In September 2006, I was interviewed by the publisher of the Colorado Rivals.com site. During that interview, I outlined to him the source of my confidence in the UGA program at that time. I said:
"With the exception of Auburn...every time Georgia laces them up, I expect us to win IF we show up prepared and ready to play. We rarely *lose* football games anymore. We beat ourselves via coming in flat or just stone cold wetting the bed...like when we enter the Jacksonville City limits.
...We just have to focus on blocking, tackling, passing and catching. The basics. If we make the plays that our talent level suggests we should make, we win.
Georgia doesn't have to do anything super human to win games with its talent, team work and conditioning.
Auburn is the ONLY team that we play that is just as tough. Just as well coached. Just as deep. Just as talented. And they are the only team that TAKES victory from us without us giving it to them or nutting up.
That's a very good place to be as a program. (PWD - Sept. 2006)"
That article was written before Urban Meyer really got things cooking at Florida. Before Saban turned Bama around. Before Miles really established himself at LSU. Before those three coaches combined to raise the standard of play in the SEC. Just as importantly, it was also before Georgia started the slow erosion of many of those areas of my confidence listed above.
Mark Richt's Future
I don't want Mark Richt to leave. Damon Evans doesn't want Mark Richt to leave. Mike Adams doesn't want Mark Richt to leave, and the vast majority of the lucid, Hartman contributing portion of the Bulldog Nation doesn't want Mark Richt to leave.
Just as importantly, Mark Richt doesn't want to leave. He has moved about 30 friends and family members to Athens. This is his family's home. All of those factors are why he's not going to leave.
But that doesn't mean that Mark Richt or any of the other folks listed above are happy with the current state of affairs. Nor should they be.
In the wake of the UT and LSU losses, there's a lot of talk about play calling, talent level, penalities, turnovers, etc. Those are symptoms. They aren't root cause problems. In my opinion, the Top 3 Core Issues are:
1. Lack of a Sense of Urgency -- This is a by product of Coach Richt's eight year deal and his enormous buyout. That contract and his track record of averaging over 10 wins a season have created a comfortable existence in Athens. Comfort has arguably lead to complacency and stagnation. The flip side of the argument -- Richt's contract promotes a level of stability that helps us recruit at a very high level.
2. Lack of a Transparent Meritocracy -- Sport is the ultimate meritocracy. The best move up. The weak move down. When the meritocracy breaks down within a program so that friendships, past relationships and/or seniority within the coaching staff or depth chart are favored over excellence or pursuit of excellence, everything falls apart. Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll have a relentless pursuit of merit among their players and coaches. If you're not good enough, you don't play or you move on. Knowshon Moreno would never redshirt for Pete Carroll. Bacarri Rambo would never be second string for Nick Saban, and our kick coverage would never be so un-special under Urban Meyer...not for this long.
3. Lack of an Attack Mentality on Every Down -- On Sunday, Blutarsky said we have a crisis of faith. He explained that by saying:
"It's a systemic doubt: the coaches lack faith in the players to execute and the players lack faith in the coaches' ability to deploy them efficiently and effectively."
I agree with him; although, I'd use a different phrase. I'd say we're coaching and playing scared. Scared of failure. Scared of giving up the big play. Scared of freshmen mistakes. Scared of everything. In the LSU game, we had Logan Gray fielding punts at mid-field in an obvious designed fair catch where we also didn't attempt to block the punt. That's as passive and submissive of a coaching move as you'll see. We're not attacking on special teams. We're not consistently attacking on defense. We're not consistently attacking on offense. We're not making the other guy uncomfortable.
The good news. All of this is fixable. And all of it is fixable by Mark Richt. In 2001, that's the kind of coaching staff and program he was building. But somewhere along the way things just sort of slipped.
How do you fix those issues?
The problem is...it's all fixable, but not without introducing new personalities into the mix. Something will have to change on that front, and Richt will have to make moves in the off season to address the issues.
Naming names and calling for specific heads to roll at this point does nothing. It helps nothing because Richt is not going to make a move mid-season. Nor should he. And Damon shouldn't start saber rattling either. Damon's private message to Richt should only be, "I'll give you the financial resources to do what it takes to make the staff excellent when the time comes. You can count on me."
Beyond that, Richt has to decide. How many more times does he want to feel like he felt Sunday morning? It's up to him.
PWD
"With the exception of Auburn...every time Georgia laces them up, I expect us to win IF we show up prepared and ready to play. We rarely *lose* football games anymore. We beat ourselves via coming in flat or just stone cold wetting the bed...like when we enter the Jacksonville City limits.
