JJ Lanier
You’re Fired
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I was asked the other day to name my favorite Duke basketball player of all time, as well as my least favorite. It was easy to name my favorite (Grant Hill) because it’s one of those things I’ve actually spent time thinking about.
It took me a while to think about my least favorite though, since I tend to try and forget them much like I do with the name of my 11th grade English teacher.
So, with that in mind, I figured instead of writing about the best head coach each NFC South team has hired, I’d go with the ones they couldn’t get rid of fast enough.
To start with, Atlanta’s may have been the easiest. Regardless of what criteria you’re looking at- overall record, handling of the team, how the coach represented the team- Bobby Petrino makes it a clean sweep in all categories.
Petrino’s .231 winning percentage is the worst in franchise history, not counting interim coaches, and the way he left the team by leaving a note in every player’s locker is just the sugar free icing on the gluten free cake that was his coaching tenure.
Not only is he the worst coach in Falcons history, he’s worse than any of the other coaches I’m about to mention, making him the worst hire in the division’s history. (And just think, he became even more of an embarrassment at his subsequent stops.)
Choosing Carolina’s coach was almost just as easy, but for entirely different reasons. Before the Panthers brought in new head coach Matt Rhule, there had only been four coaches in their short history.
Of those four, two made it to a Super Bowl (John Fox, Ron Rivera) and another (Dom Capers) was coach of the year in 1996 and helped the franchise get off to a strong start.
The only coach left is George Seifert, who couldn’t repeat the same type of success in Charlotte that he had achieved in San Francisco. He is also the only coach of the four to have never led the team to a winning season or a playoff appearance.
New Orleans is where the task got a little more difficult because they’ve always had decent coaches since I started following football, beginning with Jim Mora.
There are a few coaches back in the 70’s who didn’t do well, record wise, but I can’t really speak to what they did beyond that. Therefore, I’m going with Mike Ditka as the franchise worst.
As great as Ditka was for Chicago, he was equally as bad for the Saints. He won six games in each of his first two seasons and only three in his third and final one. Plus, there was that year he traded all their draft picks, including their first round pick the following year, to draft Ricky Williams.
Tampa Bay’s coaches are similar to New Orleans, it would’ve been easier to go with an earlier coach based on records. But, like with the Saints, I decided to go with a more recent coach, Greg Schiano.
The current Rutgers head coach will be remembered in Tampa more for having his team rush the quarterback on a kneel down play than anything they accomplished on the field. His tenure was the perfect example of round peg, square hole.
Not all coaching hires can be winners, but these are a few that fan bases would like to forget, all together.
Varied Winds
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Trying to get a community of sports fans to come to a consensus of how the draft went for their favorite team is like asking coffee connoisseurs what their favorite brand is- everyone has an opinion and almost no two will be alike.
Even if you find a majority that agrees, it’s mostly determined on the first few rounds only; outside of an NFL scout, who has time to read up on every available player.
So, instead of grading the Falcons picks here are few observations that came to mind regarding Atlanta and the draft.
Because of Atlanta’s draft position, especially in the first few rounds, the end result was almost predetermined to be underwhelming. The main talking points after almost any pick revolve around “value” and “need vs. talent”.
Early in the round you’re more likely to find a player that meets all those criteria, and you know you won’t find one towards the end of the round, so you basically pick a lane and stick with it; the middle of the round can get tricky though.
Do you do what Atlanta did and pick a player like A.J. Terrell, whom most people believe fills a need, fits the system well, and was the best available at that position with the most upside, but is considered to be a reach at that spot, especially when there was better talent available?
What makes the decision tough is that while all five draft recap articles I read unanimously agreed with what I just wrote, every single one listed a different player Atlanta should’ve drafted. So even had Atlanta drafted someone else, the same articles still would’ve been written, just with a different name.
The same issue rears its head in subsequent rounds, albeit on a much lesser scale. Point being, no matter who Atlanta picked, people were going to have issues, and it’s not entirely their fault.
Atlanta will need to hand out “Hello, my name is…” stickers at their first defensive meeting. Most of the Falcon’s biggest needs entering this season are on the defensive side of the ball and their draft reflected that. (When your lone offensive pick is a lineman that probably won’t play much for another year or two, you must feel ok with the side of the ball.)
