Rx for Mark Richt: Try Smart first, then Ellis Johnson
Needed: A defensive coordinator who understands how defense must be played in the SEC.
First choice (and a no-brainer): Kirby Smart, the Georgia alum who coaches Alabama’s defense.
Problem: It’s not even a lateral move for Smart, Alabama being a demonstrably better program than Georgia. And Alabama can, as we know, outspend the Yankees to keep the guys it wants.
Possible bit of leverage: Nick Saban is a notoriously tough boss — the anti-Richt — and is still widely seen as the man behind Alabama’s D. Smart might want to strike out on his own.
Plan B: Ellis Johnson of South Carolina.
Loading ...Why him: He has done great work with lesser talent than Georgia’s, and he has coordinated defenses at Alabama and Mississippi State. And he did what a lot of folks can only dream of doing: He bailed out on Bobby Petrino after a month at Arkansas.
Why he might leave: No one knows how much longer Steve Spurrier will coach South Carolina, and even if Spurrier stays another five years it’s clear the Gamecocks will always hit a ceiling in the SEC East.
Possible roadblock: His contract runs through 2011.
Other names: Tommy Tuberville isn’t going to take an assistant’s job. Will Muschamp, another UGA grad, isn’t coming; being coach-in-waiting at Texas trumps being defensive coordinator at Georgia. Brian VanGorder seems happy in Flowery Branch, and it takes a lot to make BVG happy. Charlie Strong, formerly of South Carolina and now of Florida, is apt to become head coach at Louisville. And there seems no cause to promote Rodney Garner: Why bump up the lone holdover from a defensive staff Mark Richt just admitted was substandard?
The best guess: Smart stays in Tuscaloosa and Ellis Johnson moves to Athens.
Would that be an upgrade over Willie Martinez? No more than a suite at the Ritz-Carlton would be an upgrade over a room with two double beds at Motel 6.
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707 comments Add your comment
AIN'T Simon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 3rd, 2009
8:39 am
If you’re looking for experience with proven results, I would be happy with any from this list: (2009 ppg rankings)
Florida 9.8
Alabama 10.8
Nebraska 11.1
Penn St. 11.8
Ohio St. 12.2
TCU 12.4
Oklahoma 13.5
Air Force 15.3
Texas 15.4
Iowa 15.5
Va Tech 15.8
LSU 16
Rutgers 16.8
UNC 16.9
Pittsburgh 17.7
Central Michigan 17.8
Cincinnati 18.6
Boise St. 18.6
Ole Miss 18.6
Boston College 19.4
Clemson 19.5
Utah 19.7
G'Vegas Dawg
December 3rd, 2009
8:40 am
My thought is that it is going to be someone completely off the radar. Rumor is that Smart and his family want to get back home. Well, home is 45 minutes from Tallahassee and Jimbo Fisher wants Kirby…BAD. They have ties from LSU, so there goes Kirby. My favorite would be Gardner. But, he hasn’t exaclty been very pleasant this season after the whole Auburn thing last year. He got a raise and a promotion that he thought that he deserved and wasn’t very appreciative. I think his time in Athens is almost up. I hate it because he is the MAN when it comes to recruiting. Tenuta? two words….Notre Dame. BVG isn’t going to leave FB to come back. Sure it’s a shorter season, but, the recruiting season is a 365 day a year job. David Polock may be a good D-ends coach. What a lot of people don’t know is that DP and CMR didn’t always get along as well as they showed in front of a camera. I don’t think he is going to coach for Richt and I don’t think Richt wants him to coach for him either. Tubberville may take an assistant’s job, but I don’t really see him sticking around for long. That puts UGA right back in the position we are in now in a year or two.
Sonny Clusters
December 3rd, 2009
8:40 am
Hey Mark, is DOP or whatever his name is at work today?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Costumed elf behind bomb scare
A metro Atlanta shopping mall was evacuated Wednesday night after a man dressed as an elf allegedly told the mall Santa that he was carrying dynamite.
But when the GBI bomb squad examined three packages left near Santa, the incident was declared a ho-ho-hoax.