...We just have to focus on blocking, tackling, passing and catching. The basics. If we make the plays that our talent level suggests we should make, we win.
Georgia doesn't have to do anything super human to win games with its talent, team work and conditioning.
Auburn is the ONLY team that we play that is just as tough. Just as well coached. Just as deep. Just as talented. And they are the only team that TAKES victory from us without us giving it to them or nutting up.
That's a very good place to be as a program. (PWD - Sept. 2006)"
That article was written before Urban Meyer really got things cooking at Florida. Before Saban turned Bama around. Before Miles really established himself at LSU. Before those three coaches combined to raise the standard of play in the SEC. Just as importantly, it was also before Georgia started the slow erosion of many of those areas of my confidence listed above.
Mark Richt's Future
I don't want Mark Richt to leave. Damon Evans doesn't want Mark Richt to leave. Mike Adams doesn't want Mark Richt to leave, and the vast majority of the lucid, Hartman contributing portion of the Bulldog Nation doesn't want Mark Richt to leave.
Just as importantly, Mark Richt doesn't want to leave. He has moved about 30 friends and family members to Athens. This is his family's home. All of those factors are why he's not going to leave.
But that doesn't mean that Mark Richt or any of the other folks listed above are happy with the current state of affairs. Nor should they be.
In the wake of the UT and LSU losses, there's a lot of talk about play calling, talent level, penalities, turnovers, etc. Those are symptoms. They aren't root cause problems. In my opinion, the Top 3 Core Issues are:
1. Lack of a Sense of Urgency -- This is a by product of Coach Richt's eight year deal and his enormous buyout. That contract and his track record of averaging over 10 wins a season have created a comfortable existence in Athens. Comfort has arguably lead to complacency and stagnation. The flip side of the argument -- Richt's contract promotes a level of stability that helps us recruit at a very high level.
2. Lack of a Transparent Meritocracy -- Sport is the ultimate meritocracy. The best move up. The weak move down. When the meritocracy breaks down within a program so that friendships, past relationships and/or seniority within the coaching staff or depth chart are favored over excellence or pursuit of excellence, everything falls apart. Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll have a relentless pursuit of merit among their players and coaches. If you're not good enough, you don't play or you move on. Knowshon Moreno would never redshirt for Pete Carroll. Bacarri Rambo would never be second string for Nick Saban, and our kick coverage would never be so un-special under Urban Meyer...not for this long.
3. Lack of an Attack Mentality on Every Down -- On Sunday, Blutarsky said we have a crisis of faith. He explained that by saying:
"It's a systemic doubt: the coaches lack faith in the players to execute and the players lack faith in the coaches' ability to deploy them efficiently and effectively."
I agree with him; although, I'd use a different phrase. I'd say we're coaching and playing scared. Scared of failure. Scared of giving up the big play. Scared of freshmen mistakes. Scared of everything. In the LSU game, we had Logan Gray fielding punts at mid-field in an obvious designed fair catch where we also didn't attempt to block the punt. That's as passive and submissive of a coaching move as you'll see. We're not attacking on special teams. We're not consistently attacking on defense. We're not consistently attacking on offense. We're not making the other guy uncomfortable.
How do you fix those issues?
If you fix #1, then #2 and #3 would fix itself.
If you fix #2, then #3 would fix itself.
If you fix #2, then #3 would fix itself.
The problem is...it's all fixable, but not without introducing new personalities into the mix. Something will have to change on that front, and Richt will have to make moves in the off season to address the issues.
Naming names and calling for specific heads to roll at this point does nothing. It helps nothing because Richt is not going to make a move mid-season. Nor should he. And Damon shouldn't start saber rattling either. Damon's private message to Richt should only be, "I'll give you the financial resources to do what it takes to make the staff excellent when the time comes. You can count on me."
Beyond that, Richt has to decide. How many more times does he want to feel like he felt Sunday morning? It's up to him.
PWD
69 comments:
Don't worry Dawg fans. When Florida goes on to win the National Championship this year you can somehow twist it to mean that you actually have a good team in Athens.
"But, but...we play in the SEC."
SEC! SEC! SEC!
Hey it works for Vandy and Kentucky.
There has to be a complete and total overhaul of the program, starting with the DC, OC, and a few other position coaches. The best/fastest way for CMR to turn things around is to bring in some new blood for the '10 season...basically start anew. If CMR fails to do this at the end of the season, his final 1-2 years at UGA will be quite ugly, with a bad ending. I don't want to see that, neither do you. Simply put, we cannot, absolutely cannot, turn this ship around with CWM and CMB still in place next year.
