Sometimes fans are right and coaches are wrong
Mark Richt has admitted the Georgia coaching staff was wrong to try and make Richard Samuel a tailback. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
OK, we’ve established that I’m part of the vast majority of Bulldogs fans who support Mark Richt and think hot-seat talk about a coach as consistently successful as him is ridiculous.
But, as also has been established many times in the past, that doesn’t mean I think Richt is always right. On matters ranging from Willie Martinez to directional kickoffs to various decisions over who should be starting and who should be riding the bench, I’ve been among many fans critical of Richt in the past (and, conversely, encouraged by off-season moves he’s made this year to address some of those problems).
This raises an interesting point, however, about college football fans discussing their favorite teams. Every time I write something even remotely critical about the Georgia coaches or players, not only do I get my loyalty to UGA questioned by a few unnamed folks, but someone invariably puts forth the idea that if you haven’t played or coached college football, you have no right to voice an opinion.
OK, besides being downright un-American, that premise ignores the fact that most sports columnists have never been coaches. Most movie critics have never acted on the screen. And so on. …
And fans, who support the programs with their money, should be able to critique what they see on the field.
Yet even Richt, generally the most reasonable of men, ventured briefly into this territory last season when he got all prickly about some media criticisms and made his infamous statement that “if you’re a leader or a player and you are brave enough to be in the arena, there’s going to be people outside the arena that want to throw things at you and say things about you. But there’s honor in being in the arena, and a lot of people don’t understand because they’ve never been in there.”
The main problem with that idea is that often the collective wisdom of the folks sitting in the stands proves to be on the money.
David Hale of Bulldogs Blog touched on this recently when he noted that Richt had admitted to mishandling Richard Samuel by insisting on trying to make him into a tailback when all evidence pointed toward him belonging on defense, one of a number of instances over the past couple of years where Richt and his staff seemed a bit wrongheaded and inflexible.
Summed up Hale: “For all the ‘never been in the arena’ talk from the head coach, it sure seemed like the folks on the outside had a lot right. The fans understood the defense was headed in a bad direction, and the result was five games in which UGA allowed at least 34 points. Fans knew the kickoff strategy was flawed, and the result was a loss to LSU because of a bad kickoff late in the game. (And, to be fair, a ridiculous penalty on A.J. Green.) Fans knew that personnel changes needed to be made, and while Bacarri Rambo helped save the Auburn game, far too many big plays also occurred while Bryan Evans chased futilely after a receiver destined for the end zone.”
It’s reasonable to conclude that had those changes been made, Hale said, Georgia might have won at least 10 games last year.
And, he noted, “the problem wasn’t so much that fans recognized those problems last year. It was that they recognized them in 2008, when Georgia actually did win 10 games. And like with the Samuel situation, Georgia’s staff knew better and stubbornly stuck to philosophies that utterly frustrated fans.”
Hale goes on to point out that just about all of those complaints now have been dealt with by Richt. Which means we have good reason to believe things are back on the upswing in Athens.
I’m not deluding myself into thinking that Richt was swayed in any way by what my blog or anyone else’s had to say about his decisions over the past two seasons, though I do think the overall fan consensus on Martinez needing to go was a factor in that decision.
But I do think it’s fair to say that there have been instances where those of us outside the arena have made valid points about changes that needed to be made.
So maybe there’s some value in what we do here beyond the obvious enjoyment we all get out of discussing them Dawgs.
