Who gains from the SEC’s turmoil? Alas, not UGA
The SEC East is in flux in a way nobody could have envisioned on Christmas Eve. Urban Meyer resigned and recanted and is said to be relaxing. Tennessee has no coach. Kentucky has a new coach. Vanderbilt … OK, there’s the one constant.
With so much in motion, the moment seems ripe for a stable program to make a bold move upward in 2010. That program would not seem to be Georgia.
Having searched for six weeks, the Bulldogs don’t have a defensive coordinator or a defensive staff. They’ll enter next season with a new quarterback, the result of having left Aaron Murray to redshirt. (A wise choice in most years, but not necessarily in the worst season under this head coach.) Worse still, there’s a growing feeling across the South that Mark Richt is a year away from feeling the big heat.
From MrSEC.com, usually a clearinghouse of conference links, came this post-Kirby-Smart post from John Pennington, its headline reading: “Smart Stays; Richt In Trouble.” Pennington’s argument isn’t that Richt should be in trouble but that, having been spurned three times now by coordinating candidates, he’s being perceived as “inept.”
Short of landing Bill Belichick, it will be nigh-impossible for Georgia to emerge from this protracted search with a coordinator who will satisfy the majority of Dog-lovers. And it does seem troubling that three men who worked in the South and have coached against Georgia — Bud Foster of Virginia Tech, John Chavis of LSU and Alabama’s Kirby Smart, who’s a Bulldog born and bred — saw greater opportunity in the current positions than anything awaiting them in Athens.
Is Georgia now radioactive? Is Richt viewed in the industry as damaged goods? Is there a way for the coach who once moved from strength to strength to overcome this onset of weakness?
Sure. There’s a way. Just win, baby. (That’s Al Davis’ signature quote. The second-most famous Al Davis utterance: “Lane Kiffin is a flat-out liar.”) But I don’t see Georgia as poised to win big even in an SEC East that’s without Tebow, without Kiffin and perhaps without Meyer. Indeed, if you’re looking for the program harboring realistic expectations of a 2010 breakthrough, look first to the one that has never won anything of consequence.
South Carolina.
It has a head coach, which puts it ahead of Tennessee and perhaps Florida, and he has a national championship in his portfolio. It has a defensive coordinator, which puts it ahead of Georgia, and Ellis Johnson is a fine one. Its quarterback is returning, along with 15 other starters on offense and defense. And it plays Georgia in Columbia on Sept. 11.
No, the Gamecocks weren’t much good in 2009: They finished 7-6 and looked awful in losing the Papajohns.com Bowl to Connecticut. But the new season is another day, and long-suffering Gamecock fans get geeked up for every next season as a matter of course. This time they might actually have cause.
Not many Georgia fans seem similarly enthused, at least not at the moment. The coordinator search won’t go on forever, but it has left a mark on the Bulldog psyche. Georgia fans are like most: They can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to come coach their team. But they’ve just seen three men choose to remain in place despite the lure of big money at UGA.
Loading ...We learned in 2005, when he won the SEC in his first season without David Greene and David Pollack and Brian VanGorder, not to dismiss Mark Richt. We saw it again this season when he took his worst team and beat Georgia Tech’s best aggregation in a decade. That said, the prevailing wind now seems to be blowing against him.
He’s 14-8 over the past 22 games. (And that’s with victories in the final two of 2009.) He can wind up making a good hire and it won’t be seen as such. Some of the UGA fans who once swore by Richt have taken up a different brand of swearing. As Pennington suggested, Richt is no longer the fresh prince of the SEC but an elder and somewhat diminished statesman.
Five years ago I wouldn’t have thought Richt and Georgia incapable of anything. Now, heaven help me, I see South Carolina as the program on the rise. South Carolina, of all teams.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
785 comments Add your comment
coach smith
January 13th, 2010
1:56 pm
Actually MARK,
UGA went 7-5 in the regular season with a 4-4 SEC record and WON their Bowl making them 8-5 in a year in which they had one of the toughest schedules in the country and had to replace the #1 and #12 overall draftpicks
SCAR went 7-5, 3-5 in the SEC and lost a bowl to UCONN to make them 7-6 in a year in which most of their players had returned from the year before
I love how you spin this as even
D.N. Nation
January 13th, 2010
1:57 pm
Oh boy, Mark.
“But the Gamecocks did go 7-5 in the regular season, just like Georgia.”
Wow! And then got depantsed against UCONN in their bowl game. Way to go.
