Which coaching pair is better: UGA’s Marks or Tech’s Pauls?
Saints marching in? Tech's Paul Johnson, Georgia's Mark Richt. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Four men, all named after saints. Two led their respective teams to conference championships in their second seasons. One played for a national championship in his fourth season. The other has been in place a little over a year and has stirred enthusiasm where none existed.
For Georgia, two Marks: Richt coaches football, Fox basketball.
For Georgia Tech, two Pauls: Johnson coaches football, Hewitt basketball.
For you, one question: Which pair would you rather have?
It’s not an easy call: Johnson just took his Jackets to the ACC championship, and Hewitt’s Jackets just played for the ACC title. Richt’s Bulldogs haven’t graced the SEC title game since 2005, and Fox’s Hounds — sorry, still can’t resist — finished last in the SEC East.
Were I picking the best pure coach of the four, I’d pick Johnson. Were I picking the coach who has known the most sustained success at the highest level, I’d pick Richt. But that’s not today’s exercise.
Think of this as an alternate-shot tournament in golf. If you take PJ of GT, you also have to take Hewitt. And the same on the Georgia side: If you choose Fox, you have to take Richt. And that said …
Loading ...I’d pick the two Marks over the two Pauls.
I’d pick the Marks because I believe Richt’s team is about to get really good again, and I’m not sure Hewitt’s ever will. And, as noted yesterday, I like what Fox is doing with Georgia. (He’s already 1-0 against the Jackets.)
But that’s just me, and I’ve been known to be wrong. And this isn’t as much about me as about you. So here’s your chance.
On Election Day, please cast your vote. And just this once, ticket-splitting is not allowed.
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391 comments Add your comment
ugaclassof2004
July 20th, 2010
9:28 am
So much of college sports is marketing, promotion, and recruiting. At a place like UGA, which is the flagship university of the state, you have to not only hire people who are good coaches but you need them to be able to rub elbows with donors and all of the other political things one has to do in that position. A guy like Paul Johnson would be a disaster at a place like UGA, not because he’s a bad coach but because he lacks the social skill set he would need to curry favor with the alumni. Richt and Fox both are successful in this area, which is why they will have the resources they will need to be successful.
One observation I have had in regards to Ga.Tech is that it seems like their fan base likes a football coach with a Sh&*kicker attitude, the only exception being the late Bobby Dodd. Bobby Ross and George O’Leary had abrasive personalities and Paul Johnson seems to kind of follow that pedigree. Tech fans also like New York guys ( Bobby Cremins and Paul Hewitt) running their basketball program. Overall it seems like Tech appreciates a northeastern blue collar ” tell it like it is” approach to coaching. UGA on the other hand is still about Old School Southern Values and Tradition, and their coaches need to embrace that. They value loyalty and class over a “win at all cost attitude”( sometimes too much so). I think this is why many UGA fans are so loyal to Richt even when his program is struggling, because the guy is a class act and represents their university well. If he had Paul Johnson’s attitude, and was struggling, he’d be gone. So It really comes down to which coach is the right fit for their school.
Glory Glory
July 20th, 2010
9:30 am
You Stupid, Blind Ignorant, Techie Nerds….
You guys just don’t get it that Paul Manboobs Johnson’s offense is a GIMMICK!!! He has done everything with another coaches recruits. Once they are all gone there will be some frustrating days in the Atl Ghetto. NOBODY worth a darn wants to play in that in order to boost themselves to the NFL……
Exhibit A: Jonathon Dwyer, the “big star” all you idiots were screaming “1st round pick” about, beind drafted somewhere like, 865th overall. If you think RB recruits didn’t take note, then get back on your Dragon Con ticket website.
Exhibit B: Nick Marshall, the “silent commit to Tech”, who no doubt would have been the perfect athlete to play QB in that gimmick, HS offense. After being promised the QB role with the Nerds, he then decided to commit to UGA to play DB!!!!! The kid knew by running the gimmick, his chances would be shot. Welcome to UGA Nick!! See “Champ Bailey”.