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203 comments Add your comment
P. Bull Terrier
May 19th, 2010
3:38 pm
That depends, Dan. If you voted for our current President, consider yourself excused for the next election.
gdawginkalamazoo
May 19th, 2010
3:38 pm
Samuel, BTW, was a beast at the LB postion and RB position. The kid is a just a great athlete. Why he didn’t work out at RB is the community organizer we have running the RB dept. You have to get reps to get consistent.
gdawginkalamazoo
May 19th, 2010
3:46 pm
What I meant to write was the Samuel was a beast at the RB & LB position in high school. So either try in college would necessarily be a bad decision by the coach.
chazzo
May 19th, 2010
3:47 pm
45 football players scored a 3.0 or better at UGA in the Spring. (I am sure a bunch will shoot off about that statement). The thing is nobody is shouting accolades about Richt’s coaching concerning these good grades, but let an 18 year old drink a beer downtown and it’s all Richt’s fault. There are a lot of things a good coach does that go unappreciated. Also, it is pretty easy to look at something after it’s done, and talk about how you would have done it better. It is okay to be critical, but you weren’t there to make the decisions when the pressure was on. You were off fishing or mowing your lawn. (”You” is general, here).
gdawginkalamazoo
May 19th, 2010
3:48 pm
would NOT be a bad decision by the could. Everybody have great afternoon I quit for the day. This just isn’t my afternoon to be this arena.
bugman
May 19th, 2010
3:52 pm
Mark Richt and Booby Cox:
Never have two men done so little with so much.
I-DOG
May 19th, 2010
3:55 pm
That is interesting Bill and I agree with what you are saying. Nicely put RX Dawg about outside consultants without repercussions. Certainly a fan like me CANNOT do a better job of explaining how to shed a block or how to run a certain route than a real coach, but fans can observe things. Many of us thought that the D was underacheiving despite having a lot of talent the last few years. We could see the problems with turnovers and penalties etc…
We don’t always have the right solutions to the problems, but we can see when there is a problem
gdawginkalamazoo
May 19th, 2010
3:57 pm
bad decision by the COACH. Dammit. I am really done for the day.
Joe
May 19th, 2010
4:00 pm
TVilleDawg- you should be one of Bill’s assistant coaches- you both know the game so well and certainly better than any current coach out there. You really are a lame excuse for a FAN….where is your seat on the bandwagon….bumpy ride last year huh dude?
Joe
May 19th, 2010
4:04 pm
Here’s a headline for you Billy: Most of the time I am full of myself but sometimes I dont say it
DAWG-DAZ
May 19th, 2010
4:25 pm
There should not be any problems bouncing “suggestions” on a blog. All it does is provide an avenue for fans to question motives, bone headed mistakes, and just all around bewilderment that they see on weekends.
If you’re thin skinned, then the public forum is not for the faint of heart, let alone running a major football program and responding in such a way to open yourself to scrutiny. No doubt that CMR knows football, but running a program takes more than just football knowledge, and that saying, he seems to be pretty good at that. I think his finally taking a tough stand against players breaking rules/laws is a welcome step.
As far as player development goes; some are great practice players, but can’t get it done at game time. All the speed and talent in the world means nothing if you don’t have the heart and mad dog mentality.
I think this year’s team will be a pleasant surprise if the defense can pick on the 3-4 and have the players in place to operate it. If not, the offense is stacked and baring turnovers the “D” should be spending a lot of time on the sidelines. This should be a fun season on both sides of the ball.
Mobile Dawg
May 19th, 2010
4:32 pm
Interesting Shane1, I must be among the 10% that knows when you have a lead in the 4th Quarter you don’t throw 3 times, punt and lose. That’s not rocket science. I support UGA win or lose, but my opinion is we just don’t have “great” coaching. I never have and won’t start bashing Richt but I strongly question his ability to “lead and excel” in all areas required as a Head Football Coach. To many questionable decisions on the field of play over the years, to many times showing up looking completely unprepared to play.
That said, I will gladly eat my words on the bridge and let everyone know I’m not smarter than a 5th grader, I sincerly hope I have to. I just hope that UGA doesn’t exhibit the same blind loyalty CMR had for his Coaches if things don’t turn around in the next two years. CMR has to understand now the bar is at least competing for championships which we haven’t been close to lately.
Sic’m Dawgs….
Delbert D.
May 19th, 2010
4:34 pm
Parsed from Bill’s blog:
“…the folks sitting in the stands proves to be on the money.”
Change to:
“the folks sitting in the stands proves to be *in* the money.”