Regardless of how people feel about those picks, the team will need some of them to contribute quickly, especially Terrell and 2nd round pick Marlon Davidson. I mean, that is why those guys were drafted where they were, right?
Is Atlanta fielding a second, secret team full of undrafted free agents? I realize the number of undrafted players a team signs after the draft has finished varies, but Atlanta almost signed enough to field an entire team before Tae Crowder could be crowned Mr. Irrelevant.
I know they’re making up for only having six draft picks, but it’s almost as if the Falcons front office wasn’t even wild about their draft.
Matt Ryan’s arm just may fall off after attempting his 10,000th pass of the year. Seriously, you’re good entering the season with one viable running back whose knee is one wrong cut away from ending his career? Good luck with that.
Obviously, I have no idea how these picks will pan out, and neither does anyone else. I just hope we all get a chance this fall to see for ourselves. I feel like that’s something we can all agree on.
Pay Me
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
At a time when we seem to rank everything from best to worst, we’ve forgotten about value.
You know, like the $5.95 lunch menu at your local Chinese restaurant, where the food isn’t the best, but you always leave full.
In that spirit, instead of ranking the SEC coaches, below is whether or not I think they’re worth the money they’re making; within the context that all coaches are overpaid, of course.
Nick Saban, Alabama: $9.1 million- Yes. The better question is what number would Saban’s salary have to reach before the answer is “no”?
Ed Orgeron, LSU: $8.7 million- No. I realize it’s a little strange to knock a coach coming off a national championship, but compare what Orgeron has accomplished in his career to Saban, and then convince me it justifies him making only $400k less than the Alabama coach.
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: $7.5 million- No. They had to pay it to pry Fisher away from FSU, I just don’t think he’s worth it.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn: $6.9 million- No. Never. Nope. Not in this lifetime.
Kirby Smart, Georgia: $6.8 million/Dan Mullen, Florida: $6.1 million- Yes. Once Saban retires, one of these two will be considered the best coach in the SEC.
Mike Leach, Mississippi State: $5 million- Yes. Even though I view Leach as the John Calipari of college football, minus the smarts, he tends to win wherever he goes. At the very least, he’ll make Mississippi State fun to watch.
Mark Stoops, Kentucky: $5 million- I guess. He’s gotten about as much out of the Kentucky program as one can ask for, which should validate his salary.
Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri: $4 million (taking 10% reduction this year due to Covid-19)- No. I’ve always understood the hire, but not the money. Drinkwitz’s lone season at Appalachian State was extremely successful, but was that because of him or the fact the roster was pretty loaded to begin with?
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss: $3.9 million – Yes. Out of all the contracts, Ole Miss may just be getting the most bang for their buck. Sure, there are a lot to question about Kiffin, and his last name opened doors for him early on in his career that hadn’t been earned, but I’ve thought he was a pretty decent coach. I suspect that number will be higher in 2-3 years, it may just not be with Ole Miss.
Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee: $3.8 million- Eh, ok. Pruitt isn’t as good a coach as some of the ones listed above, his pay is commensurate with his coaching ability. Honestly, the whole situation says more about the state of Tennessee football than anything.
Will Muschamp, South Carolina: $3.3 million- Yes. Perfect example of getting what you pay for; near the bottom in salary, near the bottom in on the field play.
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: $3.3 million- Yes. At any other school Mason would’ve already been let go, but everyone seems happy with whatever arrangement they’ve got going on in Nashville. Who am I to argue?
Sam Pittman, Arkansas: $3 million- Sure, why not. I feel like if I’m going to complain about Drinkwitz, who at least has some head coaching success, making $4 million, I should do the same for Pittman, who has no major college head coaching experience. However, you won’t get a SEC coach for less money than that, so you might as well spend it on someone with a good reputation.
Decade Of Dominance
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the 2010’s in our rearview mirror it was only a matter of time before the All-Decade NFL Team was announced.
While there were some individual teams that had more representation than the entire NFC South, it’s not as though the division was under appreciated, garnering five players itself.
Julio Jones- The NFL records and Awards & Honors section of Jones’ Wikipedia page reads like one of those Lifetime Achievement speeches at the Oscars; there are twenty-five currently listed.
Jones is that rare case where he may not have ever been the best receiver in the NFL at any point over the past ten years, but when you look at the totality of the decade, you could argue there wasn’t anyone better.
