Archive for January, 2010

Well, I thought this might be a good time to look up from the defensive-coordinator search and take note of some other interesting things happening in Bulldog Nation this week.

Tonight, in men’s basketball, it’s Georgia vs. Georgia Tech at Stegeman Coliseum. It’ll be Mark Fox’s first foray into the rivalry, and the Bulldogs will be trying to keep alive their streak of having not lost to the Yellow Jackets in Athens since . . . Nov. 26, 1976. Of  course, for many of the intervening years (14), the game was played annually at Atlanta’s Omni (remember the Omni?) But since the series returned to campus sites in the 1995-96 season, the home team has won all but one game: Georgia’s 75-70 win at Tech on Dec. 6, 2000.  The Dogs are 12-0 against Tech in Athens since the 1976 loss.

This season’s meeting comes two days before spring-semester classes begin at UGA — and four days before the Dogs begin SEC play.

“It’s on a date where our students aren’t back yet; it’s right before league …

Continue reading Dogs and Jackets at Stegeman »

Don’t be surprised if linebacker Rennie Currran and safety Reshad Jones –- both juniors — announce their decisions regarding the NFL draft in the next few days.

Spring-semester classes start at Georgia on Thursday, and underclassmen considering the draft, especially those entering the draft,  generally like to make their decisions known before that point. Indeed, even though the NFL deadline for underclassmen to enter the draft is Jan. 15, Curran said last week that Jan. 7 –- the start of classes –- would be a factor in his timetable. He said he’d meet first with his family and then with coach Mark Richt.

“I’ve . . . basically just talked to [Curran and Jones] about having a chance to sit down together – just trying to iron those things out,” Richt said late last week.

Curran and Jones haven’t said what their decisions will be, but many around the program have felt for some time that they’re headed to the draft. In Curran’s case, the reasons include finances (he has …

Continue reading Curran, Jones and the NFL draft »

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, whom many Georgia fans would love to see in the same job in Athens, made a rare appearance before the media today and said he is “looking forward” to being with the Crimson Tide again next season.

Smart, who like other Alabama assistant coaches is normally kept off-limits to the media by head coach Nick Saban,   was made available at a news conference advancing Thursday’s  BCS national championship game.

According to this Mobile Press-Register report from the news conference in southern California, Smart did not categorically deny interest in Georgia’s open defensive coordinator position, although that might have been because he wasn’t directly asked about it.

Here is some of what Smart did say at the press conference, according to the Press-Register:

“It’s been great. It’s been great having these players and doing this, and I’m looking forward to it next year. I mean, we’ve got a lot of good players coming back. We’re losing a lot …

Continue reading Kirby Smart: ‘looking forward’ to next season with Tide »