Visits with UGA staff sold Oklahoma’s Stoops on hiring Willie Martinez
OK, it’s official now: Oklahoma has confirmed the hiring of Willie Martinez, the deposed Georgia defensive coordinator, as its defensive backs coach.
And Bob Stoops, Oklahoma’s head coach who is known as a defensive guru, seems pretty thrilled about it.
“Willie is an outstanding coach and someone with a tremendous background in our profession,” Stoops said in a statement. “His experience is very impressive, and he will contribute a lot of very good things to our program. And not only is he a fine secondary coach, he’s a good recruiter with ties in Florida and a number of other places.”
Stoops traced his interest in hiring Martinez to past visits with the UGA coaching staff.
“Our staffs had been together exchanging ideas, and I was impressed with Willie,” Stoops said. “In those meetings, you not only get a feel for how well someone knows the game, but their ability to communicate and interact with other people, and Willie was a guy that represented himself and his school very well.”
Martinez seems happy, too, judging from his comments in Oklahoma’s announcement:
“Bob [Stoops] has won so many games and so many championships there that I am just very humbled to be part of that staff. . . I love history and tradition and I go back to my childhood and that Oklahoma name was just always the tops. And it still is, thanks to what Bob and his staff have done.
“I’ve known Bob back to his K-State days, and I’ve known all of those guys on the defensive side of the ball. It’s an outstanding group of men, and that’s what makes this such an attractive job. . . . Bob’s experience with defensive backs is something that I really like, and I want him being around us in practice. His input is invaluable, but his presence also is a sign to our players that there is a good emphasis on our position.”
Oklahoma pointed out Martinez’s record of producing NFL defensive backs, noting that over the past seven years ten of his DB’s at Georgia have been selected in the NFL draft.
Martinez, fired by Georgia on Dec. 2, reportedly was hired last week by Stanford as its defensive backs coach but had a change of heart when the Oklahoma job was offered.
A few other notes:
– Mark Richt confirmed Wednesday the long-rumored move of Richard Samuel from tailback to linebacker. He’ll be at the new position in spring practice.
– As for Logan Gray, long rumored to be considering a shift from quarterback to wide receiver, Richt said the latest word is that Gray will start spring practice still at QB.
– And now that Signing Day is done, thought you’d want to know the dates for spring practice: It starts with the first practice session on March 4, resumes (after spring break) with the second practice on March 16, then 12 more practices before the G-Day Game on April 10.
– If you missed it, here’s the wrapup on Wednesday’s actions by the UGA Athletic Board: approval of a new five-year contract for Damon Evans and of spending $21.3 million on construction projects at Stegeman Coliseum and Sanford Stadium.
Please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
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83 comments Add your comment
Sanford Drive
February 4th, 2010
2:18 pm
He’ll be perfect for OU. They don’t play D in the Big 12 anyway.
Dawgfaninmich
February 4th, 2010
2:22 pm
Any news on the rehab of Trinton Sturdivant
pi$$onatechie
February 4th, 2010
2:24 pm
One thing I know for sure Willie was terrible at Georgia, even as DB coach he was mediocre at best, Im very happy he is gone. Many openings at SEC schools and they didnt want him either, go figure
Mike
February 4th, 2010
2:26 pm
Magic Man, two things: 1. Willie was at UGA when Sean Jones was here and he did a fine job to coaching that guy up. 2. Paul Oliver was one of the most highly recruited DBs in his class who should have started over DeMario Minter from Day 1.
gss303
February 4th, 2010
2:45 pm
It is a win win for everyone involved…best of luck.
AWJ
February 4th, 2010
3:29 pm
Magic Man…Paul oliver was the highest rated DB in the country coming out of high school…and the 9th overall player in the country, regardless of position…I would say that is VERY highly touted..
http://rivals.yahoo.com/uga/football/recruiting/player-Paul-Oliver-8619
ga gator
February 4th, 2010
3:41 pm
Willie wasnt the problem.
trey
February 4th, 2010
4:19 pm
I suggest the Bugs worry about their own 46th nationally ranked class (LMAOO) and let us worry about the dawgs.
This is a perfect fit for Martinez because they are more interested in offensive schemes.
Gray as QB? Very interesting.
Borodawg
February 4th, 2010
4:47 pm
Great hire by Stoops. Best of look coach Martinez.
Some of you know-it-alls and Mondy morning QBs may have contributed to some of the Dawgs decommits and dropping out of the top 10 in recruiting. Believe it – HS players, coaches and parents read these blogs. One parent interviewed said as much and that he showed an idiotic, negative blog to his son; who subsequently changed his commitment. It wasn’t UGA; just trying to make a point.
fayncdawg
February 4th, 2010
5:01 pm
Jacketfan is obviously the pot calling the kettle black. Maybe their terminated DC will be an assistant to the assistant DB coach at Georgia State!
Without-a-clue
February 4th, 2010
5:03 pm
I’m really pleased that Willie got such a good job and one he is apparently happy to have. I think he will do well and I join others in wishing him well.
Without-a-clue
February 4th, 2010
5:10 pm
As for those who read blogs such as this and take it to heart: If they can’t separate the wheat from the chaff…well, that is a part of the University learning experience.
Steve
February 4th, 2010
5:17 pm
Good move for CWM. He will learn under Stoops and don’t be surprised to see him as a DC in about three years. He will be on a winning team and winning breeds success.
74Dawg
February 4th, 2010
5:24 pm
robodawg, demotions like that never work. You have a guy who has been stepped down working for a guy in his old job. Major clusterf. Speaking of which,where is Sonny, haven’t heard from him lately.