Keep fooling yourselves Techies, but that football coach of yours is a complete IDIOT!!
30-24
JB
July 20th, 2010
9:30 am
So, Dan, you say the two football programs are headed in different directions but even with that theory the one you say is going in the worng direction still won.
That said squad also got most folks back while the other one didn’t.
Hmmmm….
HBTD!!!!
FrankTheFalcon
July 20th, 2010
9:33 am
This is a real easy choice because one of the four is a terrible coach. The other three can really coach. The one that can’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag is Paul Hewitt. I saw N.C. State press his team the last three minutes of a game in which Tech was up by 14 and they looked worse than a junior high team. He called two or three timeouts and could still not get them to do what needed to be done. I guess he had not “taught” them what to do in practice. The practice court is like a classroom, so I would have to give him an “F” as a teacher. No one knew where to line up. No one knew what to do. It was unbelievable! He had all of these future NBA stars that looked like lost puppies. Paul Hewitt can recruit, but can’t coach! He would do well on the cover of GQ, but not on the sidelines.
Coach Paul Johnson can flat out coach! He can make adjustments during the course of the game and at half time better than anyone that I have seen. If he were able to get the same players that UGA gets, then all of the other teams would be in trouble. The only knock against him or his program is, does his offense really prepare his players for the pass first, run second philosophy of the NFL?
Coach Mark Fox can also really coach, just like Coach Paul Johnson. The real question will be whether he can recruit the level of players that will allow him to win the SEC or to do real well in the NCAA Tournament. He has shown lately that he may be able to do that, in getting a commitment out of Thornton and the kid from Greenville High School in Georgia. Once he gets it going, then the top recruits will hop on the bandwagon. So, I personally think that Coach Mark Fox will get it done big time at Georgia. How fast, will be determined by how fast he gets the “big time” recruits.
Coach Mark Richt is a great recruiter and a good coach. He is an even better person. He is the kind of person that you would want your son to play for. His strengths are recruiting and building personal relationships. Also, loyalty is one of his strengths. Loyalty to UGA, to his players, to his coaches, and to his family. However, like Bobby Cox in some situations, Coach Richt is sometimes loyal to a fault. Coach Martinez should have been gone a year or two earlier, but they had been great friends since their Miami days. Finally, however, it was obvious even to Coach Richt, that a change had to be made. Bobby Cox was so loyal to Kelly Johnson that Martin Prado was kept waiting in the wings for at least one year too long. Right now, Omar Infante should be starting somewhere. Let’s see, last week vs. the Mets in three games he got 4 hits, 3 hits, and 2 hits. Then Sunday night he gets 4 more hits. Bobby, like Coach Richt two years ago, needs to make a change, but he won’t because he is too loyal to certain people. Chipper, at this point in his career, needs to be the utility player, not Omar Infante.
So, the question was, do you take the two GT coaches or the two UGA coaches? Well, because Paul Hewitt can’t coach, you have to take the pair from UGA, even though Coach Paul Johnson is the best coach of the four!!!
RAMBLE ON!!!
July 20th, 2010
9:34 am
I’m voting present, like King Obama does.
You have to give the edge to UGAg though, since GT has the worst coach in the history of Men and Women NCAA sports in Paul Phewitt.
Bull Schmitt
July 20th, 2010
9:35 am
As a Tech fan, it’s a bit painful to pick the Marks over the Pauls. Johnson is the better football coach by a bit, but Fox appears to be a bit more capable then Hewitt. The Marks by a nose.
Paul "ManBoobs" Johnson
July 20th, 2010
9:35 am
ugaclassof2004 — Tech fans like that kind of coach because they can live vicariously through the bluster. Most of the Jacket Faithful (aka Hater Nation) grew up getting picked last, if at all. They had to watch the football games from the stands or wearing a band uniform, etc., So, when a coach at GT runs their mouth, these Hater Nation gets to feel like they are tough guys — even though they could never muster the courage to “punch” anyone in the nose.
jeff c.
