Somehow, in the backs of our minds, we knew it would come down this.  The season, which was suppose to be "our season", literally hangs in balance week after week just waiting to be derailed.  Sure, we could have prevented this, had we taken care of business against Gamecocks or the Broncos.  But it just was not meant to be.  Every game is now a must win game, no matter who it is against or how our recent history has fared.  Maybe it's fate that now, on October 29th, seasons, hopes, futures and careers all hang in the balance against our most hated rival.  Somehow we knew it would come to this.

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Does anyone know the specifics on when Big Bad John will be announcing his decision?  Time/Channel/Radio Station?

If he chooses Georgia, can we convince the legislature to make February 5th a State Holiday?

If he chooses Florida or Oklahoma State, can we convince them to declare a statewide day of mourning?

On a side note, WTF is up with the current line of Ugas?  I don't know if there is too much interbreeding going on, or what, but good Lord.  My suggestion: Isaiah Crowell's puppy for the next Uga!

But I told you so.  College football has clearly passed Mark Richt by.  Georgia's abysmal season has finally come to a fitting end.  Still no victories against a team with a winning record.  I wonder what the "head in the sand" cliche is going to be this week?  Take your pick:

"We're way better than our 6-7 record indicates."

"We're clearly the best 7-loss team in the country."

"We've scored 30+ points in our last bazillion games."

If you're not satisfied with any of those feel-good platitudes...here's the one I'm going with:

The idea that Mark Richt should be retained as the Head Football Coach can no longer be logically defended.  He has completely lost control of this program.  It is clearly time for fresh blood.

Go Dawgs!

In the cutthroat world of the Southeastern Conference, having a coach who is both a proven winner and a gentleman is a rarity.  As fans of the University of Georgia, we have been one of the truly blessed groups to have had one of those rarities for the past ten years.  Coach Mark Richt is the prime example of a gentleman.  He is slow to anger, even-keeled and conducts his business with dignity and class.  He is a man who clearly cares about his family; a man who clearly cares about living in accordance with the teachings of his religion; a man who clearly cares about giving the young men he coaches the tools to succeed in life beyond football.  He boasts a career winning percentage of just under .750, two SEC titles, and a 7-2 record in bowl games.  He is undoubtedly a proven winner and a gentleman—and he should be replaced as head of our football program.

While his character and integrity have never faltered during his tenure at Georgia, it is his ability to consistently win that is the biggest question mark.  And this is the dilemma that Bulldog faithful face, and it is not an enviable one: separating Mark Richt the person from Mark Richt the coach.  It cannot be overly-stressed that Mark Richt is truly a diamond in the rough as far as men of character go.  But he is not employed as the school’s guidance counselor or head role model.  He is the head football coach, a position of many responsibilities, chief of which is winning football games—a responsibility that has not been recently fulfilled.  While no one can impugn the character of Mark Richt the man, I will attempt to provide you with a look at Mark Richt the coach and allow you to reach your own conclusions.

A Tale of Two Half Decades

From 2001-2005, Coach Richt’s teams boasted an ungodly 52-13 record (.800 winning percentage), racking up two SEC Championships, three SEC East Titles, and two BCS Bowl appearances.  His teams finished each of the five seasons ranked in the AP Top 25, with an average ranking of 9.8.  From 2006-2010 (assuming the team finishes 6-6 this year), Coach Richt’s teams will have finished a pedestrian 44-20 (.688 winning percentage), winning no SEC Championships, no SEC East Titles, and appearing in only one BCS Bowl.  His teams have only finished 3 of 5 seasons ranked in the AP Top 25, with an average ranking (in those years) of a 12.6.  If you include the other two unranked seasons and generously assign those two teams a ranking of 26, then Georgia has finished with an average ranking of 18th in the country since the beginning of the 2006 season.

From 2001-2005, Coach Richt sported a 30-10 conference record (.750 winning percentage).  From 2006-2010 (assuming the team loses to Auburn), he has fallen to a mediocre 23-17 (.575 winning percentage).  Coincidently, Coaches Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier, and Nick Saban have taken the helms of Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama, respectively, since 2005.  As the better coaches have joined SEC schools, Mark Richt’s performance against the SEC has significantly declined.  And while Richt’s winning percentage against the Southeastern Conference has declined significantly since 2005, the conference itself has become the national powerhouse.  Since Mark Richt took over in 2001, a team from the Southeastern Conference has won the BCS National Championship five times--LSU in 2003 and 2007, Florida in 2006 and 2008, and Alabama in 2009.

Not a Matter of Talent

Since 2001, Coach Richt has amassed Top 10 quality talent year in and year out.  His average recruiting class has ranked 8th (8.2) in the nation.  Surprisingly, the numbers are almost mirror images for the two half-decades.  From 2001-2005 and from 2006-2010, Coach Richt’s recruiting classes averaged a ranking of 8th (8.2) in the nation.  Since 2001, Mark Richt has sent eight first-round draft picks to the NFL, and will likely send another one this year.  While, as DawgsOnline points out, having first-round talent on a team does not necessarily lead to titles; titles usually result from teams having a crop of first-round draft picks.  Consider the 2008 year.  The 2008 football team had Matthew Stafford (NFL), Knowshon Moreno (NFL), Mohammed Massaquoi (NFL), A.J. Green (NFL Caliber), Blair Walsh (All-American), Drew Butler (All-American), Clint Boling (NFL Caliber), Renne Curran (NFL), and Justin Houston (NFL Caliber).  A team loaded with NFL talent on both sides of the ball, finishes a season at 10-3 with an uninspiring bowl win against Michigan State.  It begs the question, if Mark Richt is doing an outstanding job of bringing top-flight talent into the program while simultaneously doing an outstanding job of preparing that top-flight talent for the NFL, then why is the program in such an obvious state of decline?  What has changed since 2005 that Mark Richt cannot seem to overcome?

