Stacy Searels leaving Georgia? Can I offer him a lift? (Update II)
Stacy Searels hasn't lived up to his reputation. (Brant Sanderlin)
(Updated below with Searels officially accepting the job.)
Reports are flying that Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels is closing in on taking a job with Texas coach Mack Brown, who has been churning assistants (and recently lost coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp to Florida).
First thought: Does Searels need a ride to the airport?
Second thought: Is it abandon ship time in Athens?
First, about Searels: He came to Georgia from LSU in 2007 with a solid reputation. But the Bulldogs’ offensive line has been central to their problems, particularly in the running game.
Now, I suppose some of the blame also could be attributed to the team’s oft-criticized strength and condition program (Dave Van Halanger recently was demoted), or to a perceived lack of talent up front, or to coach Mark Richt. But Searels can’t be absolved of responsibility. Coaching the offensive line is his job and he also carries the title, “running game coordinator.”
I’ve already received Tweets from readers asking me if Searels’ departure just two weeks before national letter of intent day would hurt recruiting. I doubt it. Any recruit who is willing to come to Georgia knowing the state of things and amid questions of Richt’s job security is not going to change his mind based on the offensive line coach leaving. That recruit probably is coming for playing time and to be at Georgia.
Onto the second thought: Searels has good reason to look around, as would any Georgia assistant coach. We don’t know where this program is headed. If Richt loses his job after next season, his assistants are out of work.
In particular, head coaches tend to bring in their own offensive line coach. If Searels sees guaranteed long-term employment elsewhere — and certainly at a solid program like Texas — he would be nuts not to take the job.
Searels would be going from a 6-7 team to a 5-7 team. But Texas was in the BCS title game two seasons ago and won the title in 2005. Mack Brown’s not going anywhere.
♦
UPDATE: The Rivals Texas sports site Orangebloods.com reports that Searels has accepted the job. However, Texas has not announced the hiring and the Austin American Statesman reports there will be no announcement tonight. An excerpt from the Orangebloods story:
Sources close to Texas and Georgia have confirmed to Orangebloods.com that Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels has accepted the Texas offensive line coaching position. That could bring to an end a nearly two-month-long process in which Mack Brown has replaced six assistant coaches and made changes at two other staff positions.
UPDATE II: Searles was named the Texas offensive line coach Thursday night. Here’s an except of the official announcement, via Tim Tucker’s blog.
“When you’re in this profession, you want to coach at the highest level,” Searels said. “From afar, I had always been interested in The University of Texas because I thought it was one of the premier jobs in the country. You can win a championship, you have great leadership, great players, a great pool of talent to recruit from, and I think there’s no reason you can’t win and win big at Texas, and I want to be a part of that.”
Searels joins the Longhorns after coaching the offensive line at Georgia for four seasons beginning in 2007. He added the duties of running game coordinator in 2009. During his time in Athens, the Bulldogs have ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed three times, including ranking sixth and leading the SEC in 2009 with just 12.
By Jeff Schultz
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So Richt would have a key position to fill on his staff, presumably after recruiting.
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343 comments Add your comment
Original Bulldawg
January 20th, 2011
10:20 am
Yes it is abandon ship at UGA for all of the bandwagon jumpers. That includes you Schultzie.
82Dawg
January 20th, 2011
10:22 am
Either your a Dawg or your not…..
JB
January 20th, 2011
10:24 am
Grantham could be hanging on till after signing day. The NFL is a tight knit fraternity ( See John Fox hiring days after being fired at Carolina) and I’m sure Grantham has had some feelers. But, if he’s fired at the end of the upcoming year, he collects $750,000 for 2012, and that big bucks to a career assit.
JB
January 20th, 2011
10:28 am
82Dawg….. It could be argued that the Fans bashing the program are bigger fans than the ones protecting and defending THREE YEARS of mediocrity. They all want UGA to be respected again on the football field. We are not respected now. We played at noon all year.I don’t think it’s a personal thing with Mark. Most like him….He’s rich…He’ll be fine….and coach again…..
astrouga
January 20th, 2011
10:29 am
Good riddance! We need some new life in our coaching staff.
Wisky Breath
January 20th, 2011
10:36 am
I wish Bama had gone after Stacey. Ga fans don’t understand. Assistant coaches are only as good as the head coach will allow. Stacey in 2007 had more than a solid reputation, he was the hottest offensive line coach in the nation. You Ga guys will keep blaming the assistant coaches, but the head coach is the common denominator. Please keep thinking it is everybody’s fault but CMR. He is the greatest Christian ever! I think he deserves an extension to impress the recruits.
JB
January 20th, 2011
10:37 am
Let the guy from Brookwood High in Snellville take it over.You’ll see improvement.
