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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Evans Reacts to Coaching Changes

Reactions from Georgia AD Damon Evans on the coaching changes on the football staff today...

On his thoughts on Mark Richt's decision...
“I know it’s a tough day for Mark. Any time you have to make personnel decisions, those aren’t easy. They shouldn’t be easy. But I think he’s done a good job of evaluating the program and taking the right steps that he feels are appropriate to move us in that direction of getting back to competing for championships. I’m in full support of him, he has my utmost confidence. But it’s tough. You have families effected with the three that were let go, and I want those gentlemen to know I appreciate their service to this institution.”

On when Richt first talked to him about making changes...
“Mark and I have been talking for quite some time. I don’t want to get into those specifics, but he told me that this was something he was considering, was contemplating doing, and I said, ‘If that’s what you want to do, then you have my support.’ All I’ve ever wanted Mark to do was to be honest with himself, with the program and I wanted him to know I was going to support him either way and he did what was appropriate.”

On what role he played in the process...
“This is Mark’s decision. I’m there to council and provide advice. I want to trust our head coaches to know what they need to do with their assistant coaches. That’s my philosophy. That’s part of his job responsibility is to be able to hire and fire his assistant coaches. My job is to deal with the head coaches and that’s what I’m going to stick with.”

On what resources he will make available to Richt to find a replacement...
“I told Mark to go out and try to find the best coaches possible and that we’ll be very competitive and help him out and do what we need to do to attract the top candidates here. I’ve always said I want us to be competitive salary-wise in the marketplace, and that’s not going to hold us back. We’ll do what’s appropriate for the University of Georgia. But make no mistake about it, we’re going to go after the best coaches that are available, I’m there to support him, and we’re going to be extremely competitive.”

On what he'll be looking for in replacements...
“What I’ve always told Mark is that I like the way he runs our program. I want people who care about young people. We need someone who’s an educator and a teacher, that has a thorough understanding of football, but I’m not imparting any of that on Mark. Mark knows my philosophy. I have confidence in him to go out and get a caliber of person that fits the University of Georgia, that will allow us to compete at a high level and represent this institution well, and he knows that.”

On whether he might consider longer-term contracts for assistants...
“Anything is possible. That’s why I want to say I think we have to look at that situation and if that’s what it takes then we’ll look at it and vet it and make the decision that’s appropriate. I’m not going to rule out what we won’t do for a coach. Because I think what we have to do is we have to be able to position ourselves to go out and get the guy or guys that we feel will make this institution in the best possible position.”

On competition for top coaches from places like Notre Dame and Florida (should Charlie Strong leave)...
“I’ve looked out there and obviously with all these different jobs that may be opening up we want to be extremely competitive. We want to position ourselves where we’re an elite institution and we’re going to do that. I believe if you have to pay to get certain individuals, then that’s what you have to do. Everybody has a different place in the marketplace. This person may command this salary, another individual may command something different. When we cross that road and we get there, we’re going to do what we need to do to get somebody.”

24 comments:

NRBQ said...

Jeez. That was revealing.

Are you sure you had him on the phone, or could it have been the public relations officer?

Gentle, prolonged massage of CMR's balls.

P.S. I've said it elsewhere, but can we hire a more kick-ass, Georgiacentric over-achiever than Pollack as DE coach?

Anonymous said...

Completely unrelated, but if you could do something to get the "1 tip for a flat belly" ad w/a 300 lb. animated woman in a bikini off your blog that'd do wonders...

Anonymous said...

What does Pollack know about being a DC? Van Gorder knows alot but that didn't make him a great DE, so I don't follow your thinking at all NRBQ.

It's going to be interesting to see who is even interested. Tubberville pretty much took his hat out of the ring this week. Van Gorder's thoughts will be interesting. I doubt he's interested.

