UPDATED: What happened to change direction of Georgia football?
The most significant change in the last four years has been Mark Richt's decision to relinquish offensive game-planning and play-calling duties. (AP photo)
I’m not sure how many people were watching College GameDay this past Saturday morning and saw the piece they aired on the Georgia football program. It was titled, “Discontent in Georgia” and I was among the individuals interviewed for it. Here’s A LINK to the video clip if you haven’t seen it.
But the real fireworks, I thought, came in the ensuing debate among the College GameDay panel, including regulars Lee Corso, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit and a new castmember named David Pollack, who some of you may have heard of.
In any case, it didn’t paint a very pretty picture of the direction of the Bulldogs’ football program, and that was before they went out and lost to South Carolina 45-42 on national TV. I thought it could have been a little more balanced — surely they could have found some folks that would have defended head coach Mark Richt — but the general theme was that Georgia fans are unhappy with the way things are going and want a coaching change. That’s what set off the debate among the GameDay guys.
The problem when you do television interviews for something like this is, typically, they ask you questions for 15-20 minutes and they may use 30 seconds of what you say. That was the case here and that’s fine. I knew that going in.
But one of the things they asked me about that didn’t make the airwaves was what I thought had taken place that precipitated Georgia’s downturn. It was a tough question and, honestly, one that I kind of struggled with. But after rattling it around in my brain for awhile, I came up with the best answer I could at the moment.
The only thing I could think of that changed from 2007, when the Bulldogs won 11 games, to 2008-10, when they won 10 then 8 then 6, was Richt relinquishing control of offensive game-planning and play-calling responsibilities.
If you recall, it was after the Georgia Tech game at the end of the 2006 regular season that we found out that Richt discreetly turned over those duties to quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo for that contest. Bobo also handled the responsibility in the bowl game and, after being bestowed the title of offensive coordinator in 2007, has been in charge of the offense ever since.
Now this is not to say I think Bobo’s offensive strategies have been the reason for Georgia’s demise. That was not and is not my point. In fact, Bobo’s offenses on average have actually out-gained (387.21-377.76 ypg) and out-scored (31.28-28.13 ppg) Richt’s. It has more to do with the resulting fundamental change in the way Richt directed the program as head coach.
Think about that for a minute. For 11 years before Richt came to Georgia, he was quarterbacks coach and/or offensive coordinator at Florida State, which happened to finish in the Top 5 nationally every one of those years. For the majority of that time, he was game-planning and play-calling for the Seminoles. Then he comes to Georgia in December of 2000 and, after doing calling the national championship game with FSU, he hits the recruiting trail for the Bulldogs and assumes the same offensive responsibilities at UGA in addition to being head coach.
That goes on through the 2006 season, when he finally entrusts the Xs and Os to somebody else. It was an exhausting run, I’m sure.
But again, more than not calling all the offensive shots, this represented a profound change in how Richt went about his business, both on a weekly and daily basis all the way down to game management. That must have had some sort of effect on the way things have gone.
Anyway, I’m not sharing all this to say I’ve figured anything out. This is much more of an observation than it is a hypothesis. But it’s something I’ll continue to look into going forward. And, of course, there are so many other aspects that go into running a college football program. Evaluation, recruiting, coaching, training, injuries, academics, luck, they all have something to do with it.
But that’s what I’m asking you guys today. Here is the cold reality: Georgia is off to an 0-2 start this season. It is 14-14 overall (12-14 vs. FBS) and 7-10 in the SEC since the 2009. So, what do you think happened?
UPDATE: I asked Coach Richt at his presser Tuesday what he would point to as the main reason for the recent downturn. Here’s what he said:
“Last year we went through all that, and we talked about things that are a year old. Those are old. This season is the only thing I’m really concerned about, and obviously, we turned the ball over. Not only were they turnovers, they were turnovers for points. I guess there was five yards they had to track one time. Our defense basically gave up 17 points to a pretty darn good football team. They had no responsibility for the fake punt, the pick six or the fumble for a touchdown. They could have stopped them on the five yard line going in. Sudden change – that’s their job to turn it into a field goal. We just gave that one away.”
