With program declining, Richt had to do something
Maybe Willie Martinez had a plan, but it seldom worked the last two seasons.
The problem is not just when a defense misses too many tackles.
The problem is not just when coverage is over here but the receiver and the ball are over there.
The problem is not just the 90 points scored by Florida in the past two trips to Jacksonville, or the 80 points scored by Tennessee in the past two games in Knoxville or the 10 games — 10 games — over the past two seasons when opponents have scored 34 or more points.
The big problem: Nobody fears playing Georgia anymore.
The Bulldogs need more than a solid game plan on defense. They need a pulse. They need the passion and aggressiveness and bone-jarring collisions we see, hear and practically feel when Florida and Alabama play — when almost any consistent national power plays.
That’s what they were under Brian VanGorder. That’s not what they had become under Willie Martinez.
“I want to make sure we’re playing Georgia ball,” Mark Richt said Wednesday night after announcing the firings of three defensive coaches, including Martinez, his friend and defensive coordinator. “Playing with the type of speed and intensity that it takes to be champions. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Richt made the right move Wednesday, even if a couple of days late. Had the announcement come Monday, as many anticipated, rumors would not have spun out of control over the next 48 hours.
When ESPN reported via Twitter earlier in the day that Martinez had been fired, it was not received well in the Georgia football offices. Why? Because several members of the coaching staff had not been informed yet. No announcement had been made. Even though Martinez’s eventual firing had been expected for weeks — at least since the 45-19 loss at Tennessee in October — that kind of blindside Wednesday could have been avoided, especially during this recruiting period.
Richt didn’t say when he finalized his decision, only that he didn’t inform coaches until Wednesday. “It was definitely not a one-year knee-jerk reaction to this season,” he said. “It was more of a decision that was made over the course of time.”
That course: at least two seasons, maybe three.
Martinez stepped up from secondary coach to coordinator in 2005, when VanGorder left. In his first three seasons, the Dogs allowed 34 or more points four times in 39 games. But in the past two years, they’ve seen opponents roll up 41 (Alabama), 38 (LSU), 49 (Florida), 38 (Kentucky), 45 (Georgia Tech), 37 (South Carolina), 41 (Arkansas), 45 (Tennessee), 41 (Florida) and 34 (Kentucky).
That’s significant erosion. Teams can’t win like that. Programs can’t compete like that. They become second-tier, and that’s were Georgia is right now. Evidence? This season’s record: 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the SEC.
Richt made the right choice, the only choice.
Nobody likes to see people lose their jobs. But the Dogs’ defense has slipped too far. Attitude has slipped too far. How opponents perceive Georgia has slipped too far. The Dogs had become passive, soft, even predictable. They seldom dictated. They mostly reacted.
Richt clearly felt the problem ran deeper than just Martinez. So defensive ends coach Jon Fabris and linebackers coach John Jancek also were let go. But he also must realize that problems usually start at the top. Richt needs to demand more accountability among coaches and players.
In a statement released immediately following the firings, he said, “In the final analysis, I’m charged with providing the leadership and direction for the Georgia program and sometimes that means making difficult decisions. This was one of them.”
It was long overdue.
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635 comments Add your comment
Insider
December 2nd, 2009
8:02 pm
Tuberville has been offered 1 mil per year to coach defense but he waiting to see what opens up as a head coach.
45ACP
December 2nd, 2009
8:03 pm
The Dawgs beat the Jackets. What was the score? Oh yeah 30 – 24.
10 – 2 in the ACC is the same as 6 – 6 in the SEC.
Bring on Bumpas. The fact that the Dawgs are hiring new defensive coaches after they shut down the awesome triple option says it all.
Dawgman
December 2nd, 2009
8:05 pm
10-2 in the ACC or 7-5 in the SEC. What is the difference?
Ole Yeller Dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:08 pm
What’s the over under that Coach Richt already has his DC picked out? We all knew CWM was a goner at the end of the year but the big surprise were the other two coaches that were let go. This leads me to believe that whoever the new DC is going to be is bringing his own LB & DE coach with him!!!! It’s a done deal…..just waiting for the season to be over…..so it can be announced!!
