Coach 404’s got a brand new bag.

LOL.

#GaTech Winter Workouts have a much different tone this year than the past few under Geoff Collins with slogans and other things gone and simple intensity the focus instead. https://t.co/sxHryzzNYc

— Kelly Quinlan (@Kelly_Quinlan) February 17, 2022

Uh hunh,  Right.  It’s a new era for Georgia Tech football, peeps.

I hope that doesn’t mean they’ll be doing away with the “money down” stuff on third down.  That shit brings down the house every time I see it at BDS.

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Mo’ money?

While we’re on the subject of coaches’ salaries, Mike Griffith makes an interesting point about Georgia’s staff:

The current UGA salaries come across as modest when one considers that 34 FBS assistant coaches last season made more than $1 million, and 16 of them were in the 14-member SEC.

Georgia, however, has just one at the moment, Monken, who comes in at $1.25 million after his most recent salary was recorded at $1.1 million.

Further, the Bulldogs’ current assistant coaches’ salary pool — $7.475 million — represents a $455,000 decrease at this moment that would rank third in the SEC based on last season’s salary numbers.

Now, some of that can be chalked up to timing.  Lanning’s departure took $1.7 million off the books.  (Note that Muschamp’s and Schumann’s salaries combined are less than what Lanning was paid last season.  Boom is willing to be underpaid, so thanks for that, Carolina.)  But there’s also a vacancy on the staff at the moment, so the comparison isn’t that relevant.

Still, after a national championship year, it’s a little strange to see that sort of financial reaction.  Of course, Mr. Sexton is about to put a real hurting on that with Smart’s next deal.

“Football has always been this way, cyclical.”

Dennis Dodd may be guilty of hyping this up, but even so, 2021 was a season when defenses managed to stall college football’s recent trend of more offense.

This season, we got the second lowest-scoring College Football Playoff in the history of the event. Georgia fielded a generational defense. For only the second time in CFP history, four teams that finished in the top 20 in total defense faced off. A defensive lineman finished second in Heisman Trophy voting for the first time in 41 years.

The transformative 2021 college football season can be viewed two ways: Either defenses clawed back some of the turf they had lost during the ongoing offensive revolution, or offenses leveled off. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Either way, offense took a collective step back in 2021.

Scoring, total offense and rushing offense were at their lowest averages in a decade. The declines were minimal but significant in context. Scoring was down to 28.51 points per team, lowest since the 2011 average of 28.29, according to NCAA statistics. Total offense dipped below 400 yards per game (397.95) for the first time since teams averaged 392.4 in 2011. Similarly, rushing was down to 163.8 yards per game, the lowest in 10 years.

Does that translate into the start of a trend on defense?  Beats me.  Especially when I see data points like this one:  “… in 2021, the previously defensive-minded SEC led the country with its teams averaging almost 31 points per game.”  This one, too:

In 2021 teams, averaged 5.79 yards per play, the third-most ever. While average passing yards stayed somewhat constant (234.57 per game), quarterbacks have arguably never been more productive. The overall 61.52% completion percentage and average yards per pass (7.54) were the highest since the NCAA began keeping statistics in 1937.

Last season, scoring declined, while offenses were not less efficient.  How that can be squared is something beyond my limited ability to number crunch.  Maybe Bill Connelly or Brian Fremeau can delve into that mystery.  In any event, where this particular chess game goes in 2022 should be interesting to watch.

The most underpaid man in college football?

Seth popped this up last night:

Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken has received a raise. His salary goes up to $1.25 million, per information from UGA after an open records request.

Monken was earning $1.1 million annually in a three-year deal he signed upon coming to Georgia two years ago.

So, what’s going on here, exactly?  Monken’s been my biggest offseason concern, and I’ve been holding my breath waiting for a determination on his future in Athens.  It’s nice to see that there’s some action on his contract front, at least.

But… a measly $15,000 150,000 raise?  For someone who took an injury-riddled offense and a fourth-string quarterback and fashioned the fourth best offensive yards per play figure in the country en route to a national championship?  That doesn’t seem like a fitting reward for the man.  So, again, what gives?

Well, it turns out the answer isn’t really much of an answer.

Deleted an earlier tweet because my understanding now is this is a raise, and a built-in raise, not part of a new deal at this point. Does not preclude getting a new deal later.

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) February 16, 2022

Shit.  Looks like I’m still on Monken watch.  Fellas, let’s get this done, okay?  Pay that man his money.

Proof that the football gods still like me

He’s back, babee!

Another former head coach is joining Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama.

Former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, who was the New York Giants’ tight ends coach this past season, has been hired to serve as offensive analyst for the Crimson Tide, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Kneel before SOD, bitchez.

I’ve only got two questions now:  (1) does Barbara Dooley start wearing crimson? and (2) will a year of rehab under Saban clean up Derek sufficiently in time to take the Auburn job when Harsin gets canned?

Stay tuned.