– Chip Towers
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734 comments Add your comment
RamblinRed
September 13th, 2011
8:51 am
Actually you can trace the decline back to a single game – Florida 2007.
While UGA won the game, it was a Pyrrhic victory. By encouraging the players to run onto the field the coaching staff lost some discipline it has never been able to restore.
Before the game UGA seldom beat itself. Since that game it routinely does. Since that game TO are up over 50% and penalties are up around 90%. Those are the kinds of plays that cause losses.
RamblinRed
Bobcat
September 13th, 2011
8:52 am
Yesterday I read an article that stated that we were thinnest at the LB position. Preseason articles were worried about RB’s. The only possible solution was Samuels (22) to flip-flop from RB to LB to RB and now possibly LB again. This summer articles about the OL stated this was our weakest area. However, our DB’s are consistently ranked near the bottom of performance ratings. Our receiving corps has hands of stone and drop balls when they are wide open. Yet, for the last 5 or 6 years I have been reading that UGA’s recruiting classes are ranked in the top 5 of the nation.
With all of these short falls my questions is this, “WHERE ARE ALL OF THESE TOP RECRUITS?” The performance on the field does not indicate we have the ‘cream of the crop’. We are usually out performed by most other teams with seemingly less talent. Our wins, or the lack thereof, paint a much bleaker picture. Our past recruiting classes have given the false hope that UGA would be competitive on the field.
My opinion is we are recruiting individuals with raw talent and no heart or team skills; therefore, we get out played. Also, the kids we recruit are self-promoting and are using the school to make early leaps to the NFL. It’s very sad that many of these young men are unable to handle the academics and so we loose a recruit. Also, we have coaches that do not know how to mold these young men into team players
WTF
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
Im sick and tired of hearing this nonsense. UGA has the worst fans in the SEC and possibly the nation. When has UGA ever been a year in year out power other than 80-83 and the first 7 Richt years? The success has always been scattered here and there. But yet every year UGA fans want the SEC and national champ. Its good to hope people but make it realistic. You ar talking about firing THE BEST COACH UGA HAS EVER HAD. Look at the numbers. To win consistently you must have talent (UGA does), good team chemistry( Uga has not had but is better this year) and most importantly luck (Uga has had zero the last three years). This is a young team folks.I beleive the cancers are gone and the boys that are there want to be and want to win worse than we want them to. This hasnt always been the case, but thats what you get with all the entitled recruits. Just relax people. Does anyone remeber the Goff and Donnan years. I do.
Buzz2011
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
Yesterday, life was such an easy game to play!
rpidge
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
I truly believe Mark Richt is a very good, honest person that would be an asset to the University in a different capacity, say an Assistant Athletic Director with some recruiting responsibilities. However it is past time that we hire a head coach and allow him to complete his own staff with the understanding that performance in terms of Ws and Ls and how Georgia competes will determine is longevity with the program. The search should begin now and do not leave one stone unturned including the Spurrier stone. I’ve never been a Spurrier fan but his success in college football speaks for itself.
hike!!!
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
I think the SEC is much better now than it was thru 2005. Saban, Meyer and Miles all came to the SEC and won NC and Spurrier @ SC has improved the SEC EAST.
Richt played with Donnan’s recruits the first 4 or 5 years when he had the most success. These factors, combined with the loss of Van Gorder are the reasons for the “downward slide” IMO.
If I am right, the “slide” will continue.
Gay Dawg
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
UGA does not do moral victories. You either beat coccks or you don;t!
JB
September 13th, 2011
8:53 am
While the rest of the SEC was looking at sexy imports( hiring great assit coach’s) Richt was out looking at used Buick’s ( Martinez, Lactose, Friend) Geez.
Joe
September 13th, 2011
8:54 am
The BIGGEST reason for the slide hands down is when Van Gorder left!! Thats when the defense went from a top 15-20 defense in the country to top 100!!
