Richt needs to end speculation about Martinez
If Willie Martinez has coached his final game in Athens, we should know soon.
I’m not sure what to read into Mark Richt’s sudden decision to cancel his scheduled Sunday night conference call with media members because of a reported “family function,” other than, well, a reported family function.
But with strong and protracted speculation that there are going to be significant changes on his coaching staff at Georgia — including either firing or demoting defensive coordinator Willie Martinez — Richt should not let this matter linger much longer. Either announce the staff will remain intact or make changes. The public guessing game helps nobody.
This generally is the week firings happen. (Virginia already has fired Al Groh.) It’s an important time in recruiting, and teams also want to get an early jump on potential replacements. There’s no reason to wait until after bowl games. Bowls generally are inconsequential, as it relates to a coach’s job security.
All that said, it would stunning if Martinez is back, certainly as coordinator. Martinez’s supporters shouldn’t get too drunk over the 30-24 season-ending win over Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs played better defense at times against Tech than they had this season. But the Jackets were held to only a field goal in the first half largely because Georgia’s running game kept Tech’s offense off the field. They had only four possessions. (The others: missed field goal, interception, time expired.) If any coach redeemed himself Saturday night, it probably was offensive line coach Stacy Searles, not Martinez.
In the second half, Tech scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions and fumbled to end another drive near midfield.
As our Tim Tucker points out, Richt has done little to defuse speculation that he’ll make changes. Sometimes saying nothing on the subject — as he has done most of the season — is a greater indictment than anything else. Bottom line: Martinez’s body of work, and certainly the Dogs’ defensive problems the last two seasons, speaks loudly. Change is needed.
But regardless of Richt’s decision, he needs to clear the air quickly.
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481 comments Add your comment
Douglas
November 30th, 2009
7:05 pm
Martinez deserves the heat…but do does Janicek (spelling) and the special teams coach. Our OL coach is really good I believe especially when it comes to playing power football — run the FB first to set up the pass. He was good at Auburn and great at LSU — they always had great running games. I think we would be lucky to keep Stacy — he probably gets tired of trying to make OL tough playing for a coach who wants finesse.
Urban Meyer to NFL?
November 30th, 2009
7:06 pm
CBS Sports says it’s gonna happen. Here’s why:
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/12585042/meyer-going-to-nfl-believe-it-numbskulls
Why does Georgia keep losing to Florida?
November 30th, 2009
7:07 pm
Answer: turnovers. Storyline for last 4 years.
This is the ONLY real question Richt needs to answer when thinking about staff changes. Florida is the key to the SEC and the Natl’ Champ.
Tebow vs. Stafford
November 30th, 2009
7:10 pm
Why did Stafford improve each year at Georgia while Tebow got worse? could be coaching. Meyer saw Tebow’s talent decline from 2007 to 2008, and again from 2008-2009. All stats pretty much went down.
Said to see it happen.
Willie is Not the Problem!
November 30th, 2009
7:13 pm
AJC wanted Willie fired last year. Didn’t happen. Richt knows Willie can coach–2007, he shut down 3 big time offenses with brilliant schemes.
the problem is TURNOVERS. The Florida series proves that.
Georgia beats Georgia in the Floridia game 3 out 4 of the last 4 years FALLING ON IT’S OWN SWORD with 3 or 4 TO’s a game.
The game we won? o TO’s.
pi$$onnerd
November 30th, 2009
7:16 pm
Hey now……
Proof Willie is Not the Problem!
November 30th, 2009
7:23 pm
Exhibit A- Head to Head Comparison:
Willie’s D gave up NO 100 yard rushers ALL SEASON. That’s a tremendoous stat. Should be good enough for the offense to win, has in the past with Richt before 2009, about 93% of the time.
Bobo only got 2 100 yard rushers this year. 2 great games Bobo called, Arkansas and Ga Tech.
Record when Willie had an amazing NO 100 Yard rusher game:
7-5
Bobo didn’t help Willie much when Willie produced
Record when Bobo had an amazing 100 yard rusher game:
2-0
Willie helped Bobo a lot when Bobo produced
Exhibit B-
Bobo has 3 or 4 turonovers in 4 out of 5 losses. Willie did not give up a 100 yard rusher in a SINGLE LOSS.
trey
November 30th, 2009
7:23 pm
30-24, so glad it STILL hurts so bad
Bulldog Through and Through
November 30th, 2009
7:28 pm
“FREE WILLIE” and “BUMP BOBO” of any association with UGA. If that does not happen, then “ROOT-OUT RICHT”. For what we are paying Richt and his staff, we deserve much better. Richt is an honest man, ask him if we are getting the best. Better yet, since Sonny and Zell want “PAY FOR PERFORMANCE” ASK THEM WHAT TO DO.How many furlough days did they take? I almost forgot, they have been taking furlough days, look at the record.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 30th, 2009
7:28 pm
THIS JUST IN…….. CWM OFFERED DC JOB AT tech………….BEBE SAY” S LET’S JUST DROP IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
DG
November 30th, 2009
7:30 pm
Richt will resign before he lets his best friend down. This is a terrible positon for him to be in, but one that may define his career as a coach. Is this what we really want?
