Why Tommy Tuberville Should Be the Next Defensive Coordinator of the Georgia Bulldogs
by T Kyle King
on Dec 16, 2008 1:00 PM EST
in Football
13 comments
Doug Gillett has some career advice for Tommy Tuberville, but I believe Tubs should take a job other than the head coaching post at Iowa State (although I happily welcome our Cyclone brethren to the Auburn-hating club!).
As we began hashing out in a recent comment thread, I believe Coach Tuberville should be the next defensive coordinator of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Whoa! Put your shoes back on . . . this ain’t Baghdad and you wouldn’t hit me, anyway, since I’m just a disembodied entity who lives inside your computer. Here are my reasons for believing this would be a good idea:
1. He has experience. Coach Tuberville has been a Division I-A defensive coordinator, enjoying success in that position at Miami (Florida) and Texas A&M when those teams were good. He has spent the last 14 seasons coaching in the Southeastern Conference and is familiar with every coach in the league, including Gene Chizik. What better resume could there be?
2. Hiring guys with ties to Auburn has worked out well before. The level of cross-pollination between the Classic City and the Loveliest Village over the years has been pretty remarkable. Georgia’s winningest head coach, Vince Dooley, went to Auburn and coached there. Georgia’s greatest defensive coordinator, Erk Russell, went to Auburn and coached there. Two of Mark Richt’s best assistants, Rodney Garner and Stacy Searels, went to Auburn and coached there. Joel Eaves, the athletic director who revived a moribund Georgia program, came to Athens from Auburn. I mean, I hate Auburn and all, but, when a guy from Auburn has the good sense to cross the line and come over to the Georgia side of the rivalry, he’s O.K. by me and he’s a pretty good bet to work out in the long run.
3. Coach Tuberville might have a little extra added incentive to want to beat Auburn. On the list of attributes I look for in a member of the Bulldog coaching staff, a burning desire to pummel the Plainsmen isn’t at the very top, but it’s in the top five.
4. Coach Tuberville’s Tiger teams went 3-1 against the Gators between 2001 and 2007. Remember that list of attributes I look for in a member of the Bulldog coaching staff? The ability to beat Florida is in the top three.
He also recruits well, brings the "riverboat gambler" mentality that might reawaken the dormant spirit of Dark Richt, and probably would work well with Mark Richt after the two of them visited the troops together earlier this year.
This idea sounds like a winner to me. If we’re going to have as our defensive coordinator a guy who was a graduate assistant for the Hurricanes in 1986, it should be Tommy Tuberville rather than Willie Martinez. What do you think?
Go ‘Dawgs!
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I agree with everything, except...
He also recruits well
I would agree with this statement however,
“He also recruited well before a competent coach showed up at Bama and started eating his lunch on the recruiting trail”
Sure Auburn has had some good classes under Tubb’s watch but, they usually weren’t better than UGA’s, LSU’s or Florida’s, and they were sure to never be better than Bama’s once Saban got there. I think Auburn’s success in recruiting was more due to a “Well, I want to stay in Alabama, and I won’t get to the NFL playing in Tuscaloosa” attitude from the recruits more so than Tubbs’ recruiting.
by LSU Jonno on
Dec 16, 2008 3:15 PM EST
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How?
Sounds great but how does this happen? Given recent comments from Richt and Evans is seems Martinez is not going anywhere before next season and I’m sure Tubbs will be employed by then.
by Prov on
Dec 16, 2008 4:59 PM EST
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For one, the season isn't over...