Somebody do some investigative research to see which NCAA team has this particular love triangle happening between their DC & the LB – DE Coaches. This will tell us who our DC is going to be.
Can Smart pull 2 other coaches away from Saban? Is Muschamp close friends with Texas’ LB coach or DE coach?
Does anybody know?
dawgbone
December 2nd, 2009
8:11 pm
Breaking news.
Woody Widenhofer seen meeting with Georgia Leaders
45ACP
December 2nd, 2009
8:11 pm
Vandy 2 -10
Miss St. 5-7
Play Florida, Tennessee, USCe, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Kentucky.
And get back to me.
Boom! Mutha *ucka
December 2nd, 2009
8:12 pm
Damon Evans does not like Rodney Garner. He is the recruiting though. as right now.
2Dawgs
December 2nd, 2009
8:12 pm
Bout time! Should have happened a few years ago.
Cuz
December 2nd, 2009
8:16 pm
Dang 45, you beat me to it. I got to quit watching hokie Christmas specials.
Paul in RDU
December 2nd, 2009
8:17 pm
Old Yeller Dawg – I can’t see CMR having a deal for 3 coaches lined up in a package deal, alhough I would be surprised if he doesn’t have a good idea of who he is going to go after – as DC that is.
The correct way of going about it, is to ask permission to interview.
45ACP
December 2nd, 2009
8:18 pm
Cuz – Rudolf is a classic. We all need to watch that.
Hermie wants to be a dentist!
FRED
December 2nd, 2009
8:18 pm
I WORRY THAT M/R WILL MAKE A BAD CHOICE WITH HIS DECISION TO REPLACE WILLIE. I WORRY HE WILL HIRE SOMEONE CONSERVATIVE LIKE HIM AND BOBO.
boog
December 2nd, 2009
8:20 pm
So if we are second tier Schultz… What tier would your beloved Jackets be in the SEC? Once again your article was a bunch of blather of the obvious. You are second tier to Bradley and both of you play in the ACC.
Alabama Jack
December 2nd, 2009
8:20 pm
Amato was 34-17 with Rivers, 15-20 without Rivers
toccoadawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:20 pm
WOW I have now agreed with schultzie the bug blogger twice in one year. good call shultzie ” I know nothing”
hard to agree with
December 2nd, 2009
8:20 pm
I realize it was inevitable, but it makes me sick to see Dog ‘fans’ happy because we had to fire some of our own. I don’t know Fabris or Jancek, but I know Willie to be a great person, fantastic father, husband, family man and I hate it for him and his family. Some of you peabrained idiots will throw insults my way, as well as Willie’s, but know this, your own sorry soul could never hope to have a job with the responsibility or pressure that is on these guys daily, so sit in your cubicle or your drive in window and gloat if you wish, we lost at least one damn good dawg today. Good luck to him and the others.
Carl Spackler
December 2nd, 2009
8:21 pm
Too lazy to read all the post’s. Are these guys gone as of today? If so, who runs the defense, or as part of their going away package they agree to stay on and finish the bowl game. Just wondering.
FalconUGAFan
December 2nd, 2009
8:21 pm
I guess we will all have an opinion on who to hire, but tonight I just want to thank coaches Martinez, Fabris and Jancek for the hard work they put in. Thanks for being part of the Dawgs. Hope the best for you and your families.
Jacket Fan in Sandy Springs
December 2nd, 2009
8:23 pm
Richt can fire all the coaches he wants but until he gets control of his team they’re gonna be having problems in Athens.
Yep, another player got in trouble over the weekend:
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/113009/bre_530469451.shtml
The atmosphere in Athens shows a lack of discipline all around and that’s affecting the play on the field….offsides penalties, personal fouls, blown assignments, lackluster play….all of these come from the inability of Richt to control his boys.
He better hire a hard-a$$ as DC or they’re gonna remain an also ran in the SEC.
dawgma
December 2nd, 2009
8:26 pm
DING DONG MARTINEZ IS GONE!
THE WORST DC GA HAS HAD SINCE IN 50 YEARS.