And why is a failure in defensive performance not the head coaches’ responsibility, too? How can we sit back and assign blame for things that happen under the head coaches’ watch? It sure doesn’t work that way where I work.
Ghost of LG
November 30th, 2009
7:31 pm
Lets see here, Tech can’t stop the run, what should we do next, let’s pass. We have a gimme field goal, what should we do next, let’s pass the ball behind the line. Which coordinator needs to go? Tech doesn’t have a defense, and they have no right to even comment on this subject. Pass Tech Pass!!!!1
td
November 30th, 2009
7:35 pm
Proof Willie is Not the Problem!, Interesting stats. I do not think the scheme is the problem. The real problem has been our lack of having a consistent pass rush from the DE’s since Howard’s senior year. I think that problem will be gone next year with the development of Houston, Washington, Robinson and others (including 6 DE’s in this years recruiting class).
The only real criticism I have for him is the lack of take aways. We are not doing a good job at stripping the ball and the CB’s getting their heads around to intercept balls.
Hi Georgia Basher, I see You're Back!
November 30th, 2009
7:36 pm
Been posting all day have you? Still unemployed? Still love Florida? Still trying to spread your Georgia Bashin garbage?
You should spend your time trying to find a job instead of criticizing a coaching staff that finished #2 in the nation in 2007.
it just makes you look dumb.
That’s be like getting mad at Warren Buffet for being the 2nd richest man in America and ONLY making $50 Billion.
td
November 30th, 2009
7:42 pm
DG, Do not know where you work but I every where I have worked the lowest man always gets blamed for everything wrong and they are the ones that get in trouble. I worked for a place one time where every employee got needs improvement on a year end review and the manger received exceeded expectations.
bill
November 30th, 2009
7:42 pm
I hear we are going after Kirby Smart from BAMA….He is a Dawg at heart, so I could see this very true guys
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 30th, 2009
7:44 pm
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ 30 -24 }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 30th, 2009
7:45 pm
DA DA IS HOME
itsbeenadarngoodrun
November 30th, 2009
7:47 pm
richt is waiting for the bowden matter (he’s retiring tuesday) to blow over. he doesn’t want to steal the spotlight. then willie is gone by the end of the week.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 30th, 2009
7:47 pm
GOTTA GO……………… SEE YOU HATS LATER…………….
TB
November 30th, 2009
7:52 pm
Why fire Martinez. If it wasn’t for his defense putting everything on the line in the forth quarter we would have lost two or three more games. I think we need to move Bobo back to QB coach and hire Weis as the OC. That’s the one thing the ex-ND coach was good at.
cltdawg
November 30th, 2009
8:01 pm
30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24 30-24
Hire Van Gorder
November 30th, 2009
8:32 pm
With the falcons season in the tank, Richt should throw big dollars and hire back Van Gorder, who was the best D coordinator in the SEC. He will need big money to come back—at least $1 million per year, but UGA can afford. Money’s no object to get an SEC title—so get out the checkbook and hire the best!!!
Ed
November 30th, 2009
8:57 pm
Willie Martinez had no answer for the triple option against Tech. Arguably the most important game this season for the sake of a winning season and he couldn’t adjust his defense to assign players to each back. Elementary, my dear Martinez, elementary.
Jerry
November 30th, 2009
9:04 pm
Jeff your wit would be fun. dont just disappear
Pi$$onatechie
November 30th, 2009
9:09 pm
whenever I remember Tennessee game I feel disgusted!I think Martinez cant stay at Georgia, Im afraid of family feud with the new coordinator
DBK
November 30th, 2009
10:03 pm
You can’t blame the defensive coordinator for everything. No defense, whether it is Alabama or Indiana, will do very well if they are constantly on the field. Our offense has done nothing all season. I wish I could find a stat for number of “3 and outs” in a season. Also, our offense turns the ball over and give the other teams a short field to work with. Our defense will be much improved next year with the studs we have coming back. Look at brandon smith, rambo, houston, and pray that Rennie and Rashad come back next year. PRAY
DBK
November 30th, 2009
10:05 pm
I don’t know if weis is right for the sec. To win in the SEC, your offense needs to be able eat up clock running and rest the defense.
First
November 30th, 2009
10:30 pm
The announcement will be made tomorrow after a special meeting with the players to tell them first.
Who will replace Meyer at Florida?
November 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
Who is it going to be? My guess? Spurrier. Or the Cinn Coach. How about the Boise St. guy?
Pit Bull (Willie BEATS Johnson)
November 30th, 2009
10:35 pm
Richt has to stop promoting from within. Ga is too big a program for that. This is not ‘learning on the job’, people. He has to go with someone he knows can get the job done. Someone who is already doing a good job at Def. Cord. You people quit suggesting unproven talent!!!!!!!!