Jeffro Bodeen
September 13th, 2011
8:54 am
All we ever hear about is how long it takes to learn the system at UGA or how complicated the sysytem is at UGA…..HELLO…this might be a wakeup call, but we ain’t dealing with the cream of the academic crop here!! Dumb this S*** up a bit and maybe they can unclinch their butts long enough to relax and play football!! It’s obvious the players are more worried about making a mistake in their scripted actions than they are focused on making a play on the ball!! Give these dumb jocks a chance to be the athletes they ARE, not the athletes that Richt THINKS they should be. I know the NFL loves to see UGA players come draft time….at least THEY seem to be able to figure out how to use them correctly on that level. Oh yeah….BOBO GOTTA GO-GO!!!!
JB
September 13th, 2011
8:54 am
Damn Gay Dawg, don’t believe I’d said that brother.
I have a peace about it
September 13th, 2011
8:55 am
I like your attitude Elliott.
You can’t blame us coaches for the player’s poor fundamentals. You can blame the Refs for every loss. I won’t agree with you in public, but I’m pleased on a personal level that you are willing to believe that. You seem to have a peace about it, and I think that is a good attitude to have.
CMR
JoeFann
September 13th, 2011
8:55 am
It’s the defense AND the OL. Admittedly, SEC offenses have changed a lot in 10 years, but now the defense regularly gives up 30+ points, where that was once unheard of. Evidence also the lower numbers of NFL draft picks from our OLs. The current OL is the most veteran group of under-achievers I can remember at UGA. Maybe that was Searles’ coaching, maybe Garner’s recruiting. Remember that Richt is an offensive coach, and his recruiting has largely been focused on that side of the ball.
That said, I saw fire and planning from the defense on Saturday–for the first time in a long time. The Dawgs played hard enough to win, just not well enough. Remember that the defense only gave up 17 points to 12th rated USCe. 28 points were given up by the offense (pick 6, fumble 6, and a 50-yd fumble return to the 5 yard line) and special teams (fake punt 6.) Defensively, that’s good enough to win. Even Spurrier agreed. Offensively, until you can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball consistently, controlling the clock and resting your defense, you cannot consistently win in the SEC. Dink and dunk only works until on third and three, you drop a pass or have it tipped. You MUST be able to convert, and that’s all about the OL.
It’s a young team, except for the OL and kickers. They WILL get better. They’ll learn how to win. I think the defense will be fine. We’ve got skill players on offense, but the foundation is weak. For the time being, step back from the ledge. This week, I’m encouraged. (And look at the upcoming schedule.)
Go Dawgs!
guy
September 13th, 2011
8:55 am
CMR didn’t throw that interception,fumble the ball,or wasn’t offsides on the onsides kick.Maybe we do need a change but there better be some depth developed no matter who the coach is. The first thing I’d do is relieve Garner and make Bobo the quarterback coach.CMR should call the majority of the plays and those that don’t like it could hit the road.I still believe that when a team scores 42 points,it should never lose.When Van Gorder left the whole defense began to weaken.The bright spot is that UGA outplayed SC.The sad part is we are still 0-2.
Boise Dawg
September 13th, 2011
8:55 am
Georgia’s success early in Mark Richt’s tenure was due to strong defense and had much less to do with David Greene and the Georgia offense. Take a look at Georgia’s offense record for the entire Richt tenure and you will see the highest the offense has ever ranked is 25th nationally and it has only been ranked that high twice. The program began to slide after VanGorder left because the defense for the most part got much worse. 2007 was the only year under Martinez were the defense looked good and it wasn’t until about mid season did they hit their stride.
What prevented Richt and UGA from winning a BCS title in those earlier years was an inconsistent offense….. for most of those years we had a championship caliber defense. Now we seem to have neither.
Scrapdawg
September 13th, 2011
8:56 am
This slide also coincides with the Dawgs playing better competition early in the season and also playing out west. I think we don’t have time to work out the kinks against cupcakes early that could prepare you for the rest of the season against the other SEC teams.