DON’T BRING BACK THE JERK – VAN GORDER. HE HOSED GA SOUTHERN & THE DAWGS!
BE#3
December 2nd, 2009
8:31 pm
Jacket Fan in Sandy Springs, how many 19 year old kids could be caught drinking on a given night in your fine town? Hell, how many 16 year old kids could be caught drinking? If the kids were out firing AK’s outside a club (see UF), using a dead girl’s credit card (also, see UF), smackin’ around your ho (see UF again), pleading with the cops to “don’t tase me bro” (yep, you guessed it, UF), falling asleep at the wheel at a green light (wow, UF again) or robbing a cracker at pellet gun point (UT) I think we’d be a little more concerned. Kids are going to drink. Lower the freakin’ drinking age to 18 and the issue is gone.
Johnny Test
December 2nd, 2009
8:31 pm
Jacket in SS… yea, those traffic violaters and underage drinkers are are a real discipline problem… If we ever get those fixed we’ll never lose to teck again….
Hey YELLOW FUZZ, I hear you’re off suicide watch and are showing your zit covered face on this blog again… you know your own fans hate you because you brought the rath of the DAWGS down on the maggots… You just about single handedly got tech beat. So keep up the smack.. you invented it.
FBI
December 2nd, 2009
8:32 pm
Am I the only one who thinks we should get David Pollack to coach the defensive ends?
Maddog
December 2nd, 2009
8:33 pm
hard to agree with, good post. Tough decision, but I believe the right one. I take no joy in seeing anyone lose their job. It’s happened twice to me in my life as two employers folded. I’m sure they’ll latch on with another program and I wish them well.
dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:35 pm
FREE WILLIE
The Grinch
December 2nd, 2009
8:35 pm
Jacket Fan in Sandy Springs
December 2nd, 2009
8:23 pm
Riiiiight. I guess we need to hire a quality DC like tech’s, right? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
ViningsDAWG
December 2nd, 2009
8:37 pm
Tuberville is not coming. He and CMR don’t see eye to eye on things. Muschamp is the LB coach at Texas and DC and he is not coming home. Tyrone Nix would come to UGA in a heart beat.
G8TR
December 2nd, 2009
8:37 pm
Speculation about UGA being interested in Tuberville, Kirby Smart, etc., is hilarious. These guys are after promotions, not demotions. UGA would be a step down. Dawgs, for once, try to be honest with yourselves….
dawgbone
December 2nd, 2009
8:38 pm
Whatever happened to joe lee dunn?
Joe
December 2nd, 2009
8:38 pm
I just saw Chuck Amato on Campus. This is not good
if a frog had wings
December 2nd, 2009
8:40 pm
Only 1 choice “Garner”
Asheville Dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:41 pm
About damn time. We need a good aggressive leader at DC.
K-Town Dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:41 pm
BVG, you’ve got to be kidding.
Hasn’t the Falcons D been getting torched all year?
Didn’t they get pounded by Arizona in the playoffs last year?
ONE MORE TIME:
VanGorder’s success came from having an over abundance of NFL talent on a college team that was recruited by Donnan.
And no, Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp are NOT leaving to come back to UGA.
Both are getting paid more than Pres. Adams is willing to dole out and they are both in line to be HCs, Muschamp via contract and Smart via Saban leaving for greener pastures when he gets bored.
willie martinez
December 2nd, 2009
8:41 pm
coach richt called me into butts mehre
he said this you wont wont to hear
instead of an award
you must fall on your sword
so i can keep my job next year
Fast Dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:42 pm
Thank God and Greyhound he’s gone.
bigdawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:43 pm
Terence Moore was the best writer since Dave Kindred at the AJC. He just ruffled the lily-white feathers of some of these Georgia Good ole boys who can’t stand a black man with a forum. Keep it up, Schultzie! Drag the mouth-breathers into the 21st Century (BTW, I’m white).
K-Town Dawg
December 2nd, 2009
8:48 pm
I like the idea of Bumpas from TCU.