Jim
November 30th, 2009
10:40 pm
With all the injuries the team suffered this year how can you possibly say the coaches are at fault when their best athletes aren’t on the field?
GJW
November 30th, 2009
10:42 pm
Thank you Coach Johnson, for FOUR straight passes to end the game!
Georgia_Jim
November 30th, 2009
10:57 pm
I don’t think Richt has to guts to fire his best friend even if it means Georgia not winning another SEC championship. Get use to losing to Florida and Tenn. and a few more teams that can throw the ball.
The Source
November 30th, 2009
11:20 pm
I am leaking it right here guys…Kirby Smart from Alabama will be named the D coordinator..BoBo is staying where he is at
bugsquacher
November 30th, 2009
11:55 pm
just in……AJC needs to end speculation about Schultz and Bradley, both should be fired now, it helps no one for this to linger……
JimDawg
December 1st, 2009
12:27 am
Fire Willy! We lost to the Vols, we lost to UF, we blew it against UK, and we were one pass away from losing to Tech in THEIR trap game. That is were HE has brought us to. Get rid of him! He couldn’t force Tech to punt once. How many times are we going to beat them if we can’t make them punt??? Can we count on Nesbitt to get hurt? Does he really get credit for the Jaybo (not even a real D1 QB) interception or the QB/RB exchange fumble? Can we count on any of this next year? Do we understand that CPJ is making progress regardless of this game? Writing is on the wall and we better do something.
Other teams saw the writing on the wall and made their changes (AUB, TN, MSST)..
Good Dawg running game through… best in a long time… thank God Cox didn’t have to make hardly any passes.
uberVU - social comments
December 1st, 2009
2:37 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by JeffSchultzAJC: Mark Richt needs to end speculation about Willie Martinez at #Georgia. http://bit.ly/752AsR…
Syrupmaker Dawg
December 1st, 2009
5:36 am
It summed it up for me when I saw Tennessee come out and crush our faces with a hobnail bootleg and we made no adjustments what so ever and the secondary hasn’t played so well either under WillieM MR needs to pull a few strings and get him a high school coaching gig somewhere in Miami or BocaRaton
Bubba
December 1st, 2009
6:09 am
Everybody complains about how lame Schultz’s blog is, then we respond MORE THAN 440 TIMES!!. He must be laughing out loud.
95,000 Fans - Every Game!
December 1st, 2009
7:31 am
Hey Schultz,
What have you got lined up for your next gig once the AJC has gone under and will no longer be the sponsor of your’s and Bradley’s drivel?
chazzo
December 1st, 2009
7:48 am
You have nothing to write about, so you are just pressing buttons. Do you really think any head coach in the nation is going to let some journalist dictate his decisions? (Especially since none of you AJC guys are man enough to admit that you were WRONG.)
hop
December 1st, 2009
7:55 am
the last thing mark richt needs to do is to listen you and the other so called writers at the ajc.
you guys were already to anoint the tech team and coach johnson as the state champions,but somehow they did decide to go ahead play and the game anyway,and once again you,bradley,and mr.college football were wrong once again!
Happydawg
December 1st, 2009
8:02 am
GREAT NEWS! Rumor has it that Martinez will STAY as DC. Changes will be made to other coaches.
BamaDawg
December 1st, 2009
8:11 am
I love the way all of you media pundits desperate for breaking news know what’s best for people like Tiger woods and Mark Richt. The first thing CMR needs to do is not listen to anything that guys like you have to say. Stoke the flames with bloggers all you want but the man has a plan that is best for him and his program and we will know it soon enough. I certainly trust his judgement over yours or anyone else’s based on what he has done for the Dawg Program.
georgiadawgg43
December 1st, 2009
9:04 am
FIRE MARK RICHT.
gadawg racer
December 1st, 2009
9:50 am
2 words…Tommy Tubberville
FLA DAWG
December 1st, 2009
10:34 am
If there is no announcement today or tomorrow Dawg Nation is in Big Trouble. It would likely mean NO CHANGES – and that would be disasterous for everyone except our opponents.
FLA DAWG
December 1st, 2009
10:36 am
I keep hearing Tubberville as DC but Garner would likely leave in that case and we can’t afford to lose a great recruiter like that guy. Maybe a shared role between Tub & Gar for DC and Richt can go back to calling O Plays – unload Martinez and Bobo completely.
Then there’s the Special Teams Issue – Fabris has to go. Replacement?
AceDawg
December 1st, 2009
10:52 am
If Martinez is scheduled to return in Richt’s assessment, Richt must unequivocally be fired. So yes, in that scenario, an announcement should be made soon to replace whomever is going to be gone. (Yes I want Richt to make the right decision and give it one more go with the Bulldawg nation to right the ship.)