Regression to the Mean

It is no secret that Senator Blutarsky is a fan of a metric known as “Regression to the Mean”.  Regression to the mean is the statistical way of saying that everything averages out overtime.  Things are never as good as they seem and they are never as bad as they seem.  If a variable is extreme on its first measurement, then it will be closer to its average on its second measurement.  It is likely that the first five years of Mark Richt’s tenure at UGA were one extreme, and the past five years have been the opposite extreme bringing us closer to our average.  Assuming we finish the season at 6-6, our mean with Mark Richt is 9 wins per season. 

I owe all of the lofty expectations I have of Georgia Football to Coach Mark Richt’s first five years.  There is no taking away the fact that he reignited a dormant program and turned it once again into a respectable and formidable powerhouse.  But if there is another lesson we have learned from his tenure, it is that Mark Richt does have a ceiling.  That ceiling is an SEC Championship every five years, winning our division 30 percent of the time, and never competing for a National Championship.  Most Division I programs would kill to have a ceiling like that.  And Georgia fans owe Mark Richt an eternal debt of gratitude for bringing our program to the level it is today—and that can never be taken away.  But Georgia is not most Division I programs.  It is a Top 10 Division I program.

Mark Richt the man is the type of person without a ceiling.  His character and civility are unrivaled, and his actions are beyond reproach.  But Mark Richt the coach has a ceiling.  It is a ceiling that should be unacceptable for a Dawg fan.  We have to part ways with Mark Richt the coach, and bring in someone with a higher ceiling.  It is time to knock the lid off of this program.

Two teams will converge on an open field,

And knowing I will not root for both

For being a Dawg fan, long I wield

Malice toward those of a Gator appeal

And disdain for a school which all should loathe;

Mine is the team of greater acclaim,

Though recent records notwithstanding,

Because it is classy, and free from shame;

And owns the overall historical claim

Of all-time victories, but understanding

That both teams Saturday equally stand

Unable to captain their own souls in the East.

Oh, but for my team it’s victory at hand!

And after a month of despair, they demand

An hour to kill the reptilian beast.

This gridiron battle will spark an ember

Heating a flame that turns our fortunes back,

And eases the pain of a long September,

Whilst forcing the jorted ones to remember

The beating they took from the Red and Black!

Go Dawgs!

If we beat Florida this weekend, the Gators will drop to 4-4.  Which means we still won't have a victory against a team with a winning percentage above .500.

Louisiania LaFayette:  Currently .289; if they win Saturday they improve to .375.

Tennessee:  Currently .289; if they win Saturday they improve to .375.

Vanderbilt: Currently .289; if they win Saturday they improve to .375.

Kentucky: Currently .500; if they win Saturday they improve to .556.

Florida: Currently .571; if we beat them Saturday they fall to .500.

We're the Oregon of the East.  Except with four losses.  Hopefully Kentucky can pull one out and give us our first victory over a team with a winning record.

If the World-Wide Leader in sports is right about anything, it's that the theme of this year is the number of unranked blue-bloods.  Three quarters of the way through the 2010 regular season and the nation's traditional powers are nowhere to be found in the latest BCS rankings.  No Texas or Southern California.  No Michigan or Penn State.  And no Georgia or Florida.  The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, a game which traditionally has SEC championship implications at a minimum, has been reduced to a Clash of the Titans battle between two teams barely vying for legitimacy in their own divisions, while trying to overcome their own demons.

On Freud's Couch

The Florida Gators are struggling with one of the worst cases of Separation Anxiety of any team in major conference football.  They completely lack an offensive identity, having lost one of the greatest college football players of all-time and the outstanding offensive coordinator that put said player in the position to be great.  On the surface, the Gator Offense does not look like a complete train wreck.  The jorted ones average 27.5 points per game.  But most of that has come against teams with even or losing records, where they pick up 37.6 points per game.  In games against teams with winning records, the Gators are a mediocre 1-3, averaging only 20 offensive points per game.  If a team has ever missed a player and offensive coordinator more than the Florida Gators miss Tim Tebow and Dan Mullen, I am yet to see it.  Florida goes into Jacksonville this weekend in search of a new offensive identity, against a team it has dominated for the better part of 20 years.

The Georgia Bulldogs are not without their own offensive inadequacies.  The Dawgs average 31.5 points per game, which is significantly better than the Gator offense, but much of that is a result of the Dawgs racking up an absurd 42 points per game against teams with even or losing records (with a 4-1 record in those games).  They suffer a significant drop off against teams above .500.  In three games against teams with winning records, the Red and Black are 0-3, averaging a woeful 14 points per game.  The Canines suffer from a severe inferiority complex when matched against the better teams of the league.  Embattled Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo continues to demonstrate a unique ability to rack up points on bottom feeders while falling asleep for significant periods of games against quality opponents.  Georgia goes into Jacksonville this weekend in search of its first quality win of the 2010 season, against a team that has owned it the past two decades.