There is no way in hell CMR is going to publicly talk about coaching staff changes before we play the Cap One Bowl, let alone ever. It simply would be prudent to do so. Further, it doesn’t make any damn sense. I’ll bet a decent chunk of change that if Damon and Mark haven’t had the conversation about seeking out someone to replace WM, then they are going to do so within the next 30 days. They’ve got access to the same statistics and numbers that we do and the bottom line is the numbers don’t lie. If we can get Tommy T. to come to UGA for a reasonable sum to be our DC, then we need to get TT to come to UGA to be our DC. Anyone who says that’s not a significant upgrade at the position is flat out lying.
by Texan_Dawg on
Dec 16, 2008 5:18 PM EST
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No doubt Richt or Evans would not make public comments about coaching changes before said changes were made. However, why come out and make comments about the importance of stability on the coaching staff if you thought there was a chance you might make a change after this year, especially at DC. If I had to guess, and that is all any of us are doing, I would say Coach Mart is safe for another year. Although, I would welcome the upgrade.
by Prov on
Dec 16, 2008 6:17 PM EST
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I wouldn't be so sure about that
Several readers have already pointed out David Hale’s recent interview with Damon Evans, but a few tidbits bear repeating.
Consider this:
I talk to Mark about his staff, but I think Mark has shown he has the ability to put together good staffs. He’s done that since he’s been here. I think he will work through what he needs to work through, and my only thing is we need to make sure my response to him is that we hold people accountable. They need to take accountability for performance in their job.
I don’t think we need to overreact right now in this point in time. I think we need to figure out where we need to get better, what we need to work on. I do believe that stability is good, but stability is only good if you’re having success. Stability just for the sake of having stability if things aren’t working well, then the stability doesn’t matter. But if you’re having success, and you continue to have success with that group you have, that’s good.
I want to make sure that people are accountable for their job performance, and I’ll leave that up to our football coach to do that, but I do talk to Mark each year about what’s going on with his staff, and I believe that he’s shown over the course of eight years that he’s been able to put together a great staff and have success. Now we’ve got to take this year, which is a learning year, a year to learn and grow from, and see how we respond to some of the things we dealt with this year to see if we respond and grow in a positive manner or we do the opposite. I tend to think we’ll respond in a way that we’ll get better as a program.
And this:
You’ve got to do an assessment of where your peers are, and you’ve got to assess where you are in comparison. I think that’s really big. I think we have to be honest with ourselves when we do those assessments. Don’t say you’re great when you might not be great yet. Don’t think that everything is OK, when it might not be OK. I think we’ve got to do a true evaluation of where we are as a total program, and then where we are as each sport breaking themselves down and saying, OK, this is where we really think we are, and this is where our competition is. Is this where we want to be?
That’s a hard question because I tell people and I use this with our coaches and staff I call it the blind spot. The blind spot is the difference between the perception you have of yourself and the perceptions others have of you. That’s your blind spot, and sometimes our blind spot gets a little bit too big. We perceive ourselves as being everything OK, but everyone else is perceiving us to be (worse). The difference between the two is our blind spot. Perception is reality. Sometimes it doesn’t matter where we think we are, what matters is how other people perceive us.
I think we’ve got to make sure our blind spot is not too big, and that comes back to truly assessing program for program, the department as a whole, looking at the goals that we’ve set and, really, measuring ourselves to our peers. Is Florida a peer institution? You’re doggone right. Where are we right now in comparison to Florida football? Let’s be honest with ourselves. That’s what we’ve got to do. I can say to you, Florida’s been to two national championship games in the past three years. Is that gap widening between Georgia and Florida, or is it not? Those are things we need to sit down and assess. And if we do believe that gap is widening, how do we close it?
Throughout the interview, our athletic director keeps hitting on the idea that “Georgia has got to get better.” He sounds like a man who isn’t going to do anything rash, but who isn’t satisfied and who isn’t about to let his coaches become complacent. He talked about doing what had to be done to support Dennis Felton, but he certainly didn’t give any indication that Coach Felton’s job was secure. The specific references to staff continuity not always being a virtue and to the importance of accountability seem like pretty clear statements to me.
Am I saying Willie Martinez is a goner? No, I’m not, but the possibility of staff changes has been left on the table and a public statement that heads would roll simply wouldn’t be appropriate at this time. (We’re not Auburn, for crying out loud.) There’s going to be a conversation, and it’s pretty clear it’s going to be a frank one.
