I’m not posting this in an attempt to mock Chip Towers.
Rather, it leads me to ask you guys a question: assuming the accuracy of his accusation, how much do you care that the press has less access to Georgia’s players? For me, it’s a mixed bag. As a blogger, the more information about the Georgia program, the better. As a sympathetic fan, though, I can see why Smart might want to limit the access of 17- and 18-year olds who are just now getting their sea legs under them. In other words, sometimes kids do say the darnedest things.
That all being said, I think it’s bullshit the assistant coaches aren’t permitted to speak more often with Georgia’s beat writers. They’re not kids away from home for the first time in their lives. Gawd knows, I would have loved to have heard a lot more from Todd Monken last season. But that’s a separate question.
Anyway, enough of me. What do y’all say?
Get The Picture 
I get it, from Chip’s point of view, and you know what, I would like to know more about the players.
However, I do believe that in the insane climate in which we exist in which one wrong word or pronoun can get you “cancelled” unless you’re Bill Burr and uncancellable, then it makes sense as a head coach of a college program to keep a tight lid on the youngest players he had until he can be sure he and his coaches and his off field assistants have had a chance to get to them first.
Also, I’m in total agreement with you, that how coaches can’t talk to press is ridiculous. Well, unless you’re Kirby and you remember reading all the heartburn Coach Dumbass Potatohead caused Richt.
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If I were an assistant coach or coordinator for the Dawgs I’d buy Kirby a beer every day and twice on Sunday for keeping those media clowns from pestering me like a pack of of poodles.
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To quote a famous drug dealer “You’re GD right”
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Honest question here – can you remember a single instance of a Georgia player being interviewed by the media and saying something that truly embarrassed the program? I can’t. If this were a “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” thing then I guess I’d understand clamping fully down on media access to players. And even absent that, I guess I still can at least respect the idea of freshmen not being allowed to speak until the bowls (when UGA can no longer stop it from happening). But, what are we truly worried about? Bulletin board material? If a Georgia player says we’re going to whip Auburn’s ass and then Auburn plays extra hard because of it and beats us, well, I have always tended to believe that Auburn was going to win anyway or I put the blame on Georgia’s players for not elevating their own level of play. I simply don’t believe words matter that much. And if all we’re really worried about here is bulletin board material, then come off it. I’d rather learn about who these guys wearing red and black really are. Following some of our former guys through life has been a lot of fun.
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Kirby thinks he holds the launch codes. 😂
Seriously- I see both sides but one has the control. ((Shrugs))
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Running the program with a Saban-like grip without the trophy case to justify it
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Yea, he should just let things run free and everyone do what they want until he gets a trophy THEN he can tighten it down.
These are all steps of getting there dude.
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How long did it take Saban to start lining up trophies at the start of his head coaching career?
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Agreed and who was the once in a generation coach standing in Saban’s way of winning titles?
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Ah back to the “once in a generation coach” arguments that started circa 2018
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This has to be one of the more ignorant post I have ever run across on this
blog. Why would you do it any different? Nick is his mentor. Do you learn from and pattern yourself after unsuccessful people? How may years did Nick coach before he had his first hardware in the trophy case.
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Who cares? Nothing is more entertaining than seeing journos complain about how hard their job is.
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this is also a great point
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They should just make shit up out of thin air like the rest of non-sports journalists do
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you mean like how exciting an alley = mark richt has lost control? theres a reason I have clicked on AJC just a handful of times in the last 10 years.
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I have no problem with Kirby not making the freshmen available to the press. They may not say something stupid, but Kirby wants his team’s leaders to speak for the team. He seems to make it a privilege to be one of the players asked to spend time with the press. Kirby brought this from Bama where freshmen do not speak to the media until the end of the season.
I have no idea why Kirby doesn’t make his assistants more available to the media. Once again, it’s something Saban did at Alabama. I would think hearing more from the assistants would be appealing for recruiting and certainly to the fan base. Kirby (like Saban) wants to control the messaging from the program. I guess he believes this is the best way to do it.