“And South Carolina does have a seasoned quarterback.”
Who also sucks, but hey, whatever.
Georgia, BTW, returns 10 starters on offense. Aaron Murray was a 4-star recruit. That Urban Meyer wanted, I should add.
Jona
January 13th, 2010
1:57 pm
Charles Hanes
I’m hoping our coaches have already gone over all of your senerios. If not, WTF are we paying them for?
Atticus
January 13th, 2010
1:57 pm
Mark you are a good writer and I usually enjoy your articles but this one is very poor. SC??? Georgia got rid of a poor defensive coaching staff and will get one FAR superior whether it is Grantham, Van Gorder or whomever. They are LOADED on offense and they always finish ahead of SC. Did you watch SC’s bowl game? The turmoil with TN and Urban is perfect for GA.
NC Dawg
January 13th, 2010
1:58 pm
South Carolina? Really…why not Connecticut? I know…this is about who steps up in the SEC. Seriously, Spurrier isn’t the old Spurrier. If any coach is inept, it’s the ol’ ball coach.
Mutley
January 13th, 2010
1:58 pm
The cancer (Martinez) has almost killed the patient. If Richt had removed the cancer when he was supposed to things might not be so bad. On the bright side almost any DC would be better than Willie.
Gdawg 84
January 13th, 2010
1:58 pm
The decline started slowly, but when Richt refused to address the building shortcomings, the program gained downhill momentum and the problems are now systemic.
Altamaha and the “never is heard a discouraging word” crowd won’t agree but the record speaks for itself. 10 wins in ‘08 DID represent underachievement. By spackling over the cracks, and putting a happy face on 10 wins and the demolishments of ‘08 rather than dealing head-on with the growing problems, the program was allowed to decline to the point where it is more likely to remain mediocre than to rise to equal UF or UA.
Richt is a great guy and all Dawg fans want to see him succeed but you wonder if he has what it takes to get our program back to the top of the conference. There is no buzz about our program. Nobody ever mentions Richt as one of the nation’s best coaches (I realize his overall record is still good but early gains haven’t been built upon).
NC Dawg
January 13th, 2010
1:58 pm
Disappointing article, Mark.
Talladega
January 13th, 2010
1:59 pm
Bradley, You are obsessed, and making a fool of yourself. I know Georgia fans are the only ones that respond much to the AJCrapper but surely you tire of this line.
The Boortz of Sports
January 13th, 2010
2:01 pm
Mark has become the Boortz of sports! It’s all about the entertainment factor. Keeps up coming back for more! Go DAWGS!
Hank Reardon
January 13th, 2010
2:01 pm
South Carolina isn’t worth commenting on. Until they win ONE SEC championship, they’re irrelevant. Hell, they haven’t even played in the SECCG.
Walter Cronkite
January 13th, 2010
2:01 pm
I am absolutely amazed that you managed to write a UGA story today when are only a few hours drive from the Knoxville meltdown. What this says to me is that Bulldawg Nation rules the ATL and all of the Southeast regardless of record or perceived coaching issues.
Dawgs97
January 13th, 2010
2:01 pm
First Schultz writes ANOTHER hate fest column against Georgia and now Bradley.
Do you and Schultz sit in the back of the AJC offices with a Ouija board figuring out columns you can do just to piss off Georgia fans?
Dostoyevskiy
January 13th, 2010
2:01 pm
Yep, Carolina will benefit fr the SEC mess. Withers has 6 guys from his defense going to the pros at the end of the 2010 season. Come on to Carolina where whe have a tradition of sending defensive players to the NFL. We know how to recruit em and coach em up at UNC!
Jim
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
Typical crap from the AJC sportswriters- no, that word doesnt fit at all. You’re an idiot!
san diego dawg
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
maybe MB AND JS can’t see the truth since they always standing in the shadows cast by CPJ’s man boobs?