RiffRaff
January 20th, 2011
10:40 am
Georgia’s O line was suppose to be one of the best the past two seasons. We know how that worked out. I don’t like the timing but the coach probably needs to move on.
Contractor
January 20th, 2011
10:42 am
Let these guys leave. The coaches performances have been sub-par the last few years. Talent is wasted wasted wasted in Athens. The potential of these athletes is never reached at the University of Georgia. I say we let these coaches abandon ship and infect another school with their lackadaisical approach. I want more hard nosed coaches like the stories I’ve heard of Erk Russell, the fire that Van Gorder brought to the table, not this crap where you see them and players laughing and having a good time on the sideline after getting blown out by Florida yet again, or against crappy programs like Colorado. If even a spec of the ability comes out, Georgia would be in the Top 5 every year. Look at A.J. Green and Knowshon Moreno, a spec of their ability was released, and they ran all over opponents. So I say let them run away, and it gives Georgia the opportunity to search for new talent without paying any kind of release.
schmeckdawg
January 20th, 2011
10:43 am
I hope this doesn’t hurt recruiting which is something that CMR needs to take into account when he makes the next OL coach hire. While like a lot of you I would love a big stout physical OL would it bode well for us to try and get someone from Wisconsin or a school like that who doesn’t know the SEC or the HS coaches around the South? Just asking!
Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!
Jerry
January 20th, 2011
10:43 am
There’s ZERO EVIDENCE Mark Richt’s job stability was the reason for Searels move.
Likely, Searels was getting some heat from Richt to shape up or ship out, also had some personality issues with the staff, and then Texas called.
Joey
January 20th, 2011
10:46 am
I’m a Dawg. I also happen to think UGA has enough talent to compete for the SEC. Richt hasn’t even won the East in 5 years.
We haven’t beaten a top SEC team since, what Auburn in ‘06? UF was average and Bama was worse in ‘07. LSU was bad in ‘08.
If all of that isn’t bad enough, in this time, we have lost to Vandy, UK (twice), and Miss State, as well as gone 1-4 vs UF.
And the kicker. We lost to a Colorado team so lousy, they lost 7 straight after our game and fired their coach before the season was over.
I’m not bashing Richt, cause I think he is a good guy. But Richt, and his team, are no longer feared by any other team, and aren’t even revelant in the college football world these days.
Dawg Tired
January 20th, 2011
10:47 am
One can only be thankful for this!
7576DAWG
January 20th, 2011
10:48 am
What does Texas do when they have the worst record in a long time and don’t even get to a bowl game? They fire or replace SIX coaches.
What does UGA do when they have the worst year in 40 plus years ? They demote the S&C coordinator. Even though you could argue that the three changes last year should count, since it will take two maybe three years to see the result’s of Grantham being hired.
The moral of the story is we didn’t fire enough coaches especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Army Dawg in Iraq
January 20th, 2011
10:50 am
Why do you have to put a negative slant aimed at slamming GA everytime somthing happens there? Maybe he just wanted to take the job because he wanted to take the job. If Richt was fired, he (Searels) would have not trouble finding employment. At sometime Bradley you need to just relax and enjoy life a little.
Dawg Tired
January 20th, 2011
10:50 am
Joey – I don’t think observing that Coach Richt (whom I also like) is not getting the job done is “bashing” him. I once had to actually fire my best friend. We remain friends to this day. He had served faithfully for many years, but burn-out set in and he simply couldn’t do the job any longer. It appears the same has happened to Coach Richt.
Jerry
January 20th, 2011
10:52 am
richt’s “job stability”? Really, you can’t be serious. Richt has 1 losing season for the first time since 1985, and you’re saying he has “job stability” issues? According to whom–McGarity disagrees with you, the UGA Board disagrees with you, recurits disagree with you, last time I checked, those are about the only 43 whose opinion counts.
SI & Scout both have Richt pre-season top 25.
Richt’s win % is right up there with a handful of guys that have been doing it for 10 years in Div 1.
Richt’s win % is top 5 for those who have been coaching in Div 1 for 10 years or more, better than Saban, Miles, Petrino, Spurrier, etc.
OC_Dawg
January 20th, 2011
10:52 am
I think Searels left for more $$$.
Dawg Tired
January 20th, 2011
10:52 am
Looks like 7576Dawg understands the deal. Too bad those with the poewer to do what needs to be done don’t get it.
JaxDawg
January 20th, 2011
10:55 am
It will be easy for Richt to replace Seareles! he will just promote the RB coach to be the OL coach!!