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Not surprised it was you that beat me too it. Talking to the press is a) for the leaders and b) a reward. Hot Rod’s dad and hot rod drama was happening and then hot rod eventually gave the greatest player post game of all time. I applaud kirby for this system. In today’s game, its really hard to break out as a leader. They dont live together, their schedules are micro managed…just hard to find leadership avenues in general. This is one of them. Imagine if Pickins was allowed to talk Y1. Lol. It maybe funny for fans, or a story for reporters, but it would just hurt team chemistry and leadership.
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That is a great point about Hot Rod – Kirby did that kid the biggest favor in the world by not letting him talk to press. One of the most unlikable and me-first kids (and families) to ever come through UGA and he goes down as a hero because Kirby managed how he was presented to the public.
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What the ever-living FUCK are you ranting like a lunatic about here?
Rodrigo has never approached anything like you describe! Me-first? Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense. That kid was class all the way, and team first.
If he was me-first, he would’ve left to go get a scholarship elsewhere, and he would have been able to do so, easily.
What is your problem???
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Hi Mr. Blankenship, great to see you are still on here. Hope all is well.
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Provide proof of what you say.
He was me-first? Prove it.
He was unlikeable? Provide us with examples.
Otherwise, you’re full of it.
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Never meet your heroes, Corch
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I don’t have heroes. I’m not a 10 year old boy.
I also won’t judge someone from what was probably the 30th autograph or picture request they had that day when they just wanted to have a bite to eat or hang out with friends.
You know what’s something I’ve ever done? Ask for an autograph or picture from someone famous, athlete or celebrity. Ever. I don’t bother them, because in their shoes I wouldn’t want to be bothered. I’ve been on three Delta flights with Dikembe Motumbo back when my position had me traveling all over. No shit. I said hello. That’s it. Same with others around town. I saw Robert Downey, Jr. in Atlanta and waved and head-nodded. Why? Because I’m not an a-hole.
Lemme guess, Ryan, you saw Blankenship put in the world and wanted something for the ‘gram, right? Maybe he wasn’t feeling it? And now to you HE’s the asshole?
Do I have that right?
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Damn, you got me Mr. Blankenship. Hammer meet nail.
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Not sure how to reconcile your take with this.
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You guys are proving my point here. Blankenship has an undisputed rabid and loyal following. The thing that people are not considering (or maybe want to accept?) is that his following is a product of how he was presented to the public via Kirby’s media policy.
Also remember Kirby was coach when the great stories about Chubb’s and Michel’s background came to the forefront.
Smart is here to win football games, not to tell interesting stories. We had the years of heartfelt BS with Richt and it ended up getting him the boot. Put me in the camp that does not care if there is less to read about the players in March if that means there is more to read about the final scores in November.
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Your assertions that he was me-first and unlikeable are invalidated completely by how he teammates felt about him.
It has nothing to do with public perception or your individual interaction with him where you may have innocently asked for an autograph or picture and he wasn’t feeling or maybe you aggressively asked for an autograph or a picture and he told you to eff off. Either way, your confirmation bias is showing.
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That aint it Chief, but I admire your passion
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Then put up or shut up. 👍🏼
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You keep having these smart ass replies yet do nothing to back up your assertion.
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I’m not trying to litigate whether anyone should or should not like Hot Rod. I’m saying that in my opinion, without the guard rails in place from Kirby that end up making the journos upset, fans such as yourself would not feel so passionate about players like him. Its a good thing. You keep your heroes, less pressure on the kids, etc etc
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No, you made an assertion that a person was me-first and unlikeable against all available evidence, which includes no message handling from Kirby.
So provide evidence to back up your assertions that Blankenship was me-first and unlikeable.
All of us here have provided you non-Kirby message handling to the contrary.
Put up or shut up.
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I should not have let my opinions about a person or situation overshadow the point I was trying to make, no matter how well or ill informed that opinion may be. I was trying to give an example that I figured others would understand.
