Vic Koenning headed to Illinois?

ESPN is reporting that Koenning is heading to Illinois for a big pay raise. He was one of the most often rumored names for the UGA job; although there was never any official indication that we were interested in him. Interestingly, Chris Low reports that UGA is backing up Damon's comments of being prepared to offer big money for a DC.

Bud Foster talked to UGA and UF, but only listed his UGA discussions as seriously. He ended up staying up there for a five year deal worth $600,000 per year. The timing on that is interesting in that Beamer is already 63. It seems fairly unlikely that Beamer will coach until he's 69 so Foster should be there long enough to get his shot at the head coaching job.

If we're going to pay that kind of scratch, we should get one heck of a coach. Another name that has been thrown around is Bob Sanders, defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Sanders was a defensive coach for Spurrier from '87 (Duke) through 2000 (Florida). He was Spurrier's #2 defensive coach from '91-'00 with the Gators. Sanders has coached in the NFL since '01 with Miami, Green Bay and Buffalo serving as DC of the Packers for three years.

He wouldn't be the glitzy choice, but he's a very good coach with 1 ACC Title, 6 SEC Titles, 1 National Title and an NFC Conference Championship under his belt.

I really don't think it's Sanders
Richt could've announced Sanders today if that's who it was. There's no reason to stick around in Buffalo for a non-playoff bound team as a position coach when you can be DC in college for more money.

The longer this thing goes the better I like our chances of getting someone intriguing. However, judging by Richt's history, it's going to be someone off our immediate radar. Only Coach Lilly's hire was an obvious move. Searels, Ball, Jancek, Rucker, and Kirby Smart (as RB coach) were all pretty much out of left field. And his original staff didn't have any obvious choices on it except Coach Eason.

Richt plays these things close to the vest so it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out.

PWD

Indy Bowl is a Sellout, Except Georgia Tickets

The Shreveport Times reports that the Independence Bowl is a sellout.  You can still buy tickets, though.  The story reports that Georgia has sold only half of its 12,000 ticket allotment, but because the school buys the tickets, the game itself is a sellout.  Georgiadogs.com is the only place to buy tickets now. 

Look, I understand the logistical problems with a trip to Shreveport on December 28, but if you ever wonder why a bowl might pass over Georgia for another fanbase, here's at least one reason.  We can't muster 12,000 fans to buy a ticket.

Quinton

So here's my theory

We either get an announcement today, or it'll be a few weeks on the DC search. If it's today, I'll be in meetings so you'll know before me. Maybe Quinton or Dawgnoxious will see it and post it.

I have no knowledge of a pending announcement. It's just that today is the first day that Richt is clear of the mandatory waiting period after posting a state job. By the way, I think you have to wait longer to hire a defensive coordinator in this state than you have to wait to buy a hand gun.

That's not a political statement. Just an observation. Either way, I want a DC that blows away the competition. /LamePun

Bud Foster has been contacted

Update: He's Staying Put as Expected
-- Foster staying put - Richmond Times Dispatch
-- Fostering staying at VPI - ABH
-- 5 year deal for Bud - Hampton Roads Pilot
-- This Bud's not for UGA - AJC


Original Article:
This morning on 680theFan Jim Donnan said that he knew for a fact that Mark Richt had talked with Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster about the DC job in Athens. This news was then confirmed by the Daily Press of Virginia and the Athens Banner-Herald.

In terms of his stature as a defensive coordinator, Foster is Bill Brasky. He's 10 feet tall, weighs 500 lbs, runs about a 3.2 40 yard dash, and no one has scored on his defense in about 23 years. Or said differently...I don't have the time to pull his impressive stats right now, but they are outstanding.

But he's arguably the best, most proven and most consistent defensive coordinator in all of college football over the past decade, and I'd be shocked out of my chair to land a whale like that.

He's everything I'd ever want in a DC. He's tough as nails and extremely demanding. His teams bring a level of violence, tackling and tempo that we haven't consistently seen in Athens since 2004.

Think back to the 2006 Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. Virginia Tech. They didn't lose that game because of Bud Foster's defense. They lost because VT committed 4 turnovers including three second half interceptions...two of which were returned inside the Georgia 10 yard line resulting in 14 points off 9 yards of offense. They also lost because Beamer Ball gave up the onside kick early on. Foster's Defense only allowed 200 yards of total offense. For the 2006 regular season, they only allowed a stunning 9.3 points per game.