The Strengths

As much as these head-case teams have struggled at times on the offensive side of the ball, they have both been equally strong in preventing their respective opponents from putting points on the board.  The Florida Gators, on average, are allowing the other team to score 18.7 points per game.  In regards to that number, there is not a real drop off in defensive production against quality teams.  Against teams with winning records, the Gators are allowing (a ridiculously low) 22 points per game, compared to (an even more ridiculously low) 14.3 points per game against inferior teams.  To be fair, the Gators do compare favorably to the Dawgs in these categories...but only by fractions.  The revamped Georgia defense only allows 19.1 points per game, four-tenths of a point more than the Gators for those of you counting.  Grantham's boys give up slightly more points against winning teams than do the Gators, but 24 points per game is still a reasonable product.  And the Dawgs also sport a two point differential with the Gators in regards to points allowed against teams below .500, with the Canines checking in at 16.2 points per game.  Expect both teams to rely heavily on stout defensive efforts in Saturday's showdown. 

The Hype

Dawgnation should be cautious about expecting a victory against the Gators.  Although the Dawgs opened as a three point favorite, one only needs to read between the statistical lines to discover a plethora of reasons for worry.  The first thing that should stick out is that the Dawgs are yet to win against a team that currently has a winning percentage above .500.  Second is that even though Florida is nearly a perfect statistical match with Georgia, the Gators have compiled said stats against a slightly tougher slate of opponents to date.  Alabama/LSU/Mississippi State is, without question, a tougher slate of opponents than South Carolina/Arkansas/Mississippi State.  Moreover, Florida defeated its out of conference automatic-qualifier (South Florida), while Georgia lost to its own (Colorado).  If you really want to get into the minutiae, Florida's cupcake to date was a stronger opponent than Georgia's cupcake.

The Hope

Of course, if you are an eternal optimist, you have a few things of your own on which to hedge your bets.  For one, the Dawgs are roaring into Jacksonville riding a three-game SEC winning streak, in which they have averaged 42.7 points per game.  The Gators on the other hand, are limping into Jacksonville, riding a three-game losing streak in which they have only been able to come up with 42 points TOTAL.  Second, this will be the second game of the season in which Georgia has the superior offensive coordinator.  If the game becomes a shootout, having Mike Bobo calling plays over Steve Addazio could be the deciding factor.  Third, the Dawgs have the advantages at the skill positions.  Aaron Murray is better than the combined efforts of John Brantley and Trey Burton.  A.J. Green and Chris Durham are better than Chris Rainey and Deonte Thompson.  Orson Charles or Aaron White outclass Jordan Reed.  Both teams are fairly even at running back.  Fourth, the Dawgs have a clear advantage in the special teams department:  With Drew Butler and Brandon Boykin in mid-season form and one of the best place kickers in the country in Blair Walsh.  There is no reason why this talented Bulldog team should lose this game.

Back to Freud's Couch

But the fact is, Georgia probably will lose on Saturday.  And it will have nothing to do with talent or play-calling.  Remember the title of this post.  Georgia is the team with the inferiority complex.  And that complex stems from a two-decade span in which the Bulldogs have gone to Jacksonville and won only three times.  The last of those victories came in 2007, and only a few players on Georgia's current roster were in the arena the last time Georgia beat the Gators.  If Athenians are to come back to the peach state with a 5-4 record, they will have to get over the mental block that is the Florida Gators.  Until the Bulldogs (from the coaching staff down) can look across the sidelines without being intimidated, this series is not going to turn back around to Georgia's favor.  Maybe Saturday is the start of that turnaround.  Maybe it is just another let down.

The Prediction

I see Florida winning this game, after trailing nearly the entire game.  They'll put together some late drive, trailing by four points in the fourth quarter.  Our defense will give on a 3rd and 8.  Then we will give up a big play for a touchdown on 1st and 10.  The Gators will go up by three with three minutes left.  And the Georgia offense will go three and out.  I hope I am wrong.   Florida 30, Georgia 27.  God, I hope I'm wrong.

Go Dawgs!

We're back, baby!

Now that all of our team's systemic problems have been corrected after having issued a thorough beat down to Tennessee's best team in the past 50 years, we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming of whistling past the graveyard and pretending that our program is still right up there with the rest of the elite programs in the world. 

Wait, this just in:  I have just received word that the Tennessee team we beat was not as great as we are giving it credit for.  Multiple sources have confirmed that the Volunteers currently sport a record of two wins and four losses.  Witnesses are claiming that the same Tennessee team that got annihilated by Georgia last weekend has not beaten a school from a BCS Automatic Qualifier conference all year.  Experts in the field are skeptical that this Tennessee team could even legitimately compete for relevancy in the WAC or the Sun Belt conferences.

But hey, we beat them soundly...therefore everything is back on track for UGA.  The ship has been righted.  Mike Bobo has been exonerated.  We are back in the Top 10, in the driver's seat to win the East and the favorite to win the SEC Title.

Lipstick on a Pig

Except, we're not.  Dawgnation, we are what we are.  Halfway into the season, every team in the nation is what it is, no excuses.  We are a two-win football team, with only one of those wins coming against a BCS-AQ team.  Tennessee is not a good football team.  Good teams do not require overtime to defeat UAB.  As sweet as that epic beat down was, we have to be honest with ourselves.  We beat up on a terrible team.  Calling this victory over Tennessee anything other than what it is (our first AQ win all year) is putting lipstick on a pig.  I will admit, we looked great against the Vols.  But we also looked great against Louisiana-LaFayette...just before we plunged into a four-game losing streak.  But, looking great against poor-quality opponents is part of being successful.  You have to beat the teams you're suppose to beat.

