A very short post about a very big topic – UGA’s coaching
Here's Willie Martinez, seen doing some actual coaching. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Shortest post ever. Three simple questions:
1. Which team has better players — Georgia or Kentucky?
2. Which team won the game?
3. What does that say about the losing coaches?
There it is. Have at it.
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561 comments Add your comment
Tech Tony
November 23rd, 2009
8:02 am
While I think it’s certainly easiest to blame the coaches and without question they do indeed shoulder some of the responsibility for the down season, from what I’ve seen the biggest problem Georgia has is something a coach can do very little about: chemistry.
What the Bulldogs are this year is a collection of players, not a team. They are awfully quick to point fingers at one another and seemingly the team isn’t all that fond of the rah-rah cheerleader mentality of Joe Cox.
The good news for Georgia is that chemistry issues tend to change annually. Sometimes bad teams can have good chemistry and overachieve while good teams can have bad chemistry and underachieve. It will be up to the team next year to truly decide where the program is headed.
As for UGA rejecting a bowl, forget about that. Mike Slive made this whole “bowl tie-in” garbage his bastard son; there’s no way he’d let an SEC team turn down a bid.
AllDawgs3
November 23rd, 2009
8:03 am
We’re sorry Uga VII died, but thank goodness he did not have to watch that game !!!
jacket3
November 23rd, 2009
8:05 am
MB- the most important number that was missing from the list:
The mass exodus was the most amazing event ever witnessed during a GA – KY game. I could not believe the DogNation up and left.
Then they talk about our “pitiful” little team that is sitting at 10-1 and how bad we are because we don’t play anyone of merit, how condescending.
Dap01
November 23rd, 2009
8:05 am
We need at least average coordinators at defense, special teams and offense. Other than that, we are fine!
The Coaches at UGA are horrible.
HBTD
November 23rd, 2009
8:05 am
So Joe Cox gives us the best chance to win CMR? Really? Is that what happened on Saturday? Was that the best that us Dawgs can expect from our program? Have we really failed this miserably to have good players on the field? Where are all of our 4 & 5 star recruits? If the only excuse for Cox being on the field is to win, where are all of the wins?
bad brad
November 23rd, 2009
8:09 am
I think the problem is that we have become a ship w/o a rudder. That starts at the top, and when i say that, i mean all the way at the top. Damon Evans is a puppet for Adams. Wish they would make him president of NCAA and get his arse out of Athens.
Richt is a good guy but how long do you get a free pass when you are headmaster of this circus. Definitely need coaching changes and starting to think that might need to include Richt.
Evans contribution is to get us home games every Saturday in Nov but none (except for LSU) in October. By the time we got back to a home game after the LSU fiasco, we were irrelevant. Come on Damon, mix it up a little.
I realize that college football being what it is, we take every nationally televised game we can get, but with our record, that means 7 and 7:45 starts. I live in metro Atlanta, but last 2 weeks getting home at 2:30 or later in the morning doesn’t make for a great rest of the weekend.
Whoever is in charge needs to hold a come to Jesus meeting with all involved and repair/replace the rudder before our program goes any further downhill.
Bulldawgbill
November 23rd, 2009
8:09 am
Last year’s season should have been GREAT with our talent, it wasn’t. This year has been one blown opportunity after another. If so many of the coaches below Richt need to be replaced, what does that say about our lead Dawg as well?
Craig
November 23rd, 2009
8:10 am
1) Georgia is LOADED with talent and far superioir then Kentucky’s.
2) Of course we know who won.
3) The better coached team won, plain and simple.
The DC has to go because he game in and game out does not make adjustments during the game. Van Gorder made adjustments at half time that are legendary. This guy seems like he sticks with the game plan no matter the OC for the other team adjusted to our defense. I am not upset losing to Kentuck, I am upset on HOW we lost to Kentucky. If CMR does not make changes for next year then he is sole owner of these problems next season.
Richard Dawson
November 23rd, 2009
8:11 am
Mark Richt is a liar.
On the Mark Richt show, he said GA had “nearly 500 yards of offense.” The stats show they had 427. Quite a difference.
That brand of lying, or baseless optimism, or stretching the truth, or whatever, is exactly the attitude that has kept Mark Richt from a serious look in the mirror, from manning up and taking responsibility for once, for showing even the smallest smidgen of passion about his job. Things are always rosier to Mark Richt than to everyone else. We always just had bad luck, or lost despite “playing so well” or winning the statistics battle.
