The pick is in.

According to Dawgs247, Georgia has a new o-line coach… er, an old o-line coach?

Another former Georgia assistant is returning to the Bulldogs’ coaching staff.

Dawgs247 expects North Carolina offensive line coach Stacy Searels to be the Bulldogs’ new offensive line coach. Searels, who just finished his third season with the Tar Heels, previously coached Georgia’s offensive line from 2007-10.

Searels will replace offensive line coach Matt Luke, who resigned on Feb. 21 after two seasons on staff.

Man, Kirbs is all in on getting the band back together, isn’t he?

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Today, in utter horseshit

This is truly something.

Pleas Read this statement. #forgiveness #redemption#enlightenment #GramFam pic.twitter.com/XWstabSdll

— HueJacksonFoundation (@HueJacksonFDN) February 25, 2022

The last paragraph — Art Briles as victim — is particularly contemptible.  These people should all rot.

Your Daily Gator’s familiarity breeds contempt.

This message board thread about Todd Grantham going to work for Nick Saban is everything you’d expect.

I’m looking forward to the future thread when these geniuses — they’ve gotta be smarter than Saban, amirite? — discover that Grantham at Alabama is a totally different animal from the Grantham at Florida.

Today, in where are they now?

It’s a small world after all:

[Georgia’s new defensive backs coach Fran] Brown played for a Western Carolina defense whose coordinator was Geoff Collins, now Georgia Tech’s coach.

Looking forward to seeing them get together to reminisce at the Waffle House after the blowout in Athens this year.

BREAKING: Fourth-stringer makes bank

Like the way they announced this:

QB Stetson Bennett is the latest UGA player to be represented by ESM for his NIL opportunities. He joins TE Brock Bowers and former UGA QB JT Daniels. ESM also reps RBs Nick Chubb and D’Andre Swift and NFL players Mac Jones, Jonathan Taylor and Jalen Hurts. pic.twitter.com/W8yZsDsHRW

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) February 27, 2022

Good for you, Stetson.  Make hay while the sun shines, and all…

Musical palate cleanser, another one gone edition

I’m embarrassed to say I missed this news when it first came out last week.

Gary Brooker, the singer and pianist of the early progressive rock group Procol Harum, who co-wrote songs including “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” the improbable but overpowering hit during the 1967 Summer of Love, died on Saturday at his home in Surrey, England. He was 76.

Mr. Brooker had been receiving treatment for cancer, the band said in a statement confirming his death.

With his grainy, weathered-sounding voice and a piano style steeped in gospel, classical music, blues and the British music hall, Mr. Brooker led Procol Harum in songs that mixed pomp and whimsy, orchestral grandeur and rock drive. He composed nearly all of Procol Harum’s music; Keith Reid, who did not perform with the band, provided lyrics that invoked literary and historical allusions and spun tall tales, sometimes at the same time.

Although “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was both its first and biggest hit, and the band steadfastly avoided showmanship, Procol Harum sustained a five-decade career. It recorded and toured until 1977, and it regrouped sporadically in lineups led by Mr. Brooker to continue making albums until 2017.

Mr. Brooker, the band’s statement said, “was notable for his individuality, integrity, and occasionally stubborn eccentricity.”

One of rock’s great voices in an underappreciated band, Brooker was a favorite of mine.  PH had a few hits, but my favorite vocal of his comes from a song that wasn’t, “A Salty Dog”.

It’s easy to overlook how that band could rock, which is strange, considering Robin Trower was its lead guitarist and BJ Wilson was a fantastic drummer.  Here’s a Trower composition, “Whiskey Train”, that shows off the other side of the band and Brooker:

And one more, post-Trower — one of the great, bitter breakup songs of all time:

This dying shit sucks, man.

“This isn’t a voting bloc.”

Says one of the three dudes in a self-labeled Alliance, all of whom voted to scotch a 12-team playoff.  But don’t say it’s their fault, acting together, damn it.