Also – congrats on your streak of acting like a normal human around celebrities, I can’t imagine not squealing like a girl if I was on the same flight as Dikembe Motumbo!
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I’m sorry THREE flights with Dikembe Mutombo!?
I would have asked to fly the plane I would have been so excited the first time.
The second time I would have asked him to sing over the flight attendant mike.
The third time I would have just known we were friends by then and played it cool and just asked for a dick pic or something.
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Yeah, you’re the king of restraint who paints a kid as “me-first” and “unlikeable” because he wouldn’t do the thing for you that you wanted him to do. We get you.
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Corch – you are embarrassing yourself at this point. Just because you only get information about UGA from the internet does not mean that is the entire universe of information to be had. You are out of the loop. Sorry to be the guy to tell you.
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The only person embarrassing themselves is
you, Ryan.
You cast aspersions on the character of a person that runs counter to all available evidence that matters, mainly how his teammates and coaches feel about him.
So as I, and others, have suggested you do: Put up, or shut up.
I would suggest shut-up. Or keep digging the hole. Whatever.
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I thought to some degree that was your original point – yes, the handling of the situation helped him tremendously, given more rope, he may have done himself in.
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I understand the camp you’re in. Nobody’s asking Kirby to tell interesting stories, although it’s only fair to point out that he does so on occasion, like with Camp Sunshine.
I don’t understand why it’s rabid on my part to note that RB took control of the narrative away from his dad in a very public way.
I also don’t understand how asking an assistant coach to provide some valuable input into a team’s performance is merely an interesting story to you. But like I said, it sounds like all you need is a ticket or a TV set and you’re a happy camper. More power to you.
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I think the positive stories are fantastic. Notice what the press gets to dig deep on is now stuff like that. Almost reminds you of how another East Georgia sports organization runs their press access…
I don’t think it’s rabid to note the RB instagram post. I do think it might be naive to think at 18 y/o the kid “took control of a narrative” all on his own.
Finally, and this one is pure speculation, but I imagine limiting asst. coach access achieves a few goals: 1. Gives asst. coaches cover and shows the buck stops with Kirby, this has to be a great perk for asst. coaches 2. Controls all messaging and eliminates any weird variables that could filter down to players. See Richt and Pruitt.
Honestly, if you are the head coach, why would you NOT have this policy? I don’t see any upside to it.
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Neither you nor I have access to the kind of inside information that would make this statement anything more than speculation. By the way, I don’t recall using the phrase “all on his own”.
And while you’re speculating, it seems to me there are plenty of levels between what Kirby Smart does and what Richt allowed Pruitt to do. If you will note, as I mentioned before, there are a number of other football programs that allow assistants to speak directly with the media. In fact, I’ve just read a series of comments from UK’s new OC about his QBs and as far as I can tell the world hasn’t come to an end in Lexington.
Bottom line, this is an entertainment business. As long as what Georgia does on the field is entertaining enough, Smart’s policy works for him (and you).
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Agreed – this is an entertainment business, and I think it’s hard to justify how giving people like Chip Towers more access to dig around as he sees fit with whomever he wants in your program is going to help the bottom line.
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Looks like others beat me to it, some very unkindly, but Hot Rod’s open letter said a lot different, maybe it was influenced by Kirby policies. His Dad was 90% of the problem or more. The video where Hot Rod tells the team he got a scholly (and kirby asked him to do it himself) the team explodes.
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BS – Rodrigo actually told his father to stop talking to the media about the scholarship.
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Blankenship turned down a full ride to FU to walk on at UGA and told his dad to STFU and eat a cracker.
Damn Good Dawg.
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eat a cracker!
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Clearly me first.
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It’s Kirby’s show, let him run it as he sees fit.
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I didn’t realize I was ordering Kirby around. Thanks for the correction.
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Well you did ask what we thought?
“Anyway, enough of me. What do y’all say?”