July 20th, 2010
9:35 am
How can you all be so sure about Fox? Tell me what he has done. So far he has coached a team to 14 wins…congrats on that. Sure, he’s signed a few guys, but until they do anything, like go to the NCAA’s, I have to stick with Hewitt. The better topic would be to compare these coaches after their first 2 years at the respective schools…the answer would clearly be the 2 Paul’s.
jay dawg
July 20th, 2010
9:35 am
who cares what’s the bette combo? Not me since I don’t care about Bball.
My point of contention is that every journalist out there starting with the AJC’s finest tend to bash Richt in any form they can. How come you folks are the only ones that put Richt on the hot seat and not one dawg faithful tends to think he’s not even close. I’m arguing the fact that you said Johnson was the better of the 2 football coaches and I would take Richt any day of the week.
Ted M
July 20th, 2010
9:37 am
As good as P Johnson is he can’t overcome Hewitt’s ineptness.
JB
July 20th, 2010
9:38 am
Jeff, you evidently didnt watch UGA play, last season. Considering what he was left with, implementing the triangle and beating some of the folks he did… It was impressive.
If you don’t think Hewitt is very concerned, you’re clueless.
HBTD!!!
WonderDawg
July 20th, 2010
9:39 am
The difference is in the BB coaches. If Fox coached Hewitt’s players last year, who would beat that team?
PJ and CMR are a draw. If/when Richt gets his players’ off field underage drinking arrests under control, he pulls ahead of PJ, even while competing in a tougher league.
PawleysIslandJacket
July 20th, 2010
9:39 am
Not being able to “ticket split” protects Hewitt from getting zero votes. Johnson is better than Richt but hewitt is so bad that even GT fans would have to go with the Marx brothers.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 20th, 2010
9:39 am
“Which coaching pair is better: UGA’s Marks or Tech’s Pauls?”
They both suck equally.
Dannyboy
July 20th, 2010
9:42 am
Ha! I was actually thinking about the Marks/Pauls thing the other day!
As a purely biased GT guy here’s my amatuer assessment:
Richt: He does less with more, but hey, the dude still wins in the toughest conference in the nation.
Fox: He does more with less, but hey, he’s only done it for one year (don’t forget he came in last place)…let’s not get overly excited yet about star recruits (see Hewitt, Paul).
Johnson: He does way more with less (probably the best in the country at it >> NAVY!!!), but hey, the dude doesn’t like to wear socks! (sorry, couldn’t really think of a negative outside hiring Wommack in the first place…sorry, Dave)
Hewitt: He does way less with way more, but hey, if you had that much NBA talent coming and going you wouldn’t win either! Just look at Calipari at Kentucky…oh, nevermind…ahem…
1eyedJack
July 20th, 2010
9:43 am
I’ll take Sun Tan over Fish Fry and Fox over One-and-Done.
jeff c.
July 20th, 2010
9:45 am
JB, if memory serves, CPH took a clueless GT team that had not been to the NCAA’s in a few seasons to the dance in his first year. There was ZERO NBA talent on that team, and Fox was left with atleast 1, possibly 2 future NBA’ers. Bottom line is, everyone was on their knees for CPH after his first couple of seasons w/ GT. The reason he has that golden contract is becuase everyone was so high on him, and GT did not want to lose him. We’ll see if that happens with Fox…it might, but will UGA actually hold on to a hoops coach to build something?
Glory Glory
July 20th, 2010
9:45 am
MARK BRADLEY,
Could you PLEASE write an article in the next few weeks titled “Does Paul Johnson’s Triple Option Offense help or hurt players in the NFL’s eyes”
Your task us simple Bradley. I’m sure over the next few weeks you will have to s of access to Thomas Dimitrov (Dimitroff?), Mike Smith, and other Atl Falcons personel. Ask them the question straight up, and record a couple sentences from each. It would be a good article, and would be EXACTLY what YOU do on this website.. try to get a rise out of college sports die-hards.