AIN'T Simon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 3rd, 2009
8:40 am
oh yeah, almost forgot………..30-24!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
spectator
December 3rd, 2009
8:40 am
Dogs are delusional, as usual. Most of you talk like every top assistant at every superior program is just salivating over being DC at the mediocre georgia program and live in a trashy, redneck town like Athens (if you haven’t lived there you have no idea how bad it is). Some of you even believe Dungy would like to be a Richt assistant. In all probability they will get some obscure assistant no one ever heard of. Personally, I hope it is Van Gorder since he is doing a lousy job with the Falcons…it would be nice to see him go.
RxDawg
December 3rd, 2009
8:40 am
I’m calling you out for copyright infrigement Mark.
I RUN “,…,” THIS STATE
Dooley's Cardiologist
December 3rd, 2009
8:42 am
Don’t think Muschamp or Strong will make a downgraded move like that, unless there is more money involved, which there is probably not. Tenuta is very dangerous with that kind of talent. It isn’t the most appetizing job out there. And nobody will move laterally or take a pay cut to take it.
Can you dig it?
December 3rd, 2009
8:42 am
Mark Bradley you are indeed a horse’s ass when you make a statement that the Alabama program is demonstraablity better than Georgia’s. Where has the Alabama program been the past ten years? Until last year they were losing to the likes of La. Monroe while Georgia was winning SEC Championships and going to BCS bowls. You remember that don’t you? Or does your memory retention level not expand that far back. Remember you were constantly writing atricles about how great the Georgia program was and Mark Richt was great coach with the perfect temperment for coaching…..What a band wagon reporter you are…you no longer report the news you always feel inclined to stir the pot…. and spin your BS. Belive me the Georgia program is every bit as strong as Bama’s weather you want to believe it or not.CMR will get his defense straighten out and Georgia will be back . You might as well go work at another paper. People in Georgia have long memories…when CMR gets the dawgs back on track I’m sure you’ll write blogs about how you knew it was going to happen and that you think CMR is great, Just like you do now about Tech and CPJ. You are not worth a dime that the AJC pays you…please go back to Kentucky or where ever you came from. We don’t need fence sitters like you who constantly jump on the next bandwagon to make yourself look good.
cattle dawg
December 3rd, 2009
8:43 am
Smart??? Am I the only one who thinks saban is calling the shots at bama.
Braveworld
December 3rd, 2009
8:43 am
F 105—-agree on 8:38 blog. U got that right.
Atticus
December 3rd, 2009
8:43 am
How about the DC at TCU or Clemson?
Dooley's Cardiologist
December 3rd, 2009
8:43 am
And some of these guys are more qualified to be a head coach than Richt. So, you know there is no way they would be his assistant.
BC
December 3rd, 2009
8:44 am
Ellis Johnson is not leaving SC.
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
December 3rd, 2009
8:45 am
just open the UGA checkbook and get a proven DC don’t take a chance on a up and comer , next year you do not want a new Quarterback and a DC with great potential that has really done nothing .if we waste AJ’s last year with a DC on the other side of the ball thats learning and new to the job everybody will be screamning fire richt. Maybe it won’t happen but everybody knows richt loves to hire people he is close to .
cherokee
December 3rd, 2009
8:45 am
GT Joe ………..that would make Tech 7th in the SEC east then
John
December 3rd, 2009
8:46 am
I don’t think there is any chance of Johnson going to Athens. He is a South Carolina guy with his family in the Columbia area and his comments – when leaving Arkansas to come to USC and thereafter – indicate strongly that he desires to finish his coaching career close to home. Not a chance he’ll make a lateral move to be a DC at another place in the SEC East, in my view.
nemov
December 3rd, 2009
8:46 am
The Garner Myth. By all accounts he’s a great recruiter, but he’s not solely responsible for the Vols beating us during the 90s. Give the thanks to Ray Goff who ran the team into the ground.
T
December 3rd, 2009
8:46 am
If anyone even thinks that Kirby Smart is responsible for the defense at Alabama, then you are crazy. He is getting credit that is completely Nick Saban’s doing. I pray he stays at Alabama, because he will do nothing in Athens. Just like the years he played there.
NCDAWG
December 3rd, 2009
8:50 am
Fantasy List: Tuberville, Smart, Muschamp, and Strong.
Reality List: Johnson, Amato, Stelle, and Foster
Georgia Sam
December 3rd, 2009
8:50 am
Why in the world would Tony Dungy want to take an assistant coaching position when he probably could have his choice from several NFL head coaching jobs? Get real folks, what are you drinking.