I puke up on that attitude.
Man up and look in the mirror. The coaches have let us all down. Starting with the guy at the top.
Sautee Dawg
November 23rd, 2009
8:13 am
Mark Thanksgiving week,
Just a few things to be thankful for.
1. Thankful we don’t have to face Tennessee but once this season.
2 Thankful we don’t have to face Alabama or Ole Miss at all this season.
3. Thankful that we have the worst Kickers in the Nation and at the end of the season boos will come rolling in for Walsh and Butler, they desreve it.
4. Thankful that Ga Tech game is in Atlanta this season ( for obvious reasons)
5. Thankful I got to watch Rennie Curran play his last game as a sucking Bulldawg,
6. Thankful that nobody found out my parents are brother and sister.
7. Thankful that my trailer is a double-wide which makes me feel superior to those with single-wides.
Sanford Drive
November 23rd, 2009
8:13 am
I keep coming back to the AJC in hopes of reading “Willie has been Freed” but I’m always disappointed.
Maybe when Tech hangs 50+ on us they’ll get the picture. I won’t hold my breath.
Larvell "SugarBear" Blanks
November 23rd, 2009
8:13 am
Gosh,
Where do I begin after such a humiliating loss this past saturday night. Several things glared their ugly heads at me as I watched possibly THE WORST half of UGA football in recent memory. This is what I saw:
An Offensive Line that was…..well truly Offensive!
A QB that should be playing on a Division II team. No wonder he wanted to come to UGA so badly.
A Head Coach that had the expression on his face that simply said, “Oh Lord let this season end as quickly as possible”
A certain DB who wears the #3 who hails from the same town from which I am writing this post that should be ABSOLUTELY ashamed of his play.
A DC who should be asked to give up the Keys as the DC. Also, an OC who if he was any further over his head would be asking for a halogen lattern so he could at least find his way.
I could go on but the more I write the further depressed I get. CMR, do us ALL A FAVOR as fans and PLEASE turn down ANY AND ALL Bowl Offers!
exNFLplayer
November 23rd, 2009
8:14 am
Obviously the most likely replacement is DC. Not because of this year, but the sum total of several years. UGA’s D needs a new attitude and more discipline. While Kirby Smart is the most likely candidate to replace WM, were I making that call I would contact Tommy West. Not only is he a superb defensive coach, Tommy is a tough guy, a no excuses guy. He comes from the Danny Ford school of football. Physically whip your opponent. Danny Ford used to say, “I’ll take mine and beat yourn. Then I’ll take yourn and beat mine”. And he could back it up. Tommy West can put the junkyard back in the Dawgs D.
Special teams deserves a look as well. Like everyone else I despise those corner kicks, but the problem runs deeper than just that strategy. Personally I would love to see the kickoff moved back up 5 yards.
Bobo? Not yet. Coach Bobo’s offenses have been relatively prolific.UGA’s red zone % has gone up dramatically under Bobo. Bobo didn’t throw all those interceptions or make all those bad decisions. Bobo also doesn’t get to make the decision to take the redshirt off a kid either. Besides that, unless you can get a Norm Chow, Steve Sarkesian type, what’s the point at this juncture. I also seem to remember some of you Bobo bashers were also some of the more vocal in screaming for Coach Richt to hand play calling duties over to him.
Coach RIcht? Simply stated, to fire him would be absolute lunacy. When this team matures and develops the kind of senior leadership past teams enjoyed you will like the results.
HH
November 23rd, 2009
8:14 am
Hopefully, Paul Johnson will put the final nail in Willie Martinez’ “coffin”, and, perhaps, even the first one in Mark Richt’s.
CFBFan
November 23rd, 2009
8:16 am
Hey HBTD – or could it be that Walmart has the Dawg gear in stock because it’s not selling and the Tech stuff is flying off the shelves? Just sayin……
Shug
November 23rd, 2009
8:17 am
Why do people keep insisting that Geougia is loaded with talent? I’ve seen every game this year, and they’re not particularly fast, physically imposing, tough, smart, athletically gifted or talented. With the exception of perhaps toughness, none of that has to do with coaching. Georgia needs better players, then we’ll see about the coaching.
