Putting Jim Donnan's Tenure with the Georgia Bulldogs Into Perspective

by T Kyle King on Jul 20, 2009 9:31 PM EDT in Football

Permit me to begin by apologizing for a content-free Sunday here at Dawg Sports. We had a fairly busy day in the King household---Thomas and I went to get haircuts after church, then we returned home and I mowed the back yard---but I had planned to post something in the evening. Unfortunately, we had an unexplained power outage in our neighborhood that started right before my son’s bedtime and lasted until I decided to call it a night. Mea culpa.

In the interim, there has been a little buzz in the blogosphere about Jim Donnan’s recent induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Now, I have no intention of continuing to flog a dead horse, but the latest apologia penned by mealy-mouthed Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley (for whom the defense of the 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Coach Donnan are recurring themes, just as Homer Rice and Bobby Dodd are for Furman Bisher, and just as race and more race were for Terence Moore) raised a rhetorical question that is deserving of a response.

After considering several of the games that did not go Coach Donnan’s way, Bradley wondered, "Had Donnan won one or two of those, would Michael Adams have acted as he did when he did?"

The answer to that question is: "Probably not." That answer does not well serve Coach Donnan’s cause.

I wasn’t in the room when those conversations occurred, and you probably weren’t, either, but the reports that came from those meetings indicated that Vince Dooley did not favor making a move at that time and Michael Adams did. I am no friend of Dr. Adams, but, if what the University president is reputed to have said was in fact what he said, we have proof once again that even a broken clock is right twice a day.

If we don’t do this now, Adams is supposed to have asked, is there anyone here who doesn’t think we’ll be sitting in this same room having this same conversation a year from now?

Evidently, no one had an adequate answer. This, I believe, is because there ultimately is no effective retort to an unassailably correct position. When knowledgeable Bulldog fans are able reasonably to conclude that the fourth-best win of a coach’s career came against a team that finished 4-7, that fellow’s resume is just a bit lacking.

Paul Westerdawg, who gives Coach Donnan his due without being either a constant detractor or an earnest defender of the man, evaluates pretty fairly the tenure of Mark Richt’s predecessor. Coach Donnan took Georgia as far as he could, which was farther than Ray Goff was able to do but nowhere near as far as Coach Richt has. (Coach Donnan’s 19th loss came in his 58th game as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Coach Richt’s 19th loss came in his 84th game as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Case closed.)

Paul’s position is that "the measure of a coach is...did you leave the program better than you found it? And, did you stay out of trouble? The answer was yes." I’ll concede the first point---although, really, short of the second coming of Johnny Griffith, it would have been hard for Coach Goff’s successor not to have left it better than he found it; Ron Zook would have been an upgrade---but Georgia stayed out of trouble on Coach Donnan’s watch only by the most narrow of definitions. No, we didn’t get put on probation, but the laxity of discipline generated far too many rumors for any reasonable fan to doubt that, where there was smoke (pardon the pun), there was fire.

Finally, Paul makes a pretty good point when he notes one of the things that would have aided Jim Donnan as Georgia’s coach:

Quincy Carter never being admitted to UGA. If he had stuck with his Tech commitment, we would've had Nate Hybl. Hybl left UGA because Quincy was clearly more talented after the '98 season, and he went on to win a Big 12 title at Oklahoma as QB. Quincy was supremely gifted, but he was a Coach Killer.

Let’s not undersell how horribly Coach Donnan mismanaged the quarterback controversy in 1998. His premature anointment of, and doe-eyed commitment to, Quincy Carter drove Daniel Cobb, Jon England, and Nate Hybl from the program. Whatever fault may be found with Coach Richt over how he handled his signal callers in 2006 applies to the Bulldogs’ struggles in four or five games; Coach Donnan’s blown call hampered the Red and Black for three years. There plainly is no doubt that Coach Donnan dropped the ball, yet he says he wouldn’t do it any differently if he had it to do again.

Coach Donnan seeks to curry favor with his former fan base by trotting out the fact of his "loyalty," pointing out that he turned down three different lucrative opportunities to remain in Athens. Even if we take him at his word that all three of those overtures actually were offers, these facts remain:

Two of those offers (from North Carolina and N.C. State) came from programs that are not remotely on a par with Georgia historically.

All three of those offers (including the one from Oklahoma) came from programs that were not remotely on a par with Georgia at the time.

One of those offers (from North Carolina) only was rejected because (or perhaps briefly was accepted until) Michael Adams sweetened the pot with a secret side deal to pay him more money.

