So, I’m reading Seth Emerson’s report on yesterday’s practice and came across this comment from Smart:
“Y’all are incredible. I’m getting reports during practice and everybody is telling me that Kendall Baker is the starting right guard,” Smart said. “It amazes me where some of this come from. Kendall Baker is in competition with Dyshon Sims, he’s in competition with Solomon Kindley, he’s in competition with Pat Allen, and to be honest with you, those four at guard are really about dead even.
“That’s just where it is. I know you all want to know who the starters are but there’s not a starter right now.”
Is it just me, or does that sound like Kirby actually has staffers monitoring what the beat writers post during practice and have them report that to him in real time? Good Lord, no wonder they had to beef up support. Talk about leaving no stone unturned…
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UPDATE: I guess it’s not just me.
Get The Picture 
I understand attention to detail and love the energy…but, some details are a waste of time and unnecessary to attend to. Focus on the team and let beat writers write. It’ll come out in the wash. JMO.
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Congregation say AMEN!!!!
Why does he GAS about what the writer speculated about the o-line roatation?
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By the way. If you want them to write the correct info about the team…give them the info. If you are going to play cloak and dagger, expect someone to guess wrong.
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You mean like give out a depth chart at the beginning of game week so people can have some idea what’s going on or who will be playing? That’s so five years ago dude…
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It’s kind of unreal that it’s gotten to this. Big fan of a lot of the stuff that he’s done, but this exercise is a waste of time. People speculate because you won’t give them the info and it’s their job to report.
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What has he done that you are a big fan of? I’m genuinely interested. I know he’s done a good job recruiting but is that really a big story at UGA?
Give me specifics. What move, what tactic, what personnel hire are you a fan of? What concrete action can you point to and say, “I like that!”?
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Never mind. I thought of one: roster management.
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Good question. I of course hope he’s WILDLY successful but there isn’t much he’s done that has given me any warm fuzzies..
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His recruiting. Him beefing up the support staff. Him not having less than 70 scholarship players on a football roster. Producing a defense at the end of the last year that was top half in the SEC. Bigger picture stuff thus far.
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I think that IS where the focus is. He doesn’t want the players to get any info on their status from the press. He wants it to come from him. If a player reads that Baker is the starter does that become a distraction to the other guys? Do they think some coach is feeding this info to the media? Do they let up thinking the comp is over? Does mommy and daddy ask for a time wasting meeting about the future of their son in the program?
It may seem, and may be, overdone, but it’s all about controlling info so he can maintain control of the team. I think that you give these players and their parents too much credit if you don’t think they overreact to press stories. That’s why CKS says as little as possible about Riley and Manac and the rest. The message to the players and their parents is: don’t believe anything you read in the paper AND we’re not going to make an example out of a player publically over off the field matters.
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Then he should tell the players that nothing written in the press matters and move the hell along. Trying to get writers to not write is inane.
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I’m sure he does. I’m also sure he probably thinks that’s not enough. Why? The parents aren’t in the locker room to hear it for one.
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How does parental opinion factor in? I’m a parent. When my children were in college what happened to them there was between them and the school. It’s the students’ job to manage that relationship. It’s called becoming an adult. Especially for players on scholarship, how does parental opinion matter at all? The kid signed. For a year the program can and will play him or not. That decision is totally up to the coaching staff. If I’m a player I’d be embarrassed if my parents wanted to get involved. Like Rodrigo last year, I’d be making sure the coaches knew my parents did not speak for me.
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Talk to Ken about that. I ain’t saying it’s right (I think it’s bullshit), but youre naive if you think there aren’t more Kens.
The point is a simple one: a story in a paper can start a fire, so stomp it out at your first opportunity before it gets out of hand.
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I don’t think it’s as easy as you think.
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Fine. But validating the media by your asinine reaction is a rather poor way of telling others not to listen to or give credance to the media. It’s like telling people you’re totally over your ex, yet you throw as fit when you see on her out on a date cuddling up with her new beau.
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I don’t think he’s trying to get them to do anything except print his exception to the story. I don’t think he has any thoughts that he can change what they do or how they do it. He’s just finding a way to get equal time for his version of the truth: no starters at guard yet.
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Didn’t they past a “law”, no tweeting during practice and interviews?
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I believe it was a ban on live tweeting injuries that occur during practice. A situation occurred where a parent read about an injury before the staff could notify them.
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Guess we will exchange game cards at the coin flip.
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And what does he gain by that? I thought these staffers would break down more film, study technique and look at trends using electronics. What a paranoia freak.
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Come on Kirby, you’re better than that. He shouldnt give a rip what the media prints, as trivial stuff like this won’t help win or lose you games. All he had to say was, ‘the OL still isn’t settled, so we are working hard to find out who are starters will be.’ Instead, here he comes off as insecure and petty.