I'm not convinced that Bobo is the problem. The situation at QB is bad. The OL is blocking very, very, very poorly despite having an exceptional position coach.
If you can't run without falling down, run block, catch screens, or get open underneath for short routes. What's left for Bobo to call? Jump balls to Green.
Watch out HERE COME THE DORES.
3-4 with a loss to VANDY is gonna HURT.
Recruiting is terrible too, Richt wanted Caleb King over Jonathan Dwyer. Yeah the recruiting websites drool over uga's classes - its too bad none of them have an eye for real talent.
HOW BOUT THEM 3-3 MUTTS??!?!
Wah wah wah
Turn off the comments, we can't stand to have them on and lose
Wah wah wah
Sack up Mutts. If you can't stand bad comments why even have them at all.
I think you're right about Bobo, PWD. We had the best offense in teh league last year when we had talent. Hard to judge w/ what we're working with. Willie has never really had the best D in the league.
My biggest concern is that Richt doesn't see things as clearly as you do and that his answer to Damon's "financial encouragement" is, "Nah, I think we're just going to stick with what we've got and see if we can turn it around." Really, he's got to make up his mind right now, before we play another down, that we can't win a championship playing the way we do and the style we do. No matter what happens.
The worst thing that happened to our immediate future in B-ball was winning that SEC tourney. It delayed the inevitable and '08-'09 was wretched. I want us to go 10-3, make no mistake. I'll be screaming like crazy in Jax. But a win there can't affect what has to happen. We are never going to go 11-1 giving up 40 a couple times a year. And 11-1 is really all that should matter because 11-1 will get us in the BCS title game most years.
You're dead on. I just hope CMR sees it that way. And the truth is(the maddening truth) I just don't know if he does. He's a hard cookie to read.
As much as it pains me to say it, it's time for Richt to pack it up.
You can always blame assistants, but Richt is the source of our directionless program. We should have been in a BCS game last year, if not THE BCS game. We should never lose to Tech. Ever.
It's time for Richt to go. It was nice while it lasted, but the SEC has passed him by. If he sticks around for one more year, that's one more year of distance between us and Florida, Tenn, USC (yes, I don't think we could beat them if we played again today), Auburn, LSU, Bama, Ole Miss. That's right, we are the eighth best team in the ACC. Hell, we'd be the fourth best team in Tech's division in the ACC.
Get rid of Mr. diRICHTionless. Do it now, before its too late.
Why turn off comments?
It is because of folks like you anonymous, who will post 30 things before your mom calls you to dinner that you think are just the badassest thing ever.
I especially like how you are trying to make it look like different people...first, kind of a Florida fan, then kind of a Vandy fan....nice touch.
Its kind of like telling someone to look out for the ice after the Titanic's bow is under water...it just doesn't make any difference.
Paul,
My problem with Bobo is this...his order of playcalling is unbelievably predictable. 2nd and 10 is going to be a run. You can pick plays by lineup and formation. It rarely varies.
NOW is the fall that we could really use some hope and change.
Paul: It would be nice that, after having commenting turned off for so long, you could leave the blog open for some lucid, constructive dialog for UGA supporters and block Gators, Jackets, etc.
I agree, Bobo may be ok as our OC.
One criticism I have of him, however, is that he tends to waste a couple of series per game.
Case in point, bringing in Logan Gray for one snap when we're losing, and it's 2nd and 11. Gray hasn't thrown all year, everyone knows we're running, and it just kills the series. It's an automatic 3rd and long. He's brought in Gray on 2nd and long a couple of times this year. Just makes no sense.
I agree, too, that we play scared. But for some mind-boggling reason, every once in a while we make a bold move--like put Prince Miller in to return a punt. But why oh why put him in to return the punt in a probable touchback situation? If you're gonna use Gray AT ALL to return punts, that is the one time when you want to do it. Why make the decision to put Miller in at that moment? Who made that choice?
I think the best thing now would be for Richt to call a team meeting and watch Remember The Titans. And then do some team-building exercises like 'trust falls.'
right on... and the players know it... which explains the rest.
To everyone who bashed me the last two weeks for pointing out the obvious - we have coaching issues - you can suck it.
I am right - you are wrong. We need a new coaching staff immediately or we will lose the integrity of this program for years to come.
The UT game was a complete embarrassment to the UGA program, players, coaches, and fans. CMR and his staff should pack up and move back to Tallahassee - we need some new blood on the sidelines.
A losing season will help this program down the road, I promise you. Just like the song "Hurt so good..."
I agree with 2:04. It seems that most of the Richt magic has left. Maybe it was Van Gorder all along, maybe Richt just isn't hungry anymore.
