Fromm possibly entering draft

[05_never_again]

Not like UGA is a historically dominant school though. Auburn went 60 years between championships and they’re basically the same school as UGA in terms of tradition or historical relevancy. Saban’s unprecedented run cost multiple schools and coaches.

"Why isn't Georgia historically dominant" is a pretty fair question though.

LSU also isn't a historically dominant school, neither is Clemson, neither is Florida. Neither is Auburn, although they have had more historical success than LSU, Clemson, or Florida. Florida in particular didn't get consistently good until 1990. All have had chances though and have taken them, while Georgia has not.

 

[GVF]

It is amazing though just how many chances Georgia has had and it hasn't fallen for them, yet there are other teams out there who have had far less chances but have cashed in when they do get their chance. Since their last title, Georgia has always had good (sometimes really good) but not what I'd call elite coaching. It seems like there was always at least one coach in the SEC who was better than who they had at any given time. Fulmer, then Urban, then Saban. Fulmer regressed, but Urban filled the void. Then Urban left the conference, but Saban filled the void. But even in a year where Fulmer, Urban, or Saban didn't win it all, it was some other team, not Georgia, who was better and filled the void. Like LSU this year.

When a streak like that transcends entire administrations, coaches, and players, there really isn't much else to say. There's no common denominator other than the logo on the helmet. Cursed I guess. Kind of like the Cleveland Browns struggles, except Georgia has obviously had more success than the Browns.

Who has UGA had really other than Dooley or Richt. (I don't include smart due to length of service for this analogy). Dooley survived cause you just didn't roll coaches over then like you do now. Other than a NC, Richt surpassed everything Dooley did in half the time. Post Dooley, coaching hires were not ground breaking. (Same at Bama. Stallings was the only formidable coach post Bear until Saban. Curry and Perkins did very well but, timing was wrong for them to break through for acceptance.) UGA has only had 3 coaches since the early 1900's break .650 winning percentage that coached more than 2 years. Richt leads that at .740 over 14 years. Dooley .715 over 24 years. Kirby is .782 after 4 years. If he can hold that pace. But, it will fade if he doesn't start winning the right games in today's game.

 

[05_never_again]

Richt has always been a great person. Paid his assistant coaches when UGA wouldn’t, helped Paul Oliver’s family and set up a players network after he took his own life, put his own money into UGA’s and Miami’s indoor practice facility, etc. Only thing that kept him from winning a title is Saban.

Saban didn't prevent Richt from winning a title in 2002, 2007, or 2008. Florida/Urban also played a big role, plus random inexplicable losses like losing to South Carolina.

 

[GVF]

Richt has always been a great person. Paid his assistant coaches when UGA wouldn’t, helped Paul Oliver’s family and set up a players network after he took his own life, put his own money into UGA’s and Miami’s indoor practice facility, etc. Only thing that kept him from winning a title is Saban.

Very true. If he could have cleared Bama, he'd have beaten the other national talents. Saban has screwed many a coach's career.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

I don’t think any teams main concern was Fromm when they played UGA. Most coaches outright said they were mainly focused on shutting down Swift. UGA just didn’t have the receivers/QB play/play calling to beat many teams through the air. I think UGA scored more than 30 points on 1 sec defense all year.

That would be UT.

 

[Atlanta917]

"Why isn't Georgia historically dominant" is a pretty fair question though.

LSU also isn't a historically dominant school, neither is Clemson, neither is Florida. Neither is Auburn, although they have had more historical success than LSU, Clemson, or Florida. Florida in particular didn't get consistently good until 1990. All have had chances though and have taken them, while Georgia has not.

UGA got better when Georgia high school football got better. The issue is Atlanta has a huge transplant population, so a lot of the kids didn’t grow up UGA fans. Richt had UGA relevant once every 5 years. 2002, 2007, and 2012. Smart made the playoffs in 2017 and narrowly missed in 2018 and to a lesser extent 2019. Id say that’s fairly decent. College sports are a bit harder to predict since some teams are loaded with young talent and others may have experience. I agree UGA has had some missed opportunities, but in college recruits follow title winners to create dynasties like bama and UGA just doesn’t have that title to sell.