Bob Spencer
September 13th, 2011
8:57 am
When richt was calling plays at FSU he had 2 games a year where he did not take the field with A talent vs. his opponents C talent. Anyone with average playcalling ability could have looked good in a conference where his only opponent year after year was Miami. NC State? Md? Virginia? Clemson? UNC? Georgia Tech? Wake Forest? Look at their rankings at the end of the years that Richt was the OC at FSU. When he came to UGA that changed. He no longer had talent that much better than his opponents.
gdawginkalamazoo
September 13th, 2011
8:57 am
The frustrations following the Boise game couldn’t be helped. Everybody was disappointed. I was curious as to how the team would respond for the SC game. If Richt had lost them then SC would have won by 45. He hasn’t lost the team, the team hasn’t quit and things will be a lot better from here forward. The team played extremely well and with pride and with desire. Sure there were the 3 bad mistakes but those kids played hard and they played to win. It is unfortunate that we didn’t get two cream puff teams to get everybody acclimated to the playbook and just getting into the groove in general. We just aren’t that experienced. Especially compared to Boise and SC. The offense seemed to mix it up better against SC than it did Boise and they performed well.
I think we get a breather this week and ramp it up against Ole Miss then off to the races against the meat of the SEC race. 2nd in the east is for sure 1st if SC slips up a couple of times.
Go Dawgs!
JB
September 13th, 2011
8:57 am
WTF……..” UGA has the worst fans”……..and now possibly, the worst coach I’m afraid, just looking at results………..Now, he’s probably the best “man”, but coach, not proving it.
Gay Dawg
September 13th, 2011
8:58 am
Say what JB. I am tired of UGA fans saying its okay to almost beat teams.
Frank Lane
September 13th, 2011
8:58 am
I think that it may be Richt’s delegation, and doing too little himself.
Matt
September 13th, 2011
8:58 am
I think that the situation is nailed perfectly here. When Richt started, he did not have to worry about the defense because he had the best assistant coach in the nation running things. He could focus more on the offense and what needed to be done to put points on the board and know that the defense would take care of things. When Van Gorder left, Richt begant o realize that things were taking a downward spiral and sugarcoated the message to the UGA nation taht he wanted to have a more “hands on” approach to the whole team. he did that becasue he knew Martinez was quickly getting in above his head. Now things are in the same boat on the offensive side of the ball. They are spiraling downward and something needs to be done quickly. Bobo gets lucky every once in a while and makes some good calls, but the consistancy is lackinig.
Whiskey Breath
September 13th, 2011
8:59 am
I think Chip you are missing the point. Every assistant on his staff has been in Bobo’s situation. You the media, pick out a assistant coach and make him the whipping boy. Not a whole lot of assistant coaches left to pick on by the way. Meanwhile, Richt doesn’t really come to their defense and you guys make them the scapegoat for why Richt can’t be succesful. I don’t like the fact that Rich uses the media. For example, you guys love to say he didn’t bring up the question concerning oversigning. You claim the media asked those questions. He uses you to get the word out on those issues. You are liars if you say he doesn’t. Meanwhile it takes the spotlight off his losing. And you guys help him.
Dawg Ve
September 13th, 2011
9:00 am
Georgia will upset Tennessee and Florida this year—book it!
Jeffy01
September 13th, 2011
9:00 am
The downturn seems to be about the time Spurrier took over in SC? Get used to it puppies!
Birmingham Jacket
September 13th, 2011
9:01 am
I’m not even going argue the Tech/Georgia battle. Georgia Tech is not a top tier program (yet).
But did it ever occur to any of you homers that you just had a lucky run in 2000-2006?
I mean think about it…
1980 aside, Georgia has never been an “elite” program.
Good? Yes. But not “elite”.
Just funny to me how the perception is “what changed”?
It’s called luck!
Hatfieldgeoff
September 13th, 2011
9:02 am
Chip, your point is a good one and certain one of the reasons, but I don’t thing you go back far enough. This program began its decline the moment Van Gorder left the DC position, or more to the point when Richt chose Willie Martinez to take the DC position. Statistically the defensive performance dropped immediately and continued every year Martinez was in charge. It also upset Coach Garner who wanted the job and this forced Richt to pay him a lot more to keep him. I am not sure how much this hurt Garner’s desire in recuiting, but we have certainly seen a great deal of misses in the bluechip category since then. The SEC championship in 2005 was a winner but it was more a reflection on the LSU quarterback’s terrible performance and DJ Shockly great performance. The true Willie Martinez showed up against West Virginia, where the dawgs “weren’t prepared for their speed.” A Bogus excuse if I ever heard one. 2007’s No.2 finish was an aberation. The defensive stats continued to get worse, but Richt rallied the troops for a strong finish, but Martinez was let off the hook by playing Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. Superior talent allowed for a blow-out and unwarranted expectations for 2008. If UGA had played USC, for instance, a match-up everyone wanted, we would have been beaten by two or 3 touchdowns. I hate to admit it but its true. Bobo’s stats as OC may have up the yards and points, but the fact the defense is now so porous and lacking in big plays, the offense has needed to shoulder more of the load and have not been able to do it. Bobo was still not a good choice, Richt should have searched the country and brought in an experience OC, as coaches Meyer, Saban and Miles have done. The SEC is not a place for on the job training. Bobo does not seem to have a good feel for play-calling and the risk-reward involved with many of our passing plays is not balanced. Martinez and Bobo are symptoms, of Richt’s mistakes in choosing his staff. This is the main reason for his program’s decline and the reason his days as coach are likely to end this year.
