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.
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785 comments Add your comment
papadawg
January 13th, 2010
3:14 pm
Join Mark at the Nerds or us club held every Monday night 7:00 at the Varsity located next to Nerd Field where something like 30-24 happened
Bill
January 13th, 2010
3:15 pm
“Now, heaven help me, I see South Carolina as the program on the rise.” Now, heaven help us all, this utterance is from the best sports prognostigator in the South, with a sterling record of accuracy. Get real……………
Dayman
January 13th, 2010
3:15 pm
Haha….South Carolina.
Youbetcha
January 13th, 2010
3:19 pm
I personally think it is Vanderbilt!
NorthWestDawg
January 13th, 2010
3:21 pm
OK, Mark. Seriously, I know times are tough but drinking while writing is never a good combination. South Carolina? Really? South Carolina? The same team that can’t recruit, can’t win (no matter how famous the pedigree of the coach), and can’t close out a season it its program’s future depended on it? That South Carolina? Please. … By the way, is this really you or did you let St. Simons write this for you?
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 13th, 2010
3:21 pm
If we get to the SC game healthy at all positions…we are going to win 10-11 games regardless of defense.This is going to be the most loaded offensive team Richt has produced at UGA
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
3:21 pm
Really?, I lived in Tampa a long time and thats what several of my friends told me, plus missing 4 games his junior year. Don’t be so sensitive, from what I watched during warmups this year, Metsenburger has more natural talent.
Average Dawg Fan
January 13th, 2010
3:22 pm
YEEEEEEHAWWWWWW !!!!!!! I’m REAL smart. Here’s somea mah typical rants :
Mark Bradley is an idiot
Mark Richt will hire a fine DC (after all, he was an excellent judge of Willie M.’s ability)
The Dawgs will be fine.
We’re the most prominent football program in the nation, right up there with So Cal, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State. Yeah, buddy.
Mark Bradley can’t write.
AJC is a piece of crap.
Now where’s the keys to mah pick-up ?
AndyC
January 13th, 2010
3:22 pm
So Mark thinks that SC will suddenly jump to the top of the recruiting rankings because all of the recruits from UGA, UT, and UF are going to change their commitment to SC. Come on.
rokdawg
January 13th, 2010
3:22 pm
Mark:
The old ball coach has certainly accomplisehed a lot in five years in Columbia. Finishing off a 7 and 6 seson with demoralizing losses to Clemson and UCONN show a program ready to launch.
Nice prediction! Now about that search for a defensive coach at GA Tech ….
Lane Kiffin
January 13th, 2010
3:23 pm
This whole Haiti thing is taking the attention away from me and I am mad!
VA Dawg
January 13th, 2010
3:24 pm
What makes you tick, Mark? In two years you’ve gone from annointing Georgia as the best team in the country to finding every fault you can in every aspect of the program. I thought your colleague Jeff Shultz wrote a pretty good column yesterday in assessing the situation. His piece was certainly pointed and not particularly flattering, but it was lot more thoughtful and measured than this absurd exercise in piling on that you just delivered.
elvis
January 13th, 2010
3:25 pm
This is just silly. You’ve done better than this one. Seems like a stir-up-the pot article to me rather than evocative journalism.
Yep!
January 13th, 2010
3:25 pm
gatorman – I have friends in Tampa and they said he was never hurt.
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 13th, 2010
3:25 pm
The defense didn’t lose the Kentucky game…fumbling at the 1 yrd line did.If Cox had King and Ealey against OKSU we would have finished at least 9-3.His ints would have been cut in half.
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
3:26 pm
Be delusional then and don check your facts Yep!
Nerd Central @ North Ave
January 13th, 2010
3:27 pm
Mark,
That was a stupid article! As much as I hate UGA, Richt is doing a fine job.
Sorry Guy
January 13th, 2010
3:28 pm
Mark – please let Ginger write for you. You are not very good at it.
gdawginkalamazoo
January 13th, 2010
3:28 pm
Bradley, what the hell, the reason Spurrier might benefit is there is one less big mouth to contend with. Who is John Pendington anyway? What does he know? And where did he go to school? Again can one of you AJC “reporters” let us fans know what the offers were to the coaches that have turned us down? We know the Smart offer but what about the others? Were they officially offered the job?
Yep!