 

[05_never_again]

Who has UGA had really other than Dooley or Richt. (I don't include smart due to length of service for this analogy). Dooley survived cause you just didn't roll coaches over then like you do now. Other than a NC, Richt surpassed everything Dooley did in half the time. Post Dooley, coaching hires were not ground breaking. (Same at Bama. Stallings was the only formidable coach post Bear until Saban. Curry and Perkins did very well but, timing was wrong for them to break through for acceptance.) UGA has only had 3 coaches since the early 1900's break .650 winning percentage that coached more than 2 years. Richt leads that at .740 over 14 years. Dooley .715 over 24 years. Kirby is .782 after 4 years. If he can hold that pace. But, it will fade if he doesn't start winning the right games in today's game.

That's my point...they really haven't had coaches better than those two. That's the issue. Since Georgia's last title in 1980, it seems like Georgia always has good/really good coaching, but not the best coaching. Fulmer and Spurrier were better than Goff/Donnan. When Spurrier left Florida and Fulmer started to regress that was great for Georgia...but then Urban showed up at Florida, who was better than Richt. Urban leaving Florida was great for Richt...but Saban showed up at Alabama, who was better than Richt. Georgia, for whatever reason, just hasn't been able to land that "elite" coach that is at the top of the heap of coaches. They always seem to have some nemesis they can't get in front of, and during that off year where their nemesis isn't in the picture, some other team (like LSU this year) pops up and is better. It's got to be so frustrating.

 

[GVF]

Richt had a heart attack just a few months ago - I wonder if his decision to hang it up last year was related in some way to concerns about his health. Like not due to some specific health problem, but just general concerns about stress, etc. Richt has always seemed to be a "there are more important things than football" kind of guy anyway, which is really rare in his profession. Bob Stoops claims that's why he stepped away.

It was absolutely that for Richt. He had health/stress issues at the end. Evident by having his heart attack even now a couple years later. He was always heavily involved in faith works and didn't rely on football for identity. Walking away at Miami was not the first time he considered hanging it up. Rumors were he almost did accouple times at UGA before they eventually fired him. The only reason he went to Miami was to basically decide if he was still in the game. I think the situation there, and what it was going to take to bring them back was beyond what he wanted to personally invest, and knew that wasn't fair to the team. I feel good that had he stayed, he would be competing with Clemson by now. Sometimes a coach of his caliber will regroup, rest, and come back. I don't think you will ever see him on a sideline again.

 

[Atlanta917]

That's my point...they really haven't had coaches better than those two. That's the issue. Since Georgia's last title in 1980, it seems like Georgia always has good/really good coaching, but not the best coaching. Fulmer and Spurrier were better than Goff/Donnan. When Spurrier left Florida and Fulmer started to regress that was great for Georgia...but then Urban showed up at Florida, who was better than Richt. Urban leaving Florida was great for Richt...but Saban showed up at Alabama, who was better than Richt. Georgia, for whatever reason, just hasn't been able to land that "elite" coach that is at the top of the heap of coaches. They always seem to have some nemesis they can't get in front of, and during that off year where their nemesis isn't in the picture, some other team (like LSU this year) pops up and is better. It's got to be so frustrating.

lol maybe frustrating to someone not born into Atlanta sports. I was 5 when the Braves won a World Series. Besides that the falcons have lost 2 Super Bowls, one in extraordinary fashion, and UGA lost one championship. Unless you like MLS or d2 football, Atlanta isn’t the place to be a sports fan.

 

[05_never_again]

lol maybe frustrating to someone not born into Atlanta sports. I was 5 when the Braves won a World Series. Besides that the falcons have lost 2 Super Bowls, one in extraordinary fashion, and UGA lost one championship. Unless you like MLS or d2 football, Atlanta isn’t the place to be a sports fan.

I actually share your frustration in all the Atlanta sports, other than the Bulldogs.

 

[GVF]

UGA got better when Georgia high school football got better. The issue is Atlanta has a huge transplant population, so a lot of the kids didn’t grow up UGA fans. Richt had UGA relevant once every 5 years. 2002, 2007, and 2012. Smart made the playoffs in 2017 and narrowly missed in 2018 and to a lesser extent 2019. Id say that’s fairly decent. College sports are a bit harder to predict since some teams are loaded with young talent and others may have experience. I agree UGA has had some missed opportunities, but in college recruits follow title winners to create dynasties like bama and UGA just doesn’t have that title to sell.

Few teams can live off the Bear like Bama, even now with Saban' run. That is the allure. He brought it back. If was purely historical, where is ND? Holtz was the last sustained success they had.

 

[GVF]

lol maybe frustrating to someone not born into Atlanta sports. I was 5 when the Braves won a World Series. Besides that the falcons have lost 2 Super Bowls, one in extraordinary fashion, and UGA lost one championship. Unless you like MLS or d2 football, Atlanta isn’t the place to be a sports fan.

