Brian VanGorder Named Auburn Defensive Coordinator
The "coach exchange" program in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry continues.
Frankly, I'm going to need a little time to process this before offering any thoughts on the matter, other than to say that the thought of Brian VanGorder wearing orange and blue makes me want to puke.
Go 'Dawgs!
5 months ago
T Kyle King
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But he is an expert on bad career moves
this makes no sense unless Mike Smith told him he was about to get fired.
And just to think, if he wanted to be a DC at an SEC school, he could have just not burned that bridge 7 years ago, instead of ending up at a less stable school, for a less stable coach, in a program with much less financial resources. Brilliant moves BVG!
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Three words:
“Dead to me.”
Editorial Staff, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
@NCThom
Go 'Dawgs!
by NCT on Jan 9, 2012 4:51 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
This was the first thought that hit my brain, seriously::
What the f?
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
Sorry fellas, I know y’all have wanted him back for a long time. It annoys me as well that he’s at Auburn (we’ve got a rivalry with Aubie as well, as you probably know) and I can’t picture him in that lesser shade of orange and blue either.
Editor at Alligator Army.
I dont want him back, I am very happy with Coach Grantham. It's just shocking he chose Auburn.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
by chuckdawg on Jan 9, 2012 3:03 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
He won't stay very long...
Heck, he’ll be back in the NFL in about three months.
GATA!
by Jman781 on Jan 9, 2012 3:05 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
More like 3 days.
This isn’t the first time BVG has done this, remember he left Atlanta for SC, then got hired by Mike Smith shortly there after. If he stays, it is a great hire by the Barners. Lets hope he gets a better offer out of the SEC.
by DigitalDawg on Jan 9, 2012 5:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
He burned this bridge badly on the way out of town
wanting him back was never on the agenda in B-M.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 9, 2012 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Why would he want to go to Auburn???
I mean, if he wanted to wear orange and blue, Florida would pay him much much more. And they have better talent all around. And the NFL pays better than any college.
UGA Class of 2013
I wish this post said Coach Bobo to go to Auburn as defensive coordinator.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
by chuckdawg on Jan 9, 2012 3:08 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Dang.
This is a good get for Auburn. Hopefully VanGorder’s long absence from Athens has sapped his defensive mojo in college.
We know he can coach
but he can’t recruit. He’ll be a good fit over there since talent isn’t an issue. Next year when he and Grantham work opposing series, the game will end 4-2.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
He doesn't need to recruit as long as Trooper Taylor still has access to Bobby Lowder's Colonial Bank slush fund
DFA Heyward. I'm dead serious
by wpf3211 on Aug 6, 2011 9:11 PM EDT
I'm pretty sure, these days, Bobby Lowder's Colonial Bank slush fund . . .
. . . is in the hands of federal regulators. That, or in the hands of a bankruptcy trustee, along with all of Jimmy Rane’s YellaWood.
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
Perhaps we get lucky...
and BVG brings in Martinez to coach the secondary?
by liftbigdiehuge on Jan 9, 2012 3:09 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
That would be AMAZING...
…but Willie Two Thumbs is being mentioned as a candidate for the open DC positions at Illinois and Kansas.
One of the authors at DawgSports.com
I am the 99% of Americans who love college football
LOLKANSAS
Charlie Weis as head coach and Willie Martinez as DC? They’d end up looking like… well, like Kansas.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
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by vineyarddawg on Jan 9, 2012 3:21 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Well if not Willie...
Hoping BVG brings that soft zone and non-existent pass rush the Falcons were displaying all season to the plains.
by liftbigdiehuge on Jan 9, 2012 3:26 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
The soft zone may actually work on Bobo.
by DocSkraynj on Jan 9, 2012 3:33 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Really?
Cause Oklahoma’s secondary was lights out this year.
/makescrazycirclesnexttoear
http://sportsandgrits.com/
I hope to hell the Falcons don't come after Grantham to fill BVG's position...
That would suck loudly…
by Ed Wilson on Jan 9, 2012 3:25 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Then we could hire BVG
/SouthCarolina’d
by first and thom on Jan 9, 2012 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
Not gonna happen.
Falcons are far from a 3-4 team. Don’t have the personnel and no way we would go through the transition period when we’re that close to being a really good team.
Plus… Spagnuolo and Del Rio are both on the market.
by DocSkraynj on Jan 9, 2012 4:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Just saw this .....
His Auburn stint may be like the one he had at Ga Southern !!!
by Ogeechee River Dawg on Jan 9, 2012 3:30 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Everybody just back away from the ledge....
…we have Grantham, so we’re good. Although that orange thing makes one sick to the stomach.
Thanks for bringing me down further
like hearing BVD on the plains was not enough today
I HATE ORANGE, and DGNBs
I only understand this post because...
I had to rewind that stupid commercial and watch it a 2nd time before I got it. Fail, Budweiser.