Dan
September 13th, 2011
9:02 am
2 things. Remember the 2008 Alabama game, the black jerseys, the swagger UGa had? It was taken when the Tide rolled us up 31-0 at the half, that and the beatdown administered later that year by Florida took the wind out of the 10-win sails. Follow that with no real backup plan should and when Stafford and Moreno left early, that left with a big hole at QB/RB, and the numerous arrests have set us back a few years. Sadly that may cost (and I hope it doesn’t) a good man his job. BTW Richt haters-who do you have slated as a replacement? Saban ain’t comin’, or Cowher, or Tubberville, or Fulmer, or Smart.
JB
September 13th, 2011
9:03 am
I don’t think beating Tech 9 of 10 times is luck. I just think it’s the way it’s suppose to be.
I have a peace about it
September 13th, 2011
9:04 am
@gdawginkalamazoo
You understand. We can’t be expected to win against ranked teams. We have been blessed by the Good Lord with one of the weakest schedules in the SEC this year. Just hold on until we get into the meat of that schedule, and then you’ll see some W’s. I figure 2 or 3 wins in a row will quiet down all of this fuss among the fanbase. I have a peace about it.
Ginger
September 13th, 2011
9:05 am
Combination of things:
1. Misevaluation of some players talent wise. They did not turn out to be the players coaches thought that they would be.
1A——-Also attrition of some players that we did not expect to leave as early as they did—Harmon, Benedict, Dowtin, Mettenburger, Sturdivant, Ealey etc when we signed them to schollys. In addition–we have had several stud players leave after Jr yr for NFL—Green, Moreno, Stafford, Allen, J. Houston….Look right now what J. Houston would mean for our defense…
1C–we are not recruiting many players from JC who can step in and play…We did get Big John this year which was very good. We offer players too late sometimes and players from in-state sometimes get feelings hurt over this and say–well I will just commit somewhere else and show Ga.
2. At 2008 we did not have many players that were real leaders and we had some players
getting in trouble and not working hard…Maybe before 2008–most of our players had good character and now 2008 comes along–we have some with character issues and the CMR policies were not tough enough for the bad guys. Some how some bad seeds took root in the program.
3. The SEC continue to get more and more competitive—winning 5 straight BCS championships and coaches came in Saban, Meyer, Chizik, Miles who made sure their players had top flight strength and conditioning….CMR missed evaluated our S & C and stuck with Dave VH and we got left behind here and last yr one could tell where the other teams were just better and stronger.
4. On the offensive side of the ball–Current SEC D-coordinators have seen the same offense for many yrs now….we need new wrinkles—we are not fooling any one very much…We need some Boise plays added to the Offense.
5. Martinez was not good D-coodinator…wrong choice there…I am not sure yet about Grantham either….loved the hire of Grantham—but darn Lattimore got 176 yards on us Saturday….just wonder why we did not do better job of stopping him ???? Now the defense was only responsible for 17 pts so 176 yards to 17 points is not bad…Offense gave up 21 points and Special teams 7 points.
JB
September 13th, 2011
9:05 am
Dan, Do you think Peterson,Saban ,Miles, Stoops started out as successful head coach’s. No. They came up through the ranks and paid dues. There are new Saban’s lurking. Just like our Tech friend just told us. Maybe we’ll get lucky.
