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
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:22 am
Tampa, I might be retarted, but at least I tried to make you some money on the BSU game by learnin you some gambling technique.
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:22 am
Thomas Brown, find me in my posts where I said Aaron Murray was Drew Brees .. go ahead, we’re all waiting super genius. You can’t because all I did was compare the two in height alone. Drew Brees had monster stats even in his sophomore year to go along with is 20 picks he had great other stats. Height buddy, that’s all the comparison was.
MountainDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:23 am
Robert Jones, good point(s). These recruiting services (Rivals, Scout) often (grossly) over & under rate HS players. It would appear many of the recent UGA “bluechippers” (as you mentioned above) are overrated. With that, Garner’s DL hasn’t gotten it done in while. We need “pocket crushers” at NG.
JASon
September 13th, 2011
11:23 am
“…was Richt relinquishing control of offensive game-planning and play-calling responsibilities.”
Ha ha ha. You ajc writers will do anything to avoid placing any blame on Richt, for some reason. This is an example of why the media is essentially useless.
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:23 am
GT Joe, I have already made plenty of money in the football betting world. I didn’t need your rantings of details on stuff that is beyond your usual knowledge base of a quadruple option offense and a wimpy armed QB.
Maked
September 13th, 2011
11:24 am
Richt just looks tired, confused, befuddled and has that far away look in his eyes. You know that look, the one you have days leading up to that long awaited and earned vacation.
Mad Mike
September 13th, 2011
11:25 am
Brian VanGorder.
wreckbuzz
September 13th, 2011
11:25 am
I don’t think it is insulting to suggest that UGA wants to be like Florida, Alabama, LSU. Would UF, Bama, or LSU hire Mike Bobo to run their offense? Would they have Willie Martinez or Todd Grantham run their defense?
I don’t think so. So why would you put yourself in a position to be undercoached as compared to your biggest competition?
I know UGA fans will hate me making this comparison, but how can UGA not hire who they want at will for the DC job? You can’t tell me there wasn’t a better DC coach out there because Georgia Tech hired one. Al Groh was out there. Groh worked with Bill Parcells and Bill Belicheck in the NFL on the 3-4 defense, he was a head coach in the NFL and at Virginia where he had very good defenses.
JK
September 13th, 2011
11:25 am
Simply put, I believe it is the defense. Defense wins championships and we have not had a respectable defense since VanGorder left the program. We have always scored more than enough points to win championships under Richt.
Where is that Sean Jones/Thomas Davis/Greg Blue that terrorizes the opponents running backs? That makes receivers pay when they attempt a catch in the middle of the field? Where is the pass rush that puts continuous pressure on opposing QB’s?
As for the 3-4, never been a fan of it. Sure, if you have the right personnel it can work but if you have a year where you’re missing a piece or two, you are vulnerable.
NCDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:26 am
Ok… what happened? I think CMR handing over the play calling to Bobo took his feel for the game away. Every organization takes it’s personality from the top. The 2001-2005 Dawgs had the personality of the hands on CMR. After handing over the offensive reigns the team took on the personality of the CEO CMR. I don’t buy the it’s because he is too nice angle. His christianity has nothing to do with it. It’s his reluctance to take back the reigns of the offense that keeps him from regaining the touch.
I hate working with gloves on… why? Because I can’t “feel” what I am doing. CMR needs to be hands on to transmit his desire. Sometimes once you’ve stepped back and lost the groove you can never get it back. I think the decline in the defense and coupled with the move to CEO style shifted the personality of the team too much and the results are clear.
Does this mean that CMR can’t get it back? I’m not sure. It liked what I was hearing in the off season. That seemed more hands on but will it translate to transformation? I think CMR is a great man… a man of character. Football is substitute war… to win you have to have an edge. He had it and lost it by stepping back. Lets see if he can transmit it to his organization again.
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:27 am
Tampa, perhaps UGA should learn some passing game technique from GT…
Murray is #32 in passing yards, Washington is #34.
Murray has a 157 passer rating, Washington has a 330 rating.