How is that correcting anyone? IF you don’t want our opinion, don’t ask for it. 🙂
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My apologies. “It’s Kirby’s show, let him run it as he sees fit.” read as more of a directive than an opinion to me.
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Sometimes things come across differently than folks intend. No harm, no foul.
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I’m indifferent. Even if there is more access that comes with an understanding that the press won’t embarrass the program. Who can forget “you’re a bad guy?”
I don’t know that any of these coaches/players Kirby included say anything terribly interesting. It seems to be by design.
So in theory, more access is desired, but in practice their silence is just as enlightening.
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I have a background in journalism, so I understand if people will take my criticisms of Kirby’s media policy with a grain of salt. Having said that, I think it’s stupid. I don’t think it serves the purpose that Kirby thinks it does, and I also think it’s going to have to change as NIL comes into play because if I were recruiting against Kirby, I would make it clear that Kirby won’t let you be you, which might hinder endorsement opportunities. UGA has some really engaging kids no doubt, but we’ll never know it. And I think the risk (of what, exposing some team secret or saying something dumb) is overstated.
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Ah yes, the “background in journalism” comment. Who GAS if UGA has engaging kids. We show up to watch them talk with their helmets.
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That may be true in your case, but I can tell you from years of blogging, a lot of folks like to hear more than just helmet talk.
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I’m sure you do show up to watch them talk with their helmets. But I’m sure there are others who would love to get to know these kids on some level. I don’t think it has to be Russian State Media, but that’s the path Kirby has chosen based on where he’s been. I do think it will change when NIL becomes a reality, though.
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If you are reading Chip Towers/UGA beat writers (and there are many great people on that beat) and thinking you are actually “getting to know” any of these players – you are getting played. The soft news part of UGA football coverage is just supermarket novellas for middle aged men. If you want to know what the kids are actually like, get on social media and follow uga barstool/old row accounts.
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Yeah… because if I know one thing that’s ironclad, it’s how people act on social media is how they really are.
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On the same hand, if you read it in the newspaper, it must be true
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So why read anything? Sounds like all you need to be good is to watch the games.
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I have wondered aloud already on The Athletic as to whether Kirby’s views on this might have to change in the upcoming word of NIL legislation. I know kids leverage social media more than news coverage today, of course, but might NIL and self-promotion (in a good way) require the locks to be removed so that all of the fans can get to know the kid more and he can improve his “brand”?
Just speculating here.
Also, does Kirby have freshmen social media on lockdown too?
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That’s “world” of NIL, not “word.” But you get my drift.
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I dont know a policy, but twitter certainly got more quiet after kirby.
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I think it’s inevitable that he’ll change access to players. I doubt we’ll ever see access to practice, though.
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After reading this post, I immediately thought about this same thing. The Senator has already had some posts illustrating how an athlete might be able to monetize their social media presence.
Also, most of the memorable media gaffes in college sports over the last several years have involved social media rather than players saying something to a beat reporter. They usually arise because of the informal and unscheduled nature of social media posts by most people. I don’t think UGA has any restrictions on social media for incoming freshmen.
Of course with a social media post controversy, the user deletes the post, cleans up their feed, and then waits for the controversy to pass. They have more control of the narrative. If a player says something to a reporter, then they do not have that kind of control.
I do not think it will become any easier for reporters to obtain information directly but I do think that there will be more information available. The big schools know that they will have to help their athletes build and monetize their personal brand.
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Concerning assistant coaches, I relate this to my line of work in technology and management. And that is, if you were hiring top talent and paying them well, you should give them as much latitude as possible to run their own department appropriately.
Putting a muzzle on a VP of sales (or OC) who’s making 500k + a year who is experienced and accomplished in their role is just damn silly. If you don’t trust them to not say something inappropriate in front of a reporter on or on a leadership call, then you hired the wrong person and that falls on you.
Now the players part is a different story and I really have no qualms with limiting access to them
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Yeah, this is where I am. I can see controlling the messaging from the assistants somewhat, but I think they should be able to speak about their role, goals, and thoughts.