Disagree. Atlanta is a place for a die hard sports fan. A bandwagon fan would not survive there. I grew up just south of ATL when it was far worse for the Falcons and Braves. We had Aaron, Murphy, Horner, Neikro, the Mad Hungarian, William Andrews, the Human Highlight Film, Bartkowski. We had plenty of sports heroes. Only they were usually one at a time, and not a team full.

 

[Atlanta917]

I actually share your frustration in all the Atlanta sports, other than the Bulldogs.

I was at the Braves cardinals fiasco. 10 runs in the first inning...

 

[Atlanta917]

Disagree. Atlanta is a place for a die hard sports fan. A bandwagon fan would not survive there. I grew up just south of ATL when it was far worse for the Falcons and Braves. We had Aaron, Murphy, Horner, Neikro, the Mad Hungarian, William Andrews, the Human Highlight Film, Bartkowski. We had plenty of sports heroes. Only they were usually one at a time, and not a team full.

Either more transplants have made it to Atlanta or they don’t. If you go to a hawks game you’ll see more opposing fans than hawks fans. That’s the reason they went Trae over Luka. Didn’t think fans would show up for a European star. The Braves had an attendance issue for a while, but maybe that’s just because the fan base is spread out.

 

[05_never_again]

UGA got better when Georgia high school football got better. The issue is Atlanta has a huge transplant population, so a lot of the kids didn’t grow up UGA fans. Richt had UGA relevant once every 5 years. 2002, 2007, and 2012. Smart made the playoffs in 2017 and narrowly missed in 2018 and to a lesser extent 2019. Id say that’s fairly decent. College sports are a bit harder to predict since some teams are loaded with young talent and others may have experience. I agree UGA has had some missed opportunities, but in college recruits follow title winners to create dynasties like bama and UGA just doesn’t have that title to sell.

Not having a title to sell is kind of an excuse though, is it not? Other programs and coaches have overcome that. Saban had no titles to sell when he showed up at LSU. LSU, surprisingly to some people, has only been consistently good since the early 2000s. Dabo had no recent titles to sell at Clemson when he got there. If you want to go back further, Spurrier built Florida from nothing - they had almost zero history before he got there. Should Georgia have been able to win at least one title since, say, the early 90s? Even Tennessee was able to do that.

 

[GVF]

That's my point...they really haven't had coaches better than those two. That's the issue. Since Georgia's last title in 1980, it seems like Georgia always has good/really good coaching, but not the best coaching. Fulmer and Spurrier were better than Goff/Donnan. When Spurrier left Florida and Fulmer started to regress that was great for Georgia...but then Urban showed up at Florida, who was better than Richt. Urban leaving Florida was great for Richt...but Saban showed up at Alabama, who was better than Richt. Georgia, for whatever reason, just hasn't been able to land that "elite" coach that is at the top of the heap of coaches. They always seem to have some nemesis they can't get in front of, and during that off year where their nemesis isn't in the picture, some other team (like LSU this year) pops up and is better. It's got to be so frustrating.

I hate to point to injury, but the years Richt should have and couldn't, he had thin rosters in the end due to injury or discipline. He never thought twice about shelving integrity to keep the best player on the team if he violated rules. It eventually cost him, but he would not do it.

 

[Atlanta917]

Not having a title to sell is kind of an excuse though, is it not? Other programs and coaches have overcome that. Saban had no titles to sell when he showed up at LSU. LSU, surprisingly to some people, has only been consistently good since the early 2000s. Dabo had no recent titles to sell at Clemson when he got there. If you want to go back further, Spurrier built Florida from nothing - they had almost zero history before he got there. Should Georgia have been able to win at least one title since, say, the early 90s? Even Tennessee was able to do that.

Could be circular reasoning I guess. A title brings recruits, but you need recruits to bring a title. Seems like UGA is always missing talent or coaching. Talent and coaching in the 90’s and bad luck/coaching in the richt era.

 

[GVF]

Either more transplants have made it to Atlanta or they don’t. If you go to a hawks game you’ll see more opposing fans than hawks fans. That’s the reason they went Trae over Luka. Didn’t think fans would show up for a European star. The Braves had an attendance issue for a while, but maybe that’s just because the fan base is spread out.

The Braves attendance was always lacking, even in the run of the 90's, until they made the playoffs. One, people knew they'd be there in the pennant race and waited til school was out. Two, did you ever make a game at Turner Field? The more time distance from the renovations of the olympics, the less the attendance. A lot of personal risk in that area, and the bulk of the fans were on the northside anyway. And the space wasn't available to transform that park into what it is now on the northside with the added shops and food scene. There was no attraction to that side of town for a fan to spend money and time at the park.