DawgGoneRight
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
IT is not the job of journalist to write “positive” stories and make you feel good about yourselves or your team. It is their job to report facts in articles and to give opinions in columns…and in the case of blogs, elicit responses. Mr. Bradley does a good job of this, as evidenced by all your replies. Do you think the advertisers and editors even read these posts to see if they are positive or negative? They just look at the number. Mr. Bradley does not lie, or provoke by attacking personal character or making wild claims. IF you can not see this, then I think you probably did not graduate from UGA or any university.
willie martinez
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
Mark, we wouldnt be going through all this if CMR had just kept me on the team.
that decision looks worse by the day. observingly, willie
Joe
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
Mark- go crawl in a gutter somewhere. You are pure trash!
sogadog
January 13th, 2010
2:02 pm
We’ll see. I think you will be eating your words in a year. You’re articles are inconsistent. Read the piece you wrote after UGA thumped Tech. You said something to the effect that the new bulldogs could a fierce thing to deal with. Now you are writing them off for next year. Which is it?
willie martinez
January 13th, 2010
2:03 pm
Walter: and thats the way it is. best, willie
i hate you mark bradley
January 13th, 2010
2:04 pm
i hate you mark bradley. i hope the ajc does more cut backs and you are the first on the chopping block. happy new year you over-paid, under-worked tool!
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
2:04 pm
Atticus old boy, I agreed with you about everything except the turmoil at UF. Have you read the recruiting websites at all. As much as Tebow was adored, the offense will be better next year with a slight drop off on Defense.
coach smith
January 13th, 2010
2:05 pm
the situation with Tennessee should be a lesson to any of the dawg lunatic fringe who want Richt gone!
Milburn Drysdale
January 13th, 2010
2:05 pm
Only 3 teams have ever won the SEC East: Fla, Ga, and Tn. Next year will not be any different. SC…..you’ve got to be kidding
UA Alum92
January 13th, 2010
2:05 pm
I’m trying to recall the history of this. Why did CMR fire WM and the others prior to having another DC already on the line?
Jason
January 13th, 2010
2:05 pm
I don’t think anyone in Columbia would share your assessment. Carolina looked dreadful against UConn. UConn!? Spurrier is fast moving up the list of coaches with the longest tenure at their current school without a BCS game. Georgia will be playing a redshirt freshman at quarterback, but that quarterback was the highest rated quarterback in the state of Florida. Everyone else returns on offense. The players Georgia loses on defense – with the exception of Reshad and Rennie – will be addition by subtraction. Whoever Georgia gets at DC will be a significant upgrade. Georgia returns two fantastic backs.
It also bears mentioning that Georgia was historically bad in TO margin last year. This was because of two things: Joe Cox, now gone, and fumbles lost, a statistic that most experts agree is simply luck. Assuming Aaron Murray has half the interceptions as Joe Cox and Georgia returns to the mean on fumbles lost, even without a DC change or an upgrade at QB, Georgia would show vast improvement, and against vastly inferior competition relative to last year.
I agree that you were just trying to provoke Georgia fans. You won’t find many Carolina fans who share your enthusiasm for their program.
Mark Fox
January 13th, 2010
2:06 pm
Bradley, I can’t wait for you to write your mea culpa on the UGA DC situation just like you had to write one about UGA hiring me. Seriously, do you never tire of being so wrong so often?
Mark Bradley
January 13th, 2010
2:06 pm
Thanks for the defense, DawgGoneRight. You’re now my defensive coordinator. Congratulations!
gadawgs
January 13th, 2010
2:07 pm
Granted, I stand corrected on that point. You did not say that they would win the East. So exactly what “gains” are you talking about? Winning 8 games instead of 7? Not getting destroyed in their next bowl game by a Big East “football powerhouse”? If the “gains” they receive do not help them win the East then so what. What is the point? What did they actually gain? Mark- I for one actually like your columns and blogs and am glad you are not a homer – it makes for good dialoque.
dap01
January 13th, 2010
2:07 pm
Irresponsible reporting. This is terrible reporting. Tennessee is in shambles, Florida’s head coach is bizarre, GT has lost two games that suggest that THEY are going in the wrong direction and you have this slanted bit of propaganda.
What is your motive, Mark Bradley. Kiffen is the slime of the SEC and you write this today. Why not write about the ONE coach around here with Character and integrity.
You don’t see CMR saying the words like “you F_ _ _ ed up” to his players on the sideline on TV (Paul Johnson to his kicker). You don’t see CMR saying the words “Go_ D_ _ _” on the sideline on TV (Nick Saban).
The AJC has a motive and it is not to be a respectable news outlet.
4tix4dogs4cokes
January 13th, 2010
2:08 pm
Has the AJC really whacked Bradley and Schultz and there is a 12 year old kid ghost writing these columns? Seemingly, it is an arms race between these two as to who can produce the most thoughtless, hyperbolic and childish perspectives. They are seeking to supplant Terrence Moore as the resident AJC idiots or they seek to become the new Skip Bayless and Jay Mariotti.