Either way, CMRs time has come and gone. Bring in someone to excite us again. Ship Richt back to Tallahassee with a nice thanks for the memories note.
Let it be known that we need a head coach who does not tolerate mediocrity like Richt apparently does.
You'll always have that huge win over Hawai'i.
Agreed with the above, it has to fall with Richt.
If the defense being bad is only Willie's fault
And the offense being bad is only Bobo's fault
Then what the hell does Richt actually do? Only coach Blair Walsh?
You'd be a fool to think that Richt's hands are clean. He's just as much to blame as the coordinators, if not more se.
Things are never as good or as bad as they seem. The poor play of Joe Cox and our running backs has exposed the biggest weakness on the team, the defense. CWM has been bailed out time and time again by the offense. This is college football. Some season a team is going to have an offense that struggles. Wait until Florida tries to replace Tebow.
I’d expect the Dawgs to play Murray at some point. Cox is a good story, but he can’t get it done at this level. The rest of the conference knows we’re shaky at QB and they’re putting us under pressure. The Vols have the same problem as us but they have a capable defense. Georgia doesn’t have a capable defense. Can anyone really argue that a CWM defense has ever been as good as this year’s Florida or Alabama squads? About the best you say for CWM is sometimes his defense plays above average. The Dawgs have talent.
For the Dawgs to be a real contender in the SEC we have to have a tenacious smash mouth defense. Bend but don’t break isn’t going to cut it.
FYI:
Donnan (1997-2000) 35-13
Richt (2006-2009) 33-12
Not looking too good.
2 yrs ago we were blown out in Knoxville? If were gonna right the ship it starts at the top! WM is not getting it done, there at least 4 or 5 future NFL players on that D. The big issue to me was after watching UT play UCLA...UF...Auburn they ran the ball to try to set up the pass,against us they threw the ball to set up the run! We looked like we had never seen play action before? Zero pass rush! Back to that 07 team had we not stripped Vandy late we would have lost to them! After that game we went on to win out and finish #2 IN THE COUNTRY.Bottom line we have not created that big play to turn a game our way. I thought Rambo's pick was the free pass we were looking for! Nope down the field they went again.Im convinced that some change is in order however my opinion does not matter. PLZ STOP WITH THE CUT AND PASTE DONNAN STUFF! Really Gay...
nemov: You are entirely correct. Stafford, Moreno, and MoMass turned in a stellar performance last year covering for CWM's soft zone.
Paul,
I'm not sure there's any levers that can be pulled for #1, other than the nuclear option. A contract is a contract, and I doubt that declining to extend it past eight years really does much.
Frankly, what alarms me is that we have these crises annually. We looked passive and scared in Knoxville two years ago. It always seems to take some season-on-the-brink cataclysm to shake this program into action. We can't keep living that way. When crises occur on the regular, they cease to be crises and start becoming the normal state of affairs.
Martinez's status is starting to resemble Felton's -- since last season, it's been a question of when, not if.
I realize Richt can't say much now, but he would help his cause considerably if he'd lay off the passive-aggressive "get in the arena" comments, stop blaming players and fans and just state the obvious: It's on him. He assembled this staff, and he, along with his staff, recruits and coaches these players. Instead of solving the problems that have plagued this program since 2006, he's allowed them to metastasize into conditions.
I don't need to hear him beat himself up. I just need to see him own this mess.
Paul -- You nailed it on all accounts. Excellent.
Hey Goalinstalker...you just set a blog reoord for amount of exclamation points used with 6. Congrats.
Someone asked Pollack about finding a new DC. Here's his response via twitter:
@davidpollack47 To everyone asking about D Coordinators that r out there, acouple Ga guys out there like Will Muschamp, and Kirby Smart. U Guys were asking
It seems to me Smart is positioning himself for a HC job. Would he leave Alabama for an unstable Georgia job? I say "unstable" b/c if things don't start turning around next season the whole Richt era could end.
At the end of the season, Richt is going to demote Martinez, make Garner DC, and make himself special teams coordinator.
That'll be it. Nobody fired, nobody replaced. He'll keep it all in the family so nobody gets hurt.
couple of points from me -
1 - anonymous doucheasses - really? this is all you have to do on Monday? Wait around for comments to turn on so you can be anonymous internet dickbag #85? Good for you. Whatever.
2 - The playcalling on both sides of the ball has reached Donnan-esque levels of predictability. If the uneducated swine in the stands and on the internet know what's coming next, don't you think every team in the SEC does too? We've got to get more aggressive and exotic on both sides of the ball in a blessed hurry, or we should see a few new faces on the coaching staff next season.