I can assure you this, CMR won't go after Muschamp and I applaud that. Richt hung 35-45 on Muschamp the last 3 times we played him. I believe that's one reason Will left the SEC. Once you get past the taped forearms and the sideline show of sweat and hollaring, Muschamp's D really isn't that impressive. A good QB that picks up his overzealous blitzing usually lights his defense up.

The Watch Dawg said...

David, did Evans actually pull out his piggy bank and break it open right there in front of you to make his point?

Anonymous said...

Yeah we hung those points up on Muschamp but let our quaterback throw five interceptions each of those games and see what happens. oh wait, that would be Fla the last two years.

RaleighDawg said...

I loved how he used the words "my philosophy" twice in an interview with you.

It seems like this will be a competitive market for DC's this year. A lot of change in big name programs. FSU, ND, maybe UF and I am sure more to come.

David, does CMR allowing them to coach the bowl game indicate some idea of his expectations for hiring a new DC, or was it an empty gesture?

Hunter Ciuba said...

I personally believe that Muschamp would be a fantastic fit for the DC. Have you even looked at his stats? Won a BCS Championship at LSU and that year he had the #1 defense in the nation, and no one in the SEC came close to the defensive stats, did fantastic with the Dolphans considering it was his first year in the pros, and yeah went to auburn in their dark ages, and now is leading an undefeated Texas team to a national championship. He would be perfectly fitting at UGA and he is the one I think Richt should go with.

The Watch Dawg said...

Muschamp is the head coach in waiting at Texas. He's not leaving. Tuberville said already that he does not want to be a DC. Brian Van Gorder has a great job with a good NFL organization.

Can we skip past the fairy-tale ideas and talk about real feasible choices?

Anonymous said...

David,

Love to hear Damons willingness to pay to get a DC! I picture his negotiations with a potential DC going the same as Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey in Tropic Thunder. If it was me I wouldn't leave without a G5 jet.

rbubp said...

If you all kept up with the the news, you could have seen that the rumor mill already has Richt contacting three candidates: MacIntyre at Duke, Koenning at Kansas State, Thompson at Georgia State.

No accounting for accuracy...

Anonymous said...

I agree with The Watch Dog. It's exciting to have the possibility of new blood, but let's have realistic expectations. We probably won't get anyone for whom a DC would be a "demotion" (e.g. Tuberville), or a lateral move from an existing powerhouse (e.g. Smart).

I'm just crossing my fingers that we get someone *better*. What good is a better secondary if your D-Line turns to swiss cheese?

Ben said...

I know what these coaches say but money talks. I think that we could get anyone on the names mentioned if the price is right!!

Anonymous said...

NRBQ, how old are you really? Your comments reflect the thinking of a 12 year old. What exactly do you expect Evans to say? Ever had personnel responsibility for well paid employees? You think Pollack is capable of handling a job at this level? Based on what? That he loves UGA and played a position on the team? You are quite the deep thinker. Oh yeah, let's just get someone that can rant and scream. Thank goodness you are just another mindless internet poster with zero accountability, never had a complete thought.

Some of the other thoughts: Muschamp, great, brilliant. Van Gorder, yep, he is a screamer all right. Not real bright, can't think two sentences ahead of his last curse, and is the anti-thesis of a team player. Boy those Falcon defenses are feared aren't they? Tubberville, another unique thought (how about Stoops? He has a defensive background.)

For such a well written, informative blog, the posters here seem clueless and just don't seem to get it. Fortunately CMR does and he isn't going to looking here for any advice after seeeing the ideas being put forward. I have total confidence he will bring in a solid coach, and I don't care if it isn't a big name. UGA is in good hands.

David Hale said...

Anon 9:09... If I could change the ads, I would have done away with that damned Georgia Tech ACC championship game ad that keeps cropping up a while ago. Of course, I'm curious what keywords on this blog made Google think the flat belly ad was necessary. Perhaps Google is trying to tell me to hit the gym.

Hunter Ciuba said...