Trey
September 13th, 2011
11:28 am
The problem with Georgia is they are too conservative and too predictable. Bobo is not a visionary and Richt is not mean enough. We need to get mean and start going after the first downs instead of settling for a field goal. Conservative plays only work when you are up by 3 TD’s and need to run the clock out.
Steves Jones
September 13th, 2011
11:28 am
http://espn.go.com/colleges/georgia/football/story/_/id/6959927/georgia-bulldogs-escape-fact-program-decline
LAXDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:28 am
Defense has not been the same since BVG left town….
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:31 am
GT Joe, you can’t even compare the two QBs, Washington has played two garbage teams and has a whopping 21 pass attempts .. that’s nearly one half for an SEC QB. LOL, that is comical at best.
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:32 am
For a triple option QB to have the same yards as Murray is an embarrassment. Washington sat out 3 out of 8 quarters!
Easy answer
September 13th, 2011
11:34 am
DEFENSE……WE RARELY DON’T SCORE ENOUGH POINTS TO WIN ANY GIVEN GAME. WITH BRIAN VAN GORDER WE WOULD BE 2-0 RIGHT NOW……CONTRIBUTE ABOUT 80% OF THE LOSES OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS TO THE SAME. WE HAVE HAD ONLY TWO DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS WORTH HAVING IN 25 YEARS. IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING WHO THE OTHER ONE WAS (ER…IN CASE YOU’RE A YOUNGSTER)….NOT SAYING BOBO CALLS AS GOOD OF A GAME AS RICHT, BUT WE SCORE ENOUGH TO WIN…TIME TO STOP SOMEBODY.
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:34 am
I never thought I’d say this, but GT plays a more physical brand of football than UGA.
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:35 am
Washington played against Western Carolina and Middle Tennessee. There is the embarrassment right there. At least gt4ever has some common sense.
Alabama | MrSEC.com
September 13th, 2011
11:35 am
[...] Gator decline been greatly exaggerated?3. Arrested linebacker Dee Finley is now out of jail.4. Did Mark Richt’s decision to give up control of his offense lead to Georgia’s downturn?5. This writer says predicting Richt’s future isn’t [...]
Maked
September 13th, 2011
11:36 am
5 hour energys for everyone on CMR’s staff!
GWJ
September 13th, 2011
11:37 am
VanGorder Leaving and Bobo Staying……
Thomas Brown
September 13th, 2011
11:37 am
TampaDawg
You asked me for information. I did the work you are perfectly capable of doing. I put it in here at 8:10 8:13 8:14 am this morning. No reply
TampaDawg
The Grinch
September 13th, 2011
11:38 am
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:27 am
Um, yeah. Go ahead and put your team’s success in the hands of Washington.
BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Dawg85
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
Once a Dawg always a Dawg…How sweet it is! Win, lose or draw! Go Dawgs, Coaching staff and other alumni that believe in and love the University of Georgia like I do. I was once told to play for the “G” on my hat, not the name on my back. I will always support UGA and the coaching staff. So, if you can’t support the Dawgs and they make you sooo unhappy then find some other team to pull for. UGA will be just fine without you. If you don’t want to leave then try to be supportive. I am sure the team and the coaches would appreciate support instead of constant critics. Go Dawgs!
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
Here’s the solution: start off your seasons like you used to start off: La Tech, La Lafayette, New Mexico State, etc.
Starting with 2 ranked teams just gives UGA a dose of reality that shouldn’t be tasted until later.
Dawg4Ever
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
I don’t know what happened, but 2007 was an anomaly. The decline actually started in 2006 when we completed the cycle of LOSING to ALL of our Eastern Division opponents IN A ROW when we lost to SC early in 2007. We hit rock bottom in Knoxville, then should have lost to Vanderbilt save a Darryl Gamble forced fumble at the end of the game. Winning the rest of the games in 2007 was a winning streak that disguised the decline that had already started. Now, we have hit the real rock bottom. Time to change. This is the 6th year of decline, really.
Maked
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
Where are of my fellow UGA brothers who predicted a 2-0 start and being a strong dominant team?
