Georgia Bulldogs: Warren Belin's Departure Is Inconvenient, But Not Shocking

You certainly can't blame Warren Belin for making the decision to accept a job at the NFL level. There aren't many position coaches, with his kind of talent, who aren't looking to challenge themselves there—at some point.

While some might feel Belin's decision was shocking, he did give a small hint towards his ultimate goal a few months back when he was interviewed by Fletcher Page of DawgPost Magazine.

The article Page wrote, titled "Intense, Indeed", was meant to be a feature on defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, but the quote that caught my attention—especially after hearing the Belin announcement—was the following, "...From a system standpoint, I'm learning an NFL system and the way coach Grantham goes about the game plan, installing the game plan, calling the game on game day. That experience I'm gaining from being a part of this defensive staff is going to carry me a long time as a coach".

So, the fact that he decided to take an NFL job, in his home state of North Carolina, with his old friend, Sean McDermott, is not so much a shocking surprise as it is an unfortunate inconvenience. Belin's impact at Georgia was immediate, particularly in the area of special teams where the team improved from a dismal 85th and 117th in the nation, respectively, in punt and kick return coverage to 17th and 15th in 2010.

Belin's philosophy was simple, use the best players available and ditch the directional kicks. Hopefully, Georgia can continue that approach in 2011 as it worked more often than not. 

As for the linebackers, Belin's influence cannot be downplayed, but the 3-4 scheme was new to him and coach Grantham played as much a role in the overall development of the inside linebackers as Belin. Belin was a student of the 4-3,  a defense he spent 8-years coaching at Vanderbilt and, coincidentally, will return to as an assistant for Carolina.

So, what's next for Mark Richt and Greg McGarity? Well, they will be searching for two new assistants over the next two weeks, but you can be certain that Grantham will want a guy with some experience in his scheme—less of a learning curve to be worried about in that aspect—and it wouldn't surprise to see that guy come from the next level (just a personal opinion as no candidates have surfaced of yet).

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