TN-UGA-Dawg
September 13th, 2011
9:09 am
First thing,you said the thing that changed from 2008-2010 was BoBo took over the play calling and offensive game.That’s false, if I only read this story and didn’t remember what happened it would be false.He took over in 2006 at the end of the year.The next year he had a big year.I think UGA has lots of problems,first thing is it’s really hard to make a guy who is 6ft tall (murray)a prostile QB.Joe cox was only 6-2,I think uga needs to look a QB’s that would be a better fit at uga.Recruiting has been a issue for years now I know you have to go out of state sometimes but Richt goes to FL and everywhere else alot of the time.Georgia always has some of the best recruits in the country,normaly about fouth best state to recruit in the country.Where has Mason been that’s what I’m wondering,couldn’t he aleast play alittle in the first two games.Richt said he was praticeing really well.Maybe he could throw the ball over the middle and not have to roll out.I guess that won’t happen got to stick with the game plan of Murray staying in the pocket and not letting him roll out and Mason has to stay on the bench.People say it’s Bobo offense but Richt him self said he didn’t want Murray running out of the pocket.The other major thing is I know that no one forgot the bigest thing that would have stopped all this from happening was BVG leaveing affter the 2004 season.With all this other stuff lacking if we had BVG ,our defense would still be great.You look back at 2005 the west VA game where they scored 28 points in the first quarter to take a 28-0 lead.The defense got worse and worse from their.Every team that gets in the red zone scores.Not many stops if any.Wille brought in guys with speed but they didn’t have size to cover the bigger WRs,and wille’s play calling was very bad.Todd’s defense dosn’t look any better to me.The first game todd kept playing a deep zone and got ate up.The summary of it is Mark Richt is burned out, that’s why he seems so detached,There are really good players at UGA they need a coach who can make them winners.I would hope that guys like Rodney Garner,and Tony Ball are retained some how.We need a new coach maybe BVG or Mike Leech,or a coach that is on his way up.Not kirby smart,remember that’s Nick Saben’s Defense,there’s only one guy who can match saben’s defense and that’s BVG (the junk yard Dawg). Go Dawgs get a good coach!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan Mullin, Next UGA Coach
September 13th, 2011
9:09 am
UGA’s downward spiral started about 5 years ago when Mark Richt decided to stop being a coach and started being the players “best friend”. It’s all about the lack of discipline and it started with Knowshon and the Soulja Boy dancing on the sidelines. It quickly escalated into stupid endzone celebrations, dancing on opposing teams logos, and dred locks hanging out of 90% of the helmets. One you lose control of team discipline, YOU WILL NEVER GET IT BACK. Ask Phil Fulmer.
Here’s the best example I know of that illustrates what’s wrong with UGA. My friend’s son will be a top 3 player in Georgia in the class of 2013. Every school in the country is after him. He camped at just about every SEC school this summer and got to see first hand the stark differences between schools. Let me say this, both of this kid’s parents went to UGA. They are huge UGA supporters. Dyed in the wool Dawgs! But he told me he was absolutely embarassed by his Alma Mater. The same “Soulja Boy” mentality is still rampant on the UGA football team. The music being played in the locker room was nothing short of obscene.
Now, contrast that to the speech Nick Saban gave to the recruits the day they were in Tuscaloosa. Saban gathered them in, including a host of 5-star recruits, and said “What you listen to on your headphones is your business, but I will not allow that garbage to be played in my locker room. And at Alabama, we wear our hats with the bill facing the front, and we wear our pants pulled up. If any of you recruits have a problem with any of this, speak up now because we will NOT be offering you a scholarship to play for the Tide.” My friend said the difference between UGA and Alabama was night and day, and it killed him to have to admit it.
Mark Richt seemed to forget that we hired him to be our Head Coach, NOT our Team Chaplin. You cannot be your players “Best Friend”. I’m glad Richt is a Christian man. It’s time for him to be honest with himself, the school and the fans. His heart is not in this job anymore. If he wants to go be a missionary in a 3rd world country, then go do it. We all wish you well. But stop pretending to be a head coach. You gave that title up 5 years ago when you decided to become the head baby sitter for a bunch of spoiled high school prima donnas. BTW, Dan Mullins willbe the next head coach at UGA. Write it down.