I swear, one day I’ll read a great comment from Kirby about self/team improvement, which gets my hopes up, and the next something borderline stupid which makes me question his priorities. We potentially have a great team on our hands, and we don’t need him costing us games this year due to continued hiccups on the coaching front.
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When I saw the earlier posts by the Senator regarding the lack of a public depth chart, my first thought was that Kirby wanted to maintain competition through the week and that there were positions where there are co- number 1’s – where neither player at the given position has a distinct advantage. That conclusion seems supported by Smart’s statements above. I seriously doubt Smart is trying to outfox the media or Appalachian State by not releasing a depth chart this week.
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Fake news, Sad!
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He does not like the press or trust them whatsoever. Last year he was really raw with them, probably because Saban never let him meet with the press. I am hoping his PR skills improve over time. He really needs those guys on his side in the long run.
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“He really needs those guys on his side in the long run.”
I do wish Kirby would just let some thins go. But to say he needs them on his side? I don’t get that. It is true that the Athens Banner-Herald did not lose to Vandy at home, but they didn’t beat Vandy at home, either. The Press has nothing to do with wins and losses, period.
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He learned control from the master
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This is a ridiculous detail for a head coach to concern himself with. Bigger picture though, can you remember a season where so many coaches refused to release their starting roster prior to the first game? It seems to be the year of “you’re on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know.”
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Dear Kirby,
When I am sitting in tears after we win our third national championship of the Christian Era, I will feel bad for all the dickish comments about this, until then Kirbs…you are on your own.
Love,
Scorp
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Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
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He should really let the Coke bottle handle his pressers.
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Next he will announce that the mascot job is still wide open, and we will just have to wait until game time to find out which bulldog gets to wear the sweater–this week.
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Cool. Does this mean somebody is going to be spying the quarterback with the Tech game on the line?
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One thing that bothers me about Kirby is when he answers questions, he at times says “I’ll be honest with you.” As a lawyer, when I hear someone say that, my first instinct is to tell them I expect honesty in responding to every single question, and makes me think the next thing out of his mouth is going to be a lie.
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“To be honest” or “I’ll be honest with you”, where I grew up in Georgia, is typically said when you are being frank with someone and you think they may not like what you are about to say. It isn’t a sign of dishonesty, but the exact opposite.
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Agreed…
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I guess we have got to hope that Kirby’s time management skills are enough that he has time to do this. In the old days of newspapers the warning was “never get into a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel”, now it’s don’t piss off anybody with a phone. Still I don’t get the super secret crap that college coaches think is necessary. We are not going come out with an Air Raid offense and our defense will be semantically the same as last year so what’s the big deal.
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This is the level of preparation it takes to show up in oxford and get 45 points dropped on you by a 5-7 football team.
This is the attention to detail that it takes to lose to vandy at home.
This is the amount of focus it takes to let tech overcome a 13 point deficit in the 4th quarter.
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There is not a day where someone isn’t questioning your ability to do your job, your hairstyle, or whether you’re just another in a long line of useful functionaries promoted way over your head by association with a much more successful, competent football coach you once worked for at another school.
Spencer is talking about McElwain, right?
ps. He should have stayed with the Orson Swindle handle. IMO.
pps. Where’s Doug? Seriously, what’s he doing these days?
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Kirby’s always been at war with the beat writers.
Real time intel used as disinformation against the enemy makes them think they are incredible
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It would be really great if the folks over at the athletic department that could string together 4-5 days in a row where they didnt do something that make UGA the laughing stock of twitter. that would be nice.
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Nick Saban did the exact same thing last week. I don’t see why this is a big deal, or why anybody cares when either coach does it.
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I am sometimes amazed at what bothers folks on here….our fan seem like a fairly miserable group, if you go by this blog…IMHO…YMMV.
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And here I thought the Loran Smith piece would make you a happy camper.
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I love it.
Some beat writer reports something that isn’t true about a very close competition for position – CKS calls them out for a false report – so the logical response is to blast CKS for paying attention and trying to correct false information being reported.
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First off, nobody I saw reported that he had been named a starter, only that he was practicing that day with the first team. That was — wait for it! — accurate.
Second, what difference should it make to Kirby what’s being reported about the roster? It’s not like he’s going to let the media parcel out playing time.
Third, why do you think it’s useful to devote staff time to tracking it?
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Seems to me the biggest problem Kirby has with the media is live reporting during practice. Only reason to explain having some flunky monitor it in real time and relay this back to him – during freaking practice. Anyway, ef Spencer Hall. He can’t talk about our coach like that, only we can talk about our coach like that!
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When you’ve lost Spencer Hall…
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Wow, if Kirby goes off like this on the media I can only imagine his reaction to Greg Mediocrity’s fiasco with that Ludicris contract.
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