Thanks Mark
Dannyboy
July 20th, 2010
9:46 am
Oh, sorry…I forgot to tell which combo I would pick. The Pauls…because they still have their Dan…as in their Athletic Director! (Sorry, cheap shot…but hey, it’s a GT/UGA thing)
Damon
July 20th, 2010
9:47 am
I say Coat-Knee has THE BEST PAIR of all of ‘em!
I Luh you, Coat-Knee!
[ Hiccup! ]
Pi$$onaDawg
July 20th, 2010
9:49 am
H-How
B-bout
T-them
D-Drunks
DING DING DING that ain’t the Icecream Truck in Athens it is the Beer Truck. Wear your Red Panties and the first Beer is free.
WonderDawg
July 20th, 2010
9:51 am
Objective Dawg, while I agree somewhat with your description of PJ, those same things can be said of Saben, Meyer, Spurrier and a few others. Very few of today’s great coaches can take losing with the grace and class of Bowden, Dooley, Dodd, and Bryant of yesterday. PJ fits into the former. Richt fits into the latter.
They all hate to lose, one group just cannot hide their displeasure.
wiley
July 20th, 2010
9:51 am
It’s hard to endorse anything with Hewitt but he has gotten Tech to the highest level in College basketball…the national championship game. He has also filled our program with premier talent but bball recruiting at Tech is easy. At other times though..his teams have looked hopeless. Fox hasn’t really accomplished anything yet so I can’t endorse him. I guess I’d have to go with the Pauls but GT bball is stuck in limbo until he is gone.
Ted M
July 20th, 2010
9:52 am
HBTD = Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstration
JB
July 20th, 2010
9:55 am
Jeff, do you really want to compare taking over an ACC hoop team vs what Fox got left with at UGA? Really?
HBTD!!!
Herschel Talker
July 20th, 2010
9:55 am
MB:
Paul Johnson >>> Mark Richt
Mark Fox >>> Paul Hewitt
Johnson is miles ahead of Richt. Fox is miles ahead of Hewitt. Combined, I’d give the slight edge to Richt and Fox, but just slightly. Let’s see how Richt does after all the changes.
HT
Bruce Mac
July 20th, 2010
9:55 am
As the biggest Bulldawg fan that ever lived it appears early on the Johnson is every bit as good as Richt. As for Mr. Fox it is way to early to say, but I like what I see from him and do not like the Hewitt’s teams play but he can recruit. So, I say it is a tie at this point.
Pi$$onaDawg
July 20th, 2010
9:56 am
Glory Glory why don’t you wait 2 years and see how Bay Bay and Dwyer do in the NFL. Opinions are great in the DRAFT but, like we all know many DRAFT Picks are a BUST. Those BUSTs were can’t miss guys in the EYEs of many Draft experts. Why doesn’t every team in college run a PRO STYLE Offence and Defense then. Players can just play no matter what.
Ted M
July 20th, 2010
9:57 am
If the Jackets get James Wilder, Jr. they’ll win a National Championship.
They won’t get him but they may still win a National Championship.
too easy
July 20th, 2010
9:57 am
Johnson & Fox do more with less….Richt and Hewitt do less with more.
WonderDawg
July 20th, 2010
10:00 am
SEC Fan = Furman Bisher
That Guy
July 20th, 2010
10:00 am
I agree with a few people on there. Paul Hewitt just took his team to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament and competed for an ACC Title. And Mark Fox took his team, well, to the cellar. And sure, you could make the argument that Georgia Tech has more talent and potential than Georgia does, and that they’ve underachieved. But isn’t that the same thing when it comes down to Georgia football? More talent, more potential, underachievers? Both teams play in the toughest conference for their respective sport, with the ACC winning 5 of the last 10 NCAA Championships, and the SEC winning 5 of the last 10 NCAA Football Championships. Paul Hewitt has made it to a national championship game, Mark Richt has not. Paul Hewitt has made it to two ACC title games, as has Mark Richt in his conference. So, I think a better question for this article is, who would you rather have? Mark Richt for your football team, or Paul Hewitt for your basketball team? I think Mark Richt has an edge in that category, but then let’s match up Mark Fox and Paul Johnson. Paul Johnson just won an ACC Championship and took his team to a BCS bowl game, and Mark Fox just finished last in the SEC. You tell me..