I can see limiting the freshmen as some say it’s a reward.
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Bunk. The coaches are there to coach, not run PR. The OC is VP of sales by way of scoreboard, not by breaking down plays for your pleasure
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Remember all of the positive and interesting background on Nick Chubb and his heritage? I thought is was great and so did everyone else.
But it’s a double-edged sword for sure. Just as reporters will go to a news scene and find the most backwards, toothless, Mulgaish person they can to interview, so will some sports reporters. Kirby knows that too many reporters today are looking for fame instead of an honest story.
I still remember when some reporters were determined, “damn it there must be”, that there was a racially charged QB controversy at UGA, when it was bullshit. Here is a prime example.
https://atlallday.com/2018/09/20/georgia-football-no-quarterback-controversy-yet-one-looms/
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Agree that we need to hear from coaches not players. Let the captains or at least only upperclassmen talk to the press in limited spots, not freshmen for sure.
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Thats basically what kirby does.
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I have a cynical streak about journalists. I think they collectively have hubris because of New York Times vs. Sullivan, they think they are free of the biases and shortcomings of ordinary people as they repeatedly reveal them, and they use the first amendment as a club to rationalize things that aren’t related to the first amendment.
Against that background, I sort of agree with the Senator. Assistant coaches, maybe. Inexperienced players, no. There’s something Central Committee about completely censoring assistant coaches, but that’s how they roll in Alabama. But there is such a thing as too much message management.
If I have pissed off any journalists around here, my regrets.
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In every aspect of life – business – military you have a chain of command. The inmates don’t run the asylum’s.
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Absofucknlutely, Spur21. Some of these fellows are rough ass men with short fuses and it’s a crapshoot as to how they’ll respond to journalists with an agenda. Kirby can’t control the interviewer but he can control the interviewee. That nullifies the need for apologies and retracted statements. Some of y’all might remember the hippie girl Banner Herald reporter haranguing the new CO of a local Guard unit at it’s stand up in 81.
“How many people have you killed Mr Commander?”
“Depends on whether you count a pregnant woman as one, one and a half or two.”
The Boss has plenty enough to worry about without manufactured shit.
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Outstanding. I do enjoy my schadenfreude, especially when someone smug in their own self-righteousness asks the wrong question to the right person.
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I understand Kirby wanting to control the message. Every business does it. In my organization very few people are permitted to make public comments. While we all want to read interesting stories about the Dawgs, what is written may not be in UGA football’s best interest. The main stream media’s sole motivation is subscriptions. In today’s world sensationalism sells.
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Umm… “every” business? There are plenty of football programs that allow assistant coaches to speak directly with the media.
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I wasn’t clear – I agree coaches should be allowed to speak with the media. That being said there should be some ground rules. Players – only designated players after a year in the program. – also established ground rules.
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You know what I meant! 🙂 While us fans view this as a sport, make no mistake about it, College football is big business and for many programs tightly controlling the narrative is part of their process.
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Anytime a publicly (government) funded organization tries to keep media in the dark, its troublesome. But I understand it probably saves headaches since kids can’t say stupid things on the record. But I agree 100% about the coaching staff. This is one element of “The Process” that is horseshit.
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Bobo really never helped anything or enlightened anything. Just caused lots of furious blogging comments (by furious I mean lots and lots of take). An assistant could easily say something that the media and fans could run away with. Theres really not much good to be had, and they dont owe us anything. If I make a zillion dollars (as mentioned above) I do what I am expected to do. In fact, I make very little, and due to my organization I am very careful of what I say to whom. Lots of privacy rules. We have a PR and HR and thats their jobs. If i am Monken, its a relief – one less thing to deal with.
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So why allow assistants to speak at all?
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LOL depends on the coach. I would have put a muzzle on Coach Penis Head for sure.
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Hey, from my years of reading here I am led to believe that you could get in touch with Seth if you wanted. What does he say? Could he ask Kirby the questions you posted today?
