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The comparisons between Mark Richt and Kirby Smart surface again
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The comparisons between Mark Richt and Kirby Smart surface again
After UGA’s loss in the SEC Championship game, some Bulldogs fans, along with sports reporters such as ESPN’s Bill Connelly, felt compelled to tweet out comparisons between coach Kirby Smart and former UGA coach Mark Richt after their first four years on the job. Richt posted a 42-10 record with one SEC Championship
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Bleacher Report smashing us again this morning....don't disagree with a lot of what is said in the article.
Bottom line: Dawgs can't ever seem to finish the drill. It's always an excuse. Offensive mindset and philosophy needs an overhaul.
" GEORGIA STILL SINGING THE SAME SAD REFRAIN SINCE 1980...
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has recruited enough star prospects to outfit a championship team, but the Bulldogs are still struggling to get over that hump.
Several times since winning it all in 1980, the Bulldogs have played in games where winning would mean a title or a shot at one. They just can't seem to show up the majority of the time.
There's nothing wrong with getting torched by Burrow; every other Tigers opponent has this year. But the biggest disappointment for Georgia in another strong season has been the James Coley experiment at offensive coordinator. For whatever reason, the offense has taken a giant step back....
Georgia's receiving corps was the team's weakness all season, and it was dealt a blow when senior transfer Lawrence Cager was lost for the year in late November to an ankle injury. Against LSU, freshman Dominick Blaylock went down with a non-contact leg injury that looked bad.
It's not all Coley's fault, but the lack of development on that side of the ball is alarming, especially considering the elite talent at every position and the future NFL players on the offensive line. This is the kind of season that makes head coaches go a different direction at coordinator."
Kirby has a better record against Top 25 teams than Richt in his first 4 years. However, I'm still not convinced CKS can get us all the way to the promised land. Close is only good enough in horseshoes and hand grenades. We've only made it to the playoffs ONCE.
i detested Mark Richt after the 2012 SEC Championship game, but at least Richt didn't shift the blame game and throw his players under the bus.
excellent post!
We can make these comparisons with Riicht and Kirby, which doesn't reflect anything except Kirby won his SEC title with the majority of Richt recruits. How about that for comparison? I would not discount the great things Kirby has done but stop trying to compare him to Richt because Richt was a great coach during his tenure at Georgia just like Kirby will too. The bottom line Richt did not bring a championship, but will Kirby. That is the comparison that needs to be made. I hope Georgia give Kirby 15 years like Richt before making judgement.
Isn't Coley also the qb coach? If your player isn't doing a basic of their job (throwing accurate passes) then it's up to you to correct their mechanics. Fire him and hire Bobo before he's hired at SC and we are still struggling on offense.
Three of four years under Kirby, the Dawgs have been east winners and in the NC conversation in December. That has become the norm. Under "10 wins are enough" Richt, from the middle of October forward we were forced to watch our east competitors play meaningful games hoping they lose so we could back into tha SECCG. That was the norm. That was also totally acceptable for all but very few of us in Dawg Nation!
Under Smart, not only is 10 wins not enough, it's totally unacceptable! In fact, Kirby, his staff, and the players so many in DN are quick to denigrate have totally changed the expectations to 11, 12, 13, and even 14 wins are not enough! This in just four years!
Compare Kirby to Richt? Who are we kidding? It's like comparing the sun to a candle!
Fault? It’s Coley’s for now. If Kirby doesn’t upgrade that position, it will be his going forward.
I was pilloried after the ND game for saying that Fromm was overrated and Coley wasn’t the right guy. I stand by my earlier assessment.
It should be pointed out that it wasn't Richts first four or five years that got him fired. If he had kept that pace he would still be there. But in the context of winning a national championship Kirby ain't the guy. He peaked in 2017 with the best of Richts leftovers and the offense has been going backwards ever since.
ShoottheHooch, you make a great point, those increased expectations in four years are impressive. It was quite the different feeling watching the A&M game knowing we won the East the previous week. However, one troubling comparison is how just like under Richt, we're not showing up in big games, at least big games that don't involve Auburn. We had what, one down-to-the-wire W against Alabama under Richt? And honestly I think we can thank Pat Dye for motivating Georgia to man up against Alabama in 2002 more than anything Richt did. And we did have a nice blowout of LSU in Athens in 2004, but that was in the regular season, after we got blown out in the SEC championship the previous year by LSU. Georgia just hasn't really shown up for a big game (start to finish) since 1980. If it wasn't for Auburn we'd really be hurting. Under Smart we've definitely achieved a higher level of success and relevance in four short years, but with that come increased expectations to deliver, and thus far he hasn't.
I think there also needs to be an evaluation of the receivers coach. Failing to get any separation. Dropped passes. Poor "scramble" performance to help QB. And, our OL performance has been up and down. I suspect that this relates to blocking schemes that are part of the OC's "system". Is Fromm elite? Not if you define it to require that an elite QB has to have the "improvisational" ability that Hurts and Tua and Joe Burrows show. But, he understands concepts, and can be accurate with an adequate "window". Look at completion percentages with receivers who can actually get open. Unfortunately, Jake hasn't adjusted to not always having the kinds of receivers we lost. He was "spoiled" in his first years here.