This is a first for me
January 13th, 2010
2:08 pm
I have never,ever criticized any writer for the AJC but if I could even write, I would have criticized Cynthia Tucker often. I believe now that she is in DC and well, um good riddance to her. On one piece she did on Bill Clinton and Monica, I did 100% agree with her on. One column.
Now, as for Bradley. over the years you to me have always been dead on accurate in your comments about UGA under Goof or Donnan, Dooley and now Richt. In other words, you seemed to not have an agenda. Fine. Write what ever you want to. We needed criticism sometimes. Who deos not??? You do right now.
We readers of the old AJC when it was a real liberal paper. know that the AJC is sinking fast and we ask why? It is due to shoddy opnion pieces like the one you did today on UGA. Shoddy. UGA is not USC nor to be want to be. We are not Florida, nor do we want to be. We are a fine MAJOR university with a fine overall athletics program and we are proud of UGA. To say SC is on the rise is just to get more readers on your blog. Come on ……….you are better than that. They benefit due to Blame’s departue? I think not. Yes, they may pick up one or two former Blame Game Kiffen commits like other SEC schools will. THAT should have been 100% of the thrust of your piece.
UGA class of 71 & 73
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
2:08 pm
Mark you never answered the question; do you get paid by the responses?
Spurnedbyall
January 13th, 2010
2:08 pm
We need to keep CMR as long as he will stay, unless he starts consistently losing. He has made some mistakes in the method of going after a DC but he has built a solid house. IF we really want a NC at all cost we can go buy a CNS or CPC or CUM (sorry), but then we’ll have to buy into the roller coaster ride that comes with it, and the fact that whoever it is won’t stay for long. CMR will bring more championships, incl. hopefully NC to UGA in the future. Delusional fans and unrealistic supporters do not help us get there any faster.
uga1989
January 13th, 2010
2:09 pm
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Read my blog!
hatfieldgeoff
January 13th, 2010
2:09 pm
Mark, come on now I know it must get tough to come up with something to say in this new age of the website versus print but you can do better. First, to say it “is troubling” that three coaches who coach in the south would rather stay where they are than attempt any opportunities in Athens. First Bud Foster who has been at Virginia Tech how many years? and seems to refuse to leave even for a head coaching job. Second, John Chavis who was at Tenn for what 15 or 20 years, and moved last year to LSU. It is surprising? he does not want to move again this year for a lateral move. And Finally, Kirby Smart who would rather stay with the defending national champions, where he led to Defense, to go to UGA where he would have to prove himself all over again. Again the question which you yourself brought up over the last two weeks is why would they want to leave? But now you say it it part of Richt ineptness as a coach. As for South Carolina, the old Ball coach was in a better position 4 years ago, to make a move in the SEC East, but it didn’t happen. Fla was down, Tenn on the decline with Fulmer, UGA was losing David Green and Pollock. Kentucky and Vandy were average as usual. Mark, You are contradicting yourself and the ideas you are bringing up don’t stand up. Well, at least you aren’t giving us “5 reasons ….
Mark Bradley
January 13th, 2010
2:09 pm
Get paid? Am I supposed to get paid? Nobody tells me nothin’.
dap01
January 13th, 2010
2:10 pm
Worthless article! Baseless article! Subject for article pulled out of rear end!
whachagot Loren
January 13th, 2010
2:10 pm
Get the picture, it is a glorious fall day, with the stadium filled with red and black and the dawgs will be going left to right on your radio. Lets go to Loren – Loren, whachagot? Larry, there are sports writers falling out of the sky on their heads down here! The AJC has just started to lose a few as well, one looking like erk with glasses, the other a little moviestarish and boy they really look lost down here. I am just not sure they will be able to continue in this game, what with bumping their heads Larry and boy they are not making much sense. I am just hoping they stay out of UGA’s way. I would try to interview them but I am thinking it is a waste of time.
I am thinking there is a pattern here Mark. I am thinking that you just love to aggrevate the crap out of dog fans by filling your articles with little jabs. What in this article is slightly correct other than the stability of Vandy?
I am just not sure South Carolina is ahead of either team you mentioned. They are barely ahead of Furman and certainly not ahead of your yellow jackets. Where Georgia is ahead of both of the programs you mentioned is the quality of the man coaching the bulldogs.