LJ of UGA
December 3rd, 2009
8:51 am
Alabama a “demonstrably better program”? You sound like Pat Dye in 2002. Richt is 3-1 against the Tide. These things run in cycles.
Ellis Johnson
December 3rd, 2009
8:52 am
I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’ll probably be the head coach for carolina in 2014. The future looks bright in carolina.
BRADDAWG
December 3rd, 2009
8:52 am
Bama1- Go comb your mullet and brush your tooth!
The Swamp Fox
December 3rd, 2009
8:53 am
Smart was in Athens all day yesterday if that says anything. Word is he didn’t care for Jancek or Fabris and now there gone. Just saying.
nemov
December 3rd, 2009
8:53 am
LJ of UGA
I’m a huge Dawg fan but Alabama could win their 22nd SEC title this weekend. Alabama is by any measure a bigger football powerhouse than Georgia.
Best DC's for Georgia 2010?
December 3rd, 2009
8:55 am
Look for the DC to come from a top ranked bona-fide winning defensive program like Texas -Alabama- TCU -Boise St.- Oklahoma- Iowa- Ohio St.
GA
December 3rd, 2009
8:55 am
What about Steel at Clemson…. It seems as if he is doing a good job there and seems like a pretty firey guy.. It would be a upgrde for him
LATERAL MOVE
December 3rd, 2009
8:55 am
You UGAY folks are more stupid than anyone could ever imagine. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LATERAL MOVE FROM BAMA TO UGAY!!! A step down would be more like it, from BAMA TIDE BALL BOY to UGAY defensive coordinator. You GA folks are “pea brains”!!!
Dean
December 3rd, 2009
8:56 am
I’m not sold on Smart. I think Saban controls alot of what goes on right wherever he is at. I don’t see FSU’s offense lighting it up with Jimbo Fisher, Muschamp- while the media’s darling- seems like everytime I watch a UT game their defense is getting torched. Saban makes that program work and the assistantse flourish with him. Not so sure he would do so well without him. We need someone who can do more with less. Not that we have less talent but I think someone with those skills can really coach up the players. Ellis Johnson would be solid. What about Tyrone Nix or perhaps a uknown from a smaller school? As for Garner, I think he is paid handsomely for his role as a recruiter. That’s what he does well and DC would take away from his time recruiting. He stays in this role and we get a DC who will get us back to traditional good UGA football. As for the Bama quip about being a vastly superior program, hanven’t you learned that in college football things change very quickly. UGA is not that far off the path and could easily be right back to being very competitive with them.
John
December 3rd, 2009
8:57 am
“it’s clear the Gamecocks will always hit a ceiling in the SEC East.”
Mark – it is this arrogant smuggness that always makes me laugh at you and the Dawgies. FWIW, genius, EJ isn’t leaving SC. That’s where he’s from. He has family there. It’s the reason he left Petrino in the first place. This is exactly like when Bama was pursuing SOS before they hired Saban. Everyone in Bama land said SOS would take the job. Meanwhile, everyone in SC knew SOS wasn’t leaving SC. Just like now. Everyone in SC knows EJ isn’t leaving Columbia.
This column is a perfect example of why newspapers are dying. Do some friggin research before spewing.
Dean
December 3rd, 2009
8:58 am
Where was Bama from 1994 to 2007?
Macon Dog in the Middle East
December 3rd, 2009
8:58 am
Nemov: I agree with you that both Goff and Donnan helped Fulmer to beat us as much as Garner did. I did not say that Garner’s recruiting for UT was the sole reason that UT owned us for 10 years straight. (It stills hurts.) I lived in TN during those years, and I remember Fulmer talking, year after year, about having “brought in a good harvest down in Georgia.” I just hated Goff’s and Donnan’s inability to stop it–until Donnan made one of his few good moves and hired Garner away. UT has always had to recruit nationwide, because UT’s HS football is lousy. For that reason alone, as Richt knows, we should always have the advantage over UT as long as we can out-recruit the Arnge in our own back yard. If we can out-recruit Kiffin and Oegeron, then we should be OK in doing so against Auburn, Carolina, and Bama. You’re right Nemov, but so am I. Richt cannot afford to lose Garner to Kiffin.