Oh, yeah, those big booming fan voices count…$$$$ donations.
UGA GRAD - BIGGEST FAN EVER
May 19th, 2010
4:35 pm
UGA IS THI BEST TEAM EVER> COACH MIKE RICHT IS THE BEST COACH IN THE WORLD SCREW URBEN MYERS AND RICK SABAN>>>GOOOOOOOOOOOO DAAAWWWWGGGGSSSS WWHHHOOOOSSSS DDDAAAATTTT CCCOOOMMMIIINNN DOOOWWWNNNN DDDAAA TRRRAAAKKKK??????????? NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2010 WE GONNA BEAT NOTRE DAME AND GO ALL THE WAYS!!!!
jerry
May 19th, 2010
4:39 pm
If Richt were a truly great coach, would this blog have ever happened?
cantondawg
May 19th, 2010
4:39 pm
You can’t blame CMR on the Samuel situation. Alot of people thought he was going to be a great running back. I remember Kirk Herbstreit saying that he thought he would be a great player to watch at the beginning of the season.
UGA GRAD - BIGGEST FAN EVER
May 19th, 2010
4:41 pm
YEAH COACH MR MAY HAVE MESSED UPW ITH SAMUEL BUT WE SKUAWASHED THEM BUGS DATS ALL THAT MATTERS —- DAAWWWWGGGSSSS 2010 CHAMPIONS>>>>>KEN TEBOW AINT THERE NO MORE GATORS!!!!!!!! WE GOT JOE MURRAY AND CALEB EALEY!!!!
nickj0321
May 19th, 2010
4:43 pm
lmao @ UGA Grad
Gen Neyland
May 19th, 2010
4:43 pm
Brainiac : Po’ed is my abbreviation for a term used loosely and quite often in the modern day world. No, never been a Gen Kiffen but if I had, I would have spelled Kiffin correctly. Also, Brainiac, did you use to post as Brainiac the Maniac..?
UGA Grad 83
May 19th, 2010
5:01 pm
1. Hindsight is 20/20. There’s nothing easier (and less risky) than waiting until everything plays out and then saying “I told you so…” Anyone can tell you at least a few things they have predicted that came to pass. The problem is, those few correct prognostications were mixed in with many more that didn’t come true. Ask yourself: how’s your stock portfolio performance?
2. Everyone is entitled to have and voice their opinion on any subject (no donation required).
3. Coach Richt and Co. were hired to make the final decisions for the football team on behalf of the university and the athletic association. Anyone is free to disagree, but in this case the coaches’ opinions are the ones that count. Everything else is just noise.
Notso Fast
May 19th, 2010
5:18 pm
You got to go with the Coach abd give him credit for finally making changes. Fun for us to make changes but when we start with the “what if’s” we go too far. Great year coming up.
KBank
May 19th, 2010
5:35 pm
>>>>If a bunch of people see something, and the coach don’t, common sense is out. Depends on the source, if it’s Georgia fans trying to help, yes, be dumb to ignore it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Can’t tell you how many fans have told me “Run the ball”. Sounds simple, but when richt does it good, like a guy gets 100 yards, he almost never loses. Relying on 1 opinion is what got richt to hire Willie. ________________________________________________________________________________
>>>>>Depends on how true the input is. If it’s the truth, even if it hurts, the truth will set you free.
A-Dawg-Fan
May 19th, 2010
5:36 pm
I love the Dawgs, and I read a lot of these articles for the different opinions. Second guessing is part of being a fan. I just get upset when people turn it into a rant, they get foul, or they make it too personal.
It is also frustrating when people jump to conclusions. For example, fans may have disagreed with Samuels playing running back, but this isn’t just a coaches decision. The young man wanted to be a star (which kid coming out of high school doesn’t) and I would bet he expressed a desire to be a running back to the coaches. Playing him there was probably not a unilateral coaching decision but the result of a series of conversations between the player and the staff. The same goes for Logan Gray.