3 - Can anyone tell me the last time we blocked a punt, ran a KO back for 6, and had a pick-6 in the same game and LOST? No momentum with this team, whatsoever.
Thanx....just a little pissed!!!!!!
goallinestalker and others "there at least 4 or 5 future NFL players on that D"
-I'm really starting to wonder if we do have NFL talent. This isn't to excuse Willie, but these guys aren't impressive. Rennie is awesome, but if he lined up next to Taylor, Gilbert, Boss, Spoon, Odell..., whould he seem so impressive? Geno is a beast but he disappears for games at a time. The starting DB's look like future Enterprise Salesmen (and that's not a dis on that job, I interviewed there too).
All that said, I think our recruiting approach has to be changed. The guys we're offering at summer camp aren't growing up to be the studs we expect.
I've watched Georgia (sober and as an adult) for about 15 years. This is the most mediocre LB's, Safeties, D-line and DB's we've had since mid '90's.
Rivals, etc. don't know sheet from shine-ola. They rate based on which school offered a kid and which school sells the most copy.
Garner must go or the program needs to change the way they scout and offer players.
^^ Do we have anyone from the last 5 years starting on defense in the NFL?
Tommy,
The "arena" comment was a gigantic blunder. That's a topic for another post from me.
If he had to do it all over again, I wonder if he would.
It pissed me off personally. I'd like him to apologize frankly.
PWD
Georgia's problem isn't talent. I don't have the info in front of me, but one of Donnan's defenses had 11 future NFL players on it and it sucked. The coaching is the problem.
You don't have to have a bunch of first round picks to have a defense that tackles well and isn't lost on bootlegs and pass fakes.
YEA rt. and SS has done a great job(argue for keeping him). Our teams aren't using their so called talent.I conclude our coaches can't coach or they can't spot talent.The coverage i won't mention it's too obvious.
One area/coach that has barely been mentioned in this whole mess is CVH. It won't happen while CMR is here, but we could really use a new head S&C coordinator as well. I spoke with two head SEC (and one ACC) S&C coaches at a clinic in the summer of '08, and they all had the same opinion of CVG (off the record of course)....good person, but not all that respected as a S&C coach. They felt like he (perhaps) was getting by on past glory, and one in particular told me he's really slowed down since his heart attack several years ago, leaving most of the work to his assistants.
Regarding the last opinion, I have no clue if that is true or not...just passing along what I heard. I will say we don't look as physically intimidating in uniforms as we used to, but maybe its because we simply aren't winning as much these days.
I'm not ready to give up on Bobo yet. Losing Stafford, Moreno, and MoMass has hurt. Compounding that hurt has been a LB playing RB, Ginger Cox, and an OL that is having trouble blocking. I'm not sure Bobo is the problem and I think given time he can work it out.
Willie on the other hand I gave up on last year. Richt should have let him go last year after the Tech game. If we lose to Vandy he should be fired or if he has any honor he should resign. Promote Garner or Janick to finish out the year and see what they can do. If they can't get it done, open up the checkbook and hire the best DC money can buy.
Either way, Richt has to make changes or he becomes part of the problem and much leave for the long term success of the program. UGA is not the place for an employment agency for his friends.
#2 is an EXCELLENT POINT, and should continue to be harped upon for the rest of the year. If Tebow had played for Richt i wouldn't be surprised if he redshirted him. And Tebow's experience as a freshman, used wisely as he was, is a big part of his current success. In the SEC you have to win NOW, you can't afford to waste any time, cuz great players aren't always gonna stay 4 yrs as we saw last year. Richt definitely puts too much value on seniority, one example is Washaun ealey this year, and the play of the special teams is a joke. I think Richt should totally start over with everything, nothing should be off the table, cuz part of the greatness of Meyer's gators is that you know they'll change anything from week to week, and that keeps them unpredictable. this isn't the ACC where Richt came from
The thing CMR needs to understand about the "arena" comment is that the fans (directly or indirectly) pay his salary.
We can demand accountability, and we can celebrate success.
Jennings starts, Blue & Taylor are out of the league. Howard, Moses, Oliver play. Anyone else?
Absolutely coaching is a problem, but so is talent. None of the following would see PT on our defense from 99-05: Prince, Evans, Reshad, Houston, Dobbs, Dent, M. Washington. These are starters on our D.
Boykins, Rambo, Commings & Smith might be good one day. But they're not there yet.
Our OL continues to be below avg. This depsite Searles being in his 3rd season. No more blaming Callaway. Outside Boling, who stands out?
