near nobody to turn to when there’s a problem. McG is absolutely useless. Otherwise, he might be helping support or shield Kirby right now.
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I am sure Bobo and Pruitt would take his calls.
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Richt had Dooley, who had the only AD ever mentioned in a James Brown song, Joel Eaves. Kirby needs to find someone to discuss these things with because it’s clear the AD is looking for cover when anything like this happens.
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