Virginia Tech hasn't won more games under Beamer and Foster for 1 reason and 1 reason only...a complete inability for Beamer to develop a consistent passing offense. That's it. It's not because of anything Foster is doing on his side of the ball.

I'll post his defensive stats later, but I'll say this first...I'd really like to have Kirby Smart, but I would love to have Bud Foster. There's not another candidate (including Brian Van Gorder or Tommy Tuberville) you could name that would be more appealing to me...short of a DNA-oriented reproduction of Erk Russell...and that technology won't quite be ready for the start of football season (Source: I watched 60 Minutes last night, and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express).

I don't think we'll end up with either of them. But damn, I'd be thrilled.

If we do get Foster, I don't think he would start until after the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Foster is a legitimate candidate to replace Beamer at VT in 3-7 years. He likely wouldn't burn a bridge there by walking out prior to the Bowl game.

If we don't have a press conference on Tuesday to name someone else, I like our chances a little more with Foster or Kirby. Tomorrow is Day 1 after the Job Posting from which Richt can announce a hire per state guidelines.

PWD

Howdy! Getting to Know Aggies: The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band

Aggies are easy to make fun of, but you have to respect them when they do something awesome.  One thing that Aggies do better than anyone: play musical instruments while weaving into and out of a military formation.  Sure, that skill is rarely a utility, but it is still profoundly magnificent when demonstrated at a halftime show.

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, the official name, is the largest military marching band in the country.  Any band that self-describes themselves as "fightin'" is worth a chuckle.  (Although I remember a few years ago when LSU's band landed a couple of punches on Auburn kicker Damon Duval when he tried to warm up for the second half during the halftime show.)  But, all the Aggie band members are also members of A&M's massive ROTC outfit, the Corps of Cadets.  They play songs like "Patton" and "Fightin' Texas Aggie War Hymn."  That's "fightin'" and "war hymn" in the same song title.  Hmm, maybe they can fight.

There's no doubt that they can march their asses off.  Here's a boast from their website:

"Some of the Aggie Band's maneuvers are so complex that a computer says that it is impossible to do because they require two people to be in the same place at the same time."

That may be more of a statement about the Aggie computers than the band, but it is impressive none the less.  Here they are in action:

It's an exercise in dynamic geometry, musicianship, and Tetris skills. When it's halftime in Shreveport, don't just queue up for the bathroom. The Redcoats and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band are worth staying in your seat for.

Quinton

Commenting is Back On

For now, there are two stipulations with commenting:

1. You can't post anonymously. You'll need a create a username.

2. All comments are moderated. They go to me first, and I'll release them as long as you're not the jerk who was posting all the problematic stuff on Wednesday.

By tomorrow night (update: maybe Monday night...I got distracted), I hope to have a new commenting system in place that will allow me to ban problem children users by email, IP address, domain and/or username. I've got something picked out. I just have to figure out how to implement it.

Frankly, this is for the best. The tone of the comments the past few days had slipped into near 10th grade level. So, this will make the user experience better for folks with something interesting to say. And it'll save the rest of you the hassle of having to read that trash.

If you're wondering what this is all about...this explains the issue.

PWD

Defensive Coordinator Search: Intriguing Candidate

Here's a resume to consider. I'll tell you his name in a moment.

In 2008 his defense at a BCS school (pre-bowl before he left)

-- Scoring Defense: 9th in NCAA
-- Total Defense: 16th in NCAA
-- Pass Defense: 12th in NCAA
-- Pass Efficiency Defense: 11th in NCAA
-- Rush Defense: 37th
-- Sacks: 107th <-- only bad stat
-- Tackles for Loss: 49th (which is impressive given the lack of sacks)

In 2009, he left that BCS school and moved to another BCS school where he completely revamped their Defense in one year.

In 2008 they team he inherited was 112th in the NCAA in Rush Defense. When he got there, they jumped to 16th in the nation in one season. Their scoring defense and total defense rankings jumped from 110th and 117th to 48th and 39th respectively. Pass defense went from 104th to 81st (which is still huge improvement given the other issues before he got there).