I could see Tubbs doing doing it for a year or two for a few reasons:
1. Getting to stick it to Auburn
2. Using it as a spring board to a big time HC position
(we’ve already got the studs to excel and make him look good)
3. Has a good relationship with CMR
4. He already knows the recruiting area
I just hope CMR picks an @SSKICKER!
godawgs
December 2nd, 2009
8:55 pm
Who will replace Martinez?
If you look at current college DC’s, if you’re looking at total yards, points, rushing, or takeaways, which are the skill things I would look at, this year it’s:
1) Ala.
2) Texas
3) Ohio State
4) TCU
5) Oklahoma
6) Boise St.
7) Iowa
Richt should go after the 2 or 3 who fit his worldview & defensive philosophy. Look for a guy who finishes the drill well–is tops in the 4th quarter and a beast about conditioning. Don’t get a guy who’s gonna jump from program to program every year or two. Richt needs a guy who has the value of “loyalty” as demonstrated by some decent tenures at their schools. Look for guys who are not 1 shot wonders–perform year after year. Don’t set the criteria as “someone who played Georgia the toughest”—that’s a key reason Richt chose Willie, when Willie’s D at C. Mich was really successful because of a key assistant–BVG.
Look for:
1) Shared Worldview/Core Values
2) Finish the Drill mentality-4th Qrtrt dominance
3) Consistent Competence (points, yardage, takeaways, rushing)
4) Championships
5) Get a unanimous concensus among advisors who REALLY know defense
Coffee Bluff DAWG
December 2nd, 2009
8:55 pm
Good to see your re-emergence, Fuzz. Nothing like a compliment to UGA Nation like, hey you played a pretty good game in ATL. Where is simon?
Sonny Clusters
December 2nd, 2009
8:55 pm
We was pals with Dave Kindred and know he was ink stained early. The talk about Amato may be right because both he and Richt like nice sunglasses. They could do some coaching with those sunglasses on and nobody could see their eyes to know what they was really thinking. When we was playing ball Coach just wore a visor and it had a tear in it but we didn’t mind. We think the new DC is probably already picked and is somewhere in a parked airplane waiting for a secret meeting. Was that already done somewhere before?
bullgator
December 2nd, 2009
8:58 pm
Why in the world would Smart want to take a lateral (demotion) to come to UGA? Look for Garner to be the DC.
BE#3
December 2nd, 2009
9:00 pm
If Coach G is assigned to be DC, who will be recruiting coordinator? Coach G won’t have the time for both.
cattle dawg
December 2nd, 2009
9:01 pm
Sonny, the sunglasses line killed me. I think if they wore those poker sunglasses with the eyes on them , they would coach even better.
FartsALotDawg
December 2nd, 2009
9:02 pm
I think the hole thing stinks.
Golden Tornado
December 2nd, 2009
9:03 pm
Friendship is one thing – solid business practice is something else. Coach Richt just sucked it up, and did what any responsible CEO would do. UGA’s team will be stronger for it.
GO, JACKETS !!
Ron Mexico
December 2nd, 2009
9:03 pm
I hate for anyone to lose his job. I wish those three the very best.
YellowJacket
December 2nd, 2009
9:04 pm
Who’s playing Saturday and who isn’t?
Jacket Fan in Sandy Springs
December 2nd, 2009
9:04 pm
I know kids will drink but what’s up with the damage to the car bit – again, sounds like a kid who thinks he’s invincible since he’s on the squad. Look, you can’t deny the discipline problems on the UGA team – from this past off-season on it seems like every couple of weeks some other player is in trouble. Richt comes off as this Christian, character-driven coach but his players are making him look like a chump. And don’t even think this doesn’t affect the play on the field. Simply put UGA is going to be a middlin’ program in the SEC until the coaching staff gets control of the kids.
dawgbone
December 2nd, 2009
9:04 pm
I keep telling you people Richt needs to go find Woody Widenhofer. I mean look what the man done at Vandy! The best defense in the SEC year in and year out. One more thing shut- up tech losers.
Bo in North Carolina
December 2nd, 2009
9:05 pm
Paul in RDU. Don’t forget Amato’s red shoes and fancy sun shades.