Dog Island Gator
November 23rd, 2009
8:17 am
This down fall excelerated with that end zone stunt a few years ago for the pups. I’m no fan of ALA or Tenn, but things are not going to get better for Ga the next few years even with new assit coaches. Sad.
Richard Hamilton
November 23rd, 2009
8:19 am
There are a lot of the same players from the 2007 team, which had a great defense. That is where I base my opinion that it is coaching. Although WM isn’t quite a horrible as everyone makes him out to be. All the turnovers and penalties have killed this team and put the defense in bad situations all year.
Special teams coaching needs a change for sure and I agree that a new strength and conditioning program would also be good for the team just to stir things up a bit. I don’t know what he’s going to do about the defense.
The one decision I hope Richt makes at the end of the season is to have someone give an outside evaluation of the program, someone who can give an unbiased and fresh perspective to him.
Dooley's Cardiologist
November 23rd, 2009
8:21 am
That was ugly. I don’t think they need to get rid of Bobo just yet. He doesn’t have a lot to work with this year, besides Green. Let us see what he does with one of those freshman next year first. Martinez, on the other hand, needs to be put out to pasture. 6-6 record sould be blamed on the DC not the OC. The Offense actually puts up numbers from week to week.
Gator in the Hootch
November 23rd, 2009
8:21 am
Georgia lost to a Kentucky team that does not have a good QB and half the team is injured. All I can say to the coaches is, yikes, what did you guys do all week. Florida played a nobody and came out hitting on all four cylenders. You have to have the players, but teaching and motivating your players is the key. Meyer and his staff are masters. Richt and his staff do not have a clue.
Dawg with bag over his head
November 23rd, 2009
8:21 am
For Adam
We fans we have very few meaningful ways to show our displeasure with a team. Leaving a game with time still on the clock is one of them. Many fans have come to realize that being down 7 points with 2 minutes left is insurmountable for these coaches and players. Many fans have also come to realize that “we got to work harder” or “we got the keep grinding” and “we’ll reevaluate everything at the end of the season” are completely meaningless statements from our CEO. Staying put in a seat or not voicing your objections to the direction of the team IS being a blind homer. The current state of our team is a direct result of what the majority of fans will accept, mediocrity.
bamafan
November 23rd, 2009
8:22 am
UGA program is remarkably reminiscent of where Alabama was under Mike DuBose and Mike Shula. Players are lost; coaches cannot make a difference. Bama had one good year under DuBose (1999) but it turned out to be an aberration. Bama had one good year under Shula (2005) but it turned out to be an abberation. Shula couldn’t recruit or coach. Discipline is the name of the game and it has been lacking in Athens for a long time. PS – Willie Martinez doesn’t throw interceptions or drop the football, but he is responsible for when the defense gets stupid penalties.
dawghouse1011 -Athens
November 23rd, 2009
8:23 am
We are TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE !!!!!I love the Dawgs Always but this is a business and the bottom line is wins and loss’s…MR makes lots of money for us to be so bad in so many areas….sooner or later you gotta produce!! How long will this University wait???Seems to me time is up!!Martinez and Bobo have to go!!
Old OL
November 23rd, 2009
8:23 am
What in the world makes many of you think Georgia has superior talent? Because some rating service assigns 4 or 5 stars? I believe Frank Howard, the Hall of Fame Clemson coach, is credited with the following: “the difference between a good HS football player and a good college football player is the same as the difference between chicken salad and chicken s$#t.”
82CAT
November 23rd, 2009
8:23 am
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 23rd, 2009
7:58 am
Kiffin’s players don’t have the problems……is armed robbery a problem
Those aren’t Kiffins players they were kicked off the team along with about 14 others since spring not willing to do what it takes to have discipline on and off the field.
Kiffin hate him if you want but he has taken a team with little talent, the worst qb in the league at seasons start(now has 25 td passes) and a jv defense and overachieved
something Georgia coaches would know nothing about.
imagine in a couple years when he gets a few more top recruiting classes!
Gator in the Hootch
November 23rd, 2009
8:23 am
Shug, I agree with you. I have watched many Georgia games this year. I am not impressed with their level of talent. They have a lot of 4 and 5 star recruits, but somehow ended up with a lot of 1 and 2 star players.
Selling My F-150
November 23rd, 2009
8:24 am
Richt needs to go. It’s as simple as that.
