Georgia Bulldogs: Mark Richt Should Rethink His "No Staff Changes" Stance

2011 will be coach Richt's last season if he has another even close to this one. A 6-6 team is not what Georgia fans like to see, especially in what was supposed to be a "down" year in the SEC East.

At worst, most fans were hoping to see 9-3, but losses to Mississippi State, Colorado, and Florida have not set well with the fanbase and many are calling for blood.

So, when one glances a news article where their much-maligned leader is saying that he's not planning any staff changes, it has to leave you scratching your head a little bit.

First, let's get this bit of discourse out of the way, no one at this site is claiming to be an expert. No coaching experience has been had, and there is no reason for you, the reader, to believe that the opinion espoused here is any better or worse than that of the common, rational, fan.

That said, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there are some gross issues lurking in the ranks of Georgia's football program. First, and most importantly, the strength and conditioning program is sub-par. The defensive line was sucking wind on Saturday night against Tech—by halftime.

If the team had to play in overtime, how many of you have faith the defense could have held? Even more, how many of you were actually worried when you saw Washaun Ealey go in for the score with time left on the clock?

Just saying.

Even more, everyone in the SEC knows Georgia's defensive and offensive lines are a joke. Just check this little bit of commentary offered by Florida's players following their overtime win in jacksonville. :

Florida's offensive players really enjoyed installing the no-huddle up-tempo offense during the bye week because they knew if they ran it correctly that the Georgia defense would be overwhelmed. 

And they really, really enjoyed watching the Bulldogs struggling in the fourth quarter.

"It's fun seeing 300-pound linemen wheezing for air and you're fine," offensive lineman Carl Johnson said. "The D-line, they're wheezing and you're like, 'He's tired. He's tired.'"

Johnson took particular pleasure in talking some trash during the game.

"When 31 [defensive end Demarcus Dobbs] got hurt, I was pointing [and saying], 'He's tired. He's not really hurt.' He was just tired and faked an injury to get out of there, stop the clock. If he didn't, we were on the ball, ready to go again, they were gassed."

It's one of the few times that an offensive lineman can get in some digs about being in better shape, and Johnson said he savored that feeling.

"You feel like you own them a little bit," Johnson said. "'You're blown, you're tired, you're gasping. I'm fine.' It's fun."

Freshman H-back Trey Burton said he could tell pretty quickly the defense was going to be gasping in the fourth quarter.

"The first quarter, they were done," Burton said. "They were about to tap out after a while."

Wow...talk about embarrassing.

Coach Dave Van Halanger might be a phenomenal man of character, and he might be one of coach Richt's closest friends, but he's done a poor job of making these players into athletes. They're soft, badly conditioned, and incapable of playing a full 60 minutes at game speed.
 
It's time for him to go and Richt needs to make that happen.

As for a second guy, look no further than Bryan McClendon.

Take a look at these stats posted by EC Dawg of The Leather Helmet Blog (another site all Bulldog fans should have bookmarked), Georgia's running game was worse this season (ranked 71st overall) than in 2009 (ranked 54th overall)—something ain't right, folks.

To be fair, 2009's lapse was understandable. Knowshon Moreno was gone and McClendon was walking into a group of backs who had 1) no SEC experience (Richard Samuel and Washaun Ealey), 2) trouble staying healthy (Caleb King), and 3) were incapable of taking the pounding (Carlton Thomas). Still, he managed to get decent production out of that bunch.

However, 2010 was supposed to be the year of the back at Georgia, with both King and Ealey returning to aide the young Aaron Murray in his acclimation to the starting quarterback role. Instead, both guys struggled to find the groove they showed at the tailend of 2009 and, even worse, both became inept at holding onto the football—that's just a gross lack of fundamentals.

McClendon might make a fine assistant one day, and there is no doubt that he is a darn good recruiter, but two-years as a grad assistant did not make him qualified to move into the position of full-time running backs coach. He's in over his head, and Richt should find someone with more experience to take over the job.

2011 will be coach Richt's last season if he can't get this ship turned around and, as nice a guy as he is, he needs to realize that being a good man only takes you so far. Unfortunately for him and his throng of supporters, the "what have you done for me lately" culture of college football is working against him.

It's time that he start finishing the drill as a head coach, and that means making the tough decisions about who's presence is most hurting his staff and letting them go—Finish The Drill, Coach.

Finish.The.Drill.