Future of SEC East

[LittleVol]

I believe we made the best hire in a long time hiring Shoop. I think he really enjoys building fast and disruptive defenses. Had we not hired him, UGA,UF would have pulled ahead of us even further

UGA- Smart is actually going to be a good HC imo. He is patient and knows how to defer responsibility. And he has Jim Chaney coaching his offense. Our best offense in a decade was coached by Chaney.

UF- Mclwein wins the division his first year with a young team. That youth showed as the season progressed. But hes recruiting well for what they do. Good coaching on both sides of the ball.

SC- Muschamp will field a good defense. Kurt Roper has been to Cutcliff what Smart was to Saban. He learned the craft of creating an effectiive passing attack by hanging around his mentor long enough.

UT- We have an identity on offense and its tough to stop. We stop ourselves more than anything. Defensively we will be a handful.

Mizzou- Good defense... nothing else.

Vandy- See Mizzou.

UK- Nice uniforms, they just can't seem to build. Theres no reason they shouldn't be able win. They have the same recruiting areas as we do. They put players in the league. But they just can't build...

A lot of people think we have pulled ahead. Maybe for this season. But the Gators are trending back to where they should be. UGA could become better than they were under Mark Richt or at least the same. But UT imo has a chance be better than we ever have been. SC will be right there at in the middle with Mizzou.

One year at time, right? In a nutshell... things are back to normal.

 

[TNVOLnTX]

Smart is the key here. He has the potential to make Georgia a parrenial power. If he has talent flocking to him like he does already, imagine how much worse it will be if he starts winning. CBJ will have his work cut out for him if he falls any further in recruiting. That's what he's hung his hat on so far. We don't know if he can outcoach Kirby yet or vise versa. We can always hope Smart just rode the Alabama coattails.

 

[HoptownVol]

Don't you know its Boardicide to predict success for Kirby Smart? I agree with you though, Georgia is going to be dangerous. Maybe not this year, but.....

 

[vol-un-tear]

Smart hasn't been a head coach yet. He needs to prove his worth. Remember muschump. Florida could be dangerous if they get a QB. We are every bit as talented as Georgia or Florida. Anyway...one game at a time. GBO!'

 

[VolForLife83]

Chaney also had an NFL line, Bray at QB, Hunter, Rogers, Rodgers, and Patterson at WR.

Kirby may look better than what he is because of the talent at Bama. The recruiting success he's having is mostly from hype. Hopefully they stay behind us on the field

 

[KBVol]

Smart hasn't been a head coach yet. He needs to prove his worth. Remember muschump. Florida could be dangerous if they get a QB. We are every bit as talented as Georgia or Florida. Anyway...one game at a time. GBO!'

If rather not remember Muschump...he was 4-0 vs Tennessee.

 

[Catbone]

Vols are at a huge cross road this year. We will either be the next big thing or decline to irrelevancy IMO.

Not sold on Florida.

I think UGA in particular could soon become the next Bama. They have huge hype like Butch had in his early years.

If Georgia wins the East this year it would be devastating to everyone else. We have been fortunate that Mark Richt was such a failure (even though we couldn't capitalize on it)

The rest suck.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Talent wise it is UT in 16 and Uga in 17.

I think after we beat Florida and play get the SECe ( I hope), then our 17 recruiting class will be start bringing in the more marquee players. Getting title IX lawsuit behind us takes a recruiting disadvantage away from us as well.

USCe will be a perennial 4-5 place team battling with KY for position.

Mizzou and Vandy are going keep each other company for a while at the bottom.

 

[vol-un-tear]

If rather not remember Muschump...he was 4-0 vs Tennessee.

Still not a great coach. Don't care about his record over us. Sometimes I think bozo could coach Florida and beat us.

 

[vol-un-tear]

Don't you know its Boardicide to predict success for Kirby Smart? I agree with you though, Georgia is going to be dangerous. Maybe not this year, but.....

Just read 8 players have been arrested at GA since he arrived. Man CMR left him a mess! Another in the can today!

 

[KBVol]

Still not a great coach. Don't care about his record over us. Sometimes I think bozo could coach Florida and beat us.

You can say that again. I'm not certain they even need a cosch or QB to beat us. That being said, he was really bad at Florida, yet still beat us all four times. We're about to return the favor and then some, assuming he lasts at SCar for four years.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Vols are at a huge cross road this year. We will either be the next big thing or decline to irrelevancy IMO.

Not sold on Florida.

I think UGA in particular could soon become the next Bama. They have huge hype like Butch had in his early years.

