New coach tells Bulldogs’ linebackers: ‘Run to the ball and hit something’
ATHENS — Kirk Olivadotti’s father didn’t push him into the family business.
Quite the opposite.
“I had a suspicion when I was in high school what I wanted to do, but my father always told me he was going to punch me right in the face if I became a football coach,” Olivadotti said. “So I kind of kept it from him.”
The 37-year-old son of long-time NFL defensive coach Tom Olivadotti is Georgia’s new inside linebackers coach, hired on Feb. 18 from the defensive staff of the Washington Redskins. He spent last week settling into his new job, meeting his players and watching film of their games and practices. Late Friday afternoon, he chatted amiably about growing up as the son of a coach, following in his father’s footsteps and now making the move to Georgia:
The advice he got from his father upon revealing his career choice: “Well, first he tried to talk me out of it. And then once he realized that I was [committed to] it, the one thing he said was, ‘It’s not really a job. It’s a lifestyle.’ And that has proven true. At that point, I was a sophomore in college [at Purdue], so I didn’t really understand what he meant. But now I have a wife and two kids, and it is a lifestyle. It’s a family lifestyle that everybody has to be a part of.”
The nomadic coaching profession (his father was an assistant for five NFL teams): “I got lucky because I went to the same high school all four years [while his father was on the Miami Dolphins' staff]. My sister went to four different high schools. She kind of hit my dad in a transition period.”
First coaching job at Maine Maritime: “It’s a little Division III school . . . up in the Penobscot Bay [area of Maine]. . . . If you’ve ever seen ‘The Hunt for Red October,’ at the end when they hide the nuclear submarine, they can’t find it because they’re in Penobscot Bay. So it’s a real little town; nobody even thinks to look there.”
Keeping a job with the Redskins for the past 11 seasons through seven different head coaches (Norv Turner, Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs, Jim Zorn and Mike Shanahan): “They did have me pack my office up a couple of times, and then I was asked to come back in. It was luck a little bit. When Coach Schottenheimer came in, my dad had worked with Marty, so he at least knew my name. But I had to go interview just like everybody else in that situation. I broke a sweat in that interview. And when Coach Spurrier came in . . . probably I got that [job] because I kind of knew how to work everything in the building. . . . I was out of the building for six weeks before Coach Gibbs rehired me. . . . I mean literally packed up, boxes in my house.”
His decision to move from the NFL to UGA: “I’ve had a couple different [college coaching] opportunities come up over the years, but this one felt right. The timing was right, and my wife gave it the OK. . . . And once I came down here and saw everything, there was no doubt the University of Georgia wants to win football games. This is a great opportunity.”
His connection to Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham: “He worked with my old man with the Texans [in 2004], and we got to know each other then.” [An aside: If you're wondering, Tom Olivadotti is currently the defensive coordinator of the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks.]
First meeting with Georgia’s inside linebackers: “They’re going to run to the ball, and they’re going to hit something; that’s what I’ve told them. That was the first meeting that we did. I told them, ‘You play if you run to the ball and hit something.’ We’ll take it from there.”
The anticipated adjustment from coaching NFL players to coaching college players: “There’s going to be a difference. I remember when I was 20 years old. . . . But at the same time people are people. You’re going to have guys that are going to work their butts off; you’re going to have guys that you’re going to have to motivate, and you’re going to have guys that you have to always make it their idea in order for them to want to do it. Those are the different things that you do in life. I have to do it with my 3-year-old daughter.”
–Tim Tucker, AJC
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120 comments Add your comment
Destin Dawg
February 26th, 2011
12:11 pm
Buckeye !! did you see the High School all star football game between Ohio and Florida last year ???? Held in Ohio with home town refs… ALL the calls went against Florida… the game ended Florida crossing the goal line on 3 plays.. the ENTIRE pile of players ball and all in the End zone.. everybody waiting for TD signal… time ran out… ESPN.. said ” WOW those Refs are all LOCAL FOR SURE “” what a disgrace !!!
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
12:14 pm
Duck and Gravy
It’s nothing more than but PE (Program Envy)…..12-1 vs.6-7 be it football or womans software…….Where would you rather hang your hat??
198O is ssoooooooo last century.
CBS tommorrow 4PM. See what a # 1seed looks like, Bubble Boys.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
12:16 pm
Destin,
No, did not. Not into High School All-Star games. Sorry.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
12:17 pm
Destin,
Curious, did you land any of them for your “dream team”?
DAWG1980
February 26th, 2011
12:21 pm
HBO IS GOING TO AIR A SHOW IN MARCH, THAT WILL SHOW MORE PROOF ABOUT CECIL NEWTON SELLING HIS SON AND ALSO SCOT MOORE HEAR TAPES THAT PROVES, THAT CAM NEWTON KNEW HIS DADDY WAS SELLING HIM . YOU COULD HEAR CAM NEWTON IN THE BACKGROUND, WHEN CECIL NEWTON WAS SELLING HIS SON ON THE PHONE . SO THERE ARE TAPES OUT THERE,THAT PROVES CAM NEWTON DID KNOW. AUBURN PROBATION IS COMING. YOU THINK IT OVER?
Delusions of grandeur
February 26th, 2011
12:21 pm
Dawg fans back to having delusions of grandeur after going 6-7 and 8-5 the last 2 years. SOS where they talk about how great the new coaches are and blah, blah, blah. As bad as the east is they could possibly win the east with a 7-5 record. Then they would probably meet Bama or LSU in the seccg and get pounded into the Georgia Dome turf.
DawgIdiot
February 26th, 2011
12:25 pm
This guy has staying power. He’ll probably work for Grantham and the next head coach after Grantham. That should be good for 3 years before he has to find another job.
Delusions of grandeur
February 26th, 2011
12:26 pm
Ohio State may have had their troubles against the SEC but I’ld much rather be a buckeye- nationally elite progam that’s in the title chase every year than be a dawg fan. The bucks have a title as recently as 2002 and in the past decade have played USC and Texas in huge home and home contests. They’ve dominated their conference and rightly or wrongly have been in the national title disussion in most years. They’ve at least played in 3 bcs title games in the last 8 years winning 1 bcs title. The dawgs haven’t even finished in the regular season top 2 to earn a chance to play for the bcs title. You guys are a mid level regional program that is ok in most years, pretty good every once in a while, and pretty bad every once in awhile. But most years you’re just an average or slightly better than average team. What’s that- 2 conference titles in 30 years. Get outta here and shut up.
DawgIdiot
February 26th, 2011
12:28 pm
I heard he spent some time as a parole officer and having him on staff might be good for some of the student athletes at UGA.
Steve Superior
February 26th, 2011
12:30 pm
I hired you and now I am going to get you fired!
DawgIdiot
February 26th, 2011
12:31 pm
The Dawgs should be like the Bobby Cox Braves and claim championships when they finish first in the division. UGA could claim a championship every time they beat somebody like Ole Miss or Arkansas. Oh, wait! They lose to them now, don’t they? This new guy may be the answer. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Pago Pago Dawg
February 26th, 2011
12:32 pm
Can we just beat UF in Something?!?!
Marcus Lattimore
February 26th, 2011
12:32 pm
“Run to the ball and hit something?” I will leave it in the endzone for you to run into each other.
Doug
February 26th, 2011
12:36 pm
Yeah, heard the same stuff last year when new defensive coaches came in, team lost 2 more gaems than the year before.
New coaches ain’t gonna solve Richt’s problem.
Richt loses more games than the year before 7 out of last 8 seasons.
Assistant coaches havn’t mattered.
AltamahaDawg
February 26th, 2011
12:41 pm
Ah, I see. Not so much years of hearing THAT specifically, (although that is what you said, the LB coach says that every year) . You meant just a random combination of stuff you heard over the years, plus some stuff that you made up. Got it. Believe me, I raised a couple of teenage daughters. I know all about over-exaggeration in an emotional hissy fit. I’m on the same page now.
Tallcarl
February 26th, 2011
12:43 pm
Hey flat tire, maybe you should buy some new tires instead of the used ones you brother-n-laws gives you from his old truck. Maybe Cecil Newton will sell you some cheep. Get a job and get off your mama’s computer.
blah blah blah
February 26th, 2011
12:46 pm
its all talk.
let’s see what happens when it all matters this fall.
AltamahaDawg
February 26th, 2011
12:47 pm
I was thinking somebody needs to call his Daddy. I’m sure he is worried about his baby girl out there on the side of the interstate.
Terry
February 26th, 2011
1:11 pm
Enter your comments here
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:12 pm
Delusions,
Where have you been? I’ve been on my own here for a while. Glad to see you!