Gay Dawg
September 13th, 2011
9:09 am
I weant a good coa ch but I am not willing to sell my soul like bama did for Saban. I want to win but bama is icky.
Hoage-wild
September 13th, 2011
9:10 am
Excellent points Chip. Richt is an old QB and therein hangs a tale — my theory for a least part of the decline. He had the good fortune to have David Greene as QB when he came to the job, a calming
force preferable to the mercurial Murray. Shockley, the other QB that reeled in an SEC championship game win in 2005, was followed by Stafford, who looked good yesterday for the Lions. A lot has been said about the contributions to the fall from glory — the loss of DC Van Gorder, Bobo calling plays, the grassy knoll et al — but from my seat in Sanford, Richt has suffered since Joe Cox and Murray — two guys that have no pro delusions — took over at QB. I really like Murray, that drive that led to the 2-pt conversion against SC was brilliant. But his tendency to push the envelope of his ability — forcing the pick six, not collapsing in a heap at sight of the unblocked Clowney, the bad exchange with Crowell after the injured Murray shook off the sideline the play before — undid a day on which he threw 4 tds. The lack of a cool hand to direct the offense has been a huge factor for three seasons. Murray can still grow into that guy — he’s got two more seasons after this one — but if would sure help all concerned if it was sooner rather than later.
THE Dixie Redcoat Band
September 13th, 2011
9:10 am
Word on the street…the SEC will start counting “moral” victories, so that’s good.
Be sure to watch BS Friday nite, they’ll beat The Rockets, but The Rockets will put up a pretty good fight for a MAC team!!
Alabama Bulldog
September 13th, 2011
9:12 am
I thought the whole reason he gave up the play calling duties was so that he could get more “involved” with the entire team…isn’t that what he said? So if these are the results of him getting more involved, then the answer is easy…he needs to get out!
Is anyone else sick and tired of seeing CMR with that look of indifference on his face everytime the camera turns to him? If he doesn’t care to be out there, which is obvious by his constant smirk, then let him go! Does anyone ever see Saban, Muschamp or Spurrier on the sideline? They live and die with EVERY play and CMR looks like he is bored to death and wants to crawl up in UGA’s DAWGhouse with him and take a nap! That is why those 3 coaches are 6-0 and Georgia is 0-2! I want a coach who at least appears to give a crap about what is going on in the game.
Tipping Point
September 13th, 2011
9:13 am
UGA man, class of 71 & 73 here. UGA football has passed the fabled tipping point with this current regime, as far as the vast majority of alumni are concerned.
Change that we can count on will take place, possibly sooner than most realize. The October 1, MSU game could be the stake in the heart of the regime. Trip up to Ole Miss and that would do it.
Folks, it is what it is.
Gooooooooooooooo Dogs. Sic Em !!
Josey Whales
September 13th, 2011
9:14 am
I am surprised more posts have not addressed the defensive woes. We have not had a stellar defense since Van Gorder left. I am somewhat neutral on the Bobo issue, 32 points per game is enough to win. We can’t stop anybody. Richt and staff did get complacent and it cost him dearly. I think he is back in gear but I am afraid maybe too little too late. So my answer, Martinez destroyed the defense, Richt got complacent. The fire is back with Richt but defense has not gotten any better.
Moreno Stafford
September 13th, 2011
9:15 am
It all went down hill after the BLACKOUT, no?
Sam
September 13th, 2011
9:15 am
Think about it. Georgia scored 42 points and lost last week. They haven’t been the same since VanGorder left in 2005. Georgia hasn’t had a decent defensive coordinator since then, and defense wins championships. Mystery solved.