If Georgia wins the East this year it would be devastating to everyone else. We have been fortunate that Mark Richt was such a failure (even though we couldn't capitalize on it)

The rest suck.

This is over the top... 7 top 10 finishes and 9 10 win seasons doesn't spell failure to me. We'll see how Smart does but firing a coach with 145 career wins for a career DC who worked under Saban? (who obviously has a hand in the running of the defense) That may not be as brilliant a move as you think.

 

[Catbone]

This is over the top... 7 top 10 finishes and 9 10 win seasons doesn't spell failure to me. We'll see how Smart does but firing a coach with 145 career wins for a career DC who worked under Saban? (who obviously has a hand in the running of the defense) That may not be as brilliant a move as you think.

Say what you want but he was on an underachieving team. The amount of talent he had, the location, the circumstances (FL and TN sucking) he should have done much more.

 

[Remy]

Vols are at a huge cross road this year. We will either be the next big thing or decline to irrelevancy IMO.

Not sold on Florida.

I think UGA in particular could soon become the next Bama. They have huge hype like Butch had in his early years.

If Georgia wins the East this year it would be devastating to everyone else. We have been fortunate that Mark Richt was such a failure (even though we couldn't capitalize on it)

The rest suck.

UGA won one NC in 1980 with Super Dawg playing and Vince coaching. They've been dry since consequently before everybody starts going wobbly over UGA, UT & Auburn has done more and better with Georgia kids than has UGA. To forecast Smart suddenly outdoing Dooley and Dye as recruiters and HCs without seeing his product at all, is assigning a status he may not be worthy of so just calm the $#@k down please and get a grip.

 

[99gator]

UGA won one NC in 1980 with Super Dawg playing and Vince coaching. They've been dry since consequently before everybody starts going wobbly over UGA, UT & Auburn has done more and better with Georgia kids than has UGA. To forecast Smart suddenly outdoing Dooley and Dye as recruiters and HCs without seeing his product at all, is assigning a status he may not be worthy of so just calm the $#@k down please and get a grip.

Georgia should have 8 wins as a lock most every season before the season even begins.

3 cupcakes (I know they have had Clemson recently, but I am addressing what is typical), Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Vandy, South Carolina, and Missouri.

In a normal year, those should be 8 wins without much of a sweat. Yes, some years Tech will be pretty good. Some years Carolina will be pretty good. But, almost every year Georgia should be better.

Then, you have Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and an additional SEC West opponent. If you split those games, you are talking about a 10-2 season.

For Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia right now, if you beat the unranked teams and split the games vs. teams that end the season ranked, you are looking at a 10 win season.

But, "unranked" is a kind way to describe a typical Vandy or Kentucky team as well as the cupcakes on a schedule.

One of the reasons people are correct on this board about expectations for Tennessee isn't just about how good Tennessee or may not be, but there may only be, at most, 4 ranked teams on that schedule.

 

[Nuctech777]

Smart is patient and know how to defer? How do you know that? He has yet to coach a single game!!

 

[Catbone]

Tennessee has to play Alabama every year. Nuf said

 

[LittleVol]

Smart is patient and know how to defer? How do you know that? He has yet to coach a single game!!

He passed over many opportunities to stay at Alabama because he was patient enough to wait on the right opportunity.

His top 5 defenses were always player lead. He's also wise enough to go get a guy who wants full control of the offense. Because thats not his world. Hes about playet development and coaching defense. But he stayed under Saban longer than any other assistant... not because he didn't have a choice but to stay, but because he wasn't finished learning from the best.

And hiS defenses were always great to elite. Hes consistent...

 

[Power T-Rev]

Enough with the bozos saying Georgia is the next Bama. Smart hasn't coached a game yet, and we know the track record for the majority of Saban protege's

 

[SpringBokVol]

Can't wait for the season to start

 

[a vol n tears]

One thing I learned from when Butch took over, is just how much more a HC deals with compared to the assistants. I don't care who they are assistants for, being a HC takes a lot of different skills. Some can learn those skills and some can't. I will still list FL as the bigger challenge to the VOLS winning the East this year. If this was a down year for everyone in the East, the Dogs talent alone may win it for them, but new QB, new HC, and top RB returning from major injury gives me doubts when TN and FL have talent across the board.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

One thing I learned from when Butch took over, is just how much more a HC deals with compared to the assistants. I don't care who they are assistants for, being a HC takes a lot of different skills. Some can learn those skills and some can't.

Amen, brother.

Making the transition from coordinator to head coach is by far the biggest and most disruptive promotion in a football coach's career. It can derail even very good coaches. Let me explain.