Fans want to overlook the personal desires of the players and just insist on unilateral decisions. It doesn’t work that way. When the hard decision has to be made (giving up on the dream of being UGA’s starting QB), it is best that the player owns it and is willing to move on. Lots of us can talk about strategy but few of us have effectively lead people and managed a multimillion dollar program. Richt has and he has proven he can be successful at both.
tidog
May 19th, 2010
5:42 pm
Just play Branden Smith opposite Brandon Boykin,V/r
KBank
May 19th, 2010
5:46 pm
Here’s example of dumb fan advice:
>>>>Georgia will win 10+ games if fix penalties (Nope, richt 25-2 when georgia has at least 10 penalties)
>>>>Georgia will win 10= games if fix turnover margin (nope, many of the top 20 teams in turnover margin went 5-7 last year)
Good fan advice:
Raise margin of scoring to 20+ like Florida and Alabama and penalties, turnovers, and bad calls don’t matter.
>>>>>The top 5 teams in scoring margin all won 12 or more games<<<<<<<<>>>>richt is 39-3 when he gets a 100 yard rusher
The Producer
May 19th, 2010
5:59 pm
Two Words-One Name: Larry Coker (UM) 52 wins, Coached in 2 National Championship and won 1 NC. What happen? He got canned…….THE END
KBank
May 19th, 2010
6:04 pm
>>>>>>Florida had 95 penalties last year, so saying Georgia will win more if less penalties is bad fan advice. The problem isn’t penalties.
KBank
May 19th, 2010
6:12 pm
>>>>>>>Fans calling for richt to be fired, coached a top 10 TEAM practically every year since his FSU YEARS, have no basis for that. that’s horrendous fan advice.
Jeff
May 19th, 2010
6:14 pm
The deal with Richt is that he is not going to change direction with a player or a coach in the middle of a season. He chose to keep Willie around for 09. So, he stuck with that decision. He chose to keep Fabris’ directional kick philosophy. So, he stuck with that decision. He chose to put Samuel at RB because we weren’t deep at that position. So, he stuck with that decision. The problem with Richt is that he doesn’t listen to fans. It is the fact that he makes the decisions and remains loyal to those decisions. I don’t really see anything wrong with that. I actually think that should be comforting to fans because it shows that he is never going to Lane Kiffin anyone. For the most part, Richt has made the correct decisions and has always learned from the mistakes he has made. Go Dawgs!
bufbox
May 19th, 2010
6:14 pm
Dawgfan… everyone can learn and benefit fron hindsight… fans, coaches, and players alike. And 2009 was not a hindsight issue. Based on increasing defensive lapses since the departure of VanGorder (remember W. Virginia running all over us in bowl game?) and some horrible D performances in 2008 especially, many fans were actually using foresight last summer when anticipating another season of Martinez. We also were using foresight in predicting shaky QB play in 2009 when J. Cox was named starter virtually the day after Staff announced he was leaving.
Einsteindawg
May 19th, 2010
6:21 pm
My only problem with CMR is with his bullheadiness. I believe he knows what’s right, but he’ll be damned if he does it unless it’s on his own terms. The mark of a great executive is being fexible and listening to others. Coach Richt…please pay attention; it’s not too late.
T'VILLE DAWG
May 19th, 2010
6:45 pm
And now to the silver lining in the case of one Richard Samuel and that is he was not exposed to the toxicity known as Willie Martinez. By the way what happened to Lane Kiffin running his mouth in the Slack 10.
Roll Tide
May 19th, 2010
6:54 pm
Mishandling Samuel?! Richt ought to be sued by Kiante Tripp for intentional misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It’s scary how Richt treated the kid. He’s on record as saying he would play in the NFL if he switched to offensive line and he was right. Then, the next thing you know he’s demoted and then listed as a backup tight end. Now he’s a backup defensive tackle. Richt needs to grow up big time.Sell the Lake house and commit yourself to this program!