January 13th, 2010
3:29 pm
gatorman – my friends are more trustworthy then yours.
Wreckmaniac
January 13th, 2010
3:31 pm
The UGA board of directors need to make a public committment that if South Carolina ever wins the SEC-East the UGA will withdraw from the conference. That would be the only way to maintain our hardwon manhood and dignity.
We Ruin this State
January 13th, 2010
3:32 pm
The thing is if we can get a cheap DC then we will be able to build that indoor practice stadium sooner.
Richard Hamilton
January 13th, 2010
3:33 pm
Your still crying about the Georgia DC position being open??? Give it a rest Bradley. At least we didnt’t strike out three times in just a few days only to rush a decision to hire Kiffin like USC did.
Observe & Report
January 13th, 2010
3:34 pm
Bama just showed the Nation that you can win big with a strong running game and a great D. You don’t need a seasoned QB if you have a ground attack. Wasn’t Bama’s QB a 1st year starter?
Erk
January 13th, 2010
3:35 pm
Stir it up Marky Mark! Aren’t you better than this? Wow. You know South Carolina has no chance to win the East and that this is just another one of your recent jabs at UGA. Carolina never had and never will have the depth to do so. They’ll pull off an upset here or there but will continually lose 4 to 5 in this league because they just don’t have enough athletes beyond starters. CMR made the necessary change by firing Willie and his overall success while at UGA has earned him the right to do things his way. So he went after three of the top DC’s in the country and hasn’t gotten one as quickly as this instant gratification society would like. So what? He’ll get us a good DC and our defense will be much improved, we’ll compete in the near although maybe not immediate future for the conference, and all your drivel will be a distant memory, at least hopefully for your sake because you’ll be the first one kissing CMR’s butt (like you did earlier this decade) when we’re winning the SEC again. I thought the Kiffin incident might have helped you put this in perspective but you actually used it to take another shot at UGA. Wow. At least be subtle in your dislike for the state’s flagship university. Care to respond?
coachx
January 13th, 2010
3:35 pm
Mark………are you smoking crack ?
Wreckmaniac
January 13th, 2010
3:36 pm
Mark, do you think there could be a daytime soap opera called “Days of Our Dawgs” ?
Deep Ball
January 13th, 2010
3:36 pm
Mark,
Thanks for predicting a South Carolina title…history would suggest that you just guaranteed a UGA SEC East Title in 2010!
Dear Mark
January 13th, 2010
3:36 pm
I have found your recent articles concerning the state of the University of Georgia football program to be very insightful and to the point. Your analysis of their recent failures, lack of direction and diminishing status within the SEC and the football realm at large is obviously well thought out.Your assessments have been presented in an articulate manner. Your lack of bias has been a refreshing breath of fresh air. If only other sports commentators would emulate your style of objective analysis and commentary, we would all be well served.
Thanks
Mark Bradley
January 13th, 2010
3:37 pm
Didn’t predict a South Carolina title. I said — for the third time now — that the Gamecocks are the SEC East program best positioned to benefit from the turmoil.
UGA Alumn
January 13th, 2010
3:39 pm
Mark Richt is in no trouble. Anyone who says other wise is a dumb, redneck, fair-weather fan. UGA Alumni are very happy with CMR and the class that he brings to our Alma-Mater. The current UT/UF situations just prove how much more class our program has and that is because of CMR. UGA will be back on top and we will do it the right way, from the ground up, and with class. The people who are paying the bills, the alumni, are happy with Coach Richt. Bradley you should focus on why GA Tech can’t find any better options for their defense other than a fired Virginia coach. When is the last time U of V has been a national power?
Old Dawg
January 13th, 2010
3:40 pm
Mark:
As you know I really enjoy your work but this time you have missed by a wide mile. I don’t think South Carolina will be able to overcome all of its problems this year. While it’s true they have a lot of starters returning, there doesn’t appear to be a real break through player on offense other than the QB, and the defense loses some major contributors.
Georgia on the other hand, has an extremely talented offensive team returning to help a young QB develop. Talent is also available on the defensive side of the ball. If you had the opportunity to listen to broadcasters this year, almost all of them referred to the smaller size and speed of SC players compared with those from the top tier of SEC teams. In other words, the overall talent level isn’t the same as at UGA, FLA etc.