It's interesting that he achieved such a rapid jump in stats for his new school given that he had no prior familiarity with the BCS conference he faced.

He has been a defensive coordinator at BCS schools for the past five years. He also has experience recruiting in the region.

That's the type of resume you want. A proven guy that coaches his balls off and produces DRAMATIC improvements in yards and points allowed when he arrives. And a guy that has done it at multiple places.

In case you were wondering, that's Vic Koenning the current DC at Kansas State. He ran Clemson's defense from '05-'08. I've seen mentions from message boards that he runs a softer scheme. Maybe that's true, but defenses play pretty well when he's there.

Would I rather have Kirby Smart? Absolutely! But that's a serious resume.

BTW -- In case you're curious, his defense held Tech's triple option to 207 yards rushing on 52 carries while allowing only 14 offensive points. The glaring hole in his resume is the 66 points surrendered this year to Texas Tech. However, I would argue that if you're down 38-0 and then give up 28 more points, your issue is the prior coaching staff recruiting quitters. Not scheme.

Just for giggles...more on Koenning:

2007 - Top 10 defense in scoring and total defense. Top 25 in most other big categories.
2006 - #16 in scoring defense and #13 in total defense. #20 in sacks.
2005 - #11 in scoring defense and #20 in total defense. Also #25 in sacks.

Just something to chew on.

See Also:
-- Clemson's Stats Pre-Bowl in 2008
-- KSU defensive stats in 2009

PWD

Classic City "Reppin" at the Dome

Been a long time wandering the wilderness. It's good to be back in the limelight. Good luck tonight. Go Glads!

Update -- Sandy Creek was just a much, much better team. Congrats to them.

PWD

Congratulations to Drew Butler

Drew Butler won the Ray Guy Award Thursday night, which is given to the nation's top punter. And it wasn't even close. Drew averaged 48.8 yards per put, nearly 3 yards more than the second-best punter. Drew was a bright spot on special teams for UGA this season. His high, accurate punts enabled our coverage team to get down the field and cut off returns. And his 75-yard punt against Oklahoma State looked even more impressive in person.

[Photo courtesy of AJC]

Congratulations also to Blair Walsh, who was one of only three finalists for the Lou Groza award.

comments have been hacked

Update 12/10/09 at 5:35 pm:
The site wasn't "Hacked"...that's really not the right term/technical definition, but I wasn't in position to go into any details last night because I was at Madison Square Garden trying to lock down comments using someone else's smart phone.

Here's the deal. Yesterday, an individual impersonated / spoofed me in the comments area of this blog. During the process, he posted a barrage of porn links, hate speech, threats, and extreme profanity. I'm exploring what can be done in terms of comment moderation using different tools to prevent this from happening again.

I'm sorry if you went to some of his links or read his comments. It was not posted by me.

Just to be clear, he did not gain the ability to post content to the site. His attack was limited to the comments area. I take this sort of disruption of my business very seriously.

PWD

WHOOP: Getting to know Aggie Yell Leaders

As we get to know the Aggies, you're going to be confused. It is often said of A&M that from the outside it is hard to understand and from the inside it is hard to explain. We're going to start with perhaps the first and most obvious peculiarity college football fans point to: Aggie yell leaders. Yell leaders are Aggie versions of cheerleaders. No stunts, no short skirts. Just mystifying gestures that incite the Aggie crowd and befuddle opponents.

First, the look is wholesome milkman with sleeves tightrolled so tight that one wonders how blood slips under them. Combine it with the man hugs and thumbs up ("Gig'em") and one can see how this Aggie tradition causes opponents to giggle uncontrollably. By the way, that haircut is standard Aggie issue.

Second, they spew Aggie gibberish, known as "yells," not cheers. Here's an actual yell:

Riffety, riffety, riff-raff!
Chiffity, chiffity, chiff-chaff!
Riff-raff! Chiff-chaff!
Let’s give ‘em a horse laugh:
Sssssss!

Excuse me? What the hell does that mean? I'm not sure if they insulted me or complimented me on my red pants. (I have been told that it is a yell Aggies do when they are upset about something. The last line approximates a hiss.)