1eyedJack
May 19th, 2010
7:05 pm
I have often been accused here of being a blind homer and I accept that mantle and wear it proudly. I am not a knee-jerk kind of guy, and I hope with my “maturity” has come some sort of wisdom. I have been around long enough to have seen some of the good times of Georgia football and a lot of the bad times too.
We didn’t complain as much in the old days I guess because it would have taken writing a letter and mailing it and because nobody would have taken our call if we had phoned, so I guess you could say our lack of technology made us more patient.
Scenario: Could you imagine what would have been the outcome, had the technology been in place, in 1977 when Dooley’s and Erk’s Dawgs went 5-6 or 1979 when they went 6-5? I remember a hue and cry then to “Dump Dooley”. There was actually bumper stickers printed. Today, that would be an avalanche and he would have been forced out.
Had that scenario come to pass would he have reached 200 career victories? Would he be in the CFB HOF? Would Herschel have been wearing Orange and Purple or Red and Black? Would Clemson have won the 1980 NC as well as ‘81 and possibly ‘82? Can you imagine watching those highlights of Herschel sprinting around the end in Orange and out-sprinting a Junkyard Dawg to the end zone?
Coach Richt is at about the same time in his coaching career when it’s like your marriage, you start to get complacent and comfortable. You begin to let yourself go a little and you take for granted the little things. Your partner begins to under perform but you make up little excuses and let it slide. Then something happens to jolt you back to reality like your wife going to visit her mother for 6 months and threatening to take half your livelihood.
Mark Richt got a phone call from his mother-in-law last year and he cut bait. Now we must give him our support and the opportunity to prove that he can right the listing ship. I’m betting that he can and already has.
All generalizations are false, including this one.
icedawg
May 19th, 2010
7:15 pm
Sure, anyone can have an opinion. But a fair evaluation of someone’s performance should be done by a peer or someone who has trained and worked in the profession. So I hardly see how a newspaper writer or the average fan has the credentials to really critique a coach. In their high opinion of themselves they may think that they are qualified, but in employment situations you would not have evaluations by the general public on blogs. Much of what is posted on the sports blogs is drivel anyway. Having said that, it is still entertaining and sometimes downright hilarious. Other times it is disgusting. But that’s what you get when people can be anonymous and it is open to the public. If I were a coach I would not waste my time wondering what the blogs say.
Delbert D.
May 19th, 2010
7:24 pm
“Larry Coker”
How soon we forget. The guy reminded me of a Halloween mask I once had.
Bill King
May 19th, 2010
7:25 pm
Ben in Georgia:
The “un-American” bit was tongue-in-cheek.
Virginia Dog
May 19th, 2010
7:32 pm
Bill – that is the most arrogant article I have ever read. Mark Richt made an excellent point that basically says, “until you walk in someone’s shoes, don’t be critical or judge them”. This is also true in business and a number of other areas in our lives. We will never know all the issues that go into making the final decisions, we only see the results. It is easy to second guess Richt’s decisions. To say that fans know better sometimes than the coaches only takes into consideration the results of single actions and does not address all the other issues that go into the final decision. Maybe you feel the same thing in your job….which I don’t think you are doing very well!
1eyedJack
May 19th, 2010
7:35 pm
Good one Delbert. Can I use that one sometime?
Bobby Joe
May 19th, 2010
7:43 pm
Me, not Bobby Joe, is a Dawg racist, always talkn about GT or UGA. Go away jerk.
Bobby Joe
May 19th, 2010
7:47 pm
Me, not Bobby Joe, is a Dawg racist, always talkn about GT or FLA. Go away jerk. GT or FLA
GaDawg
May 19th, 2010
7:51 pm
bruce mac
May 19th, 2010
12:14 pm
Bruce, go back and take another look at that photo. Do you see the color mismatch between the helmet and the jersey? That has been a sporadic problem over the years since Vince Dooley retired. At times, the mismatch has been so bad that the Dawgs appeared to be wearing orange jerseys and red helmets. The black jersey eliminates that problem, and balances out our team colors perfectly. I did notice that in the Spring game the team was wearing REAL silver britches. I hope, at least, that carries over into the coming season.