In regard to the defensive coordinator position at Georgia, while it’s obvious CMR has struggled to find a replacement, he has gone after the leaders in the profession (something every Dawg fan has demanded) realizing his sell would be difficult. I really don’t see his tenure as damaged goods. Although the win total hasn’t been there, UGA is still posting winning seasons and winning bowl games.
I’m not blinded by my enthusiasm for CMR and UGA enough to think that they’ll win the SEC and national championships in 2010. But I do know that the coaches meeting is this week and that CMR will work to get a good DC in Athens. The off-season work by the coaches and players will dictate how well the team does next year, but I get a sense that CMR has had enough of the negative phone calls on Sunday nights, internet posts etc and that he will right this ship back into the winner’s circle!
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
Yep, I guess you will find out for yourself after he gets continually injured. Research it yourself at TBO online in there archives. This kid has great talent, leadership but missed 8 games his last 2 years. Hell since you are a personal friend of CMR just ask him.
Reality Check
January 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
Florida will win the SEC East next year- NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. They’d probably even win it if Richt was their coach!
MUSCGamecock
January 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
I’ll be around next year to remind you all of your comments here. Also find it extremely humerous the comments about beating so easily. USC pretty consistently plays UGA within a 7 points and comes down to the end. Always a good game. Please remain overly confident in our shortcomings. See you next season boys.
DawgBuzz
January 13th, 2010
3:41 pm
Unlike the AJC sports department lineup, Coach Richt is aiming for the top Defensive Coaches out there. Nothing wrong with that.
Yep!
January 13th, 2010
3:42 pm
Mark – Backpedaling are we?
Mark Bradley
January 13th, 2010
3:43 pm
No backpedaling.
Yep!
January 13th, 2010
3:43 pm
gatorman – I asked CMR and he said you are a liar!
gatorman
January 13th, 2010
3:44 pm
No you didn’t he’s still in Shreveport
Wreckmaniac
January 13th, 2010
3:44 pm
Mark. I must be slow but it has just come to me. Trailer Nation’s self-image is based on your opinion. If you don’t put the dawgs on a pedestal the natives go beserk. They only worry about your opinion. No other opinion counts. Did you ever think that your position would carry such influence ? Its amazing. You’re just a sportswriter but this crowd has elevated you to Popedom.
Reader
January 13th, 2010
3:45 pm
Bradley, maybe the AJC shouldn’t pay you anymore. You might be able to write like this:
http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/did-mark-richt-forget-to-renew-his-aj-c-subscription/
Lowcountry Bulldawg
January 13th, 2010
3:46 pm
Ok, I go back to the debacle in October 2007. The trip to Knoxville was telling. I then called for CMR to do some self realization, but know I almost feel sorry for the man. He is getting heat for going after 3 of the best DC in all of college football who at at Top 10 programs. It is a gamble CMR felt like he needed to take and he failed. This is not a reflection of where the program is. CMR needs to let the dust settle and he will be fine. The next DC is right around the corner and the SEC is ripe for the taking.
PMC
January 13th, 2010
3:46 pm
No one rational thinks Richt is inept. He’s a fantastic football coach. He simply got comfortable like Phillip Fulmer and hired the wrong guy a friend as DC and then they had a lot of guys especially on the offensive line that just didn’t pan out. UGA has as many skill position players as anyone in the country. The meat and potatos is where they have lacked and the technique is where they’ve really lacked. Anyone accusing Richt of being inept is either crazy or delusional. He’s just had a down period.
We Ruin This State
January 13th, 2010
3:46 pm
Oh Mark, please recant your statements ! Please say you didn’t mean it !
Really?
January 13th, 2010
3:47 pm
Mark. Editors pushing you for more page hits?
Mr. Williams
January 13th, 2010
3:48 pm
Mr. Bradley- I for one like your writing, it is usually quite comical and lord knows these days we can all use a laugh from time to time.
PMC
January 13th, 2010
3:48 pm
South Carolina has YET to develop a QB worth anything since Spurrier got to town. Some of that is not his fault. The guys they have are either immature or not very intelligent or motivated. Great Defense. Very good skill players…. abysmal at QB.
Yep!
January 13th, 2010
3:49 pm
gatorman – I have friends in Shreveport also!
H-TownDawg
January 13th, 2010
3:50 pm
(MikeInValdosta): Is this Catfish???