The Atlanta wide out still has a number of productive seasons left in him and I wouldn’t be shocked to see his name on the Best Of…. list for this upcoming decade.
Alex Mack & Jahri Evans- My dad, who is a newspaper editor, recently joked with me that sports writers are like wide receivers (divas) and editors are more like the lineman (unsung heroes).
I joked I would at least compare him to a defensive lineman, since most fans actually had an idea who those players are. I should know more about both players, and offensive linemen in general, but I don’t root for either Atlanta or New Orleans (or any of the teams Evans has subsequently played for) and my brain only has a finite amount of space to hold information.
Most of that storage is currently being used to hold useless pop culture references and the multiple storylines in Tiger King. That said, both players are obviously considered to be the best at their positions, hence the award, and you’ll certainly not get any argument from me.
Julius Peppers- Depending on the day, my favorite Carolina Panther rotates between Cam Newton, Steve Smith, and Julius Peppers.
Now, I’m taking some liberties even including Peppers since he spent the better part of this last decade playing in Chicago and Green Bay, but he began and ended his career with the Panthers, so that’s my reasoning.
I was a bit surprised to see his name on this list since his production had dropped over the latter half of the decade, but still glad he made it.
Peppers’ incredible athleticism was one of the more incredible displays I’ve seen from an athlete, in any sport. If only he hadn’t gone to UNC.
Luke Kuechly- There was a stretch of time where Kuechly was the best defensive player in the NFL.
Besides his athletic ability, I loved his mental approach to the game. One of the things the former linebacker was known for was his ability to call out the opposition’s play based on their formation and pre-snap movement.
Had injuries not pushed him into an early retirement I truly think he could’ve been not only one of the greatest linebackers of the decade, but one of the greatest of all time.
I’m sure there’s a player or two you feel was deserving of being added to the list, but it’s a difficult job that, for the most part I think the Hall of Fame did a pretty decent job of putting it together.
There is so much talent in the NFL right now, I can only imagine what the next All-Decade team will look like.
In The Pocket
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Over the past few years, I feel like I’ve been living in my own personal Groundhog Day when it comes to NFC South quarterbacks; it has become a yearly ritual to write about how the division has the best collection of QB’s in the NFL.
Yet, it never fails that either Matt Ryan will have a down year, or Cam Newton will get injured, or Jameis Winston will, well, be Jameis Winston.
You’d think at some point I would learn my lesson, but apparently this isn’t that time because here I am writing about how our area should once again be privy to the best overall quarterback play of any division in football.
The one constant at quarterback in the NFC South has been Drew Brees. As much as many of us want to talk about Tom Brady’s ability to play at a high level for the better part of two decades- and I’ll be doing just that soon enough- you could argue Brees has been even better.
Over the past three seasons Brees has thrown for an average of 3,768 yards and just over 27 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and that’s with him missing five games last season.
If this season happens to be Brees’ finale, there’s been recent speculation that is the case, I don’t expect it to be because of his on-field play.
Matt Ryan certainly hasn’t been a bad quarterback, just a bit of an inconsistent one. In his defense, a good portion of the blame can be attributed to the coaching changes the Falcons have had on the offensive side of the ball, but not all.
Ryan followed up underwhelming seasons in ‘15 and ‘17 with two of his best seasons in ‘16 and ‘18. If he continues along that pattern, 2020 should be a very promising season. (It’s smart to base a prediction solely off something as menial as patterns, right?)
Even though Tom Brady showed signs last season that his play could be regressing, he’s still an upgrade over Jameis Winston.
When you combine Bruce Arians coaching with the level of talent the Buccaneers have on the offensive side of the ball, Tampa Bay seems like a fairly obvious choice for Brady to have landed.
Mix that in with the former Patriots penchant for giving all his doubters the middle finger while outperforming expectations, would you be all that surprised if he turned in MVP type numbers this year? At this point, I’d almost be more surprised if he didn’t.
To me, the x-factor in this whole thing is Teddy Bridgewater. Before Bridgewater’s horrific injury that cost him a few seasons, he had one of the more promising futures of quarterbacks in the league.
But he had missed the better part of three seasons before stepping in for an injured Brees last season. The good news for Bridgewater is he performed well in Brees’ absence and many of the things Cam Newton struggled with- accuracy, pocket awareness, decision making- are some of Bridgewater’s strengths.