I’ll take the Pauls.
JB
July 20th, 2010
10:00 am
Ted – A NC???? Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You seem to forget that a team generally needs a D to do that.
BTW, Wilder bailed on his previously scheduled visit to Yech, so he could stay longer in Athens, just this past weekend.
HBTD!!!
Sam
July 20th, 2010
10:01 am
Putting Richt in your pair is like putting Michael Jordan or Warren Buffet in your pair in his prime.
Hmm, let’s see. Richt. 19 top 10 finishes in final polls in 24 years of coaching. Helped FSU finish in the top 5 final rankings 12 years in a row, Bowden had none before or after Richt. Richt’s got 4 consecutive top 10 finishes at Georgia, something Saban or Meyer have not been able to accomplish.
Yeah, uh, I’m going with ANY pair that has Mark Richt in it.
ManUp...
July 20th, 2010
10:02 am
Gotta disagree with the Dawg logic that since Paul Johnson got fat at Navy (he’s lost weight at Tech) he is somehow an embarrassment to our program. I say he’s darn good at his job. Fired the DC after a loss to the in-state rival and a championship win. That tells me his priorities are right and the standards are high.
While I’m aware Hewitt hasn’t won us anything in a while…I think he has at least one new assistant this season. He still recruits phenoms (although, yes, one-and-done’s are equal parts embarrassing and recruiting-friendly). I’ll take the Paul’s on good faith that change is good (in sports anyway).
Go Jackets!
Paul in RDU
July 20th, 2010
10:02 am
Ramble On – Hewitt is not the worse coach male or female in the history of NCAA sports. That honor goes to a former UGA assistant coach and former GT head football coach with the initials BL (even now I can’t say the name!)
ManUp...
July 20th, 2010
10:07 am
Oh yeah, also any coach that calls plays without a playbook, calls the in-state SEC rival “the other state school” and tells our fanbase to quit whining and “just punch them in the face” if barking bothers us along with creating one of the best-conditioned and best behaved teams in college football is FINE by me as a Jacket! I do wish he laid more emphasis on God, though. Heisman and Dodd had the boys in church twice a week.
wiley
July 20th, 2010
10:07 am
Love the analogy eastman jacket. This is probably a better question to ask after next years bball season. Fox had two legit NBA talents on last years team and still finished last. I understand the enthusiasm but talent does not mean everything…Hewitt looked great in the beginning but something changed. Fox could win the SEC or finish in last place again who knows. I have a wired feeling about GT basketball next year…felt the same way about the 2004 team. There are many parallels….such as losing a first round pick the year before and having solid guards…not necessarily 5 star talents…jack and Bynum weren’t super elite recruits. Maybe Shumpert, rice, Oliver and company can play the same kind of ball. We have 7 4 star players on the roster…we have enough guys to be decent down low too…I mean remember the big man we had in 2004? All we need us the 3 or 4 post players…depending on whether Sheenan returns…to score enough to allow our guards to get open looks. We are loaded at the Guard positions and I would not be surprised to see a 4 guard set for most games. College basketball is crazy who knows what could happen.
Pi$$onaDawg
July 20th, 2010
10:08 am
WHO will get more and/or better job offers? Johnson over Richt and Fox over Hewitt!
wiley
July 20th, 2010
10:08 am
is*
ManUp...