TheUniversityofGeorgiaTech
January 20th, 2011
11:00 am
I wish the ajc would fire writers like u, so we could have some1 write orginal stuff besides fire richt & hewitt articles
Scooter
January 20th, 2011
11:03 am
Hey UGA fans. This is a sign that your school sucks. If he was not a good coach, he would not hav ebeen respected at LSU and wanted at Texas. It is UGA that is pathetic, not this coach. Oh, I forgot…you morons (including Jeff) know a lot more about evaluating coaching talent than the coaches at LSU and Texas. DA’s!
South Ga Dawg
January 20th, 2011
11:05 am
Jeff what a great head clip to put on front page on AJC. Your a looser and hate UGA! Its official!
MikeP
January 20th, 2011
11:12 am
Rejoice at Searls leaving if you like. Mac Brown is an astute judge of coaching talent and Texas wouldn’t have to settle for some incompetent, second rate coach.
What this does, to anyone that thinks about it, is confirm that assistant, position coaches at UGA are not the problem.
Jeff Schultz
January 20th, 2011
11:14 am
Lefty Fielder — As a matter of fact, I just left my morning agenda breakfast meeting with Mussolini.
gdawginkalamazoo
January 20th, 2011
11:15 am
Where will Searles go after Mack Brown gets fired after next year? They will probably go from 5-7 to 7-6 which ins’t good enough at Texas.
Anyway, did you read where Seale’s recruits chose UGA and not him? Looks like a the OL recruits are sticking with UGA.
Now if some of these other kids making their decisions tonight and on NSD jump on board Caoch Richt won’t have to worry about job security. Will these kids man up like the Swann kid did and “come to Georgia to help turn it around”? I hope they choose to make a difference.
Jeff Schultz
January 20th, 2011
11:16 am
Army Dawg in Iraq— Hey, I love life. I’m fortunate and blessed to have what I have.
On another subject, good luck over there, be safe and thanks for what you do.
shankit
January 20th, 2011
11:18 am
Speaking of coaching changes,
Alabama has gone through 6 (six)
head coaches since 2000.
Bet the new recruits to Bama
will be playing under No. 7 by
their Junior year.
Joey
January 20th, 2011
11:20 am
1985? When did a coach’s time as an assistant count towards his head coaching stats? If that’s so, then Muschamp (Texas) and Smart (Bama) are off to a good start!
Jerry, where does Richt’s last 5 years (win %) rank in the NCAA?
Not nit-picking, just curious.
Recent history usually means more to a coach’s boss(es) than his entire career stats, I would expect. Recent production absolutely means more to most bosses in any career.
Joey
January 20th, 2011
11:22 am
“Mac Brown is an astute judge of coaching talent”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, Mike P, why then Mac hire all of those assistants that he just fired?
Just asking . . .
Dan
January 20th, 2011
11:22 am
Searels leaving is win for Georgia. The “Veteran” offensive line couldn’t stop a Pop Warner team from getting through the line. That’s coaching!
DMR
January 20th, 2011
11:22 am
Is it abandon ship or was Coach Searles looking at his own job problems? Coach Searles was brought over from LSU to mold this offensive line into a stout unit. He did no such thing. Is Searles really afraid of Richt’s status or his own? Georgia should not rush to hire anyone. This may be the biggest hire Richt makes aside from Grantham. Clock’s ticking and Richt’s got to bring in a talented class with some superstar power.
Joey
January 20th, 2011
11:22 am
…..why then did Mac hire . . . .
gdawginkalamazoo
January 20th, 2011
11:23 am
Can somebody remind me why Texas was 5-7 last year?
gdawginkalamazoo
January 20th, 2011
11:27 am
The good thing a bout being a recruit that is considering UGA is that your playing time will start immediately. No more redshirts for the talented.
AltamahaDawg
January 20th, 2011
11:29 am
I would be willing to bet that if UGAfootball really thought that Searels staying was in IT’S best interest, we would not be reading about him moving 3 states away from home in a lateral move that’s not a whole lot more certain. He’s not jumping ship. He was encouraged to look at the shore excusion brochures.
Jesus H. Christ
January 20th, 2011
11:31 am
Yes, its always the UGA assistant coach’s fault. Never, ever the “Godly” Richt’s fault. I am sure it will be a GREAT season in 2011. Oh wait—not really;-(
Dawgfansince77
January 20th, 2011
11:39 am
You dellusinal “So called fans” will see that Searels will be plenty successful at UT. Be careful what you ask for people. I know for a FACT that Searels wasn’t shown the door. Hell…Richt has to be the easiest going man he ever worked for. This guy worked for Nick Saban and Les Miles. After those 2 working for Richt was probably like moving into a country club. And you guys think he was shown the door?? Or chewed out about his job performance?? Have any of you people been paying attention the last 10 years as to how Richt goes about his business???