The bad news is the Panthers offensive line is still awful and as a team, I expect them to really struggle.
So, just to clarify, my prediction is based on one quarterback playing well because it’s an even year, two quarterbacks in their 40’s, and one who has thrown a grand total of 221 passes over the last four seasons.
Maybe this should’ve been the season I learned from my past mistakes.
Back To 1983
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In most years the first weekend in April means one thing, Final Four.
Even though that’s obviously not taking place this year, it doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the Final Four in some capacity.
So, in that spirit I thought I’d hop inside the DeLorean in my mind and travel back to 1983, the one and only year the Georgia Bulldog basketball team made it to the Final Four.
Now, before I start, I should let you know I was only two years old at the time this was taking place, so there’s no firsthand knowledge on my part about what transpired. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few things that stood out while reading up on that team and that season.
The team most people remember from that year’s tournament is N.C. State; their improbable run, the team they beat to win it all (Houston), and definitely the way they won.
What I imagine is most people outside of Athens don’t remember, or like me, were completely unaware of, was how improbable Georgia’s tournament run was compared to State’s.
Back then 52 teams made the tournament, which produced a bracket of preliminary games and abbreviated first round games (5-12 seeds only), in order to arrive at the Round of 32. Luckily for Georgia, they were a four seed and got to move directly past go, to the second round.
After squeaking by fifth seeded VCU, they defeated one-seeded (#3 overall) St Johns, and a second seeded (# 8 overall) North Carolina team, whose roster was made up of players like Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and Brad Dougherty, before losing to NC State in the Final Four.
NC State, by comparison, was a six seed, had to win one more game than Georgia to advance to the Final Four, but did not face the same level of competition to get there.
Since I was watching “Sesame Street” and “He-Man” at this point in my life, I can’t accurately judge the talent on the ‘83 roster, outside of the fact the only name I recognized was Vern Fleming.
As far as I can tell the former Georgia and NBA guard is the only player from that team to make it to the NBA. Based on that, I imagine they were a good college team that had a player or two get hot in the tournament, and probably had a little luck in what looks like fairly competitive games.
The other thing that stands out, and this has to do with the regular season as opposed to the tournament, was how balanced the SEC was that year.
Of the ten teams that made up the SEC, only Kentucky (13-5) and Florida (5-13) didn’t finish somewhere between 8-10 and 10-8. In fact, Florida was also the only team that finished below .500 on the season.
Just for the fun of it, this year’s SEC consisted of fourteen teams, ten different conference records ranging from 5-13 to 13-5 and four teams that finished either at or below .500 for the season.
With sports on an indefinite hiatus, it doesn’t mean we can’t go back and watch highlights of the teams we enjoyed watching while we grew up, or in some cases, before we became sports fans.
If you happen to be a Georgia basketball fan and are jonesing for a fix, the ‘83 team is a great to start.
Who Said You Can’t Come Home?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It almost felt like one of those NFL retirement signings, where a team signs a former great to a one day contract so said player can retire a member of a particular team.
Only, in this case Todd Gurley has never played for the Falcons, nor was born in Georgia.
However, I guess when you’ve been a star player for the University of Georgia, it kind of feels like it’s always been your home.
A lot has been made, and will likely continue to be made, about Gurley’s injury, why Los Angeles handled his workload the way they did over the past season plus, as well as their willingness to accept a hit of over $20 million in dead salary-cap space this season to get out from under his contract- all of which are legitimate concerns.
The arthritis in Gurley’s knee isn’t going to get better and if actions speak louder than words, Los Angeles’ actions are the non-verbal form of “Fire, everybody get out!”
Having said all that, I think the signing can be very advantageous for both Gurley and the Falcons, as long as everyone keeps things in perspective.
For Atlanta the signing is a low risk- high reward move, beginning with the contract. Obviously, Gurley is no longer a featured, every down back, hence the
1 year/$5 million contract. That doesn’t mean he can’t be productive and justify his paycheck.
If Atlanta not only limits his touches, but more importantly can figure out how to manage those touches and use Gurley in situations he’ll be most effective, he could become an extremely impactful player.
His arrival also ignited some much needed enthusiasm among a fan base that like most of America right now, could use it.