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I agree with Chuck. I don’t know that letting the assistant coaches speak does much more than open the potential for one of them saying something that allows the media to speculate about potential discord among the coaches. I have no problem with a head coach making the decision that there will be one message and it will come from him.
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Exactly. It’s not that somebody is going to say something flagrantly destructive (OK, maybe Pruitt), it’s that a good reporter will be able to pry and illicit comments and decipher tone (frustration, annoyance, confusion) that could pinpoint dissension amongst staff re: strategy or philosophy. That could have gotten weird and destabilizing through some of our QB situations and offensive ups and downs, manball vs. not-manball, etc etc. Yes, we were left to speculate, but from their POV they can counter that with a seemingly unified message.
Could you imagine if one guy sounded very different from the other as to the ongoing status of Daniels’s injury or things with Jamie Newman and immediately thereafter ? It could have spiraled into a much bigger soap opera that turned off our now committed next round of 5 star QBs.
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We need transparency in how public organizations are run: whether those are for shareholders or taxpayers. Football teams? Meh.
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Yes, the officials in Louisiana State University’s athletic department fully agree with you. There’s no need for transparency in state-run collegiate athletics.
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Good retort. I agree with both of you!
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It’s a thin line between prudence and paranoia.
Does it help us win games?
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I don’t think it does. I think it’s a classic case of a coach being risk-averse. I also think Kirby’s natural conservative, risk-averse nature helps him in 85% of his games. But I think it hinders UGA in the 15% of the games that truly matter.
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So, we dont win the 15% of games that truly matter bc kirby has a more limited policy on media access.
Now, thats a Georgia fan right there.
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No… I said his natural risk-aversion is a potential reason. Not letting anyone else talk is an example of being risk-averse. So the media policy is not a reason for anything (good or bad) but it is an example of a flaw that is also apparent at times during games.
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Press conferences are very and in game decisions i dont see as the same at all. I feel you, but no. Getting the program image in good state was a goal and achieved.
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I am fine with Kirby’s plan and administration.
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I think this degree of secrecy is unnecessary, at best.
At worst, it alienates a lot of people, including me. I’ll always love my alma mater, but a combination of factors including this and the trend toward catering solely to the top 1% of donors has strained my engagement with the football program farther than I ever could have dreamed was possible.
I watch every game, but barring a lottery win, I’ll be watching 90-plus percent of them on television for the foreseeable future. And I’ll be caring less and less with each passing year of being treated like my fandom is a nuisance.
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What secrecy? From what I have seen in the last 15 years, the media and fans make things really worse and crazy just from basic statements. its better to shut up and let the scoreboard speak.
But what secrecy? Coaches have lied and mislead about injuries and starters for 50 years. What info are you missing out on exactly? what do you need to hear from Monken that you arent getting?
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If you think of the football program as a business, which for all intents and purposes it is, Kirby’s way of handling things makes perfect sense. The administration is the board of directors, Kirby is the CEO, assistant coaches are managers, players are employees. To keep the message of the company clear, the CEO needs to be the only one putting out that message.
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As some have stated above, Kirby will have to relax his control on player access as the NIL issue evolves. And I have no doubt he will adapt because of his ABC mindset. On a related note, there are reports that Jamie Newman will participate in UGA Pro day. I predicted this months ago and told people to expect it and not get their drawers in a twist. This speaks volumes to recruits. It shows them that Kirby will continue to support a kid, even if he leaves the team, and do everything possible and provide them with the resources needed to reach the League. And honestly, that’s the number one thing top recruits are looking for when choosing a program.
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I just want us to win football games. As long as we don’t cheat to do it, I don’t care too much about how the sausage is made, it still tastes good to me. 😉
I have never been in a college football locker room, and certainly not one with as high a profile as UGA has. So I ask myself: will making kids or coaches more available to the press improve the team? I can’t think of a way that it would. The only benefit is to quash goofy rumors from people who claim to be on the inside, but really aren’t and who may be circulating damaging rumors (Probst?), but that is Kirby’s job.