And, you didn’t even mention Buckeye Basketball vs. Bubble Boy wannabes!
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
February 26th, 2011
1:14 pm
Tallcarl
I guess your the Uga fan that sits behind me that loves to drink the Kool-aid this bunch keeps serving
You keep drinking the “Tall” glass of that kryptonite kool-aid Watergirl serves Tallcarl, and you will see once again another loss to FL and 2 losses to teams you should have beaten
(you know the same o’le crap we have seen for a decade its called I cant coach this team over the hump)
@delusions of Granduer
February 26th, 2011
1:14 pm
You are a complete idiot, go look up overall stats, yes Ohio State is ranked higher but you do play in the a very weak Big 10, since 1970 Ohio state is 2-10-1 when it has to step up and play SEC football. Over the same time period UGa is 7-0 against Big 10. All time bowl appearances UGA ranks 6th behind Alabama,Tennessee, Southern Cal, Texas, and Nebraska.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:14 pm
Coach says…………………………
Drive 99 yards in our first possession against UCF in the Liberty Bowl and line up for a FIELD GOAL.
That’s what Coach SAID.
Jim
February 26th, 2011
1:17 pm
Doug-
You hit it right on the head. New coaches mean old coaches like Belin & Searels thought Richt’s future didn’t look good for 2011 so they jumped ship. Florida did the same thing in 2009, you saw hopw all the new coaches turned out for Florida. Meyer’s worst year.
I was looking over Bruce Feldman’s latest chat and Richt’s name came up as a top 5 hotseat coach.
Richt just loses more games, every year. Richt isn’t capable of reversing the trend, we went from 11 wins in 2007 to 10 in 2008 to 8 in 2009 to 6 in 2010. Richt fails at every attempted fix.
The ship is going down.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:19 pm
@Delusions,
Who were you rooting for last years Sugar Bowl?
Who were your rooting for in the Rose Bowl the year before?
Oh, congrats on beating Hawaii. That was a true television ratings bonanza.
Are you a WDE, a Scam Newton, a Tree Poisner or a nameyourtown”dawg”?
Identify your allegiance. Don’t stand behind a conference.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:21 pm
@Delusions,
6th all time, huh. Does that include this past year’s Libery Bowl??
Jim
February 26th, 2011
1:22 pm
Telling the guys to ‘run to the ball’ and just arbitrarily “hit somebody’ isn’t the best coaching. You’re coaching your LB’s to be too agressive, making them vulnerable to wheel routes and screens, and play action. And just “hit somebody’ has to be the dumbest coaching I’ve ever heard. You need to know who to hit.
Buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:24 pm
Pago,
Sorry to see the Gym “dawgs” fall to UF. I hear Ladies softball is looking up this year.
stop the UGA(y) obsession
February 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
stupid ………. oh muy God he hit a tree and fell down. Coach yelled at him and player said but you told me to hit something……..duh, huh huh huh, I guess I need to go basketweaving class
@buckeye
February 26th, 2011
1:38 pm
buckeye , yes it does include this year, Big 10 is weak, slow football. A down year playing in the toughest conference in America is to be happens its over .Mighty Bukeyes record against SEC all time 4-11-1 record since 1896> UGA is 8-2 against the Big 10 since 1896. Go to a Northwestern,Purdue or Michigan Board and talk smack with teams you can actually beat more that 20% of the time.
JR
February 26th, 2011
1:39 pm
Richt loses more games than year before 90% of last 8 seasons.
Tank
February 26th, 2011
1:41 pm
Just because a coach stuck around at a lousy program for 11 years, and never won nothing big, don’t mean much except he can’t win games.
Tank
February 26th, 2011
1:48 pm
Redskins LB’s were easily beat on cut back runs due to over-agression. NY Giant’s ran all over them with cut back run after cut back run.
Thomson
February 26th, 2011
1:51 pm
Tank-
You can stop cut back runs with a 4-3 over, or blitz packages, also dime defense works well. Grantham will be ready if teams try that on Georgia.
kb
February 26th, 2011
1:52 pm
JR , thats a pretty useless stat , 8 top 25 finishes, #10 twice, #6 twice, #3 twice, 3 SEc east Titles, 2 Sec titles, winning record over every Sec opponent except Florida. 10 consecutive bowl appearances. 3 BCS bowls. 1 bad year , get over , move on.