Rod
May 19th, 2010
7:51 pm
Dawgfan , you said it all with this statement—
Fans and media have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. Coaches and players do not. I think that is the kind of thing that Richt is talking about.
I do think that you need to have played this game to really understand what its all about. If that is controversial, I’m not sure why. It doesn’t mean that you can’t have an opinion or be right. It just means that there are things you don’t know about the game because you have never played it. Again, far from controversial. Its just common sense.
Hopefully Bill King, Mr. 20/20 will get a real clue and stop thinking he knows more about football than CMR.
KBank
May 19th, 2010
8:04 pm
>>>>>Fans who think Richt should be fired haven’t done their homework. CHECK out hw many areas Georgia is liste din the top 20 over the last decade:
http://www.philsteele.com/fbsinfo/2009/09Interesting_Tidbits.html
Coach Small Johnson
May 19th, 2010
8:20 pm
If Richt can’t learn to beat FL he needs find a staff that does, take a pay cut, or look for another job
Samuel
Marlon Brown
Moreno
Short kickoffs
Arm tackling
Getting beat by FL consistantly
Not seeing Willie Martinez for what he is
Allowing Martinez to run off Van Gorder
Arrest
Penalties Penalties but the response was well at FSU that wasnt a problem
Dancing during the game when your down or only winning by 2 or 3 points
Replacing Greene for Shockley on many occasions when obviously Shock wasnt ready
And many others
Being a hard head will cost you it always does
Dawg'em out!
May 19th, 2010
8:48 pm
nobody is perfect, CMR is fine tuning his gameplan, and IMO it will take him to the pinnacle of his career.
Ramguy
May 19th, 2010
9:37 pm
People make mistakes and coaches are no exception. I remember when the Dawgs played Boston College in a bowl game during Richt’s 1st year, he made a very poor decision about punting the ball at the end of the game instead of going for it on 4th down. There was no chance whatsoever for the Dawgs to get the ball back. I remember thinking no no no! Don’t punt, you won’t get the ball back. That was one bad decision but he doesn’t make too many mental mistakes during games. Other times I thought coaches were just plain dumb. About 20 or so years ago I was watching the Falcons and they had a 4th down and a foot or so for a TD or 1st down and they were going for it. All year they had run this one play in short yardage situations and rarely had success with it. As a matter of fact they had ran it a couple times that day for no gain. I said out loud to the TV, DON’T RUN THAT PLAY!!!! But I knew they were…I just knew it….Sure enough they ran that same play and lost yards. I was really giving the coaches down the road. My wife said sarcastically “if you know so much maybe you should run the team”, I told that she didn’t understand. If I knew what play they were going to run, don’t you think the other team’s coaches knew? Still I always take the stance that the coaches know more than myself…….except when the Falcons took Bruce Pickens in the 1st round in 1991.
The Richt Stuff
May 19th, 2010
10:23 pm
If Coach Richt’s “in the arena” experience was enough, he wouldn’t continue to lose to Florida, and be 2-7 against Florida. Obviously, Richt doesn’t know how to solve the “Florida problem”.
Since Richt’s not a trained writer or journalist, he’s not qualified to critique a journalist, by his own line of thinking, he hasn’t been “in the writing arena”.
Richt will never be able to see his problem objectively, so an outside perspective is the only way to solve his problem, gives a new perspective, after all, his perspective ain’t working against Florida.
If a blogger or journalist’ solution can be supported with overwhelming proof, it would be pure ignorant to ignore them.
The Richt Stuff
May 19th, 2010
10:28 pm
It’s called a paradigm. Richt’s florida paradigm is broken. richt needs a new paradigm, he won’t find it by continuing to use his own paradigm. breakthrough paradigm’s come from people outside of the direct problem.
The Richt Stuff
May 19th, 2010
10:31 pm
When it comes to Florida, Richt suffers from Paradigm paralysis, or confirmation bias. He can’t get outside of the box.