New OC
November 23rd, 2009
8:26 am
Chris Hatcher was shown the door at Ga. Southern Saturday. He deserves a look at replacing Booboo
Tech Tony
November 23rd, 2009
8:26 am
Not to change the subject, but Mark, why not do a blog with your opinion of the whole “conference bowl tie-in” situation? I hate the idea because it makes some bowls (Independence for the SEC, Humanitarian when it was an ACC bowl) places of shame which is not really fair to cities like Shreveport and Boise.
I say drop that silly notion and let each bowl create the best match-up it possible can. Your thoughts?
John Mulligan
November 23rd, 2009
8:27 am
What a bunch of whiners! O my Gawd, the shame of it all!!! Losing to KENTUCKY!!!! Losing is bad, but Kentucky??? How will we ever be able to go on? Well, here’s one Wildcat fan who says DEAL WITH IT! We beat you fair and square(with a little luck, I’ll admit), but you gotta admit we took devastating advantage of your mistakes and our crew of “inferior” athletes was better at the end of the game than your “superior” athletes. And ya know what? Life goes on. So stop your sniveling. A whining bulldog is a pathetic sight
Gator in the Hootch
November 23rd, 2009
8:27 am
82CAT. Tennessee does not have a JV defense. They have one of the best defensive teams in the SEC and certainly the best defensive player in the country. They are going to lose Berry and others on D and several of their top offensive players to boot. I think the Vols regress next year and in the years to come under Lame Duck’s lack of leadership. Scandal will be the topic in Knoxville’s future…not championships.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 23rd, 2009
8:30 am
Gator, I think they were coached down. Georgia signed guys that Fla, Tenn and Ala all wanted badly but the ones they signed played good and the most of the ones Ga signed played average. That’s coaching
Redo man
November 23rd, 2009
8:31 am
Tech Tony. Bowls and bowl tie ins are all about guaranteed money to the conferences. The system is not going to change unfortuantely. But I for one agree with you.
Drifter
November 23rd, 2009
8:32 am
I don’t know who is to blame, but for whatever reason, this team does not come to play 60 minutes…ever. They are going to be very fortunate to finish 6-6.
EmbarassedAgain
November 23rd, 2009
8:32 am
i’m afraid gator hootch is right. i havent seen the talent that were supposed to have on the field either. my gawd, cox is absolutly awful! thats the best we can do????? we have a few margee players on both sides of the ball and thats it. either these recruiting services are full of it or we only look at the number of stars and not the important things… or the most probable reason is that we are not coaching up these young men. either way its coaching: picking them or coaching them. it aint happened folks! we need changes to a stale program
The Good Word
November 23rd, 2009
8:32 am
Signing day is irrelevant with this staff, yet we will hear again this year how good UGA will be with a great signing class.
no name(required)
November 23rd, 2009
8:33 am
You ever play poker? A college fcotball coach is like a poker player. He has to make everybody think, I mean everybody year after year, that he has has a straight flush, a four of a kind, or a full house, when in fact, and he probably wishes he could say this, he really only has two pair, one pair, or a high card. The cards were on the table saturday night.
atlvol55
November 23rd, 2009
8:34 am
Gator in the Hooch,
While I agree TN will lose a lot of players this year and may regress some next year, TN is definately on the rise. Say what you want but Kiffin coached pretty well this year given the circumstances and no one can question his ability to recruit. I say by 2011, he will have things rolling pretty well
boots
November 23rd, 2009
8:34 am
This is just everyone beating a dead horse. What has not already been said since the start of the season? Same problems on the team for two years in a row (penalties, turn-overs, game plans, special teams, adjustments), and there is no solution yet. The problem is the leadership is not doing its job.
Nub
November 23rd, 2009
8:34 am
Most of you probably work …. Have YOU ever been at the top of your choosen profession ???????
Frustrated Dawg
November 23rd, 2009
8:34 am
This Team is SOFT.I don’t blame the players, it is all coaching. From the soft, non-agressive defense to our kickoff and kick coverage schemes to our finesse style on offense. We haven’t come out of the locker room and punched an opposing team in the mouth since Florida 2007. Now it seems we’re afraid to be aggressive. One of our biggest problems is a lack of FORCING turnovers. You don’t sit back and wait for the other team to make a mistake, you pressure them into making a bad throw or fumble. Playing against a freshman QB you need to bring the blitz and rattle him. On one drive we get down to the 11 yard line, and get a nine yard gain on first down. Second down and one from the 2 yard line we attempt a pass. WHY? And don’t get me started on the directional kicks.