Blackberry Cobbler
December 3rd, 2009
8:59 am
Bradley– You are Schultz are nothing but blowhards. Please provide the evidence that Alabama is a “demonstrably better program than Georgia”. When you talk about “programs”, that goes beyond comparing just the last 1-2 years. There’s absolutely no shred of evidence to say the Alabama is a better program that UGA.
Bill
December 3rd, 2009
8:59 am
Can you dig it____Mark has always been” Fair and Balanced”. You may not agree (which I don’t sometimes) but he tries to keep it fair but tells the truth even if it hurts. He cuts GT, UGA ,Braves, Hawks, Falcons and anyone else that needs it. One of the Best .
Mark, Keep up the good work.
NCDAWG
December 3rd, 2009
9:00 am
My question is……Does Richt Hire a special teams coach and Garner take over the DE’s too or does he get another DE coach too. I think the speical teams coach should just coach special teams……..I believe part of UGA’s special teams problems were the fact that they were micro-managed with Fabirs being the CEO….
nemov
December 3rd, 2009
9:02 am
“There’s absolutely no shred of evidence to say the Alabama is a better program that UGA.”
huh?
Dawg Fud
December 3rd, 2009
9:02 am
Mark,
Reggie Herring – Dallas Cowboys LB’s coach
not expressing my opinion because I don’t know a whole lot of his scheme/philosophy but i bet you he gets an interview for the DC position and may be willing to take the LB’s job at Georgia.
I think he wants out of the pros, will even take a position coach job just to get back into college and Richt talked to after Van Gorder’s departure but he was already committed to Nutt at Arkansas.
Fire Willie.com
December 3rd, 2009
9:03 am
What about the VT coordinator? They always have a good defense.
Johnny DangerDawg
December 3rd, 2009
9:03 am
Mark Bradley,
Does Ellis Johnson’s contract have a buyout clause? How much money?
Keith
December 3rd, 2009
9:03 am
Dean; Answer: In the crapper!
ChinookGuy
December 3rd, 2009
9:03 am
Everett Whithers, UNC should be considered too. It would be hard to pull him away from UNC, the UNC defense is everything the UGA defense isn’t.
Fire Willie.com
December 3rd, 2009
9:04 am
What about special teams? They suk on kick offs/
Keith
December 3rd, 2009
9:04 am
The future looks good at USC next year ppl, get over Ellis! Not happening!
sec
December 3rd, 2009
9:04 am
From the rumors i have heard…BVG was contacted and also the DC from ND
BAMA DOMINATES!!!
December 3rd, 2009
9:05 am
LATERAL MOVE from the most prolific and historically dominating football program in collegiate history, ALABAMA to the mediocre program at UGAY. HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAHAAAAAAAAA!!AAAAAAA!! HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!!HAAAAAAAAA!! What idiotic comments from the UGAY fans this a.m.
Fire Willie.com
December 3rd, 2009
9:05 am
Man this is a great day!!! I have been waiting on this day for 3 years. I liked Willie as a person. His soft defense did not work in the SEC.
Dawg Fud
December 3rd, 2009
9:06 am
Ellis Johnson is not leaving South Carolina so get over that whole notion. Kirby Smart is not leaving Bama.
I guarantee you guys Reggie Herring gets a call from Richt.
Table for Dungy
December 3rd, 2009
9:06 am
1st call has to be to Dungy…period. At least feel him out and if he says no get some good advice from a down-to-earth and very smart man.
2nd call (and I know this sounds like blasphemy)…..John Chavas. I know we can’t get the image of the porn-stache in orange blasting our offense off the field for all those years, but I think I could grow to like him in red and giving us a lock down defense.
3rd call is Kirby Smart. We made a huge mistake putting him at running backs coach and Richt is pretty good at repenting for past sins.
Regardless of whether its one of these three, we need a nationally recognized name to compete in recruiting now that TN has the Lame Kitten and his Yankees-esk staff.
Keith
December 3rd, 2009
9:07 am
Man BAMADOMINATES is so obnoxious, I hope Tebow wipes the floor with ya’ll on Saturday. Not really, I can’t pull for UF but you are a tool.
Dawg Fud
December 3rd, 2009
9:07 am
Give BVG a million to come back
do like Jon Tenuta because blitzes all the time!!!