UGA's NEXT COACH IS????
January 20th, 2011
11:39 am
Hope UGA and Richt go after a coach that can also be an OC. Doubt anyone will make a lateral move to UGA….It would be nice for Richt to go after an younger coach on the rise like Diaz was last year (Current DC at Texas from MS). Big day for UGA’s future today. Rome and Jenkins are set to announce later today.
gdawginkalamazoo
January 20th, 2011
11:40 am
Hey Jesus, I didn’t know Mark Richt was your father? Beats Darth Vader I guess.
TampaDawg
January 20th, 2011
11:41 am
Come on! One coach leaves for more money and its jump ship. Now if another one leaves, then another one maybe its jumping ship, but one coach leaving for more money. Thats not jumping shipe
AltamahaDawg
January 20th, 2011
11:41 am
Personally, I think he might actually fair better in a team more suited for the passing game. Protection was never really his squad’s problem.
Actually if you look at his career, his LSU days weren’t blow your sox off (as the run game). In fact LSU’s run production balloned the year after he left. Probably not fair to suggest him leaving was the reason, but you know, that certainly doesn’t prove he WAS a good running game coach either.
Blame is never absolute, but as Mark points out, responsibility is very clear cut .His squads have not been good. Even blaming the S&C, he still should have known what his guys can and cannot do. Obviously his career here is not what anybody wants, for whatever the reason.
It’s still easy to see that UGA “could” be better next near in the run game, with or without him.
Dawgfan no matter what
January 20th, 2011
11:42 am
Searels should have been let go this offseason anyways. for all u so-called dawg fans that come on these messege boards constantly putting our dawgs down are not true fans at all. there are several other college teams out there to root for so do us true dawgs all a favor and go find yourself another team. also i know a lot of bama, allburn(auburn), tech and other rival fans come on here posing as dawg fans leave negative comments as well but you can tell the difference bc they dont know what the hell their talkin about.
Jeff Schultz is the most hated man in Bulldog Nation!
AltamahaDawg
January 20th, 2011
11:53 am
There is a huge difference between “shown the door” and having an agreement that it’s everybody’s best interest. It was pretty clear to anyone that follows Mark Richt knows he helps relocate his staffers when he can.
“Stacy Searles did…. not a good job, but a great job”…come on! The man coaching football for a living. He know what the hell a running play is supposed to look like. Do you really think he was saying UGA would do everything possible to keep the status quo in the Running Game?
UGA's NEXT COACH IS????
January 20th, 2011
11:55 am
Since 2002, Richt and Tubberville are the only Head Coaches to win a SEC title and not play in the National Championship Game, it has happend to Richt twice….(2002, 2005)………Richt had great success when:
A. Most of the key players were recruited by Donnan
B. Before Urban, Saban at ‘Bamam,
C. Van Gorden was DC
North Georgia Dawg
January 20th, 2011
11:56 am
Mack Brown’s seat has to be hotter than Richt’s! He went from playing in the NC game one year to not being bowl eligible. The Texas fans are p/o they Muscahmp left prematurely. Also, they, unlike Georgia can hand pick the in-state tallent and they sucked in 2010!!! Texas is the bigest revenue generating program in the country so I am sure they can pay Searles more money. Honestly… He has under achieved every year he has been at UGA. NO BIG DEAL! Don’t let the door hit you in the ARSE! Hopefully, McGarity will oversee the hiring and pony up the funds to get someone who can get it done!
Alabama | MrSEC.com
January 20th, 2011
11:57 am
[...] shooting to his team.2. With offensive line coach Stacy Searels heading to Texas, this writer wonders if its “abandon ship time” in Athens.3. The departure of Searels hasn’t hit Georgia in the commitment list yet.4. This writer [...]
An observation
January 20th, 2011
12:00 pm
That o-line was coached last year? Seriously!!! I just assumed Richt cut back on the o-line coaches job to help pay Grantham to not produce at the def cord position.
Joey
January 20th, 2011
12:01 pm
“It was pretty clear to anyone that follows Mark Richt knows he helps relocate his staffers when he can”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
I wish Richt would help “relocate” Bobo . . .
Mean Machine
January 20th, 2011
12:05 pm
You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken bleep. When Searels was hired, he was acknowledged by most “in-the-know” to be one of the top O line coaches in the country. UGA’s O line hasn’t been worth a flip since he has been here. Yet Texas (along with other major programs) regard him as one of the best. Combine that with the NFL scouts’ observation that UGA players are the weakest and most out-of-shape players they see (in general, of course there will be exceptions), and it points to a program that has embodied an undisciplined, soft culture.