But if our program is ever going to be elite, or even compete for the SEC East (which we have not won since 2005), we have to beat the teams that are as good as we are, and we have to beat most of the teams that are better than we are.  Since 2005, we have not done either of those on a consistent basis.  And we've regressed on both fronts this year.  We may not be better than South Carolina, but talent-wise we're as good as the Cocks.  We have better talent and better coaching than Colorado, but we handed them a signature win.  Mississippi State doesn't scare anyone when they roll into town...but we were not up for the challenge when we rolled into theirs.  Arkansas is a legitimately good team, that we had a chance to beat.  But as I said earlier, at some point you are what you are.  No excuses.

The Way Forward

In nearly every statistical category or combination imaginable, it is without question that A.J. Green's presence is making everyone better.  But no one is benefiting more from our star player than Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo.  Our reliance on one man has been embarrassing.  Moreover, it is a damning indictment of Mike Bobo's capacity to game-plan, make adjustments, and call plays.  The only thing Bobo has proven capable of doing is racking up big numbers when A.J. Green lines up at wideout.  Dawgnation, we deserve an Offensive Coordinator who can rack up big numbers when A.J. Green is out of the lineup.  We deserve an Offensive Coordinator who can garner five-star production out of three-star talent.  We should not have to wait six games in to see production out of the talent we have.  Mike Bobo has been loyal to the University of Georgia.  And while appreciated, his loyalty does not give him a blank check to bankrupt our program's offensive talent.  Regardless of what happens the rest of this season, we must have the intestinal fortitude to show Mike Bobo the door.  Firing Mike Bobo is the minimum that must be done in order to at least begin moving our program in the right direction.

Battered Fan Syndrome

I write this post because I sense our complacency returning.  I have sensed it in some of the Fan Posts this week.  And I see it manifested in Kyle's Vandy Preview, where he so breathlessly throws out that all of this coach replacement talk seems like it happened months ago.  Many of you, while all Damn Good Dawgs, are suffering from BFS (Battered Fan Syndrome).  The program that you love is beating you up, every weekend.  Yet, at the slightest sign that your program is "a good guy on the inside that really loves you" (i.e. the Tennessee game), you take that sorry program back.  No questions asked.  What you should be doing is loading two rounds of buckshot into your 12-gauge and waiting outside on the porch for your no-good, fan-abusing football program to come home from work. 

Wake up, Dawgnation!  Our problems still exist.  Nothing has changed.  Sure, we'll probably rack up some huge numbers against Vanderbilt tomorrow.  And if you're are satisfied with being superior to the Vandies and Louisiana-LaFayettes of the world and finishing seasons at 7-5, 6-6, 5-7, that is your right.  But I will not be satisfied until we are on equal footing with Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California, and Ohio State.  Do not forget what Coach Mark Richt and Mike Bobo put you through this year. 

You deserve better.

Lack of Dawg Legacy

I have never attended school at the University of Georgia.  In fact, the first time I ever set foot on the school's campus was in the winter of 2004, as a junior at North Georgia College & State University.  I grew up in Fannin County, Georgia, about 12 miles from the Tennessee line.  From my childhood home, it was a shorter drive to Knoxville than Athens.  My dad, although technically a Dawg fan, was also a Tennessee sympathizer.  And my younger brother was an unabashed Tennessee fanatic.

Lack of Dawg Greatness

I was born in late 1982.  The great run that the Dawg's had with one Herschel Walker was over.  Thus it goes without saying that for the first 18 years of my life (the decline of Dooley era through the Ray Goff era) the Bulldogs were rather atrocious.  I never saw a truly great UGA football team until I was a 19 year-old college freshman.  But my dad, being the consumate sports fan that he is, always had college football on TV in the fall.  And we would always watch the Dawg's play rather terrible football.  It was during this tumultuous period in Dawg history that Peyton Manning was making a name for himself at Tennessee.  My brother, being the rabid Tennessee supporter; and my father, being a Tennessee sympathizer watched almost every game that Manning played in. If I wanted to spend any significant amount of time with the family, I had to do it watching Tennessee play football.

Lack of Dawg Indoctrination

Honestly, it was not exactly a bad experience.  I mean, I got to watch a lot of winning football.  And I got to watch one of the greatest college football players ever.  Meanwhile, the Dawgs were turning in six and seven win seasons and doing very little to win over a young and impressionable fan.  I will admit, I was dangerously close to becoming a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers.  And to this day, I still consider myself to be somewhat of a Tennessee sympathizer.  For all intents and purposes, the stars were lined up for me to be a bonifide Volunteer. Fortunately for me (and the rest of Dawgnation, if it's not too bold to say) I was able to get out of the house and expand my horizons.

The Rebirth

Midway through my senior year at Fannin County High School, I had been accepted to the University of Georgia, North Georgia College and Georgia Southern.  But there was never really a question of where I would end up.  My parents did not make a lot of money, so I knew I needed to go somewhere affordable and find a way to pay the bulk of it myself.  I ended up enlisting in the Army Reserves during my senior year of high school.  The plan was to use my Montgomery G.I. Bill to pay for college, while earning a commission and a college degree.  I ended up choosing North Georgia College before I had even applied, simply because it is a Senior Military College and had the best R.O.T.C. program in the country.  So I left the one opportunity to become a full-fledged Bulldog on the table, and instead chose to fully pursue the military route.

In college, I learned that there are two types of people from the state of Georgia:  Dawg fans and Tech fans.  It really does not matter where you attend college in this state.  On Saturdays, you are either watching UGA or Tech.  But if there was a single Tech fan at NGCSU from 2001-2005, then I honestly never met him.  I cannot recall one person who self-admitted to being a Tech fan or sympathizer...although I had my suspicions about one or two.  I also learned that there are three things important to a college student: Beer, Women, and College Football.  Since NGCSU was a fully-functioning Athens-West, I was in a great place to begin my Dawg re-education.

The Immaculate Reception

I remember the exact point, place and time of my conversion to Bulldogism.  Allow me to paint the picture: November 16, 2002.  The Georgia Bulldogs were playing the Auburn Tigers.  The Dawgs trailed the Tigers 21-17 with less than two minutes remaining.  Georgia's drive had stalled deep in Auburn territory.  4th and 14 from the 19-yard line.  I remember saying to my then girlfriend, "This one's over."  Preparing myself for the worst and hoping for the best, I watched David Greene lead his men out of the huddle and line up on the ball--and I witnessed a miracle.  Greene threw a bullet of a touchdown pass to Michael Johnson in the back-left corner of the endzone.  The Dawgs walked away with the win, and my heart.

Missionary for Dawgnation

Exactly 20 years and 11 days after I entered this world, I became the world's most fanatic Bulldog fan.  Since then, I educated myself on the classics, listened to stock footage of Larry Munson, watched every Herschel Walker highlight in the YouTube vault.  And I have spread my fanaticism and enthusiasm to the far corners of the Dawgnation.  My dad, while still a Tennessee sympathizer, is just as rabid a Dawg fan as I--thanks to my constant badgering.  But my crowning achievement was converting my brother to the true religion.  The once rabid Tennessee fan is now a confirmed UGA apologist.  It's all because of me.  Well, maybe it's because his girlfriend went to UGA and took him to virtually every game for his re-education.  No, screw that.  It was me.  I converted him.  He saw the type of person I became once I let Georgia Football into my life, and he wanted a piece of that.  Everyone wants a piece of that.

Not bad for someone who should be writing a Volography.

Go Dawgs!

Over the past few weeks, I think I have made a rather compelling case for the termination of Mike Bobo as the teams Offensive Coordinator.  Moreover, the team's recent on field struggles (10-10 in last 20 games) have opened a lot of eyes to the idea that the Mark Richt "hot-seat" talk might actually have merit.

I agree with Paul Westerdawg in saying that there are a plethora of brilliant offensive minds who would kill for the opportunity to coach Georgia's offense.  On the same note, there are a plethora of brilliant coaches who would kill for the opportunity to coach a historic program in the SEC.

So, to fulfil my promise to T. Kyle King to keep the conversation going, I would like to submit some of my potential favorites for the two potential vacancies.  We'll start with Offensive Coordinator (in no particular order):

Bill Musgrave--Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Coach, Atlanta Falcons

Positives: Relatively young; ties to the Atlanta area and the Southeast; Successful as Offensive Coordinator in NFL; widely known as outstanding developer of quarterbacks; Vast experience coaching the pro-style offense that Georgia currently utilizes

Negatives: Failed as Offensive Coordinator at a different NFL team; no college coaching/recruiting experience

Mike Munchak--Offensive Line Coach, Tennessee Titans

Positives: NFL Hall of Fame Offensive Lineman; relatively young;  ties to the South East; Widely regarded as the best offensive line coach in the NFL; known as outstanding motivator

Negatives: No college coaching/recruiting experience; no experience with play-calling or scheming

And now, onto whom I think would make legitimate replacements for Mark Richt (again, in no particular order):

Jim Harbaugh--Head Coach, Stanford University

Positives: Similar offensive style as CMR; known for having brutally tough players; good a getting the most out of sub par talent; would most likely leave Stanford if offered a chance to coach a legitimate NC contender

Negatives: Little to no ties to the SEC recruiting base

Mike Dantonio--Head Coach, Michigan State University

Positives: Outstanding game planner; can recruit well despite his school being "second fiddle" in the State, runs similar offense to CMR; Michigan State Coaches have been known to leave for premiere jobs in the SEC

Negatives: Little to no ties to the SEC recruiting base; comfortable job, can legitimately compete for Big 10 already

Chris Peterson--Head Coach, Boise State University

Positives: Outstanding motivator of men; recruits extremely well; game-plans extremely well; gets outstanding production from sub par talent in big games; has proven to be able to beat top-tier teams with middle-tier talent

Negatives: The former Boise State Coach stigma (see Dan Hawkins); the guy seems to be happy in Boise; no ties to the SEC recruiting base

I would keep all of these guys on my short list were I Greg McGarity.

On February 11, 2010, I submitted a fan post entitled "Take Your Lumps Dawg Fans."  It was a piece about overcoming our trials and tribulations and rising above them to greatness.  I closed that post with the following prediction:

"The winter of our discontent is over.  Be prepared to have your faith renewed in the program!"

I can't think of a time in my life when I have ever been more wrong.  My faith in our team, from the administration to the coaching staff, to the players on the field was totally and erroneously misplaced.  Dawgnation, we have a serious problem.  And has difficult and divisive as it can be to address our problems, we have to hunker down and do it.  We have to look in the mirror and give ourselves a sober, analytic and objective look--regardless of the implications that look might entail.  Permit me, if you will, to officially begin that conversation.

Block and Tackle

For the past five years, we have witnessed a steady free fall in our team's ability to perform the most basic football tasks at a high level.  And at the beginning of every new year, our coaching staff tells us that they are going to focus more on the fundamentals of football.  The product seen on the field is void of sound fundamentals--for a coaching staff who swears it is reinforcing the basics, that is a very damning indictment.  For five years, our coaches have paid lip service to blocking and tackling.  And for five years, we've descended into the depths of mediocrity and disappointment.