JR
September 13th, 2011
9:16 am
This is not a new phenomenon. It seems to have started around 1990 with the replacement of Johnny Majors with Phil Fullmer. It continued with Bobby Bowden and it certainly could be argued that it has continued at Penn State with Joe Paterno. College Football is a far more complex and changing game year to year than the days of “3 yards and a cloud of dust.” It is very hard to stay fresh and continue with innovation in this business, and most don’t. It just happens that way. You can look to a lot of coaches over the last 20 years that ended up like Mark Richt. I think it is happening now to Mack Brown at Texas as well. Stoops has had a lot of staff turnover and I actually think it has helped him in some ways for the same reasons. About the only guys who seems to have stayed relatively successful for protracted periods of time are Steve Spurrier and Frank Beamer. And they still are not really competing for national championships year to year anymore. There are only so many changes a coach can make and a lot of it is being completely ahead of the curve. I think stability at the head coaching level helps some in recruiting, but is completely overrated in terms of what it takes to win consistently anymore. It used to be at the top. And that is why a lot of people run scared about a coaching change. And it is not to say that there is no risk involved. But ask the people at Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and others how they feel about playing it safe by retaining coaches that slipped into mediocrity in recent times, It is just time for a similar change at Georgia.
bob
September 13th, 2011
9:17 am
Recruiting. Garner seems to go after and get great athletes but not great players. It seems that character and being coachable were forgotten about. Boise proved loud and clear that a team of players can dominate a group of athletes.
Jim
September 13th, 2011
9:17 am
FBI
September 13th, 2011
7:22 am
No one else seems to have noticed, but to me the slide began when his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
I thought this myself, but another thing I think is most of his coaching staff are Richt trained. on the offense and were on the defense until he was forced to make a change. They have gone as far as they can under him and will not continue to develope until they go elsewhere under someone else. Bobo was a GA at UGA and spent 1 year at Jacksonville state before being hired by Richt. Lilly came from Florida State. McClendon was a GA at UGA until he was hired by Richt. Friend came from UAB and is in training under Richt. Garner and Ball are the only ones who are not Richt trained. In the Bosie game we looked lost and nowhere ready to play the game. The South Carolina game looked more like we wanted to play. The South Carolina game was lost by special teams is my book. The fake punt and two onside kicks killed us. The fumble by Murray and touchdown by South Carolina would not mattered who was at QB on that play even Cam Newton would have lost that ball.
Over all I think Coach Richt should make some coaching changes starting with the OL. Realign some of the recruiting goals to get the best lineman. McClendon just got a raise but all his backs bolted this year. Crowell is the real deal and will only get better as the line improves. Murray was a lot of targets if he gets the protection to throw the ball.
Snow Dawg
September 13th, 2011
9:17 am
Several factors…the biggest is the other coaches that have entered the league…Saban, Meyer, Miles, Petrino, Chizik, Mullen, Kiffin, and now Dooley are all far superior to Richt and his staff. Georgia has not played good D since 2008. The O line has been terrible since Calloway left. Bobo is a great Bulldog but he is so clearly over matched against the likes of Saban/Smart, Charlie Strong, LSU D coord and just about every other one too! If you read Todd McShay’s article is says it all…”the other coaches in the league are never worried about playing UGA because of the poor schemes they run”…Off the record all of Richt’s peers don’t respect the coaching abilities of his staff and apparently for good reason. Richt and his staff are great guys they just are not great coaches and they are playing in a league full of great coaches…the result is they lose alot even when they have better talent. Richt is a wonderful man but can no longer compete in this league…sad but true!
1eyedJack
September 13th, 2011
9:17 am
Well, first it was one thing…and now it’s another.
BillyBob
September 13th, 2011
9:18 am
It is a combination of offense and defense. The defense has declined but the offense needs to keep the field longer. The Boise game is a perfect example the defense was on the field most of the first half. I also still wonder about strength and conditioning. The dawgs were pushed around on both sides of the ball and were cramping up inside the dome not outside in 90 degree weather. I didn’t see a Boise player down with cramps..
Dennis
September 13th, 2011
9:18 am
You were instructed to rush the field, allowed to dance on the sidelines to show up Auburn, and put too much importance into the color of jerseys. Emotion took the place of execution. Discipline died . You can’t turn discipline on and off like a switch. You either have it or you don’t. That was when it turned.
Bobby Bowdon
September 13th, 2011
9:19 am
Goodness, gracious, gosh darn it, you all. I tried to tell you uns that Mark was a good boy but that I was doubting his ability to kick ass in the trenches and motivate. I questioned whether he was tough enough and mean enough to pull levers that sometimes need pulling.
Golly shucks, now it is too late.