On the flip side, if none of that happens and it becomes clear Gurley can’t be productive, Atlanta really hasn’t lost anything. Plus, they don’t have much salary cap space available, so it’s not like there were a lot of different options out there for the Falcons to choose from.
As for Gurley, I like the move for a couple reasons. For one, I think he’ll fit in well with Atlanta’s offense. He’s not going to be the focal point of the offense and the Falcon’s passing game should help him not see as many eight man fronts when he is in.
Also, and this goes back to my initial paragraph, he’s coming “home” in a way. The fan base is going to be more supportive and will allow more time to adjust, than he probably would receive if he were to have signed somewhere else.
When you look at some of the factors, like Gurley’s contract and Miami’s decision to bring in Jordan Howard over Gurley, the message seems pretty clear that this upcoming season is a make or break year for the former Georgia running back. (As a side note, considering the Dolphins lack of success with free agents and choosing one over another, I wouldn’t blame you if you actually looked at their signing Howard as a good thing for Gurley.)
Gurley’s arrival in Atlanta truly does have the makings of a win-win for both sides, something you don’t see too often in sports today. And if not, he’ll at least be able to end it close to where he started…kind of.
NCAA Crystal Ball
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
At the beginning of conference basketball play I made three predictions that I promised to revisit after the season, regardless of how they turned out.
With the season now over, unfortunately not the way anyone would’ve predicted, I guess it’s time to see if I’m Nostradamus or the back-alley fortune teller.
Prediction: Florida will win the SEC Regular Season. Final Result: Fifth Place. Well, this one blew up in my face.
Not only did Florida finish fifth in the SEC, but they were one of the more disappointing teams in the country.
A top 10 team to begin the season, the Gators season is almost a perfect microcosm of the college season in general; they could never really find any consistency throughout the year.
The defense, which has been Florida’s calling card since Mike White arrived a few years ago, just wasn’t where they needed it to be.
They added some offensive talent, but when looking at their record anytime they allowed more than 65 points, their winning percentage dropped drastically.
It’s tough to win conference games when you have difficulty playing to your strength. The talent was there to make a deep run in the tournament, and I think so Mike White is a good coach, but sometimes it’s just not your year.
Prediction: Anthony Edwards will be the SEC Player of the Year. Final Result: Second Team All-SEC. So yes, technically I missed this one, but I’m ok with that.
Out of the three predictions I made, this one was probably the longest shot of them all. And it’s not like Edwards had a bad season. He did win Freshman of the Year honors and at least made an All-SEC team.
To expect him to come into a league like the SEC, playing for a program like Georgia where the lack of talent around him would make it easier for opposing teams to game plan against him, was a bit unrealistic.
Also, as good an overall season as Edwards had, he certainly had his struggles in conference play. There’s a good chance he’ll still be a Top 3 pick in the upcoming draft, but it’ll take him a few years to adjust.
Prediction: No more than five SEC teams will make the NCAA Tournament. Final Result: ??? Obviously, we’ll never know for certain how many SEC teams would’ve made the tournament, but I feel like I may have actually gotten this one right. Kentucky, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Florida were all probably locks to make it, depending on how conference tournaments turned out.
Outside of those five, there really wasn’t any team that was even on the bubble.
South Carolina may have been able to make an argument had they made a deep run in the conference tournament, but I’m not sure that would’ve been enough to get them in.
The talent level in college basketball was down across the board and the SEC was no exception. Even with teams like Auburn and LSU exceeding preseason expectations, this was still a rough year for the conference.
So, in the end, I completely missed the one prediction I thought I would get right, got a bit carried away with my expectations on the one that was a little out of reach to begin with, and never got a chance to validate the one that I may have actually have gotten right.
Well, that sounds about right.
The Madness
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Football is the most popular sport in the country and baseball may be America’s favorite pastime, but for my money there is no better sporting event than the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
With its close games, buzzer beater shots, upsets, and feel good storylines, it always seems to deliver year after year, even though some years are better than others. It’s basically the sporting world’s version of Marvel movies.
As unpredictable as the opening weekend has been in the past, this year has the potential for there to be even more surprises than usual.
Normally, in most seasons heading into the tournament, there’s two or three teams you feel fairly confident in having a legitimate shot at making a run. This year though, it’s wide open; just take a look at this past week’s top ten.