Nation of Laws

For the past five years, we have witnessed a steady increase in the number of off-field incidents from our players.  Regardless of whether you are a fan of the law enforcement regime in Athens-Clarke County, the fact is our players continue to actively and willingly break the laws of our state.  Our coaching staff responds with menial slaps on the wrist--one game suspensions against third-tier FBS and FCS teams.  Until Demetre Baker, it literally took an act of Congress for a player to receive any real discipline.

No Offense, None Taken

For the past five years, we have witnessed a steady decline in the ability of our offensive coaching staff to fully prepare players for games.  Some would argue that fumbles and dropped passes are a matter of discipline, and they are.  But they are also a product of poor preparation and lack of consequences.  From top to bottom, our offensive coaching staff is mismanaged.   Our head coach is a National Championship winning Offensive Coordinator who has passed play-calling duties off to a glorified quarterbacks coach who is in over his head.  Our offensive coordinator runs a staff in which a former wide receiver coaches running backs, and a former running back coaching wide receivers.  Is it any surprise that 80% of our games are completely void of anything resembling an offensive game plan?

Live in the Moment

Get prepared for the obligatory post from T. Kyle King telling us how Wally Butts did this and Vince Dooley did that.  Read it.  Then, promptly ignore it and get on with your life.  The triumphs and failures of those men have no relevancy today.  UGA's entire undergraduate class was born at least two years AFTER Vince Dooley was replaced as head coach.  There are grandparents alive today, who weren't even born when Wally Butts retired as head coach.  If we want our program to live in the past, then that's where our program is going to stay.  Elite programs don't suck off the teat of a three-year span of glory that defines their entire program.  They go out and win more.  We come back to the 1980 National Championship teat.  That well is running dry.  Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn have all surpassed us in terms of relevancy.  Football today is NOT the same as football in the 1950s and 1960s, or even the 1980s.  The game is faster by light years.  The players are bigger, stronger and more athletic.  The collisions are more brutal.  And the coaching profession is more cutthroat than ever.  If we fail to accept this, we will never be a major player in college football again.

Mark Richt has Lost Control of this Program

The arrests, the offensive ineptitude, the defensive ineptitude, the lack of discipline--all of these things are the tasks of individuals to address.  In the military, we have a saying, "All of the responsibility, but none of the tasks."  A Battalion Commander may not be in the day to day business of one of his subordinate companies.  But if that company fails to meet a suspense, it's going to be the Battalion Commander who has to stand in front of his boss and explain why.  A leader is responsible for everything his unit accomplishes or fails to accomplish, however he chooses to manage his unit.  Whether he is a micro manager, a hands-off guy, or somewhere in between--in the end, it is his responsibility.  Mark Richt has obviously chosen to be the hands-off, delegate as much authority as humanly possible type of manager.  And that is great.  But it doesn't absolve him of the responsibility of our failures, and our program's complete lack of control.  It is on him.  That is why he gets the big paycheck.  That is why it is him on the Ford Truck commercials.  If this were the Military, Mark Richt would be removed due to dereliction of duty.

This is the first time since his hiring, that I would not bat an eye over him being fired.  And that, Dawgnation, is the cold, hard truth.

I know I've been rather hard on on Mike Bobo as of late, so allow me to preface this critique with the following:

Mike Bobo is a good guy and a great quarterbacks coach.

Now that the obligatory "He's not a bad guy" is out of the way, I will now commence with the meat of the post.

If A.J. Green is the only thing separating us from having 4-0 or 3-1 or 2-2 record, then our offensive staff has done a poor job of coaching our players.  Sure, A.J. Green is a phenomenal athlete.  He's a Top 10 draft pick, without question.  He's a once-in-a-generation kind of receiver.  He is also one man.  And one man should never define a team.

Our offense has highly-recruited talent other than Green.  Talent that most of the 119 FBS Offensive Coordinators would salivate over.  Talent that should never be held to under 21 points per game, much less 6 or 12 points.  So why do we keep getting told that things will get better once A.J. is back?

For one, I'm sure they will get better...at least a little.  Surely to God having a future NFL star at wideout will make things better.  But don't be fooled.  Things "getting better" is a red-herring to distract us from the truth:

They never should have gotten this bad in the first place.

A.J. Green won't be around forever.  In fact, we've probably only got him for another 8 games.  What in the hell is Mike Bobo going to do next year?  We don't have another A.J. on our team, and we don't have one coming in.  A.J. Green is a prime example of my biggest problem with Mike Bobo:  He benefits from elite talent bailing him out.

Mike Bobo's play-calling is exactly the same as it was last year, and the year before.  The difference is, he doesn't have Knowshon Rockwell Moreno turning sure losses into three-yard gains.  And so far, he hasn't had A.J. Green turning 3 and 15 (from our own 20) into 1st and 10 (from their 20).  Sure, everyone wants elite talent.  And it helps.  But there are teams out there that do more with less.  Bobo has proved that he can win if surrounded by elite players.

But we need a coordinator who can win without elite players.  We need a coordinator who doesn't rely on elite talent to bail him out of poor play-calling or failure to make adjustments.  Mike Bobo is a good guy, but he's not that guy.  And until we find that guy, we will not legitimately compete for our own division again.