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Chip Towers has been a whiny ass bitch about this subject since day 1 with kirby. I didnt like him 15 years ago, dont like him today. These guys were happy to stir the pot when they could to get hits and use horrible click bait headlines, and now the jokes on them. They fake being fans and then fake being “in the know” and very, very few do real journalism.
Kirby hasnt done anything wrong, he has improved the brand, and has allowed captains and upperclassmen to be perceived as class. I am down with that. Weve also cut back on the CMRHLC headlines as part of the branding and messaging.
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This x100
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Kirby knew day 1 – he was not ignorant of UGA or AJC, what those guys were about. They didnt come correct, so he shut it down. I bet decent hard working reporters would get love. In fact, a few have. He just isnt for entertaining fools.
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I agree. And when did it become anyone’s job to spoon feed reporters information? I thought their job was to go out and dig for information from sources and records. Do they just sit at their desk every day waiting on phone calls and emails now?
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actually, they do. Especially towers and schultz. Reporting on reporting is what I call it, they skim the interwebs and create junk.
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Connor Riley has entered the chat.
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Without speaking to them? How does that work — mental telepathy?
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There are a plethora of ways to find out things about people without speaking to them. If you want to know about a player, talk to their family, friends, teachers, etc. You don’t really need to interview them to find out their story.
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But then again, that would take work, which I’m afraid a lot of reporters shy away from.
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What’s their family going to tell us about how/why they performed on a particular play?
Like it or not, there are some things that only the player or coach can give specific insight about.
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And, what difference does it make what they say? “I saw the guy was open. I threw him the ball. Then he dropped it because he is not as good as we need him to be”
Its a ballgame. Not the DaVinci code
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No offense, but some of you seem to be intently focused on the personal stuff. I’m way more interested in the nuts and bolts of how UGA is winning or losing. That means hearing from players and coaches.
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Ding!
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“We can’t always get what we wahwant…” 🙂
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I thought I made that clear with my post.
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If Coaches are allowed to speak they use coach speak to avoid answering anything, if they aren’t allowed to speak you don’t get anything. The media complains about and gets little information under both approaches. So what is the big deal?
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Before game, “we gotta go out there and block and tackle”
after game “we gotta do a better job of blocking and tackling”.
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This, so much this….
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We’re going to use the TEs more and there will be competition this spring at QB.
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Thats a good one.
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Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.
The thing is, there are coaches who would provide not just great soundbites for clickbait journalism, but who are more than happy to talk about the things they’re trying to do or what they want to see that can be expounded upon at places like PFF or 24/7 who will do deep dives on what the coaches say to provide a better, more well-rounded picture of what the team is trying to do game to game.
There are benefits there we’re not getting.
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While Kirby has never explicitly said why coaches aren’t available I can assume they are along these lines.
Time – total BS we’re talking 15 minutes a week max with the media.
Messaging – I cannot recall many examples of coaches of other teams saying something so out of tune that it got attention.
Control of coaches profile – now this I could believe. Media access can aid “hotness” of assistants for new jobs. I read a Saban anecdote about how Belichick in Cleveland wouldn’t let assistants talk to the media out of fear of them getting attention. Saban then went around him and met with the media anyway. I suspect his policy now is reflective of that experience and wanting to hold onto his staff as much as possible and Kirby may have the same motives.
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Shit, if that’s the case, it’s a massive failure.
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Kirby’s gotta pitch coordinators on stepping up to bigger things just like he pitches kids on the NFL. He ain’t getting in the way of them moving on as long as they’re not bailing before a playoff game or recruiting kids for their next school. High profile coordinators are also good for recruiting, so…. no that’s not it.
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Kirby’s lost assistants left right center back forward yearly….come on man. Bunk.
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Just win baby.
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Has anyone heard from CynicDawg how is he doing these days?