Dayton and San Diego State have had arguably the most successful seasons, and depending on conference tournament results, could both wind up being number one seeds.
They’ll also be the two teams picked most likely to lose before the Sweet Sixteen.
Then you have teams like Florida State, Maryland, Louisville, Baylor, and Seton Hall that have all exceeded expectations this season, but they suffer from major flaws, many of which have been exposed over the year by inferior teams.
And as much as you’re likely to hear John Calipari complain about where Kentucky is seeded, along with how difficult their bracket is, and how disrespected they are, the truth is they’re not very good. Throw in Hagans taking time away from the team and they seem primed for an early tournament exit.
Which leaves Kansas and Gonzaga, who are probably the two best overall teams, yet I’m not really sure there’s much confidence in either. Or, looking at it another way, whatever confidence there is has more to do with what the rest of the field looks like, as opposed to the talent level on each team.
You could almost make the argument there are more teams ranked outside of the top ten with a better chance of winning it all.
It’s one of the reasons why this year’s outcome, more than ever, will rely heavily on seeding and which bracket teams are placed in.
It’s actually kind of a scary proposition when you think about it; the committee doesn’t exactly have a great track record of getting those decisions right.
That’s not to say the committee is charged with an easy task when it comes to seeding, but those choices will be extremely impactful.
One of the running jokes come tournament time, once the field has been set and the brackets have been printed out, is that anyone can win their local office pool, no matter their knowledge of college basketball.
That the tournament itself is such a crapshoot that you almost have a better chance of winning by guessing or picking teams because you like their mascot or the color of their uniforms than you do overthinking the whole thing.
In a year where very little separates the top team and say, the twenty fifth, that joke may never be more true.
And for a tournament that predicates itself on upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella runs, don’t be surprised if this year’s edition shows you something you haven’t seen before. Personally, I can’t wait for it to begin.
Richt V. Kirby
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With all the advances we’ve seen in technology over the past decade, it’s easy to see why people put so much stock in analytics and data; it’s another tool in the tool belt when it comes to winning.
When it comes to comparing players, and coaches even, it can be a little misleading.
How many polls have you seen online where someone posts the stats of two anonymous players, or teams, and asks you vote on which resumé is better? And how many times after finding out who the players or teams were, did you sit back and think “Yeah, but they’re not taking into account (insert your argument here)”?
When you compare the first four seasons of Kirby Smart’s tenure at Georgia to that of Mark Richt’s, they come close mirroring each other in a lot of ways.
Smart has an overall record of 44-12, three division titles, one SEC Championship, and an appearance in the national title game.
While not quite as impressive as Smart’s, Richt’s overall record was 42-10, two division titles, and an SEC Championship.
I remember the expectations being extremely high for Richt leading into his fifth season, but I also recall feeling, at least personally, there was more hype than substance; it wasn’t something he would be able to maintain.
I have a different feeling though when it comes to Smart, and it begins with recruiting.
I won’t pretend to know where most of Richt’s recruiting classes were, but I can’t imagine them being at the level Smart’s have been the last couple years.
Kirby has been bringing in elite talent, at almost all positions, setting up the future for his program quite nicely.
He’s also done an incredible job of bringing in the top tier quarterbacks, which is not something I was expecting when he was hired.
Another part of his recruiting success compared to Richt, is that he is focusing more on local talent, but not at while sacrificing it on a national level.
I know one of the frustrations from Georgia fans was that Richt would oftentimes only recruit the top-level talent, overlooking players from within the state.
I’ll never blame anyone for going after a more talented player, but there is something to say about a four-star athlete who decides to stay home and attend the program they grew up rooting for.
More times than not that four-star recruit will turn out to be a better player, and have a greater impact on your program. It’s a lesson Smart seems to have learned early.
Unfortunately, even after having said all these nice things about Kirby Smart, I don’t think his fifth year in Athens will turn out quite the same as Richt’s- a 10-3 record to go with his second SEC Championship.
However, when you look at the way Smart is bringing in recruiting classes, along with other factors in the SEC and on a national landscape, things are set up perfectly for him to separate himself from his predecessor.
So, if you happen to see a poll next year comparing the records between two coaches after their first five years, and it asks you which one you’d rather have, might I suggest going with the coach who has the worse record.
On paper it may not be as impressive, but you and I both know numbers can be misleading.