You start out as a graduate assistant. Your responsibilities are very narrowly defined. Watch tape, analyze it, cut it up, prepare it for viewing by the other coaches and the players. Help out during practices, and in the office, do whatever you're told. On Saturday, handle a lot of the minutia that happens on the sidelines so the position coaches and coordinators can focus.

Then one day you rise to position coach. It's probably the position you played yourself, so it's all familiar to you. You've been watching tape until your eyes bleed for the past X years, so you really know the details. Now you've got the chance to apply all that background and knowledge to the players; you get to work with them in depth, directly, and manage their development. It's a big step up in responsibility, but it's still a very narrow focus. You got this.

At some point, you get shifted to another position group. Almost always on the same side of the ball, and usually something related. If you were OL coach before, now you have TEs...or RBs. Not the same, but related. Something you've already demonstrated growing knowledge of.

And you do it so well that you're eventually promoted to some form of "coordinator" position short of being an OC or DC. Maybe special teams coordinator, or recruiting coordinator. A chance to apply your experience and talents across the entire program, rather than just with one group of 10-15 players. Your duties are broader now, and multi-faceted. But still, it all fits into two shoe boxes: your position group, and coordinating the efforts of the coaching staff in that "coordinator" role.

One day, you get the BIG promotion: to offensive (or defensive) coordinator. You are da man, now, with huge responsibilities. You're a play caller. You're one of the two guys who takes over when the boss is away. You have other coaches working directly for you. Half of the program is on your shoulders.

...but wait. If you'll notice, every one of those promotions is an incremental rise in responsibility. Take what you already know, and add some new bits to it. The new part is never bigger than the part you already had. You're adding 49% (or less) new stuff; 51% (or more) is stuff you already had down.

Compare that to the Head Coach promotion. Suddenly, you have both sides of the ball. That's 50% more right there. On top of that, add all the public relations stuff: the media constantly clamoring for time with you; a weekly radio program; annual Media Days; trips to ESPN HQ, and all that jazz. On top of which, you are now one of the biggest names in the university heirarchy. The Chancellor's office wants you to show up for seemingly EVERYTHING, whether it has anything to do with football or not. You're practically the deputy Athletic Director, so much of what he does being tied to your football program. People are writing books about you, and want inside access to your life. Your financials are through the roof. Your name appears in the paper on a daily basis. Third cousins and high school chums and people you never knew from Adam now want to be your personal confidante.

And in all this, this world where so much is new, stuff you've never really had to deal with more than once in a blue moon, in all this turmoil and upheaval ... you're on your own. In a way you never have been before, you have no boss to turn to. The AD and school Chancellor are "your bosses" but can't be your mentors, can't guide you when you're in doubt, because they have no idea how to do your job. Unlike every job you've ever had in your life before, YOU are the top of the pyramid, and everyone else is depending on you.

The new duties are like 75%-80%. But beyond that, the ulcer-creating pressures are waaaaay beyond what you knew before.

Some guys can't make that transition. Some make it with ease, though most who do make it struggle at least in the first couple of years.

Sorry about the wall of text. What all of it means is this: the step up to head coach is a paradigm changer. We can't possibly yet know how Kirby Smart and the other new head coaches are gonna do. No one can. Only time will tell.

 

[Volinnooga]

I agree on Chaney--I always liked him and thought he did well here but the number of Chaney haters online at that time was ridiculous. It's just typical VN--if someone isn't perfect while here, VN chastises them. Once they leave, they become geniuses and we wish we had them back (except CDD).

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Enough with the bozos saying Georgia is the next Bama. Smart hasn't coached a game yet, and we know the track record for the majority of Saban protege's

Stuff like this bothers me. It feels like there are a large amount of people on this board that believe already that Smart is just going to be a failure because he hasn't coached a game as a HC yet.

This mindset amazes me. Smart may have been a Saban protege but too many people are discounting his ability. He is an exceptional DC and, as already proven in his short time as HC, an exceptional recruiter as well.

Too many people try to explain away successes under Saban as Saban doing all the work. "Oh he was only good because of Saban. He will suck on his own." This is just dumb. Saban is a great coach, but he also has to have a great supporting cast to win.

If you want to go ahead and crown Smart as the next UGA failure, then go ahead. But I don't think he is going to just rollover for us like many believe. He's raking in the talent. UGA is going to give us all the trouble we can handle. Butch better hope he beats Smart in at least year 1 while we have the superior talent. The last thing I want to see is UGA having some momentum against us already while they are "rebuilding".

 

[KCMOTIGERS]

Kirby has never been a head coach, he has no head coaching experience. Anointing Georgia as the new Alabama is laughable