Flyin' Dawg
February 4th, 2010
5:35 pm
Willie Martinez Fan- I am sure Bobo is responsible for every turnover the offense had during the season. It had nothing to do with Joe Cox and trying to find a running game. Idiot.
As for CWM, good luck at OU. This is simply a move for the recruiting. If there was one thing he did well, it was recruit.
CWM was always a liability for the defense. When CBVG was here, the DE’s and DT’s were in the backfield on every play and it kept the pressure off of the DB’s. Anyone who knows what they are talking about will understand that a soft cover two will never work without pressure from the DE’s on every play. With three quality DB’s it still didn’t work. Most of your arguments for CWM are that he had great DB’s in the backfield. Then why were they getting burnt on every play? I’ll tell you why, they didn’t know their assignments. That is coaching folks. plain and simple. I was a CWM apologist up until last season. I finally saw the light and the bowl game this year just proved I was right. The Dawgs played with more intensity in that one game than they had all year on D.
HOUDAWG
February 4th, 2010
5:53 pm
Best of luck to Willie ………
WM Fan — tend to agree with many points. CWM’s D was hog-tied by all the T/O’s of the O.
Thinking IF we come close to T/O ratios from the past two years , Bobo would be next. For everybody’s sake , let’s cut ‘dem T/O’s by about 2/3 … or more.
Einsteindawg
February 4th, 2010
5:57 pm
I’m happy for Willie and wish him good luck. Willie is like a consultant. A consultant is a person who knows 115 ways to make love, but doesn’t know any women…he acts and talks like he knows what he’s doing, but in reality, doesn’t have a clue. Just my opinion. Peace.
Standing on the sidelines
February 4th, 2010
6:07 pm
They say every story has two sides. Concerning his firing by erstwhile “good buddy” Mark Richt, I have heard everybody’s side of the story as to why he got fired, but Willie’s. I, for one, would be interested in hearing what Willie has to say.
Gdawg
February 4th, 2010
6:14 pm
Who cares?
Garrett Gilbert
February 4th, 2010
6:59 pm
I can’t wait to torch OU’s secondary for the next 3 years. Willie Martinez- you’re my whipping boy now!
UGAVIII
February 4th, 2010
7:59 pm
I agree somewhat with Willie Martinez Fan. Although, I wasn’t a big fan of CWM’s zone defenses, I also believe the defense took the blame in many games where the offense was horrible. I would really like to know what qualifies Bobo to be a D1 offensive coordinator. His game plans are a joke and the offense seems poorly coached. If the offense plays as poorly this year, Grantham won’t be able to save them with a new, complicated 3-4 defense. Even the mighty Saban struggled at Alabama the first year. Remember the lost to Louisiana Monroe?
Good luck to Willie Martinez.
Louie Jr.
February 4th, 2010
8:12 pm
Louie?
RomeDawg
February 4th, 2010
8:13 pm
I would have felt a lot better about Willie had he not quit on the team before the bowl game. He was given the option to coach the game, with pay, and he didn’t. I hope every recruit that he speaks to about commitment and teamwork knows that. Fact is, he SUCKED! And for all of you guys defending him because of poor offense, take a look at the 5 year reign under him. Each year was worse than the previous. Good luck and remember, Bob wasn’t your college “buddy” and he is gonna fire that arse if you screw up as badly there as you did here.
Normal Dawg
February 4th, 2010
8:17 pm
Buzz 22- Why do you care about our record against Flawda? But if you want to go in that direction, what is the jackets record against FSU. Yeah, might not want to go there…
Buckhead Bulldog
February 4th, 2010
8:24 pm
RomeDawg: Ouch! Straight to the point, eh?…..So true!
Louie
February 4th, 2010
8:40 pm
Well, where do I start.
I hope we can converse WITHOUT the nasty name calling tonight.
Has anyone heard from jackhammer?
With that out of the way, speaking of CWM, I think he was given a raw deal in Cow town.
With the degression of mutt recruiting over the years,compounded with dropouts, arrests,and in general poor upper level coaching, the program’s direction was a no brainer.
HE WAS A SCAPEGOAT !!!!!
Look where the man is today. Watch what he does with superior upper tier coaching with Bob Stoops.
You num-mutts will be scratching your arses when OKLAHOMA rises to the top again with a man retrieved out of a doggie dumpster.
STILL L M F A O
hind tit
February 4th, 2010
10:14 pm
it’s amazing when people like ga gator says willies not the problem. it’s troubling when you get ride of an automatic 3 touchdown advantage for the team you pull for.
Win P
February 5th, 2010
6:04 am
Stoops must feel the UGA defensive stats for the last two years are like recuits’ ratings. He had to hire Willie for his recuiting ability and not his defensive stats at UGA. UGA managed to win the majority of games played, but it sure was painful to watch. Hope it works out for both.
Andy
February 5th, 2010
1:04 pm
Richard Samuel Will Shine
THWGT
February 6th, 2010
8:08 pm
Just like a STUPID ASS GT fan.wants to talk about what another teams record is vs UGA instead of what GT’s record is vs UGA.
G E O R I G A T E C H S U C K S.
THWGT
February 6th, 2010
8:12 pm
For a fan base that likes to brag about how smart you have to be to go to Georgia Tech, I truly believe you are the dumbest S.O.B.’s on earth.
6 POINTS IS A BEATDOWN !!!
February 7th, 2010
8:40 pm
To ; thwgt
THWG !!!!
Tdawg
February 8th, 2010
10:19 pm
Just in case you boys missed it….how ’bout the UGA men’s tennis team’s record vs. Tech since 1969….50-1. I’m still ticked off about that 1.