Evidently, some are taking exception to the level of excellence that I expect out of our football program.  Vineyarddawg even threw out what he considered to be the ultimate insult.  He said I was acting "just like an Alabama fan".  Apparently, fans of the Crimson Tide have "insanely high expectations" which border on unobtainable.  In essence, they expect perfection.  Year in, year out.  And they will settle for nothing less.

Apparently, that's a bad thing.

The University of Georgia is one of the premiere institutions of higher education in the country.  It is the unquestioned "state school" of Georgia.  The State of Georgia is arguably the third most fertile football recruiting ground in the nation, behind Texas and Florida, but ahead of California.  Most Georgia kids grow up wanting to be Bulldogs.  A few suffer from poor upbringings and end up wanting to be Yellow Jackets, but I digress.  We have a premiere school, which the overwhelming majority of top-flight, in-state talent grows up wanting to attend.  Additionally, we share a border with Florida, the nation's most fertile recruiting grounds, and we routinely pluck some of that state's prized talent.  The University of Georgia has the infrastructure to maintain a stock-pile of talent (three deep) at every position, every year.  And for the most part, we do.  We are set as far as talent goes.

Our arch rival, the University [sic] of Florida simply does not have all of the built-in advantages that Georgia has.  For one, Florida is not a lock to receive the overwhelming majority of top in-state talent.  Unlike UGA (who only really competes with Tech), Florida has to compete for talent with two prestigious schools (Miami and Florida State) and two up and coming schools (South Florida and Central Florida).  Not every kid in Florida grows up wanting to be a Gator.  So, even within our own division, there is really no school that can surpass us in the realm of available and willing talent.

Now, let's take a look at the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Virtually no built in advantages in recruiting.  Alabama has to split in-state talent with a legitimate SEC school (Auburn).  Moreover, Alabama is not recognized as one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country.  Both Georgia and Florida (in the SEC), as well as out of conference teams like Ohio State, USC, Texas and Oklahoma all hold significant advantages over Alabama in terms of available talent. 

So, why is Alabama considered to be one of College Football's historic powerhouses?  Well, it undoubtedly has to do with the number of National Championships they've amassed over the years.  And no one can argue that, historically, Alabama is one of college football's elite "franchises".  It's a brand.  Built by Bear Bryant and currently represented by Nick Saban.  Alabama has a tradition of winning.  A tradition of excellence.  Despite having no natural advantages in available talent or money.

What makes Alabama elite?  Attitude and expectations.  Maybe it is irrational.  Maybe it is insane or naive.  But fans of the Crimson Tide, despite everything, expect their program to be the best program in the country every year.  Because they have such high expectations, they bring in the right people.  They correct deficiencies sooner rather than later.  And they don't settle for "pretty good".  Has the Alabama football program had periods of ineptitude, absolutely.  But they've also had periods of unparalleled excellence.  This hearkens back to an old saying: "When you shoot for the stars, you'll at least land on the moon."

Which brings us full-circle to our own football program.  Dawgnation, it is time for a paradigm shift.  It is time to rethink the way we do business.  It is time to reassess what we consider "acceptable."  Since the departure of Vince Dooley (and arguably since 1983) our fan base has become satisfied with "pretty good".  And what have we had to show for it?  1989-2000, we had absolutely nothing to show for it.  Not even flashes of brilliance.  2000-2005 we were on the precipice of becoming a truly elite program.  But since 2005 (the last time our school, with all of its built in advantages won its own division) we have allowed our program to sail back into the doldrums of "pretty good."  Florida has won two national titles since the last time we won our division.  LSU and Alabama have won National Titles since the last time we won our own division.

It is time to raise our expectations to levels that are unobtainable.  It is time to start shooting for the stars.  It is time to hold our coaches and coordinators accountable.  We don't pay our coaches and coordinators exorbitant amounts of money for them to give us a "pretty good" final product.  Our fanbase deserves excellence.  We pay for excellence.  It is high time we got our money's worth.

It is time to start thinking just like an Alabama fan.

I don't dispute the numbers that Kyle posted via Ben Dukes. 

I have to ask a question though: Where have those numbers gotten us?

Three BCS Bowl appearances in 10 years. Only 2 BCS Bowl wins.  Zero appearances in the National Championship game.  Zero National Championships.

Mike Bobo is a pretty good coordinator.  And, given the talent that UGA routinely brings in, a pretty good coordinator is all this team needs to make it to a BCS Bowl every third year (on average).  And if you're satisfied with that, then that's your right.  Bless your heart.

But personally, pretty good does not satisfy me.  We live in the state with the 3rd best recruiting base in the Nation.  We are THE school that kids from this state want to go to.  And we routinely haul in Top 10 recruiting classes.

I want our team to be elite.  And you cannot logically convince me that Mike Bobo is an elite coordinator.  And as long as he continues to be our coordinator, our program will never be elite.  It will never compete for a National Title.

But hey, I'm sure we'll make it to a BCS bowl every three years (on average).

We need to find a coordinator who knows how to get the most production out of the given talent pool.  Who?  I don't know.  But there is someone out there.  Just like there was someone to replace the abomination to defense that was Willie Martinez, there is some motivated up-and-comer who would do wonders if given the opportunity.  But we'll never find that person if we're afraid to look.  We'll never find that person if we're hung up on numbers versus results.  We'll never find that person if we continue to live like it's 2005, the last year we made it to the SEC Championship game.

I will state this as plainly as possible:  Georgia will never play for a National Championship as long as Mike Bobo remains employed as the team's Offensive Coordinator.