 

[05_never_again]

Could be circular reasoning I guess. A title brings recruits, but you need recruits to bring a title. Seems like UGA is always missing talent or coaching. Talent and coaching in the 90’s and bad luck/coaching in the richt era.

It's been coaching historically, IMO. Even going back into the Goff/Donnan years. Recruiting wasn't tracked back then like it is now, but remember a famous Spurrier quip after a win over Georgia one year? A reporter asked him something to the effect of "Wouldn't you say you had the more talented team today?" and he responded "You know it's funny - on signing day y'all say Georgia has all the best players but apparently on game day we have all the best players." Spurrier was exaggerating for effect, but he wasn't totally off base. Even in the 90s, Georgia was not thought to be light years behind Florida and Tennessee in terms of recruiting. Behind, yes, but not to the degree that was often reflected on the scoreboard.

 

[GVF]

Not having a title to sell is kind of an excuse though, is it not? Other programs and coaches have overcome that. Saban had no titles to sell when he showed up at LSU. LSU, surprisingly to some people, has only been consistently good since the early 2000s. Dabo had no recent titles to sell at Clemson when he got there. If you want to go back further, Spurrier built Florida from nothing - they had almost zero history before he got there. Should Georgia have been able to win at least one title since, say, the early 90s? Even Tennessee was able to do that.

It is entirely weird that with everything GA has had they had not even one NC. In similar fashion, with everything UT has had from Majors and Fulmer years, there was only 1998.

 

[Atlanta917]

The Braves attendance was always lacking, even in the run of the 90's, until they made the playoffs. One, people knew they'd be there in the pennant race and waited til school was out. Two, did you ever make a game at Turner Field? The more time distance from the renovations of the olympics, the less the attendance. A lot of personal risk in that area, and the bulk of the fans were on the northside anyway. And the space wasn't available to transform that park into what it is now on the northside with the added shops and food scene. There was no attraction to that side of town for a fan to spend money and time at the park.

I had seasons tickets at turner and sun trust. Could just be the nostalgia, but I actually preferred turner. Had much better tailgating and the trip usually included a trip to the Atlanta bars or other places after the game. I can definitely see how sun trust is more family friendly and the battery is a much nicer area.

 

[05_never_again]

It is entirely weird that with everything GA has had they had not even one NC. In similar fashion, with everything UT has had from Majors and Fulmer years, there was only 1998.

I'm not sure Johnny was ever good enough to have "almost" won a title - however, it is totally fair to argue that Fulmer should have more, or at least should have played for more than one. Spurrier was definitely his boogeyman.

 

[GVF]

I had seasons tickets at turner and sun trust. Could just be the nostalgia, but I actually preferred turner. Had much better tailgating and the trip usually included a trip to the Atlanta bars or other places after the game. I can definitely see how sun trust is more family friendly and the battery is a much nicer area.

Suntrust is in an area more suitable to get the fans in getting off work, and boost early season attendance, which they lacked logistically at turner. Call me old fashion, but I miss Fulton County Stadium. To be once again two miles from the action up in the cheap seats. I have not been to Suntrust. My son has and he is 17 so it is the bomb. I'm like you though. I think I'd prefer Turner. It wasn't even close to being past it's prime. It was a great stadium. they just took an economic gamble hoping the northside will pay off.

 

[GVF]

I'm not sure Johnny was ever good enough to have "almost" won a title - however, it is totally fair to argue that Fulmer should have more, or at least should have played for more than one. Spurrier was definitely his boogeyman.

The years of Peyton can be argued to be some of the best rosters ever. Not to have won a title with him is mind boggling. I mean Nebraska scorched us in that bowl game.

 

[GVF]

I'm not sure Johnny was ever good enough to have "almost" won a title - however, it is totally fair to argue that Fulmer should have more, or at least should have played for more than one. Spurrier was definitely his boogeyman.

In the end it all really comes down to game day coaching. Richt, Smart, Fulmer, Myer, Spurrier, Miles, Saban, etc., all pulled in recruits that could win titles in any given year. Spurrier, Meyer, and Saban just had that knack for being better in motion than the others. And Holtz in his prime at ND. (The notable exception being SC. There was only so much spurrier could do there). the old Miami was mostly 80's dominance with some 90's sprinkled in. But, those teams were heavily subsidized far more than today's players.