Has Kirby Peaked at Ga?

#79
#79
Lawrence Wright said:
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Smart has not peaked as a head football coach, seeing as how he’s less than five years into being a head football coach.
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I don't disagree with your statement, but I do disagree with your logic.

Not that Kirby had to build a lot, but setting up the program and maintaining it are two different skillsets.

Also, see: Corker, Larry
 
#81
#81
PEPPERJAX said:
Kirby is an upgrade over Richt. The guy had UGA in the NC game his second year. I am not sure if Kirby will get back to a NC game, but the odds are better with him at the helm than they were with Richt.
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When you look at the results, he hasn't been as much of an upgrade on the field as you'd think.

Each of their first seasons were 8-win retooling years.

You're correct that Kirby played for a national title in his second year and that's something Richt never did. But go back and take a look at Richt's second season. Richt finished the 2002 season 11-1, then won the SECCG and was ranked #4 in the country. If a playoff existed then, Georgia likely would have been in it - I think it is totally reasonable to believe than a 12-1 SEC Champion would have been in a 4-team playoff in 2002. It's entirely possible Richt could have played for a national title in 2002 if the playoff existed; he would have to have won that semifinal game like Kirby did, but the point is that he would have had the opportunity to play for a title. Now take a look at Kirby. Kirby finished the 2017 season 11-1, then won the SECCG and was ranked #3. If the playoff didn't exist, I think it is reasonable to assume Kirby would have been on the outside looking in of a #1 vs. #2 BCSNCG match up. He wouldn't have had the chance to play for a title, just like Richt didn't have a chance to in 2002.

In Richt's 3rd year, he played for the SEC again but lost. Kirby did the exact same thing.

In Richt's 4th year, he lost a midseason game at home as a big favorite against Tennessee, which threw a wrench in his path to win the East. He also went on lose to Auburn, putting any hopes of an East title to rest. Kirby lost a midseason game to South Carolina at home as a big favorite, also throwing a wrench in his path to an East title. Kirby's 2019 season is still being written, so we'll see, but there are multiple opportunities for him to slip up a second time (Florida, at Auburn, A&M) and suffer a very similar fate.

Thus far, Richt and Kirby contrast only in demeanor/persona on the field. Kirby is a much more intense, emotional, fiery guy than Richt was. I think some people take that as an indication Kirby has more of a killer instinct or something so he'll be more successful than Richt. I don't know. Their on-field performance through 4+ years is eerily similar, and I think a lot of Georgia fans know this but don't want to admit it.

The key with Kirby is that as time goes on, he simply cannot have the occasional 8 or 9 win season that Richt started to have in the second half of his tenure, and he can't go a number of years without going to Atlanta like Richt did (Richt went to Atlanta twice between 2006 and 2015). Those types of seasons are ultimately what Georgia fired him for, not because he failed to win a national title.
 
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#84
#84
Of all the coaches in the East. Florida has the best at the moment. Kirby is growing into his HC job as well as our coach. I'm hoping he's peaked though.
 
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#85
#85
Georgia has more talent than Florida but not the better coach. Florida has overachieved to this point and Georgia has underachieved but I still think Georgia’s run game and defense is the difference tomm dawgs by 10.
 
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#86
#86
I don’t think it’s a matter of peaking per say. But I definitely think that the honeymoon phase is over at Georgia. He inherited about as special of a group of players as they’ve ever had at UGA. Think about all those kids that got drafted the first couple of years he was there. And he really wasn’t responsible for recruiting any of them. He did sigh a couple of great classes on his own but didn’t get a lot of hard-core George Kids. He recruited kids from all over the country and a lot of them haven’t worked out.
Georgia has clearly taken a really big step backwards this year and Kirby has been exposed as not a very good game manager. I just don’t think he is any better than Mark Rick. He certainly seems like a really good guy. And someone that might be there for years and years if allowed the opportunity. But I just don’t see a Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban, urban Meyer, James Franklin… Type of guy on the sidelines in Kirby smart. Tomorrow is one of the biggest days of his career so far. I honestly believe that Dan Mullen is the far superior coach and he will prove that to be true.
 
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#90
#90
OklahomaDawg said:
Kirby can recruit, period. We’re predicted to land at least another three 5 stars in this class.
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I'll be more impressed when he's able to achieve more than what Richt did with said talent.

Before you say "but Kirby has played for a title and Richt never did," look at Richt and Kirby's respective 2nd seasons. It's impossible to know with certainty because the BCS and CFP are two different systems, but in all likelihood Richt would have made a playoff had one existed in 2002 (was ranked 3rd in the BCS after winning the SECCG). Had a playoff not existed in 2017, Kirby likely would have been on the outside looking in of the BCSNCG (was ranked 3rd in the CFP). In their respective 3rd seasons, Richt and Kirby both played for the SEC title again, and both lost.

Kirby and Richt differ wildly in personality and Kirby is a better recruiter. But the on-field results are eerily similar through their first 3+ years. As a Georgia fan, you really should hope that Kirby can at least make this run of play he's on persist, because Richt could not.
 
#91
#91
05_never_again said:
I'll be more impressed when he's able to achieve more than what Richt did with said talent.

Before you say "but Kirby has played for a title and Richt never did," look at Richt and Kirby's respective 2nd seasons. It's impossible to know with certainty because the BCS and CFP are two different systems, but in all likelihood Richt would have made a playoff had one existed in 2002 (was ranked 3rd in the BCS after winning the SECCG). Had a playoff not existed in 2017, Kirby likely would have been on the outside looking in of the BCSNCG (was ranked 3rd in the CFP). In their respective 3rd seasons, Richt and Kirby both played for the SEC title again, and both lost.

Kirby and Richt differ wildly in personality and Kirby is a better recruiter. But the on-field results are eerily similar through their first 3+ years. As a Georgia fan, you really should hope that Kirby can at least make this run of play he's on persist, because Richt could not.
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You’re forgetting that Richt was considered elite early in his tenure. It was when he fell off following the 2007 season that people started considering him a guy who won on talent alone.

Kirby’s recruiting shows no signs of letting up so I think he will.
 
#92
#92
OklahomaDawg said:
You’re forgetting that Richt was considered elite early in his tenure. It was when he fell off following the 2007 season that people started considering him a guy who won on talent alone.

Kirby’s recruiting shows no signs of letting up so I think he will.
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Not forgetting that at all. Richt was considered from 2002 to about 2005. Kirby is (was?) too.

That's why I said as a Georgia fan you should hope that Kirby can at least make this run of play he's on continue, because Richt did not. Richt was able to manage it for about 4-5 years. Kirby is in year 4...
 
#93
#93
05_never_again said:
Not forgetting that at all. Richt was considered from 2002 to about 2005. Kirby is (was?) too.

That's why I said as a Georgia fan you should hope that Kirby can at least make this run of play he's on continue, because Richt did not. Richt was able to manage it for about 4-5 years. Kirby is in year 4...
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Let's see what Georgia is without Jake Fromm at QB. That will tell us a lot about what Kirby Smart is as a coach. If they continue without missing a beat, then the dawgs have something.
We'll see.
 
#94
#94
miket4god said:
Let's see what Georgia is without Jake Fromm at QB. That will tell us a lot about what Kirby Smart is as a coach. If they continue without missing a beat, then the dawgs have something.
We'll see.
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Kirby is in a tough spot, even with his own fans. It's very hard for him to win them over. Given how talented his team is on paper, people expect national titles. If he delivers those, people are like "Well, OK, he did his job" and they expect another one next year. That reason alone is why Saban contemplated leaving for Texas after that 3rd title. If he delivers anything less than that, even "less" defined as losing in the national title game, he gets heat. You're in a very dangerous spot as far as job security, IMO, if people expect you to win national titles. I don't care how talented the team is on paper. The only guy at least in the modern game who has been able to deliver on expectations like that over time is Saban.

If Georgia is still the same team they are today without Fromm, that won't take any heat off of Kirby at all, IMO. Dawgs want a national title.
 
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