Lastly, each cheer has its own unique calisthenics routine that the yell leaders perform. These gestures signal which cheer, um excuse me, yell is on tap. Each gesture during the yell signals timing. My favorite is when they give the two armed flip off gesture for the cheer "Beat the hell out of Georgia!" Here's a little taste of the routines:

Whatever you think of the yell leaders, you have to say they are unique, just like a lot of Aggie things. As the video states, these guys are an old Aggie tradition and there is nothing, nothing more sacrosanct at A&M than tradition.

More on the Aggies to come.

Quinton

Smart ready to "move on"?

Tony Barnhart says that Kirby Smart is probably ready to move on.
I'll believe we land him when I see it. But it is encouraging news.

http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2009/12/09/alabama-dc-smart-is-the-next-hot-assistant/

Still think the timeline will be tough because I imagine he won't move
before Jan 10th or so.

Pwd

NY Times Investigating Vol Recruiting

The New York Times reports tonight that the NCAA has launched an investigation into the Tennessee Vols use of hostesses for the recruitment of student athletes including Marcus Lattimore, Brandon Willis, Corey Miller, Chris Dunkley, Chris Dunkley, JaWuan James and others (per the article).

The hostesses are alleged to have been involved in recruiting players off campus...as far away as 200 miles. University representatives can't recruit off campus.

The article is an intriguing read. Developing.

PWD

Sundiata Gaines killing it in the NBA Development League

DaugMan found this (ht - begger). Apparently, Sundiata Gaines is obliterating the NBA Development League for the Idaho Stampede. He's currently averaging 27.0 points, 8.3 assists per and 4.3 rebounds per game for his 3-1 team. That's right...he's creating over 43.4 points per game. It's not just the quantity of points....he's going for over 60% from the field, almost 70% from FT line and 45% from the 3 point line.

According to this AJC article from July, Gaines played in Italy last year:

He carried that success to Italy, where he played for NGC Cantu. In 30 games, he averaged 31.9 minutes, 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals. His game-high was a 25-point performance. He played so well, in fact, that if he returns to Italy for another season, it won’t be with Cantu, which can’t afford him now.

“They already signed another player, but they were sure they weren’t going to be able to give me a contract of what my status was compared to what other teams were offering,” Gaines said.

If you're a Dawg living in Boise, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Reno or Austin, he's coming to visit soon. Drop by and yell Go Dawgs. I'd wager you could get in for next to nothing. Hopefully, this success leads to a call up to the league.

PWD

Shreveport Hotel Info

The hotel situation in Shreveport is just like any other midsize southern city, with the notable exceptions of the riverboat casinos.  All of the brand name, midscale business hotels have an outpost in Shreveport.  If you're looking to gamble, the casinos are the best choice.  They're nice and have built in dining and drinking.  I know Sam's Town has a significant block of rooms reserved for Georgia fans at about $180 a night.  Of course, you don't have to gamble, but you can.

Every hotel likely has some sort of I Bowl discount.  Mention that you're coming in for the game and see if they offer a discount.  The bowl website has a feature that allows you to book hotel rooms through it, presumably with a bowl discount.

Here are some other recommendations:

• The Downtown Hilton - The nicest non-casino hotel in town.  It's brand new and attached to the Shreveport Convention Center.  It's where your wife wants to stay.  I'm pretty sure it's the A&M team hotel.
  
• The Best Western Chateau Suites - Another downtown option that I'd recommend over the Holiday Inn downtown (of which I do not have a good impression).  There should be an I Bowl discount, but you'll have to contact them directly instead of going through the I Bowl hotel website.
• The Clarion Hotel - This is the UGA team hotel, I think, but you shouldn't stay there.  It's average at best.
• Don't forget Bossier City.  There are a couple of the national brands across the river from Shreveport.  Additionally, the Horseshoe hotel is probably the best casino hotel.  Boomtown casino has a nice hotel on the Bossier side of the Red River, too.

Don't be too intimidated by distance.  Shreveport is easy to get around by car and has lots of interstate highway.  It might take you twenty minutes to get somewhere at the other end of town.  In Atlanta, it takes twenty minutes to get out of your driveway. I'll also say that downtown nightlife is fairly diffused.  My recommended nightlife area isn't within walking distance of a hotel.  Bring along cab fare if your want to get sloshy.

Quinton