Maybe Garner is good at this job, but there's something wrong when we wrap up recruiting in December and our team has gone from NFL factory to Gamecock levels of mediocrity
I have a rising curiosity of what might happen if/when Bobby Bowden is ousted from FSU. Do you think Richt will go after some of that staff to make replacements?
So, we're a little short of optimal at QB, RB and OL.
And this is ... whose fault?
Sure, Stafford and Moreno left early. But Stafford would have left after this year. And then what? We would have had Gray, Murray and Mettenberger, the same guys we're not playing now, ostensibly because they're not better than Cox.
By the way, I made a comment here about a month ago (after the Ark. game, IIRC) about how Richt doesn't take enough risks. One of the examples I gave was giving Gray a real shot (not this one run on second-and-11 crap). I was pilloried for slagging off Cox, who was putting up video game numbers at the time.
And now where are we? Halfway through the season, with no established plan for getting a guy who's (allegedly) one of the most dangerous weapons on the team on the field.
Either Gray's not as good as we want to think -- and that would be an indictment of the talent evaluation process -- or we're using one of the best players on the team to fair-catch punts. Either way, there's a problem.
Charles Johnson is playing for the Panthers...
"We've got to get better, period," Richt said. "We've got to get better at defense, got to get better at offense, got to get better at coaching. ... I guess what I'm saying is where we are right now is a culmination of everyone. I'm not pointing the finger at any one individual. I am saying we all as a whole must improve, period."
In other words when everybody is responsible then nobody is responsible.
The situation is clearly getting to Richt. He has really started blowing things out of his ass.
Is 500,000/year enough to get Kirby Smart back to Athens and bring some pride to our D?
You know it's bad season when a homer like Dantzler comes out and says, and I quote, "WE SUCK!" as he just did on his afternoon radio show.
anon 3:33, I actually toyed w/ the idea of starting a "hiremarkricht.com" website. It would be geared towards FSU folks and appear to be set up by an FSU fan tired of Bowden. I was hoping to build some momentum to maybe FSU coming after him. The loss to UT makes this all but impossible.
I don't want to fire CMR, but I'm disturbed by the downward spiral and the general obstinent tact he's taken. This might be the first challenge to his abilities since his backup QB days. His repsonse has been puzzling. Much closer to Donnan's infamous "come down to Butts-Mehre" than anything I was expecting.
Didn't we decide Smart wasn't coming back, no way, no how?
And forget Kirby Smart. Let's go for Muschamp. Let's go for Tuberville. Let's go big. We wanna be a power program? Time to start acting like it. Time to throw our weight around.
Yikes Squarebush. Let's just hope JD has hired a driver.
I'm continually amazed at all the idiot fans we have out there that have no freakin' clue what's going on. For the 177,657th time...SMART IS NOT COMING BACK TO UGA. How many times does that have to be said for some of you nimrods to ascertain that? Smart and CMR do NOT get along, and frankly I wouldn't want Smart back here anyway (he has utterly trashed UGA, yep, his own school, to recruits in recent years).
I don't want someone like that around our program. He purposely burned his bridges, so let him go. Also, please stop the nonsense with names such as Muschamp (he aint leaving his Texas gig), Dick Bumpas at TCU (his resume sucks and is simply riding Patterson's coat tails), our Tommy Tuberville (he's not returning to coaching to be someone's DC when he could get a great HC job).
I swear, some of you must be the same idiots who call into CMR's radio show weekly.
RE: Kirby Smart, Muschamp and Tuberville
The same drunk that started the rumor that "Kirby bad mouths UGA and burned all his bridges" stuff said those things in 2001-2004. BEFORE Richt went and hired Kirby.
And he said the same things after Kirby left. It would take a much better source than that to make me believe it was true.
As for Muschamp or Tuberville ... some folks need to step into the real world where we have things like gravity and oxygen. Muschamp is the head coach in waiting at Texas. He makes about a $1 million per year. He ain't coming here. That's a demotion AND he wouldn't be coach in waiting here because Richt isn't stupid enough to name a coach in waiting at his age.
As for Tuberville, next year he'll be making $3+ million a year as head coach at a BCS school.
PWD
I don't think Richt will do anything but shuffle some titles around. He is a stubborn defender of his "system" and firing people requires taking responsibility for the failure. He'll drag us down for two more years with Willie demoted to D-backs coach and Garner promoted as Co-Coordinator Assistant Coach or some other meaningless title. That's the BS he pulled last year. Bobo will share play calling with Mclendon or Lilly. Fabris will join Eason with another faux title and everybody will feel good. I don't think he'll put the program above the friends and family fortress of irresponsibilty he's built. It's all about him. People have built the guy up to be a saint but he still has all of the failings of a mortal man. One with a football team sprialing out of control.