The commissioners from the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten pushed back on Friday against any public misconception that their “Alliance” of conferences worked together to stop expansion of the College Football Playoff.

“I think that’s a narrative that certain folks benefit from having out there even if it’s not true,” said Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, who joined Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on Friday in an exclusive interview with ESPN reporters.

Nah, would you believe it?  It was just a fucking coincidence.

“When we’re talking about what should it look like, or when should we make the decision, we have real differences of opinion,” Kliavkoff said. “And it just so happens that each of us came to our own conclusion about why we couldn’t vote yes to the proposal that was on the table. And I think we’ve all been public now that others have decided for us that we’re going to air our laundry as opposed to make a decision in the room and then announce the decision.”

I mean, it’s not like the three of them ever spent time together, or anything ($$).

… Most of the CFP management committee’s in-person meetings over the past eight months took place at the Grand Hyatt connected to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. Easy in, easy out for a lot of busy administrators. And the lobby bar the night before meetings was convenient both for a late dinner or a few drinks. The three Alliance commissioners would sometimes sit together off to the side, a visual representation of the battle lines drawn.

Again, I am of the belief that there’s too much money involved for these idiots to ignore.  Eventually, everyone will swallow their fee fees, cut a deal and proclaim they rose above their differences to do it for the kids.

But, given his track record regarding the future of college football’s postseason, I have to admit Bill Hancock is doing his best to give me false hope.

“The worst case would be failing to agree on a plan in October 2024,” Hancock said, pinpointing the month that the CFP’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN begins. “No one wants to get to the point where there’s no event to decide the national championship. I am confident we will not get to that point.”

Be still, my heart.

Stay healthy, my friend.

Good Lord, Arian Smith:

A stat that I’ve been playing lately is the Yards Per Route Run metric that @PFF_College uses. It’s a fascinating way to look at WR production, and it has given me some new perspective on UGA’s WR rotation in 2021. It puts the 2022 WR room in a different light as well pic.twitter.com/XQJWHVwNTG

— Graham Coffey (@DawgOutWest) February 27, 2022

I know he’s not a polished route runner by any means, but so what?  He’s a deep threat every time he sets foot on the field.  Instead of ‘Bama fans giving us the what ifs about Jameson Williams’ injury, they ought to consider Smith’s absence.

Thanks a lot, Art.

It’s still early, but this is starting to sound like the “not so fast, my friends” decision of 2022.

Art Briles was announced as the offensive coordinator at Grambling State on Thursday, but there still are hurdles to clear before the embattled former Baylor football coach can be approved for the position.

Grambling had yet to notify the University of Louisiana System that it intends to hire Briles as of late Friday. Once that happens, Briles will still need a majority vote from the 16-member board to formalize his hiring and join first-year Tigers coach Hue Jackson’s staff. The board’s next meeting is set for April 28.

“It’s up to the board and our board takes things very seriously,” said Cami Geisman, vice president of external affairs and chief of staff for the UL System. “They’re not a rubber-stamp board by any means.”

How would you like to be one of those board members, thrown into a situation that you didn’t invite and likely don’t approve of?  And now you’ll be facing all sorts of attention and pressure you didn’t ask for over the next two months.

There’s no way I’d expect Briles to save face and walk away, even if he were informed his contract didn’t have the votes.  In fact, I’d halfways expect him to threaten to sue if the board dared to turn down his deal.

May have to go to the store to buy more popcorn…

Okay, it’s not rocket science…

Biggest causes for the continued dip in CFB attendance, in order (IMO)
-Ticket prices, parking, concession costs
-TV timeouts
-Scheduling: little notice, night games, poor OOC opponents, etc.
All of which gets back to my main cause: greed. https://t.co/810qG6sFVx

— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) February 26, 2022

… but it doesn’t mean college football’s lords and masters will be changing course any time soon.  Money talks and football fans walk (from stadiums, anyway).