Dr. Phil
November 23rd, 2009
8:34 am
Adams controls everything that happens at the university, including the departmental copy machines and number 2 pencils. Adams also loves donations, which he considers personal income. When the money stops, changes will follow.
82CAT
November 23rd, 2009
8:35 am
Other than Berry name one player that will be drafted off that defense —(crickets chirping)
by the way still waiting on that 60 urban was going to hang on us for what kiffin said, for all the bluster thats all the best team in the country could do at home against an below average UT team
I dont blame you for being afraid of kiffin.
top 10 recruiting class last yr top 5 this year.
Also know your history when georgia is down Tennessee is up because UT depends heavily on georgias recruits.
I guess we will see what happens in 2010 in Knoxville
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
November 23rd, 2009
8:37 am
7-6 or 6-7 for the dogs this year ! I have never doubted CMR until now and what worries me the most is when the dogs fumbled to start the second half I expected the outcome to be what happened I wasn’t suprised or shocked at all with the loss, and then the falcons lose and the hawks too on the same weekend rough weekend for Ga sports fans.
go dawgs!
Rico
November 23rd, 2009
8:37 am
First of all, let me say that I am a Tech fan. However, I am not a “UGA Hater”.
From my perspective the UGA coaching staff was “drunk from success”. During the past few years, the offensive coaches have had a cannon armed QB, a crazy good tailback, and two “freak” receivers. Those guys really covered up the lack of talent from the other offensive positions and the defense. So – now the entire staff is suffering from a epic hangover! The coaching staff will step up and fix the problem during the next two years – AND – it will take atleast two years to fix because of the overhyped recruiting class of 2008 and 2009.
The UGA program will be back soon – AND – just for the record, if Kentucky can beat UGA, UGA can beat Tech this week. If we turn it over 4 times, our butts will be cooked. So, all you Tech fans, please keep your mouths shut this week and act like you have been there!
GO JACKETS!
no name(required)
November 23rd, 2009
8:37 am
You ever play Poker? A college football coach is like being a poker player. You have to make everybody think, I mean everybody year after year, that you have a straight flush, four of a kind, or full house, when in fact you have only a two pair, one pair, or a high card. The cards were on the table saturday night.
Calhoundawg
November 23rd, 2009
8:38 am
How in the hell does the punter get a personal foul for a facemask (would have been a first down)? This is yet another example of the type of downright stupid, stupid, stupid plays that our players have made all year long. I certainly have not made it to the “Richt-is-the-man-to- go” mindset, but these issues (penalties/turnovers) are undeniably discipline related, and it is his responsibility to fix them — whatever coaching changes are made. We have felt this team slipping even from last year, and this meltdown is really no surprise. The team is in disarray from top to bottom. Kentucky made those two interceptions because they knew exactly what play was going to be run. We need a new DC, a new QB, and a new freakin’ [euphimism] attittude! My only question now is if we can stave off a losing season. Tech is going to beat us like a stepchild. Maybe our bowl pairing will be so low that we can fnish the season 7-6. Not to plagiarize Tennessee’s motto, but “Wait’ll next year!”
Go Dawgs !!!
Coach Scott
November 23rd, 2009
8:38 am
I just think it’s human nature to ‘rest on your laurels’ and I think we did that after the Greene years. We had blue chip after Greene, and we got lots of media attention. We went to sleep at the wheel – it’s a common tale. But, I believe – hope so anyway – that Mark has gotten the message. Georgia fans expect – and deservedly so – optimum product on the field. He’s got to get back to the basics that made his first few years successful – a part of that is personnel, and a part of that is regaining passion and momentum. Here’s the deal though – Damon deserves blowback from all this if changes aren’t made and 2010 results are similar.
Cecil34
November 23rd, 2009
8:38 am
I can guarantee you this because this is the truth:
An undisciplined team and a uninspired defense is not going to contain the triple option.
It is that simple.
Georgie couldn’t handle it last year, we have seen what it is not capable of this year, so do not expect some sort of defensive ephiphany to occur in 6 more days…..
Mark Bradley
November 23rd, 2009
8:38 am
If nothing else, the Kentucky game yielded a clarity. I don’t see how Richt can pretend nothing’s wrong after that.