Betting on college football is for people who find the outcomes of squirrel races contested upon miniature minefields entirely too predictable. ~MaconDawg
by MidnightFrost1701 on Jan 9, 2012 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
You always know how to make the best of a situation.
I feel better already.
by Cherokee's Grip on Jan 9, 2012 6:45 PM EST up reply actions
Kyle and I are rather depressed. He is taking it to the level of not even watching any games.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
This just proves that there is only one Defensive Guru
in UGA fame: Erk Russell and the current and only disciple is Todd Grantham
I HATE ORANGE, and DGNBs
Sadly BVG will prolly do well at the barn with the top 10 recruiting class talent they pull....
UGA lost 10 games in BVG’s 4 years here, in 6 of those 10 losses UGA’s “D” yielded 20 pts. or less. Throw out ‘01 as a transition year UGA lost 6 games ’02-’04… in 4 of those 6 the “D” gave up 20 or less….SMH…
01- losses by 14, 24, 24, 20
02- lost by 20 (but 7 came from a pick 6, so essentially 13)
03- losses by 17, 16, 34 ( 34 in SECCG to BCSNC LSU, allowed 17 in first LSU meeting that year)
04- losses by 19, 24
I don't know
Remember BVG’s system is almost the same as WM’s. He doesn’t like to blitz the LBs that much, and he relies on the defense getting pressure with the front four. When he did dial up a blitz while at UGA, it was typically a corner or safety blitz that left at least one of the receivers open in man coverage. I don’t see any dominant pass-rushers currently on Auburn’s roster, so I think we should be fine for the foreseeable future.
Sic 'em Dawgs
by ClassicCityDawg on Jan 9, 2012 5:03 PM EST up reply actions
I could give
a rats’ ass. In approximately one year from now, Auburn will be looking for another DC.
Editor @ Dawg Sports. 3rd degree Red 'n Black Belt.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Brian Van Goiter

har dee har dee har har har!
Editor @ Dawg Sports. 3rd degree Red 'n Black Belt.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Jan 9, 2012 5:49 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Good to see
him still rockin’ the pornstache after all these years
Know thy enemy...
by CoachSpurlock on Jan 9, 2012 5:54 PM EST up reply actions
Keep hearing that he left Athens on bad terms
and wanted to come back 2 years ago if Richt would apologize. Apologize for what? Anybody know what happened supposedly?
Know thy enemy...
He and Garner allegedly didn't get along.
According to what I’ve heard, and this is far from first-hand information, BVG told Richt he wanted control over the defensive staff so that he could fire Garner. Richt wasn’t going for it, and BVG left for the Jags.
Sic 'em Dawgs
by ClassicCityDawg on Jan 9, 2012 6:02 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks, figured
it was something like that.
Know thy enemy...
by CoachSpurlock on Jan 9, 2012 6:10 PM EST up reply actions
I was a huge BVG fan.
and no way Richt survives the first four years if not for BVG’s defenses. Our offense was as conservative then as it is now….maybe even more so. BVG’s in-game adjustments were simply amazing….
I hate to see him coaching for the enemy, but for coaches it simply is a job!
Fortunately, he will not be there long.
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." George Bernard Shaw
Don't really care
Falcon’s Defense was pretty average-bad the past couple of years, give me Grantham and our current talent.
Not a big deal
Dude left like 7 years ago. He was great for us, sure, but he burned a few bridges on the way out and we’ve got a better guy right now. Sigh.
by elfcrash on Jan 9, 2012 7:30 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Fair enough, but that's not the relevant comparison.
I never wanted Brian VanGorder back, nor did I think it was ever an option.
The comparison isn’t Brian VanGorder v. Todd Grantham, it’s Brian VanGorder v. Ted Roof.
Our defense is fine, but Auburn’s defense is about to improve. Enough to reverse 45-7? Not right away, probably not, but long-term (assuming there is a long-term with Brian VanGorder)? Yeah, probably.
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
Yep....
The guy may burn bridges but he can coach……..He flat out got it done during his years in Athens. Richt owes a him a debt of gratitude.
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." George Bernard Shaw
I didn't know what to think about this hire
But the comments on here have reassured me it wasn’t half bad. Thanks, Dawgsporters!
P.S. Somebody alluded to this hiring falling into the ‘coaching exchange’ going on between UGA and AU. I’ll need a judge’s ruling here but I think you need to be an alumnus before that qualifies and BVG didn’t play at Georgia.
2011 Chicken Bowl Champs!
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jan 10, 2012 3:18 PM EST reply actions
Fair point.
I would argue, however, that, historically, Shug Jordan, a Georgia assistant who left Wally Butts’s staff to become the head coach at Auburn, generally is considered part of the back-and-forth between our two schools. Granted, Coach Jordan went straight from the Classic City to the Loveliest Village, whereas Brian VanGorder followed a meandering career path from one to the other, but why split hairs? :)
Clearly, this is a quality hire. I would argue it is on a par with Gene Chizik’s hiring of Gus Malzahn as Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
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