If you had a son who was playing collegiate sports you would understand that sometimes we are all faced with the reality that not every collegiate athlete will turn pro and we want someone that is not an idiot to influence our children. That puts Georgia ahead of say most teams in the SEC and at least one or two in the ACC. And I know that you can’t believe this but at the end of the day,I think that Richt will hire a pretty good defensive coordinator.
Pitbull
January 13th, 2010
2:12 pm
Bradley you are so full of crap that NASA needs to send a probe to Uranus in order to get you regular.
Why all the shots at UGA lately? Readership been off?
You run a blog now. You’re not a sportswriter anymore . Get used to it.
And try quoting the hundreds of thousands of Georgia fans that love Coach Richt through thick and thin rather than some disgruntled dirtwad that gets quoted.
Coach Richt would get criticized if he had not interviewed the 3 candidates he has spoken to so far. Blog masters like yourself would be asking why not.
I think Coach Richt is waiting until after the NFL season to make his hire and it will be a good one in the eyes of all but jerks like you.
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
2:13 pm
As I figured; at least you got some attention. You should be an advertising headline writer.
willie martinez
January 13th, 2010
2:13 pm
this is as cold as they come. i putta special tape on na trigga and the butt, so you dont worry about prints Mike. whatsa matta? trigga too tight?
One Win Tech
January 13th, 2010
2:13 pm
Hey Mark,
About 18% of the readers agree with you….hahaha.
Off the "Mark' Bradle
January 13th, 2010
2:14 pm
you and your lover Schultz for brains are at an all time high or low, depending on your view point. Another great article. Your prowess with negative, sensational, journalism has reached a pinnacle or nadir. Again depending on your vantage point.
Gdawg 84
January 13th, 2010
2:14 pm
Coach Smith;
I appreciate your argument about the impact of losing the NFL’s #1 and #12 picks.
The issue is that we weren’t very good with them-being destroyed by Bama and UF.
Maddawg
January 13th, 2010
2:15 pm
What kind of fresh crack are you on now, Mark Bradley? You became brainless awhile back; now, you’re nutless. Go apply for your handicap sticker early.
Ron Roberts
January 13th, 2010
2:15 pm
Mark, don’t sports journalists make more of a team or program’s “psyche” than there really is? I mean, do you think Mark Richt’s psyche is damaged? Do you think the players are now psychologically damaged because there’s no defensive coordinator in-house yet? The fanbase? MAYBE. But (and I’m a fan) WHO CARES if the fans are psychologically wounded from the process. At the end of the process, if Richt’s hired a damn good coordinator, name or no-name, the program’s better off, whether ‘Dawg fans are popping anti-depressants or not.
The one area where this transition may affect Georgia is in recruiting; however, the program’s BEEN recruiting top-flight athletes on both sides of the ball, and Willie Martinez proved that great talent can still be badly coached, and Nick Saban and Kirby Smart showed that ‘decent-to-good’ recruits can become terrific defensive units, just by being well-coached.
Go back and compare the school’s 2009 roster on defense and what “star” level each player was ranked in various recruiting services, and you’ll be surprised to find that ‘Bama’s cumulative score was lower than Georgia’s. Didn’t matter on the field, though, did it?
Screw “psyche.” When Richt hires a defensive coordinator who knows how to coach the IMMENSE talent ALREADY in-house and snags the pieces on the recruiting trail needed to keep things going, the program will be fine.
papadawg
January 13th, 2010
2:15 pm
Tell me why is it that because 3 quality coaches turned down the Ga., choosing to stay put means the Dawgs & Coach Richt are down for the count.
ptc dawg
January 13th, 2010
2:17 pm
Mark,
Let me see if I can straighten you out. I have failed to convince Tony Barnhart, but I have hope for you. Steve Spurrier is a mediocre coach. Yes he won big in the 90s at fl.Look at all the talent in the state of Fla and how many programs it is supporting. He was a miserable failure at Washington. He has not had a bigger season than Holtz. He is losing the support of the fans in a big way. I have a son who is a USC grad and lives in Columbia and he tells me the “old money alumni” are fed up with Spurrier. His agenda is to win three more SEC games and move ahead of Dooley and then retire. It is all about Steve and always will be. South Carolina may beat UGA this year(Murray’s second game) but they will be 7-5 or 8-4 like Spurrier has been the last five years. And that my friend is a MEDIOCRE coach.
Richt and Georgia will be fine. If we can beat GT with WM and A&M with two grad assistants, we will be ok with real DC. I think you could coach the Dawgs defense and we would win 8 games.