Ok fair enough. I was just shocked that someone actually was implying that Musschamp would not be suitable. Yeah he is getting paid 900k and is coach in waiting, but Mack's contract doesn't expire until 2016 and Mack could hang around there longer... Again not saying that Musschamp is really a big possiblility but you can't rule him out.

In reality, Richt is going to get the best man for the job, and I have no doubt he will make the right choice. It really is up in the air and could be anyone, but I really think that Tubberville possibly coaching at UGA is a very humorous statement.

I honestly don't know enough about any of the candidates listed as "being watched" so I can't offer any insite on that.

Something I heard mentioned (and don't everyone flame me if this is way off) is there any possiblility of Kirby Smart the current Alabama DC could come to UGA? He was an alumni and a big time player there.

ChicagoDawg said...

Anon 10:05 -- That may be the best blog response I have read in quite some time. You nailed it on all accounts. Well stated.

philomath said...

philosophy? philosophy? philosophy? I hope that Richt know's Evan's philosophy on replacements better than Evan knows Evan's philosophy on salary (per Hale's recent recount).

Anonymous said...

Heard Sylvester Crroms name lately...Friend of Richts and defense background.....just saying

dawgjammin said...

Let me preface this by saying that I'm for a change in the defensive staff and philosophy...

With that I took a look at where UGA's 2009 defense ranks vs some of the school's defenses that some of these "candidates" currently coach at...

I was shocked to see that UGA is ranked 31st in the country in total defense, 37th against the pass and 38th against the run.

However, UGA was ranked 71 in scoring defense. It just underscores the issues UGA's had the past two years with turnovers, losing a lot and not gaining any. Add that to the insanely poor kick coverage and you go from a team in the top 25% of defenses to a team in the bottom 40% of defenses.

I was at the tech game Saturday. I rewatched the game and couldn't believe the stat that ESPN flashed up...UGA has only recovered 7 fumbles in the last two seasons.

Again, I'm VERY glad of the defensive regieme change.

I hope Richt gets some one with an aggressive, attacking and punishing style of defense that will make some ball hawks out of the defensive talent on the roster.

PS: the problem with being the 31st best defense is that there are 6 SEC teams ranked in front of UGA

Matt said...

I am with Watch Dog-Stop with the TT BVG and WM stuff they are NOT coming to Athens. Why would they? TT wants to be a head coach, BVG is in the NFL, and WM is at UT where he is the next head man, come on! They need to go after a guy from a small school, a young progressive, aggressive guy who has something to prove. A man who is out to prove he can do the job and who is looking to be a head guy some day. Look at BVG he had something to prove. Just my 2 cents.s

Randall said...

NRBQ is a great band. I have not see themn around in quite some time. Any rumors of them putting on a show?

As for the Pollack comment-my vote is for recruiting coordinator if Garner leaves. Who would not want to play for that guy?

C-Low said...

I fully expect that our new defensive coordinator will be somebody that has not been discussed and, more than likely, somebody very few of us have ever heard of...

Did anyone know Van Gord before he arrived in Athens? What about Slick Willie?

I suspect Richt will find a man with high integrity, a go-get 'em attitude and that has worked some magic at some unknown small school. Their "scheme" is unbelievable, but they've had small school athletes to work with. With stud athletes, he can coach 'em up and create a powerhouse.

No offense to Tubby, or Smart, or Zookster, or Crooms or Pollack, but I don't think any of them are even being considered by Richt.

Personally, the guy that intrigues me is Travis Jones. Not sure he is DC material, but still intriguing...

Prince Lightfoot said...

Wow, that must of been some meeting if Richt "effected" the fired coaches' families. One last act of droit de seigneur? Seems like that would be bigger than the Tiger story... ;-)

oledawg said...

TCU's D coach is no slouch. In this era of political and social correctness there are no more "Meaner Than A Junkyard Dog" coaches around. They have been assigned to the insensitive Neanderthal pile. It's a tough shot to find our old reputation in this day and age. Anyone considered looking in the Canadian League?