Tank
February 26th, 2011
1:54 pm
The 3-4 is vulnerable to cut back runs, remember the Vikes and Bengals did to Baltimore a while back, in back to back games? It was all cut back runs. Olivadotti sounds weak for this same trap.
JR
February 26th, 2011
1:56 pm
Richt better stop the lose mroe games than they year before trend or he’ll be fired in 2011.
Bus
February 26th, 2011
2:07 pm
Redskins had the #27 ranked run defense in 2010. SEC teams will run all over Olivadotti’s LB’S.
Enjoy !
February 26th, 2011
2:34 pm
Yep make that one year stint in Athens a fun one coach ! Cuz next year its adios !
Terry
February 26th, 2011
2:42 pm
Mark Richt first ten years as Head Coach
Georgia
8-4, 13-1, 11-3, 10-2, 10-3, 9-4, 11-2, 10-3, 8-5, 6-7
Nick Saban first ten years as Head Coach
Toledo – Michigan State – LSU
9–2, 9–2, 6–5–1, 6–6, 7–5, 6–6, 9–2, 8–4, 10–3, 8-5
Stephen “Steve” Orr Spurrier first ten years as Head Coach
(Tampa Bay Bandits) – Duke – Florida
(11-7, 14-4, 10-8), 5-6, 7-3-1, 8-4, 9-2, 10-2, 9-4, 11-2
Leslie Edwin “Les” Miles first ten years as Head Coach
Oklahoma State – LSU
4-7, 8-5, 9-4, 7-5, 11-2, 11-2, 12-2, 8-5, 9-4, 11-2
meltdowns galore
February 26th, 2011
2:51 pm
Fire Dave Perno !
Wes
February 26th, 2011
3:06 pm
Terry you did not mention the National Championships the other coaches have under their belt. Richt has never played for one. Good record but not enough to be one of the best. Georgia is turning into South Carolina.
UA
February 26th, 2011
3:07 pm
WOW That new coach sounds like a deep thinker.
Pago Pago Dawg
February 26th, 2011
3:15 pm
Word on the street…..Ohio State wanted to bench those 5 thugs, but…the bowl people told them no.
RabidDawgFan
February 26th, 2011
3:22 pm
That’s the only thing that worries me, over-agression and over-pursuing the play. You can’t let that happen. If you see a RB running to this side, slow down, slightly keeping your aggression and make the tackle; but the reason for the slowing down is if he tries to cut back by you. If your going too fast he can make one move and your on the ground wondering where he went. Can’t let that happen.
AltamahaDawg
February 26th, 2011
3:35 pm
This guy had no idea what he was in for. I’m sure he never realized he had moved to a town where everybody could instantly diagnose his entire coaching philosophy from a single offhanded remark.
tom
February 26th, 2011
3:48 pm
Not sure if he knew the beat writer would make an off hand remark seem so stupid.
@bus
February 26th, 2011
3:51 pm
lets look at where the redskins were ranked when he was the linebackers coach.
In 2009, Olivadotti tutored a pair of linebackers to their first Pro Bowl: 12-year veteran London Fletcher and rookie Brian Orakpo.
Fletcher led the Redskins in tackles with 172 and added two sacks, one interception, and 10 passes defended. He eclipsed the 100-tackle mark for the 11th consecutive season.
Orakpo became the first Redskins defensive rookie to make the Pro Bowl since the 1970 merger. He finished with 60 tackles, 11 sacks, one forced fumble and two passes defended. He led all rookies in sacks and set the Redskins’ franchise rookie record, surpassing the previous mark of six by Dean Hamel (1985) and Andre Collins (1990).
In 2008, Olivadotti’s linebackers played a pivotal role in Washington ranking fourth overall in yards allowed per game (288.8), sixth overall in points allowed per game (18.5) and eighth overall in rushing yards allowed per game (95.4 yards).
The previous year, in Olivadotti’s first season as linebackers coach, the Redskins finished eighth in the NFL in overall defense (305.3 yards per game) and fourth in the league in overall rush defense (91.3 yards per game).
Throughout his NFL coaching career, Olivadotti has worked with some of the best defensive minds in the NFL, including Ray Rhodes, Marvin Lewis, Gregg Williams and Greg
tom
February 26th, 2011
3:55 pm
the linebacker can not be any worse
Reed
February 26th, 2011
6:41 pm
Odd that none of the 7 head coaches that went through Washington was impressed enough with Olivadotti to bring him with them when they moved on.