July 20th, 2010
10:10 am
wiley, what’s the situation with Sheehan?
haney
July 20th, 2010
10:11 am
I think ugaclassof2004 makes some very valid points, I think Donnan would have been more like the GT type coach, not politically correct but a good football coach in his own right. As for this debate, I would give the nod to the Mark’s but I am biased. I do have to say, I don’t see how Bradley can make the comment Johnson is the better football coach-yes, the man has won every where he has been but Ga Southern was set up for success via Erk, Johnson was good enough to keep the ball rolling. At Navy, he could only go up and the coach that took over from Johnson has kept the ship sailing along, you could say Johnson set that up like Erk did for him. At GT, he took over a program that Chan had built up-he had trouble beating UGA but Chan did a pretty decent job and recruited all the current talent for Johnson. After 2 years in, Johnson has not accomplished as much as Richt did after year 2 because Richt won the SEC title in year two AND won his bowl game. The next year Richt went back to the SEC title game and lost to eventual national champ LSU. He won another title in his 5th year. I have my doubts GT plays for the ACC title this year or the next or the next. He will likely have GT in the mix but his division is only getting tougher with Miami and UNC picking up and VT being strong every year.
As for hoops, the nod has to go to Hewitt just based on making the title game but certainly Fox has the potential to be a solid coach. I think the one element missing from UGA hoops has been having a coach that could keep the in state talent home, along with being a solid X and O guy. U Durham was a good coach but had trouble securing the in state talent year in and year out, Harrick was a GREAT basketball coach but he never was much a recruiter-his success was based on the Hayes transfers and a couple JUCO players, and Felton I don’t think was either a great coach or recruiter. One thing you can say about Hewitt is the man can recruit.
Bottom line to me, I think this debate is a wash. I would pick Mark Richt over Paul Johnson based on his tenure in Athens and playing in the MUCH tougher SEC. I would pick Hewitt over Fox just because Hewitt made the final 2 and he has recruited better for a longer stretch-plus the fact Fox only has one year in Athens.
Ted M
July 20th, 2010
10:11 am
Glory Glory – Um – Dwyer was drafted 856th because he absolutely sucked at the combine. He was virtually the very worst in every category. He was slow and weak; he only benched 225 16 times, there were players who weight 40lbs less that smoked him on the bench.
His draft position had nothing to do with CPJ system.
Dan
July 20th, 2010
10:11 am
JB – I’m not sure I’d say a one game sample size is representative.
WonderDawg
July 20th, 2010
10:11 am
Ted, while I admire PJ, I would think Tech’s next goal victory, any bowl victory. . .
WonderDawg
July 20th, 2010
10:13 am
……Tech’s next goal should be a bowl victory, any bowl victory. . .
Poor proof reading.
JB
July 20th, 2010
10:13 am
Two guys that WILL be legit NBA talent and then, can you name anyone else???
HBTD!!!
Ted M
July 20th, 2010
10:13 am
WonderDawg yep he does need to get that first bowl victory.
gadawgs
July 20th, 2010
10:16 am
What has CPJ actually done that makes him so good? He won a conference title in a very weak conference. Heck the two teams that played for their conference championship got beat by two teams that finished in the middle of the pack in the Southeastern Conference. If Tech played in the SEC they would lose on average 3 to 4 games per year. He won at Navy (tough sledding beating Army & Air Force) so what. He won at Georgia Southern so what (1-AA). That’s not big boy football. He will not be able to recruit the quality players to run his offense on a consistent basis. This is not the 70′ & 80’s anymore where college programs implement the veer, wishbone, triple option, etc… Football players today all think they will play on Sundays therefore they want to play in a pro style offense to better prepare themselves. The ones that do not end up playing on Sunday still want recognition, stats, ESPN top plays on Saturday night and they know they will have a better chance of getting all of that somewhere other than Tech. Not hating just stating facts.
ManUp...
July 20th, 2010
10:18 am
I think Tech fans should be optimistic about the bowls. We have been playing superior talent to the teams we were playing in bowls under Gailey, to be perfectly honest. Monster D’s. We’ll build the O-line and win ‘em in due time.