The only way you can turn down three specific salary offers is if you listen to three specific salary offers. By that logic, Mark Richt has been less "loyal" than Jim Donnan because Coach Richt has declined even to entertain overtures from other prospective suitors. If you go to a singles bar after work, flirt with a girl and buy her drinks until she invites you back to her place, and make it as far as the front door to her apartment before deciding to decline the opportunity before you, you don’t get to go home and tell your wife how faithful a husband you are. The "loyalty" argument lost all weight with me when he crossed the North Carolina border the first time.

I note all that not to skewer the guy, who served as well as he could but not well enough for a program of the caliber of ours, but to answer the question Mark Bradley raised. Another win here or there wouldn’t have made any long-term difference. (I doubt whether it would have made much short-term difference, in fact; Jim Donnan was 4-0 in bowl games because his regular-season failures caused the ‘Dawgs to receive subpar bowl berths. Had he beaten Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech, or Tennessee a little more often, the likely consequence would have been higher-tier postseason dates against opponents he was incapable of beating.)

There is a saying that the two happiest days of a boat owner’s life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells it. Jim Donnan was a boat we were happy to buy but should have been even more pleased to sell. Michael Adams’s decision that fateful day in 2000 unmistakably was the correct one, and Coach Donnan’s firing delayed would have been Coach Richt’s hiring denied. In that respect, we should be grateful that Coach Donnan did not get the bounces that would have saved his job, and Bulldog Nation should regard the Bulldogs’ 2000 loss to Georgia Tech (like the 1963 loss to the Yellow Jackets that resulted in the hiring of Coach Dooley or the 1927 loss to the Ramblin’ Wreck that resulted in the building of Sanford Stadium) as a minor short-term setback but an enormous long-term benefit.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

qc

i honestly find it hard to second-guess the qc-hybl decision. i remember those practices, qc was superior in every way. hybl was a system qb at oklahoma. qc, while flawed as a person, was a supreme talent and the best quarterback of the group.

by ctrosecrans on Jul 20, 2009 11:03 PM EDT reply actions

The problem wasn't picking Quincy . . .

. . . it was picking Quincy and making it clear that the competition was over at that point.

When Joe Tereshinski III was named the starting quarterback, it was made known to Joe Cox and Matthew Stafford that they still had a place in the program. There were no mass defections, and two future starters remained with the program.

Jim Donnan made it clear that Carter was the man, no matter what. (We later got a pretty good idea just how far “no matter what” went.) When Carter soured, we had no options left but Cory Phillips, thanks to the way Jim Donnan made his decision.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 20, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions

The old cliche about hindsight being 20-20

is definitely in effect.

I thought that PWD’s comments and yours are both appropriate. I for one appreciated the acerbic wit of Donnan (especially his tiff with the insufferable sideline reporter). No question Donnan lacked the polished and smooth dealing off the field so necessary to the modern college job, and for which he was unequipped. At the time of his firing I thought the guy was jobbed; but its impossible to argue that Richt was an upgrade from Donnan years (except vs. UF). It’s easy now nearly a decade down the road to see some of Donnan’s critical on-field mistakes. But the entry of the apparently gifted QC to the program—-a no-brainer at the time—-only became a mistake in retrospect. Bradley really hit on some interesting aspects of coaching at any level; sometimes only a play can have critical effects. Donnan was close at times, but never got over the hump. But I still think he’s a stand-up guy.

by Farsider on Jul 20, 2009 11:50 PM EDT reply actions

Edit.....

I meant to say that its impossible to argue that Richt is NOT an upgrade from Donnan years. Whoops!

by Farsider on Jul 21, 2009 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Let us not forget where we were

I am sure you will say blasphemy, but just what shape was the program in when Donnan inherited it, or for that matter when Goff inherited it. From my prospective, Donnan, at a minimum, returned us to the "glory" Dooley left us.

I love Georgia, but I am also realistic. James Jackson, Greg Tally, do they ring any bells? Would you be so critical of Coach Dooley? As a student during Dooley’s final years I respect what Donnan accomplished. No, he did not accomplish all we think we are entitled to, but he did accomplish everything the post Walker years did.

Richt is special, but let us judge Donnan against what came before him.

by MikeInValdosta on Jul 21, 2009 12:28 AM EDT reply actions

One question

Kyle,

I like the point made about loyalty of coaches and the analogy of the bar. I hadn’t thought of it that way before. However, would you apply this same argument to someone like Rodney Garner? If I’m not mistaken, Garner cited loyalty to Mark Richt as a reason he remained in Athens this year rather than shipping off to lovely Knoxville. Certainly, though, one must believe that Garner’s (albeit meager) pay raise in Athens played a part as well. My basic question is, where does loyalty end? Are head coaches held to a different standard than assistant coaches regarding loyalty to their current employer? Does alma mater come into play?