If the night of January 8 goes like I think we all think it’s going to go, that will mean that the S.E.C. has produced four national champions in football in the last six seasons, and, in one of the other two years, an S.E.C. team went undefeated but didn’t get the chance to play for the No. 1 ranking. Georgia, which has been one of the top three teams in the league in the 21st century, won exactly none of those titles, despite having had two top three finishes and one preseason No. 1 ranking in the last seven years. It’s time to clear the hurdle and it sounds like Damon Evans is serious about raising the bar.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on
Dec 16, 2008 8:27 PM EST
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Fair enough
But given this in the same interview…
But what you don’t want to do is overreact. I think you’ve got to take a look at things in totality. Yes, there are some fans out there that are saying certain things about certain assistants, but my philosophy is simple. I don’t really get as involved in the assistants to a great extent. I talk to Mark about his staff, but I think Mark has shown he has the ability to put together good staffs
…coupled with other comments Richt has made about Coach Mart (which I don’t have the energy to dig up right now) I just don’t get the feeling he is going any time soon. Also, has Richt ever fired an assistant? BVG supposedly left on his own accord although there could be more there than is public knowledge and Calloway also left for “greener pastures”. I’m sure there could be some I am forgettng.
I have no expectations of anything CLOSE to a “heads are going to roll” comment from either. However, I would expect them to stick more to a “we will evaluate everything after the season” script if there was any chance they were going to make a change. I hope I am wrong. Heck, maybe we should send off Coach Marts resume to Ball State I think they are looking.
One thought, and this may be a stretch, could they bring Tubbs on as an Assistant Head Coach with the idea that he helps with defense and is poised to take over if or when Coach Mart is gone? Just getting him on staff would be a good step.
by Prov on
Dec 16, 2008 9:28 PM EST
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T Kyle - congratulations -
I can officially deem you insane. )
So that makes this idea either perfect or horrible. But TT is such an ass – well, most all of them are anyhow.
It wont happen – but very interesting at the least.
by tankertoad on
Dec 16, 2008 11:24 PM EST
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Tuberville for DC Fulmer for OC
I agree with Tuberville as Defensive Coordinator……a slam dunk…….better get him now though or be talking to him secretly until after the bowl games. Experience, experience, experience. Martinez needs to go to a smaller school to try out his Defensive philosophies. But so does Bobo. My friends we are lucky to have won 9 games this year. 18 season ending injuries, A green offensive/defensive coordinators. Wow. We are winning games barely and setting records on defense. Unfortunately negative records. Georgia ranks 64th in total defense this year. Martinez isnt ready to go anywhere, he’s hoping for something better like a head coaches position same as Bobo. Mark Richt cant seem to discipline his coaches or his players. What makes anyone think that he has the courage to fire Martinez and Mike Bobo.
Mike Bobo is cheap for Offensive Coordinators position, Martinez isnt far behind either. Richt is doing this for them and not for the school or fans and players. Too passive as Head Coach. He even admitted that he hadnt disciplined his players for silly penalties on the football field. There is no LEADERSHIP on any of the head coaches period. which transcends down to the players. They all act dead and bored and tired and unfocused. Honestly if Richt did anything short of hiring Tuberville as DC and maybe Philip Fulmer as OC for the future of the school and its program i’d be shocked. Richt wont take any of his own money to get better DC and OC coaches now would he? 5 or 8 million a year is too precious to Richt to let go of.
by RonM58 on
Dec 17, 2008 12:21 PM EST
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Say what you like about Richt and his passivity...
But leave the money out of it. Richt is paid fairly for an upper echelon SEC coach and it isn’t near the figure you mentioned.
And by the way, Phil Fulmer and discipline aren’t exactly synonymous.
It isn’t called the Fulmer Cup because his players behave.
"Who knew that Florida would one day hire a coach that made us long for the graciousness and dignity of the Steve Spurrier era?"
Thus sayeth T. Kyle King
by RedCrake on
Dec 17, 2008 7:13 PM EST
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Say what you like about richt and his passivity
I know Richt and Martinez are friends from there former college (Miami) and i’d take Philip Fulmer over a BOBO anyday. I dont care what anyone says "you cant run a Div 1-A offense like a Div 2-A college.
If you take it, you gotta command it and quit second guessing defenses. When you put Alabama, Florida and the likes of Ga. Tech defensive coordinators experiences pit up against a young minded offensive coordinator like BoBo, youre in a world of hurt.
Which is what happened to Auburn this year.
He has no answers for really good defenses, especially if he’s young cause i’m sure he’s reading up on different defensive formations, whats best and reviewing alot of game films.
Georgia has won alot of games because they were more talented and was misaligned on defense this year, thank god the quarterback didnt see it.
The offensive play and you could see this in games they played. Bobo called some pretty bad plays that moreno got out of alot, stafford changed the plays alot and this was due to defensive positions and this was because Bobo called some bad plays and stafford knew this.
I went through this when Ray Goff was there and it got old and we went through this 7 years and im tired of watching us get our butts kicked or bad play calling on offense and defense.
You may like the way things are but enough is enough, i watched the Atlanta Braves go through this since the 70’s and if it involves a coaching change with Bobo and Martinez then so be it.
by RonM58 on
Dec 18, 2008 6:30 PM EST
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I never said I was happy about the way things were going...
I said it wasn’t about money with Richt.
You said that Richt didn’t discipline the players and mentioned Tuberville and Fulmer. Neither have been stellar in that department in the past.
I would be the President of the “Get a new DC” foundation if there was one and Richt has been far too passive with his coaches due to his undying loyalty (which is sort of an admirable flaw if you have to have one). But I stand by my position that hiring Fulmer to instill discipline is a joke.
"Who knew that Florida would one day hire a coach that made us long for the graciousness and dignity of the Steve Spurrier era?"
Thus sayeth T. Kyle King
by RedCrake on
Dec 19, 2008 12:35 AM EST
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something's gotta give
Look! The SEC is only getting better and UGA can’t afford to remain complaisant during this time. The bar is so high to be a coach in this conference that Evans has to light a fire under CMR and get some coordinators in here that can win championships, no matter who it is. Mart is just not that person. period. I like the idea of TT. I’m not sure his ego would allow him to be an assistant again but crazier things have happened.
The fact of the matter is that this conference is so well respected now that a win in the SEC championship game is almost an automatic NC game bid. LSU catapulted into the game after a 2 loss season just b/c they’re in the SEC. UGA has to take advantage now while the PAC-10 and the Big-10 don’t have championship games and while the ACC is down. This is the era of the SEC. Eventually, these other conferences will rise up. They’ll add teams to their conferences and have championship games. Winning a NC will become even harder than it already is.
UGA, please act now!!!!!!!!! Don’t sit back and hope for the best. Be the best. Get the best. I’m not saying that TT is the answer but Mart is definitely dating out of his league. As for Bobo, I think the jury is still out. He does make some questionable calls but the defense is clearly not good to say the least.
by bdawgs21 on
Dec 19, 2008 11:18 AM EST
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somethings gotta give
Hiring any coach wont guarantee discipline but there are more advantages that outweigh the bad.
First is Recruiting, Tuberville and adding Fulmer will dramatically improve our recruiting. Both coaches have been involved with players like Bo Jackson and Peyton Manning and both coaches are acclimated on what it takes to recruit 4 and 5 star talent. Their experience, heck just 1 coach has more experience than 3-4 of our coaches now. Their winning percentages along says something. Players love playing for both TT and PF with would improve our university program by leaps and bounds.
We cant afford to sit back and hope that Martinez goes to visit a Defensive Psychologists and that Bobo is struck by lightining. Our offense is operating on just talent and if you think he’s great then put him up against USC, Penn State and others with great DC and see. It takes years to develope a offensive mind. You can hide mistakes more on offense than defense. Put an avg QB and an avg RB on Georgia and see what happens.
by RonM58 on
Dec 19, 2008 2:21 PM EST
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