Is Marion Campbell alive?
great stuff as usual Paul...spot on on all three points.
PWD, both SP and AD at UGAsports.com opined that, in their opinion, Smart would not return to UGA as long as CMR was still coaching here. They both feel quite strongly about this, and have mentioned that Smart departed UGA on bad terms with CMR and the rest of the coaches. Unless they have me fooled, I don't see SP and AD simply being a couple of drunks.
Maybe if CMR would stop doing so many commercials, radio shows,and tv shows he would have time to do some coaching. Possibly even cut down on the so called mental errors, like being such a penalized team, and get back to basics. Blocking, tackling, covering recievers just to mention a few.
I've never seen so many recievers be so open in the SEC in all my years of watching. CWM has turned UGA's defense into the laughing stock of the SEC.
And I know it's not his style but just once I'd like to see CMR grab a player by the facemask and chew his ass out after he'd made a bonehead decision.
Here is looking up to Georgia Tech, a real rushing offense. Since we suck so bad a running the football, lets just scrap the current play book and move Chapas and Munzenmaier into half back positions and run the real veer with Gray under center. Pound the football or punt since punting is the hall mark of our football team, and thats better than a pic 6.
Q: What do Georgia fans and Tech fans have in common?
A: They're both obsessed with the Bulldogs.
Sad that they are more concerned with hating the Dawgs, than liking the Jackets. As evidenced by the random Bug douches coming here..LoL.
To me, Mark Richt is a great head coach. He is the type of guy you want leading your program. The problem is that when the coach is a cool-headed, even keel guy you need some fire from the staff (ie Van Gorder) for motivation and balance. We need a Muschamp. Not that we could get him (or that he's that great) with his deal at Texas...but we need someone like that to get a fire started on defense.
Bobo can do the job but needs to adjust what he's doing. It's either run behind a lousy line or throw it 600 miles. Hitting some short stuff could do wonders for the running game.
I just cant see why people are throwing Richt under the bus. I dont exactly want to throw CWM under it either. Maybe a coach who specializes in having his juniors stay another year?
Im not just talking about Stafford and Moreno. See PO, Jennings? I think was the other corner. Allen? Johnson at DE. Im not even covering half of the players we never saw play as seniors. Every year I see the "young team" excuse. We dont have a beast corner and that hurts bad.
Paul,
this was a great, rational, well though out and reasonable summary of what the problem is and what needs to happen. Great work. I think that likely the large majority of us Alumni probably feel the same way. We love coach Richt and we don't want him to go anywhere. But as much as I admire his loyalty, there comes a time when tough decisions must be made, and longtime friends must be let go in the interests of the program. I'm sure it makes it tough when the guys we are talking about have turned down lucrative offers from other schools to remain at Georgia (i.e. Martinez saying no to Miami), but those guys know that this is a results-driven business, and we just aren't seeing the results that we've come to expect.
Daniel,
Good luck. coaches like that only exist at schools than dont have winning records. bottom line, NFL caliber players generally leave early. Just look around at other teams.
Willie's pathetic defense made Crompton, the worst QB is the SEC, look like peyton manning.
I've been saying it for three years and finally it seems everyone agrees. MARTINEZ MUST GO. I wasn't surprised by the result of this game yet i didn't think it would be as bad as it was.
You must fix the offense at the same time the fefense is fixed.
Every time we face an experienced defensive coordinator with reasonable talent we get our head handed to us on offense. Bobo is not qulaified to be the OC at an SEC team. Did you watch the entire game at Tenn. In this day and time, if we do not score more than 20 points, you have little chance to win.
Also, lets not forget about special teams. Our kick coverage has not improved.
I personally do not believe Richt can make the hard decisions although I hope I am wrong.
Ever since I first witnessed the whole dancing on the sideline thing at the 2007 Ole Miss game I have been skeptical of the team's discipline. It speaks volumes about the coaches keeping their players heads in the game when said players are more occupied with seeing themselves prance about on the big screen. I was especially incredulous when the whole routine cranked up at the ASU game a few weeks back at a point when we were actually losing the game. I can't imagine Van Gorder (or Erk) or any other coach allowing such shenanigans to go on while the game is on the line. For me at least, it sends the message that the coaches just don't care.
In the case of Paul Oliver, at least, he was declared academically ineligible and entered the supplemental draft.
That he then tested well on the Wonderlic and was viewed as someone lacking the motivation to do his classwork is another matter.