For those of us who were fortunate to actually see some of the preseason practices we saw some issues that Richt did not fix.
Panic
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
I think the whole coaching staff needs to be fired!! If you look at the games closely, Georgia has gotten away from the fundamentals of football. What the hell are they teaching these kids? We can’t tackle on defense to save our lives and the next time I see a reciever catch the ball with his pads I might lose it. It’s plan and simple the coaching is terrible and when I can sit on my coach and tell you what their running, don’t you think our opponent can do the same…..it’s very simple….get rid of them and start fresh!!!!
The Grinch
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
ReggiesBalls
September 13th, 2011
11:33 am
Reggie – if you come back to play QB for the jackets then UGA is assured of at least one more victory this season.
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Rubarb Jones
September 13th, 2011
11:40 am
It would be nice to have a reasonable exchange of ideas here without a bunch of huge DBs like GTJoe that have nothing better to do in their life but make inflammatory posts all day on a UGA blog.
I feel really sorry for you GT Joe.
Thank you to all of the reasonable posters out there. I enjoy reading your posts.
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:41 am
Grinch: Tevin Washington is BETTER than Josh Nesbitt. Now.
Tech will probably be favored in every game this season. Which means that we should go undefeated if we meet expectations. Book it.
Coppoletti
September 13th, 2011
11:41 am
Slide started when Mrs. Richt got Cancer, and Mark began to reassess his life & priorities. He realized that Football is at best #2 or#3 on list.
1eyedJack
September 13th, 2011
11:41 am
“I never thought I’d say this, but GT plays a more physical brand of football than UGA.”
I would agree with you but then we’d both sound stupid.
Maked
September 13th, 2011
11:42 am
Dawg85
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
Once a Dawg always a Dawg…How sweet it is! Win, lose or draw! Go Dawgs, Coaching staff and other alumni that believe in and love the University of Georgia like I do. I was once told to play for the “G” on my hat, not the name on my back. I will always support UGA and the coaching staff. So, if you can’t support the Dawgs and they make you sooo unhappy then find some other team to pull for. UGA will be just fine without you. If you don’t want to leave then try to be supportive. I am sure the team and the coaches would appreciate support instead of constant critics. Go Dawgs!
I bet you are one heck of a dedicated employee. But without any opinions do you ever expect to advance?
Dan
September 13th, 2011
11:43 am
JB: All I was trying to say is most fans want to win…now, those coaches are proven winners and there are not many assistants who have that factor to come in and win right off.
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:43 am
Yes Thomas Brown, no reply. Am I supposed to go back to the first 2 or 3 pages of this blog just to read your diatribe that you couldn’t put together yesterday? No, because the posts you did yesterday was so off base and inaccurate I didn’t feel like continuing the argument the next day. In fact, and I mean this whole heartedly, I have nothing personal against anyone on here, no grudges and no hard feelings, so every day on a blog is a new day. If I met you tomorrow Thomas Brown, I would buy you a beer and say lets talk some football. Heck, I would do the same with GT Joe and he and I have some classics, but it’s all in good fun because in the grand scheme of things, it’s just some guys talking about a game.
War Dang Dawg
September 13th, 2011
11:43 am
I disagree. The problems started after the ‘05 season, beginning with the humiliating first-half performance against West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia hasn’t really been the same since, save for that 6-game run at the end of ‘07. Richt relinquished play-calling duties in ‘06 because, let’s face it, he was no longer getting the job done as playcaller.
Georgia wasn’t exactly lighting it up offensively from ‘01-’05 either, at least not consistently. The difference: we didn’t make a lot of bad mistakes and the defense was stout. In other words, we had Green and Shockley at qb and David Pollack wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. Once they were gone, Richt was exposed as what he is – a mediocre coach.
If we’re being honest, a lot of us were scratching our heads in ‘01 over Richt’s game and clock management. All of that was quickly forgotten during the ‘02 season, but we’ve seen those problems surface again, most recently last Saturday when Richt didn’t call timeout on 2nd down, allowing South Carolina to kill an extra 30 seconds or so. It made no sense – there are several ways to stop the clock on offense but only one way to do it on defense. If nothing else the breather would have given the defense a better chance to stop South Carolina on the next down. They made the first down, so the point is now moot. But it reinforced my opinion that Richt cracks a bit under pressure, which is probably why his teams do the same in the WLOCP and other recent high profile games.
