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).

Related articles

• NFL Panthers to hire UGA linebackers coach Belin (charlotte.news14.com)
• Trenches Talk: Gruden (not that one) joins Bengals staff (sportingnews.com)
• As the coaches turn... (blutarsky.wordpress.com)

Georgia Bulldogs: Richt Makes Staff Change, But Is It Enough?

Coach Richt finally made the step that throngs of Bulldog devotees were hoping he would; he removed Dave Van Halanger from his position as Georgia's Director of Strength and Conditioning.

Okay, great! But why did he then turn around and hire/promote his replacement from within?

Joe Tereshinski, Georgia's newest director, was Van Halangers assistant/video coordinator. He's definitely not the splashy hire that Georgia fans were hoping to see when they called for this change. Many expected to see more time and care taken in selecting a qualified candidate.

The quickness of it all just seems, excuse the license, a bit sloppy and uninspired.

That's why it's not hard to believe this theory offered by Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution—Richt wasn't the impetus behind the decision.  Schultz speculates that the under-whelming nature of the hire could be because it was made at McGarity's insistence.

Richt has stated, on numerous occasions, that McGarity is clear about the direction he feels the football program needs to go if it is to become a force on the national stage. And, it's very possible, that he took one look at the S&C program and suggested maybe Richt should start with letting Van Halanger go.

Richt might have felt pressured to give McGarity what he wanted but, perhaps, wasn't willing to go all-in with the decision once it was made. Hence, he simply promoted Tereshinski.

Even still, setting his friendship with Van Halanger aside, one would think that Richt might be more careful in making such a choice. If nothing else the failure of former defensive coordinator, Willie Martinez, and the struggles of offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo—both in-house hires— should have given him the impetus to say, "maybe I should think outside the box on this one".

The S&C program is the one place where, it was clear, Georgia needed new blood and, no offense, but  Tereshinski doesn't exactly offer the excitement and change that so many were hoping to see.

Either way, it is what it is and, until this season is officially over, none of us will know what the "reorganization" will entail. 

Now, to be fair, Joe Tereshinski could, in the long run, be the solution that we were all waiting to see.

Perhaps he will bring an open-minded approach to the program which will allow him to make the necessary changes that Van Halanger didn't seem as willing to undertake—in which case he should be thought of as a considerable upgrade already.

However, if all Tereshinski manages to do is carry on the outdated traditions of Van Halanger, then, honestly, this whole business is much ado about nothing.

Georgia Bulldogs Football: Jeez, You'd Think Todd Grantham Choked Urban Meyer

Okay, we've officially heard enough about the whole Todd Grantham "choke" signal to Florida Gator kicker, Chas Henry. So, this post won't lengthen the controversy any further by rehashing the whole furor and analyzing it to death.

That said, you have to ask yourself the question: why is everyone so mad? Seriously, why the hate and lashing of Georgia's defensive coordinator for being in the moment and expressing what everyone else was secretly thinking: "miss it, dammit, miss it". It seems like a whole lot of nothing and if some Florida network had not decided to share it with the world, would we know? Would we care?

No doubt there are many coaches who are as animated as Grantham and, no doubt there are many of them who have, in the heat of the moment, said or made a gesture towards the other side that no one cared for but, unless you were there, you likely didn't know about it.

The funny thing about all of this is everytime Georgia plays Florida now, people are looking for some way to stick Georgia with some kind of negative. If it's not dancing in the end zone, then it's allegations of a dirty player (Washaun Ealey) provoking eye-gouges from defensive players.

No one seemed all that upset when Urban Meyer took multiple timeouts at the end of the blowout game in 2007 or, as "The Senator" points out, did the Gator chomp toward Georgia Bulldog fans as he ran off the field this past Saturday.

Get over yourselves!

Was what Todd Grantham did wrong? Yes, he should be more careful how he expresses some of his emotions. However, to act like he actually did choke somebody on the field is comical—he was caught up in the moment and made a mistake—period.

Honestly, you can't please the haters. Either they are jumping on Mark Richt for not having enough emotion or not enough—go figure.

Related articles

• Todd Grantham, Chas Henry, and the Controversy at the End of the Georgia-Florida Game (dawgsports.com)
• Georgia assistant seems to give Gators choke sign (washingtonpost.com)
• Richt says Grantham not proud of gesture (seattletimes.nwsource.com)