Those of you who believe otherwise are, at best, unrealistically optimistic, and at worst, completely delusional.  Being an elite team (i.e. a team that competes for National Championships) requires elite talent and elite coaching.  Mike Bobo has consistently squandered offensive talent, save one year where his "offense" led the SEC in scoring.

If not for the offensive talent always bailing Bobo out during some of his mind-numbing play calls, things would look as dire as they actually are.

The proposition that Mike Bobo should be retained as Georgia's Offensive Coordinator is a position that cannot be logically defended.

I realize that the thought of the Dawgs making it through this season undefeated isn't even a twinkle in Mark Richt's eye this early, but being the eternal optimist that I am (and seeing nothing so far to make a pessimist out of me) I have to put this out there:

If Georgia, Ohio State and Boise State all finish the season undefeated and win their respective conferences, does Georgia get snubbed for the BCS Title Game?

I posed this question to Senator Blutarsky the other day.  He is convinced that if anyone, even Mississippi State, makes it through the SECCG undefeated, they'll play for the national title.  He said that there is no real scenario which would keep a team with that resume out of the game.

But, what about Auburn in 2004?  Undefeated SEC team.  Won the SECCG.  Did not get a chance to play for the national championship.  Granted, Auburn's competition for a spot in the game was USC and Oklahoma, two perennial powerhouses who were also undefeated.  Should Georgia finish the season unscathed, the Dawgs would likely be fighting with Boise State for the "right" to play the Buckeyes.  Boise State does not have the prominence or the schedule that Oklahoma or USC had in 2004.  But, ever since that cute little win over the Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos stock has been consistently rising.  The outcry to let one of the "little guys" have a shot at the title has reached a fever pitch.

As much as I want to be optimistic, I can't imagine a scenario where the voters would allow UGA to jump Boise if both finish undefeated.  Sure, Georgia would kill Boise on the computer polls; but every year, it's the human polls that decide the title game participants.  I am not sure Georgia would have the mob in its corner.

I welcome someone to convince me otherwise.

Guys, I only have 27 more days left in Afghanistan.  I was tasked by the 48TH Brigade (Georgia National Guard) Public Affairs Office with writing an end of tour retrospective on my infantry company's activities in Ghazni Province Afghanistan.  It's not sports related, so I will simply provide you the link to it.  I will say this:  I served with Dawg fans, Tech fans, Auburn fans (Kyle hates Auburn), and yes, even Florida fans.  Every single one of the men I have served with over here are a credit to their surrogate schools.  My company commander is acutally a double-jacket,  meaning he received both his bachelors and master's degrees from the Technical "Institute", and he is one of the best officer's I've ever served with.  Anyway, here is the story of D Co, Task Force 1-121:

Delta Company Defies All Odds In Ghazni

After one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory, and with the 2010 season still several months away, except more of this.

Criticizing the state of our program seems to be the chic thing to.  And for good reason.  Does anyone not remember what happened last season?  We lost to Kentucky--at home.  "Can't Get Right" absolutely carved up our secondary in Knoxville.  We didn't compete against Florida.  We lost to a terrible LSU team.  And we got steamrolled by an Oklahoma State team that got steamrolled by the Houston Cougars.  The criticisms of our program are valid, and in my opinion needed.

And there's also a reason teams like Florida and Alabama continue to be heralded as great despite losing a lot of quality players--They win.  They produce quality wins against quality opponents.  They beat Kentucky at home.  They force Lane Kiffen to accept moral victories.  They win SEC Championships and National Championships. 

Face it, any criticism that we're taking.  We deserve it.  I deserve the constant derision from the Georgia Tech Fans that surround me.  We deserve writes like Mark Bradley and Jeff Schultz generating page hits by tossing red meat to our disgruntled fan base.  We are what we are.  And what we are is an 8-5 football team.  And personally, I wouldn't want it any other way.

What has our team accomplished since ending the season 8-5?  We completed the most comprehensive overhaul of a defensive staff of any team in the Bowl Subdivision.  We hired a proven NFL Veteran defensive coach.  We hired a proven Defensive Backs coach.  We hired a proven Linebacker's coach.  All whom have a documented history of producing more with less.  We managed to pull another Top 25 recruiting class, despite the perceived "instability" of the program.

Florida loses 22 players on defense, one of the most transcendent offensive players of all time, and a defensive coordinator.  They're hailed as a resounding success story.  Georgia Tech loses a recruiting coordinator, pulls a terrible overall recruiting class...and the AJC adores Paul Johnson's every move.  Tennessee loses pretty much everything, manages to "steal" a highly recruited wide receiver from UGA, and they're "back on track".  And then there's Georgia Bulldogs.  Despite the howling and gnashing of teeth from Bradley and Schultz, Richt managed to put together what appears to be a significant defensive staff upgrade.  And (aside from the Kirby Smart fiasco) he did it quietly.  Off the radar.  He signed a great defensive recruiting class--again off the radar.  Georgia is poised for a huge comback season, probably more than any school in the SEC East, and yet has managed to stay off the radar.  This Georgia team is going to be dangerous.  They're going to win a lot of games.  They are going to upset a lot of quality opponents.  The writing is on the wall...and none of our critics can read it.

So my fellow Dawg Fans, take your lumps.  Relish the criticism.  Bask in negative press.  Smile everytime you read about Mark Richt being on the hot seat.  After all, we deserve it.  But keep one thing in mind:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”--Theodore Roosevelt

The winter of our discontent is over.  Be prepared to have your faith renewed in the program!

Go Dawgs!