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Selfishly I want more access to the players. I used to love the “Lineman carpool to bowl game to save per diem” type of stories that you would get each year.
Murray using his moms credit card to buy ice cream for the line.
I guess I like stories about linemen.
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Reporters are less scrupulous than they were 10 years ago. Now, you’re not really doing your job if you aren’t trying to get a bad reaction or an incendiary opinion on whatever the divisive political topic of the day is. I don’t want our kids being quoted on fight songs or kneeling or a bad call or any kind of investigation unless they unilaterally decide to post it online or just start talking. If they chose to jump into the fray that’s their own choice, but reporters are going to ask that kind of stuff to try to get some clickbait, and then the kid’s going to say something and it’s going to cause problems one way or another. At best it’s a distraction, at worst it’s a kid’s personal thoughts sprayed all over the internet when he thought he was going to be just talking ball. I’m fine with that restriction.
Coordinators… I’d like to hear from. But knowing Smart if he was somehow forced/shamed into allowing it we wouldn’t get much more than coachspeak from his coordinators anyhow. They know what’s up.
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I own my own business and I’d never let any of my employees speak to the media about anything that has to do with said business unless I knew the questions ahead of time and told them what I wanted them to say.
Employees (Asst Coaches) say dumb things. There are things they could say that may not be a big deal to them that may be a big deal to me. I’m not saying that the head coach (business owner) can’t stick his own foot in his own mouth either. But less opportunities for embarrassment is good risk management in my opinion.
“If you’re explaining, you’re losing.” I don’t want to have to explain what an employee meant to say at a later time vs what he did say prior. I’m sure Kirby doesn’t want to have to do that for an asst. coach either.
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Beach is kicking – airport been very busy.
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win a damn natty 1st. then kirby can decide who gets access or not. I’m good with that order.
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Some of it could be to protect the program from the Gotcha questions more than the answers given.
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Good thread
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I do not understand the problem. Coach Dooley had the same rule concerning players talking to the press. I don’t think he had any rule about Asst. Coaches. It would be tough to tell Coach Russell or his brother (Bill Dooley) that they could not talk to any one in the press. David Rholetter invited me to go to The Bait Shop one day after practice (that is a small bar located out the Atlanta Hwy). I was all of 17 and the guys I was with were grown men (especially David Rholetter). I was sitting at the bar trying to stay out of the way and a skinny, small man with a moustache and glasses that were as large as his face, sat next to me and offered a beer. I thought that was a great idea. Then he asked me how practice was going. Rholetter grabbed me by the neck and dragged me away from the bar. He explained that I could not talk to the press. I asked who the hell that was and he said it was some guy named Louis. He could not remember his name but he worked for the Athens newspaper and I could not talk to him. I guess if David had not seen me, Coach Dooley would have had me killed, but I could have told a great story of knowing Louis Grizzard. I had rather be alive than having to see Coach Mervos after practice. Seeing Mervos actually meant that no-one would ever see you again.
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It’s a more believable story if you don’t misspell Lewis. 😉
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The tangible and understandable dread of misspelled Mrvos lends credence to that anecdote. An E from his name wasn’t all that was missing from that fucker.
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Grizzard spoke for many and loved Georgia, both the University and the state.
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I don’t miss Donnan, Dooley, Goff or Richt as coaches. Coaches will come and go.
I miss Lewis Grizzard’s simply written wry commentary more than I miss Munson’s game calling. The closest thing I’ve found is some of the commentary on this blog. Damn Good Dawg taken away too soon. I’d love to read an AJC column about Kirby, Chubb, the Rose Bowl…
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That Grizzard had written. Did I mwntion that good scotch is really good?
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I think the whole situation is more an indictment on the media than anything else.
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I can not spell anything. I apologize. Mr. Cowdog, I know what mwntion means therefore I would never make fun of your spelling, but some guys spends there lives checking dates, coaches names and spelling, hoping you have gotten something incorrect. I hope they enjoy their wasted time.
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