The Grinch
September 13th, 2011
11:43 am
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:41 am
“Tevin Washington is BETTER than Josh Nesbitt.”
So is GT promoting him for the Heisman like they did Nesbitt?
BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Ace
September 13th, 2011
11:44 am
Its been sick for 3 years, I don’t know why you continue to pay out the nose for tickets other than “lets party” who cares if they win or lose.
Tift Dawg
September 13th, 2011
11:45 am
It’s not my job to speculate on why UGA’s football program in in the tank. I’m not a coach or AD. Don’t pretend to be. All I know is the program is going in the wrong direction. The responsibility lies at the feet of the head coach. Mark’s a nice guy but I’m not sure he can compete year after year in the SEC at the level UGA fans expect and deserve. If he can’t fix the slide, and so far he hasn’t, someone else has to get the job. This is responsibility of McGarity and Adams.
The Grinch
September 13th, 2011
11:45 am
Dawg4Ever
September 13th, 2011
11:39 am
Sad but true.
TampaDawg
September 13th, 2011
11:45 am
ReggiesBalls, yes, UGA plays them this week. But your boy GT Joe is playing up Washington’s stats agains Western Carolina and Middle Tennessee. Then comparing them to Murray’s stats against BSU and USCe .. did you miss the point?
JR
September 13th, 2011
11:48 am
Some may think it is delusional to go after Jeff Fisher. But this piece from earlier in the year may change your mind:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/560759-marvin-lewis-10-nfl-coaches-who-could-jump-to-the-college-ranks
NOTSO FAST
September 13th, 2011
11:49 am
Georgia recruits as well as anybody. They score points even with BoBo calling the plays. Defense gives up too many points but it has been Murray that sems to be able to have 1 or 2 plays each game that gives the other team easy points. Coach R will not make a move that involves firing so the Dogs will win those games they should and not win the close games. You want him as your friend just not as your coach.
The Grinch
September 13th, 2011
11:50 am
GT Joe
September 13th, 2011
11:41 am
“…we should go undefeated if we meet expectations.”
Anyone else have such expectations? Really?
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
DawgFan
September 13th, 2011
11:51 am
I agree totally. Everything changed when the play calling was turned over to Bobo. It wasn’t that he called a bad game, more so that he didn’t keep defenses guessing, the QB coaching that was done by Coach Richt was also gone. The great fakes in the back field were gone. Bulldog nation has been saying this for awhile. No one at UGA is listening and Coach Richt may be unwilling to go back to it.
Floyd
September 13th, 2011
11:52 am
Bill…while I think we likely share some of the same concerns about the offensive side of the ball, in my opinion the real problems have been with our defense. Our defense hasn’t been the same since Brian Van Gorder left Athens and every phase of our play has suffered on that side of the ball. Tackling, missed assignments, big plays – you name it. Bobo is an easy target and criticism of him is not without some degree of validity, but the numbers speak for themselves. Our defense has been gashed – repeatedly – for at least three years. Arguably more.
RIlo
September 13th, 2011
11:54 am
The downgrade of the “D” is A major factor but the “O’s” inability to finish drives and going 3-Out has worn down the defense before half time game after game. The SC game was the perfect example. Our D was dominating….Blitzing and making great plays. Three field goals(one missed) later, we were losing after one big play. Mark Richt turning over the play-calling (and subsequent loyalty to Bobo) is and will be his ultimate downfall. We may have just as may points with Bobo but that is VERY deceiving.
Dawg Tell
September 13th, 2011
11:54 am
Richt lost control of the program back in 07.Since than players did what they wanted and coaches looked the other way.Hype became the team motto and the me/I factor became the drive for playing for UGA.I respect Richt as a person but change is needed throughout the program.Top to bottom!!Also I hate the 3/4 defense!!!Sometime change is good and this looks like the time and place for it to happen.