1) Kirby Smart is not coming here unless it's as a head coach. Going from DC at the #2 team in the country to a not ranked team is a step down, regardless of affiliation or pay. I hate to admit it, but the man clearly loves Nick Saban more than he loves the dawgs.
2) Muschamp is not coming here either unless it's as a head coach. See #1.
3) Tubberville is not coming here either unless it's as a head coach. You don't spend 10 (or however many) years as head coach of a major SEC school and then go be the DC of a rival. Yeah, Amato did it but he was an assistant under Bowden for eighteen (18) years and he was a terrible head coach to begin with. I'd have to imagine a coach who went undefeated in the SEC would have some demand as a HC somewhere.
4) Re poor play. All I know is that the poor play is systemic. The offense scheme is bad. The defensive scheme is bad. The players don't play with any sort of fire. The recruits seem to be better on the internet than they are in real life.
To me, that starts and ends with the head coach. It's not an isolated problem. Our offense does great then craps the bed. Our defense does great then craps the bed. I agree that Bobo isn't doing great and CWM should go. Stacy should probably be demoted to a recruiting guy only, not a coach. The difference though, is that Richt needs to be held accountable for all of those failures. If the defense is this bad, I expect the head coach to improve it. If the offense is that bad, ditto. Richt doesn't get a free pass because he used to be one of the best coaches in the SEC. This is the time of Kiffin, Meyer, Saban, Miles, Chizik (ha, more like Gus). Coaches quickly get lapped in this league (see Spurrier). We need to get rid of Richt before that happens.
Give him to the end of the year. If we aren't better than 6-6 or 7-5 he needs to go. You just can't do that with the talent we have and expect to stay.
PWD - Great post, always appreciated. Earlier today, you correctly identified two distinct issues at play here. The first, correcting the course of the program, you've addressed here. I'd also like to get your thoughts on the second, which is how we rectify (some of) the current problems with THIS team and at least limp to 7-5 and a Music City Bowl berth. I know everyone will groan at that, but the bowl streak is important (at least to me).
I don't have any good ideas, particularly if we want to somehow get next year's QB some work as well (I don't care what anybody says, AM would struggle some this year). The offense just appears completely impotent outside of AJ at this point.
You working on a post for that? Yes, I know this is a side project for you.
Thanks Paul for the article with the 3 major problems outlined. Agreed. Bottom line for me is our lack of ability to adjust on defense. Also, this damn line makes me want to open a can of woop arse on them! Geez, play with passion. Run Washun Ealey until he wants to kick the lines arse!
Coach Richt.....
October 12th, 2009
6:09 pm
I understand your frustration. I have probably let some things get a little sideways in the program but I do care. I love UGA and everything about it and I am very disappointed right now also. Somewhere along the line I have let the program decline….fell asleep at the wheel some would say. I am not one to talk in public about these issues even though most of you fans wished I would. Its to much out in the open now though for me not to acknowledge the obvious issues. This past week was an embarrassment to the program and everything we have spent the last 9 years building. I believed that I made the right decisions in the best interest of the program over the years but now must admit that some judgements were ill-considered. I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt knowing that many changes are on the horizon. I can’t discuss publicly what they will be….just that they will happen. I take full responsibility for this decline. I have ignored some obvious issues to long in the hopes that they would work themselves out. But I can assure you that you will see a much tougher, more disciplined, and better coached team in the future. It might not happen overnight but it will happen by the time the Dawgs take the field to open the 2010 season. Stay with me and this team. Great things are on the horizon.
Sincerely, Coach Richt
Not sure if this Coach Richt or not but it showed up in the AJC on that tool bag Mark Bradley's blog
If it is, he should be fired for his spelling alone.
PWD, from Anthony Dasher this morning regarding Kirby Smart:
Re: Yes, Dash has said several times there was bad blood
Reply
Cmr was upset that kirby left after one year to go back with saban after cmr gave him a chance to get back in game after saban went to miami. Then, during the recruiting battles, kirby was allegedly badmouthing uga to recruits to keep them from signing with the dawgs. So no, as long as cmr is here kirby smart will not be coaching at georgia.
Posted from wireless.rivals.com
Posted on 10/13 7:34 AM | IP: Logged
For the record, I wasn't referring to either of them with my drunk comment.
Maybe Kirby will never come. Maybe not.
But I've heard that same rumor for almost 9 years about how he bad mouths UGA during recruiting. That and the other version of the rumor that's even older.
My comment wasn't a shot at Dasher or Patterson.
PWD
Although Paul, it must be pointed out that the uga rivals site and Anthony Dasher aren't infallible. Plainly put, statements have been made multiple times over the last few years that turned out to be far from the truth.
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