Just for example:
Should Steve Spurrier decide to hang it up at Carolina after this year, would anyone fault Mike Bobo for being interested in the job? It seems he would be among the most loyal of coaches to his current employer (given alma mater, etc.). Would it change what people thought of him in five years? I think not.

by hailtogeorgia on Jul 21, 2009 9:59 AM EDT reply actions

Fair points

I would offer two observations in reply:

1. Rodney Garner typically has interviewed for coordinator or head coaching positions. I don’t fault a guy for wanting to advance his career by moving up the food chain. Jim Donnan’s flirtations were, at best, lateral moves, and I think pretty clearly were steps down. As Paul Newman once put it, you don’t go out for hamburger when you have steak at home.

2. Coach Garner cited loyalty as a reason for staying when announcing he wasn’t going anywhere. Coach Donnan cited loyalty after the fact when attempting to justify his annual flirtations with other programs. The first is an explanation. The second is a rationalization.

I freely admit that I’m tougher on Jim Donnan than I ought to be because I believed in the man more strongly than I should have. I backed the guy to the end, but, when it all came out—-the problems inside the program, the side deal with Michael Adams—-I realized I’d been backing the wrong horse the whole time. (My opinion of Ray Goff is quite the opposite; I knew Ray had to be fired by the 1993 Arkansas game and I never wavered in that conviction. Now, I view Coach Goff much more as the unfortunate son who wasn’t up to the task but still was, and is, one of us.) I don’t deny he did some good, but not sucking as badly as your predecessor is a poor substitute for actual quality.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 21, 2009 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions

I believe we are in agreement on these points,

I just wanted to play a bit of the devil’s advocate. Also, I wanted to know how you thought of loyalty and if it was different for a coordinator.

On that note, were Steve Spurrier to hang it up this year, do you think Bobo would be a legitimate candidate for the job? If he were to take it, would you be upset about it? There have been several instances of SEC transplants as far as head coaches/coordinators have gone (Houston Nutt, Nick Saban, Dan Mullen, Steve Spurrier, to name a few), but even Dan Mullen transferred to the opposite division. Would it be a bit of a slap in the face for Bobo to take the job at Carolina?

Certainly, the job is appealing from a standpoint that almost everyone would like to coach in the SEC. There is more money, more publicity, better competition, better talent, among a plethora of other reasons. I don’t think I could fault the guy. However, if he were to choose the job over, say, Arkansas, I believe I would be a little miffed.

by hailtogeorgia on Jul 21, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

While I think Mike Bobo is a little young . . .

. . . to land a head coaching job in the SEC, I wouldn’t begrudge him the choice to accept such a position if offered. Not only does it represent the culmination of every coach’s career ambition, but Coach Bobo has a wife and five children, including three-year-old triplets and a 22-month-old. The salary differential alone would justify his decision.

(I’d like to add, as an aside, that I don’t even particularly begrudge Jim Donnan’s decision to hear out North Carolina, N.C. State, and Oklahoma if he really wanted to return to his old stomping grounds in Norman or go back to his home state. I’m just not going to give him extra credit when he tries to argue after the fact that he showed loyalty by considering such positions and then rejecting them.)

If Auburn, our oldest rival, can make a habit of hiring Georgia alumni (Pat Dye) and Georgia assistants (Shug Jordan) as head coaches, we certainly can’t fault South Carolina for going that route, as well. It isn’t as though hiring Georgia alumni has worked out well for the Bulldogs (with the notable exception of Kid Woodruff).

The winningest coach in Georgia history played for our oldest rival. The second-winningest coach in Georgia history graduated from an in-state school whose football team the Red and Black faced 22 times, starting with the first game in Georgia’s gridiron history. Harry Mehre went to Notre Dame, the team the Bulldogs beat to claim the 1980 national championship. Alex Cunningham went to Vanderbilt, which had a 13-7-1 record against the ‘Dawgs through 1958. Mark Richt went to Miami, a team the Classic City Canines played a dozen times between the mid-1930s and the mid-1960s. (The only loss of the Bulldogs’ 1966 SEC championship campaign was by one point in a night game against Miami in the Orange Bowl. The ‘Canes were Georgia’s season-ending opponent five times between 1937 and 1952.)

In other words, if we in Bulldog Nation adopted a strict policy of not hiring coaches who attended rival schools, we would have deprived ourselves of every conference championship we’ve captured since 1920, every national championship we’ve won since 1927, and all but eight of the bowl games the ’Dawgs have attended in their history.

So, yeah, hiring from rival schools is acceptable, and I wouldn’t fault South Carolina for doing it . . . although, to repeat, I don’t think this will be the Evil Genius’s last year in Columbia and I don’t think Mike Bobo will be hired as an SEC head coach anytime soon.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 21, 2009 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions