Fleeting Thoughts: Coaching Search Edition

"Ya see, Coach, we got out-speculated, out-rumored and
out-offered. Bottom line, we just need to execute."

A few thoughts from a dispassionate observer of the situation (OK, so I'm actually fairly passionate about getting an end to this story, but you know what I mean)…

Regarding Georgia...

-- I'm not sure that missing out on Kirby Smart is the end of the world. At this point, I don't buy the argument that we don't know whether or not he's really a good coach -- Mark Richt and Nick Saban aren't going to throw around that much cash on someone they aren't sure about. But it's pretty clear that Smart has a bright future, which may come sooner than later. I don't think Georgia should be trying to hire someone who has exhausted his upward mobility, but for the sake of the stabilization of the program, I'm not sure they need someone looking to bolt in a year or two either.

-- I've said all along that getting the right guy is not just the top priority, but really should be the only priority. I still stand by most of that, but we're getting to the point that Georgia needs to find an answer soon or there will start being some negative consequences.

-- For recruits, the two biggest factors they're usually looking for is their relationship with their coaches and their fit in the scheme the team runs. Right now, those are both mysteries for anyone considering Georgia, and signing day is fast approaching.

-- Two things that fans were rightly worried about before all this began: 1.) Would Georgia aim high? 2.) Would Damon & Co. spend the money it took to aim high? Both of those questions have been very much answered in the affirmative, which should give you plenty of confidence that this will still end well… eventually.

-- The question most fans probably want to know now is, why won't any of these guys take the job? That's one I'm still sorta shaking my head about.

-- Of course, the other side of that coin is this:

* Bud Foster has been at Virginia Tech for a quarter-century and still said Georgia had made a very appealing offer.

* John Chavis just got to LSU and still considered leaving.

* Kirby Smart just won a national championship and nearly bolted for Athens.

* Vic Koenning probably would have preferred to end up at Georgia, but the timing of things sent him to Illinois instead.

It's not like anyone is dismissing Georgia outright. But it would probably help if Mark Richt could bring Mariano Rivera in for the final negotiations.

-- Or maybe we need to take away Mark Richt's coffee.

-- Either way, you've got to hand it to Richt… in a bad economy, he's making a lot of money for people. Perhaps Obama should be giving Richt a call to head up the Treasury Department. ("Yes, that's right, Georgia has offered the auto industry $12 billion to become the defensive coordinator…")

Regarding Kirby...

-- First off, I think fans are potentially being a bit too harsh in their reactions to Kirby Smart's decision. Keep in mind, he wasn't "leading Georgia on" as so many people have written. If he was Georgia's top choice and he had told Georgia he might be interested, Mark Richt would not have offered the job to numerous other coaches.

The best synopsis of events that I've gotten is that, while there may have been some initial discussions, nothing substantive ever occurred between Richt and Smart until last week. When Georgia made the offer, it was for more money than most were expecting. Combine that with Smart's ties to UGA and I can completely understand why it was something he had to consider.

Still… if you make a pros and cons list of the reasons to stay at Alabama and the reasons to leave for Georgia, pragmatically speaking there's little question he made the right choice. The best reasons to leave would mostly have been emotional or environmental ones. I can empathize with someone torn between a practical decision and following your heart.

-- And for all those fans who think this was all about the money, imagine for a second that you're a 'Bama fan and Kirby had left. Wouldn't you have been saying the same thing?

-- In coaching searches, someone always gets their feelings hurt.

-- Bottom line: In sports, it's almost always about the money. Odds are, it would be for you, too.

-- All of that said, if he signed an offer sheet and then backed out at the last minute, that qualifies as a pretty dirty move.

On some other candidates...

-- Will Muschamp would be taking a pay cut of roughly 15-20 percent if he was offered what Kirby was offered, so those of you still holding out hope for him are going to be disappointed.

-- Here's a thought I've heard shared by a few readers, in particular, Texas Dawg: "Time to start hyping Tim DeRuyter before Texas A&M gets him. Amen.This is our guy. DHale, get it out there. He's going down to A&M to interview this week. We need to get to him before he commits to them. He's turned two dead last in their conference units (Ohio and Air Force) around in very fast time. He has an MBA. Sharp dude. We don't need another recruiter. That's taken care of. We need a tactician. DeRuyter's our dude. Get on it."

-- I already stated my case on why I thought Todd Grantham would be a strong hire, and I could be sold on Travis Jones pretty easily, too. I think there is a real upside to bringing in an NFL guy -- particularly when you consider that Florida just did it.

-- Given the fact that Richt has remained quiet throughout this whole thing is a sure indication that he's not worried about how this plays from a PR angle, and I would never suggest that he should make a hire for any reason other than that he think he's hiring the best available guy for the job. Having said that (h/t Larry D.) at this point in recruiting season and with as long as this has dragged on, making a splash in the headlines wouldn't hurt.

The bottom line, as Willie would say, is that Richt doesn't get a free pass on all this. The process hasn't played out perfectly, and the deals haven't been closed. So that's not good. But the search will ultimately be judged by the results -- both in terms of what coach gets hired and, potentially, what opportunities were missed.

The best-case scenario is that Richt learned some valuable lessons after being spurned by Foster and Chavis, and a back-up plan was already in place this time around. If things move quickly in a new direction, kudos to Richt. If the search sputters along for another week or more and the recruiting season closes with a whimper at Georgia, it better end up being one heckuva hire.

But again... before anyone jumps out a window, that final grade is far from being set.

ADDENDUM: Here's a quick correction pointed out anonymously...

"You are very much misinformed...Coach Richt has made only 1 formal offer."

OK, I stand corrected. I'm just going to quit reporting on any of this and I'm sure I'll be told when an offer finally happens.

Look folks, Richt was specifically asked what constitutes an "offer" and his response was, "I don't know."

It's a subjective term, and if we're going to debate what an offer really is in the most technical of senses, then reporting anything until someone's name is on the bottom line of a contract is useless. (And heck, maybe it is. I'd personally love to take a vacation until then.)

Did Chavis or Foster or Koenning have a contract put in front of them to sign? Maybe or maybe not. But if any one of the three had said, "Yes, I'll take the job and become your defensive coordinator," every bit of reporting I've done says the job would have been theirs. That, to me, is an offer. If you don't want to see it that way, that's fine, but you might as well just sit back and wait for the press release announcing the hire.

Smart, Saban Quotes

Here's the full release from Alabama...

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced Monday that defensive coordinator Kirby Smart would remain in his current position with the Crimson Tide. Smart won the 2009 Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football. He just finished his third season at Alabama and the Tide ranked second nationally in total defense and scoring defense in 2009.

Quote from Head Coach Nick Saban
“We’ve very pleased and happy that Kirby is going to be staying here at the University of Alabama with us. He’s done a fabulous job for us. He’s one of the finest assistant coaches in the country. You expect guys like Kirby to get lots of opportunities to do things, and we want to continue to help him continue to develop his career here so that when he leaves here, it’s going to be to be a head coach and probably in a very good situation. So we’re excited about that. We’re happy for him and his family. It’s very pleasing to us.”

Quote from Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart
“I think it was pretty well known that there was an opportunity to return to my alma mater as defensive coordinator. I wouldn’t even have considered discussing the position with any other school, but when it is a place I’ve spent some of my best years and had some great memories, I thought it was something I should discuss with my family and figure out what was best.

“After thinking about all the factors over the last couple days, we are going to stay at the University of Alabama. We love it in Tuscaloosa, have made some great friends here and I think we are building something special here at Alabama with Coach Saban. I have learned so much in the time I’ve spent with Coach Saban, and every year I feel like I become a better coach.

“I’ve got a great deal of respect for Coach Richt and the job he has done there and the University of Georgia will also have a special place in my heart. Not only did I play there, but my wife played basketball there and we have a lot of friends at UGA.

“At the end of the day, I just feel like this is where I am supposed to be and this is a special time to be at the University of Alabama.”

And Another One Bites the Dust

Well, that was fun, wasn't it?

Kirby Smart will be staying at Alabama, according to reliable source Nick Saban, despite the best efforts of Georgia to bring him back to Athens.

"I'm pleased to announce Kirby is staying here at Alabama," Saban told reporters at a news conference to announce Rolando McClain's departure to the NFL.

According to Bama players, the decision came down just minutes before McClain's news conference -- or at least that's when they were told. So this thing clearly was still up in the air this morning.

A release will be coming from 'Bama shortly, and I'll post that info when I get it.

There are two ways to look at this now:

1.) Georgia made a good run at a very good assistant coach. The money being talked about should have been enough to lure virtually any coach away, and prying one of the top assistants off a team that just won a national title for a lateral move is a tough sell.

2.) They didn't get him -- or Chavis or Koenning or Foster or, through more than six weeks, anyone else.

My guess is, right now, most fans are shaking their heads and wondering what Georgia has to do to get a coach to take their money. And from that end, it does look bad. That's the dangers of Richt's "no comment" strategy.

But while the waiting game was OK for a while, the hope now should be that Richt had a solid backup plan (Grantham?) that he's already moved on to. If not, this starts becoming dangerous ground for recruiting purposes.

ADDENDUM: Just to clarify -- I'm not knocking Richt's refusal to comment on the search. It's the high road, to be sure. But here's the main question I've gotten in the brief time since the Kirby news broke: "Why won't anyone take the job?"

Much like with Tiger Woods' situation, when people start asking open-ended questions, other people start offering all kinds of speculative answers. At that point, the message becomes tough to control.

So I'm fine with Richt's approach, but again, it's not helping to soothe any fears fans may currently have.

Monday Links (1/11)

I know the topic everyone wants to discuss right now is the DC search and Kirby Smart, and I'll get to that. But I think it's only fair that we start off with some words about Rennie Curran.

I did a story over the summer on Georgia's weight room work and in doing so, I had a long chat with Dave Van Halager. Somewhere along the way, we started talking about Rennie. I mentioned how much I enjoyed interviewing Rennie because he was always thoughtful in his responses, rather than simply going through the motions of talking up reporters before he could go home and relax.

Van Halanger simply smiled and said, "That's just how Rennie is. There's nothing he does that he doesn't want to be great at."

I think that sums up my experiences with Rennie Curran perfectly.

On the field, he was great -- despite his size.

In the weight room, he was downright frightening.

In the locker room, he was a leader almost from Day 1 -- a guy people simply looked to in times of crisis.

Off the field, he was a leader in his community. He spoke at churches and hospitals and schools and when he finally gets that first big paycheck, he's already said he wants to start using it to help people in Liberia, where his parents were born.

I've heard him talk about his daughter enough to know that being a great dad tops his priorities, too. My guess is that's a big reason he made the decision to turn pro now.

With us reporters, he was always thoughtful and helpful and extremely generous with his time. For those of you who don't know, most days we get to talk to players after practice -- long days of practice -- and before they can shower and eat and go home to relax, they're forced to answer questions from us. Most players are pretty good about it, but Rennie was always the best. It wasn't a chore for him -- or at least, he never acted like it was. It was part of the job, just like working out or watching film or making tackles. And as good as he was at all of those other things, he wanted to be good at talking to us, too.

There are plenty of Georgia fans out there sad to see Rennie go. The tributes are numerous already -- HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE to name a few.

Plenty of folks who don't write blogs have some fond memories, too, like this anonymous comment left yesterday: "I will miss Rennie Curran. He was and always be a Damn Good Dawg. Said this before, I will never forget his first Dawg Walk. Kid had the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen. He wanted to play for the red and black. We need to recruit more of these type of players. Thank you Rennie Curran, God bless!"

I could probably run off a few dozen fond memories of Rennie's time at Georgia, too, and none of them would be things he did on the field. I remember listening to Rennie talk to the Red & Black's Tyler Estep in late November about all the things he would miss if he left Georgia. He even mentioned one of the dining services workers in the dining hall on campus. I remember that he was the first person to advise me to go to Peaches on Broad Street for a killer Southern meal. That was some great advice. I remember Stacy Searels' daughter telling me she was dressing as Rennie for Halloween two years ago. I bet she cleaned up ticker-or-treating around the neighborhood.

But more than anything, I'll remember exactly what Dave Van Halanger and so many others who have met Rennie will -- that he always worked hard to be great at what he did, no matter what it was. There's something particularly inspiring about that, and I'm glad I had a chance to be around it for a few years.

-- Mark Bradley thinks Rennie is making a mistake by leaving school a year early, noting that he will be fighting an uphill battle to get drafted early. My experience with Rennie tells me that he wouldn't have it any other way.

(And one other note on that -- I haven't talked to him recently, but I spoke with Todd McShay about Rennie last year and he said that if he'd been able to come out as a sophomore, he could see him going in the second round and compared him to Cato June. Will that happen now? Hard to say, but I know no one is going to work harder at it than Rennie.)

-- And I wrote this up before the season, but I figured it was worth revisiting now -- my breakdown of a Rennie Curran interview.

-- OK, here's the best I can tell you on the coaching stuff: We're not much beyond where we were Sunday morning in terms of specifics. The offer is on the table for Kirby, and while it is believed Alabama has countered, everything I've been told is that -- based strictly on dollars -- it would be unlikely that a counter would match Georgia. But we also know there's more to any move than dollars, so that doesn't make it a slam dunk. In fact, it's probably fair to say that, while money speaks volumes in a deal like this, lateral moves often come down to the perks.

So nothing is done yet in one direction or the other, but I find it hard to believe this can continue too much longer. I credit Mark Richt for staying quiet about everything, but the whole situation is far too public at this point to let it continue to simmer for several more days. We may not know who the next DC at Georgia will be in the next 48 hours, but I'll be very surprised if we don't know whether or not it's Kirby Smart.

I'll keep you posted when I know something for sure, but again, credit Richt & Co. who have continued to play this extremely close to the vest.

-- If you've been in a cave all weekend (which is where I might have preferred to stay following that game in Dallas on Saturday) then here's your recap of all things Kirby Smart. (Also, here's the initial Tuscaloosa News report about the offer... which is made so much better by the accompanying art that, I believe, might be a screen grab from the Zapruder film.)

-- Of course, I don't know why you're reading this blog when you could be getting BREAKING NEWS and FIRST TO REPORT information like this stuff at a far more reputable site.

-- Dean Legge does a fantastic job breaking down the coaching search from Day 1 to Day 648 (or whatever we're up to now) over at the Dawg Post ($$$).

-- Dawgs BUI wants Kirby to get the job if for no other reason than so a few journalists have to eat crow.

-- The Senator reacts to the AJC's thoughts that Georgia Tech is way better at this whole coaching search thing than Georgia.

-- While it was generally a down year economically, the Independence Bowl got a big boost from UGA and Texas A&M to buck that trend.

-- Jeff Dantzler hands out his postseason awards for Georgia at Bulldawg Illustrated.

-- You don't hear much about these guys, but this is a good piece on what life is like for the scout teamers and walk-ons for UGA.

-- Former Georgia star Robert Edwards landed a coaching gig at Arlington Christian in Fairburn.

-- Georgia's hoops team turned in a respectable, if unsuccessful, performance against Kentucky over the weekend, which is another sign of progress, writes Dawg Stephen.

-- Bleacher Report is impressed by how far Mark Fox's Bulldogs have come in a short time, too.

-- Meanwhile, Georgia's women keep piling up the wins, getting another one over Florida on Sunday.

-- David Ching has a really good column on how Suzanne Yoculan is handling life away from coaching.

-- The late-night debacle at NBC could have two big positive effects: An early return for "Friday Night Lights" and more opportunities for "Chuck."

-- Jerry Seinfeld puts the onus for NBC's problems on Conan.

-- The New York Times scolds NBC -- not for the late-night mess but for botching the announcing during Saturday's NFL playoff games.

-- Working with Axl Rose must be worse than working for Nick Saban. Slash has turned down big bucks to reunite with Guns N Roses.

-- Bugs & Cranks comes up with a list of the best baseball managers with losing records. What, no Jim Riggleman?

-- Inside Movies has a list of the top 10 food fights in film, and No. 1 is no surprise.

-- And finally, I'm generally not a huge fan of Morgan Spurlock but I enjoyed "The Simpsons" 20th anniversary retrospective last night. I don't tune in regularly anymore, but I'd estimate that between 30 and 90 percent of my conversations with friends from 1996-2001 involved some sort of Simpsons reference. Anyway, here's a nice montage of Homerisms from Esquire (h/t C-Nati).

Rennie Says Goodbye to Bulldogs

As you're no doubt aware, Rennie Curran announced today that he was leaving school a year early for the NFL. Here are some quotes from Rennie and Mark Richt from today's teleconference to announce the news...

Rennie on the decision...
“It was a very tough decision that took a lot of time. I talked with my family and prayed about it for many days. I asked for advice from many people including Coach Richt and I really just came up with the decision that it would be best for me to go pro. That’s a decision that came with the blessing of my family and teammates.”

Rennie on leaving his teammates...
“That was the hardest thing to look at, the part of the decision that had no right or wrong answer. I felt like if I came back it would have been awesome. If I were to leave, I’d have a lot of opportunities as well. But the main thing was leaving my teammates. Those are like my brothers. It’s hard to know that I’m not going to be there for all the little things and all those memories I’ll miss. That made it that much harder.”

Richt on what Rennie has meant to UGA...
“Rennie’s been nothing but awesome for Georgia since the day he got on campus. He’s been a great teammate. He’s been a great student of the game. He’s really done everything you could ask him to do. He behaved on and off the field. He’s been a blessing to me personally. When you have a guy that shows up every day with a great attitude and comes ready to work and ready to be coach and tries to do it the Georgia way – Rennie always did that.”

Richt on what Rennie can accomplish in the NFL...
“I wish Rennie well and I think Rennie will do well. He’s a tackling machine. He always has been, and I think that will continue no matter what level ball he plays at. He’s going to be that torpedo. He can hit. And he’ll do well. I pray he has a long and healthy career.”

Richt on Rennie's future...
“I would have loved to have him stay. He could have been a great leader for us, been in contention for some of the national awards, moved up the charts of the all-time tacklers and all those things that are exciting for a guy. And I think he could have helped us win a championship. But he made his decision, and I just want to tell him thanks for all the things he did for us.”

Rennie on the biggest factors that led to his decision...
“It was a lot of deciding factors. When most people look at a decision like this, they think it was the money. But it was a lot more than that. For me, the deciding factor was my family. Most people know that I have a daughter. And just the fact that we have a new defensive coach coming in which is a new system to learn and when you’ve lost guys on the defensive line – Jeff Owens, Geno, big Kade. There was a lot of things I had to look at, and those were some of the things I wrote down on my list of pros and cons. And my reasons to go outweighed my reasons to stay, even though I loved Georgia.”

Rennie on his NFL advisory board grade...
“I did get my grade from the advisory board and that was the grade I was kind of expecting and it was good enough for me to consider coming out. I also went out and got other advice from scouts in the league and I had to sit down and consider whether coming back would really raise my stock, consider what my faults were and my strengths.”

Rennie on scouts knocking him for his size...
“I knew it was going to be something I would hear. It’s always been something I’ve had to deal with. But I looked over many NFL rosters and there’s plenty of guys who are about my size that are playing and are very successful in the league. I talked to Dexter Coakley and other guys around the league and my height, I feel is not going to be my issue. It’s going to be my technique – the things that got me to Georgia – that will be the biggest factors. So the things I’m focused on are my strengths, the things I can control, and I think I’ll be fine. Whether I was 6-1 or 6-2, I’d play the same way, I’d still have the love for the game and try to be the first person to the ball. I don’t think my height has anything to do with it. Even though that’s going to be something mentioned, that’s something I’m just going to have to get NFL coaches and scouts to look over and consider.”

Rennie on how difficult the decision was...
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s the toughest decision I’ve had to make in my life. There was no right or wrong answer. There were so many variables, so many unknowns for a big decision like this, and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Even if do get drafted, I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’m all about being near my family. Even when I came here to Georgia, that was one of the reasons because it was close to home. It’s a total leap of faith and a really tough decision.”

Rennie on whether he wavered in his decision...
“I changed my mind so many times. It’s one thing to say you’re ready to go – that you’re mentally and physically ready. But it’s another thing to have the courage to do it, to say that you’re going to go and not look back. Everybody has been there for me throughout the process, and nobody put any pressure on me at all. Coach Richt and everybody were nothing but helpful to make the best decision possible for me. It was something I really battled with. I talked to teammates, talked to former teammates, and it was really hard for me to decide.”

Rennie on what he wants to say to the fans...
“I loved every second that I was at Georgia, and I hope that they know I didn’t just do this for selfish reasons or just for the money or that I don’t care about the Bulldog Nation because I love them to death. I want them to know that every single down I played for the University of Georgia, every single day, I tried to go out and give my best. I’m not the perfect player, and I never will be, but I hope when they watch the games they saw the love that I have and how much being a Bulldog means to me.”

Rennie on who will take over the defensive leadership next year...
“There’s plenty of guys I feel can take that role. Darryl Gamble, Akeem Dent, a lot of guys who work hard. Justin Houston, all those guys are going to do a great job. Marcus Dowtin. I could go on. And it’s young guys that have a lot of ability. Bacarri Rambo, Brandon Boykin, those guys are going to step it up and do great things for the defense.”

Rennie on what he needs to do before the draft...
“The film doesn’t lie. I’ve got to get better, get the work in, and the biggest thing is going to be how I perform at the combine. If I can run a good 40 time and if show the scouts my quickness and ball skills and everything, as well as my interview. A lot of things are going to be crucial for me. I’m going to have to really knock out the combine. But I feel like the sky is the limit. I just have to get one team to like me and there’s no reason why I can’t go in the first round despite my size.”

Richt on the coaching search and Kirby Smart...
“I’ll tell you what I’ve been saying all along is that I’m not going to make any comment on the search until I’ve got my guy. … I’ll let you know when it happens, I promise.”

Saturday Links (1/9)

So our old pal Jim Mora got canned in Seattle. I'm assuming that was Mike Vick's fault.

His replacement appears to be Pete Carroll, who looks kinda bad here... like when I sold my old Pontiac Sunbird in the mid '90s about six weeks before the doors fell off.

USC's likely target is Mike Riley at Oregon State, because stealing the second-best coach in your conference to replace the best coach in your conference is a good way to make friends in your conference.

And if all of that happens, we're looking at a grand total (so far) of 21 head coaching changes at FBS schools this offseason (i.e. 18 percent turnover).

That's actually down one from last year, when 22 changes occurred at FBS schools, but it's still the fourth most in a year since 2001.

In fact, since Mark Richt's first year on the job at Georgia, there have been 144 coaching changes at the FBS level -- or in other words, one for every other school in D1 college football with another 15 left over. And that's not even including the Pete Carroll situation yet... or whatever the heck Urban Meyer is doing.

Following the 2000 season, we had 25 changes at head coaching jobs at FBS schools. In the next five seasons, that number topped 20 just once. Now, it has happened three times in the last four seasons.

It's hard to argue that schools aren't getting less patient and that the competition isn't more intense. Especially when you have guys like Nick Saban who turn around a program in three years and never crack a smile.

Along with the turnover comes big money, too. Georgia Sports Blog looks at the escalating contracts for college coaches and sees no end in sight. Whether that's a good thing remains to be seen, but it no doubt will make life more complicated (and make the fact that players have to maintain amateur status while their coaches make $10 million a year even more absurd).

In the SEC, there has been just one official coaching change this year, with Rich Brooks stepping down at Kentucky to make room for Joker Phillips. Had Brooks stayed on one more year, it would have been just the second season this decade in which the SEC didn't have any coaching changes. (Again, depending on what happens eventually with Corch Meyers.)

And while it's the SEC that drives the bus in terms of economics, it's pretty easy to see how the price tags for top coaches keep going up. The fact is, there aren't many truly great head coaches. It's a limited and scarce commodity.

On the other hand, the top jobs in college football used to have tons of stability. But just this offseason we've seen coaching changes at Notre Dame and Florida State, potentially another at USC and potentially another at Florida. Those are four of probably the 10 most coveted jobs in the sport. Add to that the notion that a bad season in 2010 could certainly open things up at Michigan and LSU and you have two more big jobs available. Saban's making nearly $5 million a year, but if those six schools got in a bidding war for his services tomorrow, he'd be earning double that.

So what does all this mean? I dunno, really. It's just the marketplace at work. But it should be a reminder to all of you who wanted Mark Richt's head on the chopping block that, 1.) His salary is pretty darned reasonable compared to other top coaches, and 2.) Finding a replacement with better credentials won't be an easy (or inexpensive) task.

In this day and age, the most prudent thing a school with a successful track record can do is be patient.

And now, some more links, many of which are also coaching-related...

-- Leather Helmet Blog says he's hearing that Kirby Smart is likely to leave 'Bama and that Georgia seems the more obvious destination. I can't confirm (or even bolster) anything he writes, but I'll say this: I'd be less surprised by all of that today than I was two days ago.

-- Tim Tucker takes a second look at Nick Saban's post-game news conference quotes and reads a few tea leaves along the way to predict that, just maybe, there was some pointed advice in there for Kirby.

-- Red, Black & Three Sheets to the Wind has some advice for Georgia fans if the hire happens to be Todd Grantham: Get excited! (That said, now that the Kirby Smart stuff is heating up again, how can Georgia fans be expected to be excited over anyone who is not Kirby?)

-- T Kyle King isn't getting too worked up about either candidate, but he sure as heck wants someone to get hired soon. (And to answer your question, Mr. King... let's say, Tuesday at 6:52 p.m. First round of panic-related whiskey shots are on me.)

-- Georgia earned seven votes in the final AP poll but it was still the first time in 13 years that they didn't finish in the top 25.

-- The AJC has its list of the top 50 football recruits in the state. Georgia has the first two locked up, but doesn't have another in the top 10.

-- Former Georgia linebackers coach John Jancek found a home with some ties to his past.

-- Yesterday I posted a link to a story where Peyton Hillis knocked Knowshon Moreno, and dozens of Denver fans followed suit. Today, here's a link to a site hoping to defend the former Bulldogs RB.

Just as a side note, since a lot of people were shocked by how hard the Denver fans were on Knowshon, I'll say this: Knowshon is a really likable guy when you get to know him, but fans never get to know players. What you also get to know is, when Knowshon isn't on the football field, he really doesn't care about football at all. (You'll remember that he didn't know who Roger Goodell was and he forgot to file his paperwork with the NFL advisory board.) He takes his game extremely seriously, but he doesn't get caught up in all the other stuff like fans do. And at the tail end of a season in which Denver started 6-0 and dropped eight of their last 10, I can see how that would rub some fans the wrong way. But again... I think that's because they don't really know Knowshon.

-- Mark Fox's crew may be riding high after beating Tech, but the task gets a lot tougher today in Lexington.

-- Georgia Tech is the "Waterworld" of BCS teams. No ratings. No attendance.

-- Two more big stories at Tech: BeBe Thomas is headed for the NFL and it's the end of the line for defensive coordinator Dave Wommack.

-- Georgia Sports Blog links to this yesterday, but Andy Staples' column for SI following the national championship game is really one worth reading.

-- It's not that I want to dislike Urban Meyer. I want to be objective and dispassionate. But man, this just makes me mad. And I assume it makes his wife even more mad.

-- The late-night shake-up is likely to send Conan O'Brien packing... for FOX. I actually see that as a good thing.

-- R.I.P. to the creator of Gumby. And while we're at it, a long-delayed R.I.P. to Eddie Murphy's career.

-- I can forgive his failure to pass a decent health care bill or his broken campaign promises or his lack of a decent means of satire on "Saturday Night Live"... but if Obama postpones the premier of "Lost" for his State of the Union address, I'm gonna be very, very angry. Luckily the creators of the show are already trying to strike a deal.

(And actually, the White House seems to have already addressed the issue promptly. Now, if only they did the same for the flammable underwear guy, they could have saved Glenn Beck a lot of heartache.)

-- Meanwhile, ABC is trying to find a way to keep "Lost" alive -- in some form or fashion -- after this season. (I can only assume it will be a travesty, whatever it is.)

-- The return of "Flash Forward" got pushed back another two weeks. Does anyone care anymore?

-- Alyson Hannigan has a favorite for who she'd like to be the mother on "How I Met Your Mother."

-- And finally, this is a pretty sad story about what Roger Ebert's life is like now. He seems to have a good attitude about it... but I just can't imagine.

Final Mumme Poll Ballot

Last Mumme Poll vote of the year. If you haven't gotten yours in yet, go to it.

Here's my final ballot. As always, your input is appreciated.

THE NATIONAL CHAMPS

1.) Alabama. No doubt about this one. I had Alabama atop my poll for the vast majority of the season, and while I'm disappointed we didn't get to see how the national championship game would have played out with a healthy Colt McCoy, there's zero question in my mind that the best team in the country is the one with the crystal trophy.

THE REST OF THE TOP FIVE

2.) Boise State. They didn't lose. They beat both Oregon and TCU this season. They were rarely even challenged. Beyond that, we're just guessing at what might have happened if they'd played a tougher schedule. But we don't know. All we know is Boise State won every one of their games, which is good enough for the No. 2 spot in my book. (Particularly when, before the bowls, I had TCU at No. 2 and felt good about it.)

3.) Texas. Again, I'd have loved to see Colt McCoy play the whole game. Who knows what might have happened. But part of the reason the McCoy injury was so brutal was because Texas was really never a great all-around team. They were far too dependent on McCoy. So credit to the Horns for keeping it relatively close -- which is more than a healthy TIm Tebow could do against 'Bama -- but this is as high as I can put them.

4.) Florida. I still think 'Bama was the only serious test Florida got all year, and they were blown out in that game. Cincy had a remarkable season, but when you've been ditched by two coaches in three weeks leading up to your bowl… well, that can take the air out of your tires a bit. Still, I have no problem calling Florida the fourth-best team in the country.

5.) TCU. Yes, they lost to Boise State, but maybe that shouldn't be a knock on them. After all, they beat six teams that won bowl games during the regular season. This is a very good team, and worthy of a top-five vote.

THE NEXT SEVEN

6.) Ohio State. Begrudgingly. But in truth, I'm not sure that a win in a bowl game six weeks after their last regular-season game should make me overlook their utter incompetence in non-conference play in the previous three years, but I don't see anyone else that I could make an honest case for placing above them.

7.) Iowa. As impressive a bowl win as any, and when you consider that their only two losses of the year were both close and came without their starting quarterback, I give the Hawkeyes a bit of extra credit.

8.) Cincinnati. It would be easy to overlook a great regular season because of how they fared in the Sugar Bowl. But again… hard to blame them for looking bad after all that happened to them during December.

9.) Virginia Tech. The Hokies thoroughly dominated Tennessee and their three losses this year were to two teams playing in BCS bowls (including the national champs) and a three-point loss to North Carolina. VT was probably the best team not playing in a BCS bowl game.

10.) BYU. The Mountain West showed well during bowl season, the Cougars thumped a surging Oregon State team, and their only losses this year were a strange one to Florida State (which at least had the talent to be a good team) and to TCU. Very solid, if unspectacular.

11.) Oregon. Yes, they lost to Ohio State, which obviously comes with a stigma during bowl season. And no, the Pac-10 did not do well in the bowls, which makes me reconsider how strong the conference really was. But the fact remains that Oregon was a solid top-10 team for me all year and so I'm not changing my mind on that based on just the bowl game. Although I did consider it.

12.) Penn State. I've worked to overlook Penn State all year because their schedule was a total joke. And to be honest, a close win over LSU isn't all that impressive to me. But it was just enough to move them into the top 12. Still, you could easily find 25 teams with more impressive wins than Penn State has.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

13. Nebraska. Finished as strong as anyone.

14. Georgia Tech. Finished as bad as anyone.

15. Pittsburgh. Cincy's flop (and the overall incompetence of the Big East) in bowl season didn't help Pitt's resume. I think they could be a top-five team next year though.

A few last thoughts...

-- I definitely took the bowl games into serious consideration when filling out my final ballot, but I tried not to weight them any more heavily than I would a big regular-season game.

-- The toughest calls for me were on Oregon (which I really didn't know what to do with) and Penn State (which I just don't think has a really impressive win on their resume).

-- Here's my feelings on the BCS: Yes, they got it right in the title game. If there had been a playoff, I'm fairly certain that the final would have been Alabama beating Texas. So that's great.

But imagine if you will a scenario in any other sport where the postseason began a full month after the regular season ended and there were a half-dozen coaching changes in between for teams still playing and the matchups were set arbitrarily by a third party unaffiliated with the sport's governing body and there were teams that everyone was impressed by throughout the year but they didn't get a shot at a title because they had never won one in previous years and some teams only had to play 12 games to get into the postseason but others had to play 13 and the network that broadcast many of those postseason games didn't carry any of your sport's games all year.

What would you think if I told you that scenario took place in the NFL or in Major League Baseball? You'd call it absurd. You wouldn't stand for it. No one would take it seriously for a second. But because this is how college football has always worked, for some reason it's OK.

I'm not going to sit here and say a playoff fixes all college football's postseason problems. I don't beleive that at all. But the current system is downright absurd to the point that the results of most of these bowl games are effectively meaningless. I love bowl season. I love college football. But I hate this system to the point that it clouds my enjoyment of every game that happens this time of year.

Friday Links (1/8)

SEC! SEC! SEC!

Oh, wait, what? I picked Texas? Ah, well, never mind.

I wrapped up bowl season with a 10-24 record against the spread, which I think is pretty darned impressive. I'm like the Leon Lett of picking college games. I'm so bad that, at the very least, I'm memorable.

As for the game itself... meh. It wasn't a bad game, I suppose, but when Colt McCoy went down in the first quarter, we all knew what was coming after that. It was either going to be a fairly easy win for 'Bama or something they'd make an awful Disney movie about in 10 years... and the former was far more likely than the latter, which became quite apparently by halftime.

So now we're at four straight BCS titles for the SEC from three different teams, which is something that has never happened before by any conference. And although Alabama has a few players with NFL decisions to make, I see no reason why the Tide won't enter 2010 as the favorite to repeat as national champs. (Hey, remember at the beginning of the year when people downplayed Alabama's chances because Nick Saban had never enjoyed back-to-back 10-win seasons?)

Of course, Alabama won't be the only title contender. So, here's my VERY early handicapping of the SEC's chances in 2010 (because, after all, my handicapping has been exceptional)...

Mississippi State -- Love the direction of the program, think highly of Dan Mullen, but this is a middling West team at best.

Ole Miss -- Jevan Snead, what were you thinking? Twenty interceptions and you're still turning pro? The NFL already has one Jay Cutler. It'll be a big step back for the Rebs next year.

Arkansas -- Even if Ryan Mallett returns for 2010, what evidence is there that Bobby Petrino can turn this defense into a decent unit? So, no significant running attack and no defense = no SEC title.

Auburn -- Made a lot of progress in Year 1 under Gene Chizik, but I'm still not entirely sold. I think 8-4 or 9-3 is probably the high end.

LSU -- The talent will be there yet again, but so will Les Miles. LSU didn't beat a high-end opponent all year in '09 and probably should have lost to MSU and Georgia. On paper, they could be a 10-win team, but in reality, probably less.

Alabama -- They'll be good. Very good.

Kentucky -- I'll be interested to see how this team looks without Rich Brooks. The East is wide open, but I'm just not thinking Kentucky has the talent to take advantage of the opportunity.

Vanderbilt -- You heard it here first, Vandy will win at least one SEC game in 2010.

Tennessee -- Seems crazy to say this, but Jonathan Crompton was a good QB in 2009 and he's gone. So is Montario Hardesty, who was the anchor on offense. And, of course, Eric Berry. So even with a strong recruiting class in Year 2 for Kiffin, it's hard to see how this team is any better than last year's... at that team finished 7-6.

Florida -- This is what will make the East so wild next year... every team is flawed, but there are at least three with high ceilings. It's understandable that everyone expects Florida to take a step back, but I'm guessing the Gators have quite the "fall off the face of the earth" season some are hoping for. Best guess? A repeat of 2007 when they finished 9-4.

South Carolina -- Put up or shut up time for the Gamecocks, who finally have an open window if Steve Spurrier can still manage to crawl through it. I don't think he can.

Georgia -- Huge question marks on D and at QB, but based on the combination of talent and experience, is there a better team in the East in 2010? But between the DC, Aaron Murray, finding replacements for Reshad Jones, three senior DTs and maybe Rennie Curran... seven wins wouldn't shock me and 11 wins wouldn't shock me.

Before the '09 season, the expectations were that Florida, the reigning national champs, would win the East easily and the West would be up in the air with as many as four teams having a shot to win it. Seems like 2010 will be more of the same, only it'll be Alabama the heavy favorite in the West and the East could be a complete free-for-all.

Anyway, some links...

-- First off, I wanted to point you in the direction of the Diamond Dawgs First Pitch Diamond Gala. It'll be held at the Classic Center on Jan. 16 and proceeds go to help Chance Veazey. If you can go, I highly recommend.

-- If Georgia's going to get Kirby Smart, they better hope that he blows his interview with Texas Tech. Like this. Or this. Or this.

-- B.J. Butler got his scholly yanked after publicly stating his intentions to bolt for Louisville while another UGA commit is wavering.

-- And Louisville is pretty excited to be getting Butler.

-- The UGA Blog is excited about the upcoming QB battle between Georgia's three freshmen. I think there will be lip service given to the "battle" but I'll be very surprised if someone other than Aaron Murray is taking the first snap of the 2010 season.

-- Senator Blutarsky puts a bow on the national championship game with some thoughts on how it played out.

-- Remember how I wrote the other day about the big advantage it would be for Georgia to have a DC with NFL ties? Looks like someone was listening.

-- Denver's Peyton Hillis thinks Knowshon Moreno got special treatment this season and now Hillis wants out. Quite an operation they're running out there in Denver.

-- Congrats to Andy Landers and the Lady Dogs, who set a school record by going to 15-0 with an overtime win over Kentucky last night.

-- Sundiata Gaines got off to a strong start in his NBA debut with the Utah Jazz.

-- The Red & Black take a look at the improvement of Ebukah Anyaorah so far this season on the hardcourt.

One other hoops note: I got a note yesterday from UGA informing the basketball beat writers that Mark Fox is limiting media availability this season. We will have just one opportunity to interview players per week (which lasts about 10 minutes) and beyond that, the only time players will be available is after games (for about 5 minutes).

I understand where Fox is coming from. He's building something in Athens, and given the skill level on the court, it's a delicate foundation. But I just don't get how on Tuesday he complained that there weren't enough fans in the stands for Georgia's win over Tech, and Thursday he essentially ensures that the news coverage of his team will be cut in half.

It's one thing for the football team to do this. People are going to show up at Sanford Stadium on game day regardless of how much I -- or anyone else -- writes about the Bulldogs. But the hoops team is playing to a half-empty arena far too often, and the media interest in the program is already pretty mild.

Yes, I have selfish reasons for wanting more availability. But this just strikes me as yet another instance of people looking at the media as the enemy rather than the conduit between a program and its fans. This is a relationship that desperately needs to be cultivated, not cut short. How many of you have complained already this year about the lack of basketball coverage?

To be clear, this isn't a knock of Fox or the way he's running his program. Clearly the team is making huge strides. But I do know how the media works, and the vast majority of reporters aren't going to take the time to dig for basketball stories that they already weren't particularly interested in reporting when it's easier to just write more about football and most fans will happily eat up the coverage. When football casts such a big shadow in Athens, the first step in coming out from that shadow shouldn't be making yourself less accessible.

-- FOX no spell good or talk pretty fur futbull games.

-- NBC is shaking up its late-night schedule yet again, with Jay Leno going back to 11:35 and Conan moving to 12:05. Seriously, NBC is the Baltimore Orioles of TV networks.

-- Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the big 100th episode of "How I Met Your Mother."

-- Here's a special link for all of you with the sense of humor of a 13-year-old boy (like me!)... it's the sexual innuendo all-name team for baseball. (h/t C-Nati)

-- And finally, I absolutely love this... it's "The Big Lebowski" rewritten as if it were a work of Shakespeare. "This befalleth when thou firk’st a stranger ‘twixt the buttocks, Laurence! Understand’st thou? Dost thou attend me? Seest thou what happens, Laurence? Seest thou what happens, Laurence? Seest thou what happens, Laurence, when thou firk’st a stranger ‘twixt the buttocks?!"

Picking the Winners: BCS Title Game Edition

Although we've come to the end of the road
Still I can't let you go
It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you
-- Boyz II Men's "End of the Road"

Ah, picks column. You've been a special part of all of our lives these past few months. But now we've reached the final installment -- our selections for the BCS national championship game. And though our relationship has been rocky, I think we'll all remember the good times -- the pot-shots at Georgia Tech, the miracle covers by UConn, the random allusions to Chad Lowe and Danny Baldwin.

But alas, we must now say goodbye. So without further a do, the end of the road for Dave and Dan's 2009 college football picks…

BCS National Championship Game (Pasadena, Calif.): Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0)
Spread: Alabama (-5)

Dan: I am 17-16 for bowl season as we approach the last game. After starting out so poorly I am thrilled to be above .500. See, this is what separates me from the “ordinary” gamblers or “squares” as I refer to them. I adapt. I am 6-2 in my final 8 games. I noticed a trend that all dogs for the most part were covering bowl season and I adapted. And what happened? I went on a monster run. I am what they refer to as a closer.

Due to this run I will be enjoying a nice bottle of Jager at the expense of one Mr. David Hale… thanks Dave. Now on to the final write-up.

Dave: I can't say I was quite the performer that Dan was this year, but I closed with a 5-3 mark down the stretch, too. Which is actually a bad thing.

As Dan pointed out via text earlier this week, readers were no doubt skeptical of my early losing ways. Sure, I've sucked at picking games all year, but I was working at a truly horrific pace in the early going. No way that could keep up, right?

But with each new game, I brought you another loser (and I even ensured a Georgia win by picking A&M!). So just when those skeptical wagerers finally decided to fade my picks, what happens? I finish up 5-3 and cost them money. I'm a cooler no matter what I do.

Anyway, doing some quick math, if you were to have simply faded my picks all season (and figuring for 10 percent juice and $100 bets per game) you'd have earned $2,130 courtesy of your pal Dave since September. If you were just smart enough to pick opposite of me during bowl season, you'd be up nearly $1,200.

So regardless, I think I deserve a big hat tip from the readers. It takes some real foresight to provide picks that bad.

Of course, I also want to give a big hat tip to Dan for helping us out with this picks column all year. Sure, you readers kill some time at work each day by reading the blog. But Dan took it a step farther -- he actually blew off work to write these picks on a weekly basis. And ironically, he landed a new, better, higher-paying job last month to boot. I'd like to think that his focus on this picks column kept him from screwing up anything at his real job, which in turn allowed him to move up the latter. So congrats, Dan, and thanks for all the efforts.

I'm not sure whether we'll do this again next year, as it did prove to be a bit more time consuming than I'd originally hoped, but that's usually the way with everything I do. Despite what the shoddy picks might indicate, I tend to devote a lot more energy to things than I plan to, and these posts were no exception.

We also probably pushed the envelope a bit with the content on these posts during the season, too. I honestly kept waiting for one of my bosses to tell me I needed to tone it down a tad, but credit to them for allowing me to explore the studio space, so to speak. The blogger world is uncharted territory for most mainstream media, and I'm a firm believer that you need to push those boundaries to see where it goes. My hope is that, while it may not have been particularly educational, these posts have at least been entertaining. Again, thanks to Dan for his help on that end.

My picks weren't good, but they were bad enough to be significant. The subject matter wasn't routinely informative, but it was often stupid enough to get a laugh. And we didn't exactly break any new ground in terms of content, but we probably did provide a bit of a different style and tone in these posts than I usually do on the blog. So was it a success? I don't know. But I enjoyed doing it, and hopefully most of you enjoyed reading it, too. On to our last pick of the year...

Dan: The final game of the year, Alabama vs. Texas. I must say, after watching Nebraska dominate Arizona, I guess Texas has somewhat of an excuse as to why their offense did nothing in the Big 12 title game. Arizona who had no trouble scoring all year could not move the ball at all.

Unfortunately for Texas though Alabama’s defense is every bit as good as Nebraska’s. Also unfortunately for Texas, Alabama has the duo of Julio Jones and Mark Ingram on offense. I see Alabama doing to Texas what they did to Florida. Just manhandling them.

Speaking of manhandling, that reminds me of a funny story. Our last funny story of the year. Well from me at least. It is one of myself. What kind of person are you if you can’t poke fun at yourself?

About 11 years ago in the summer we celebrated my 20th birthday in the fine state of Delaware. As was customary for birthdays, we usually celebrated them at Dave’s place because many of us attended college out of town and Dave had everything you needed for a good party.

-- No parents
-- Lots of booze
-- Near a college campus allowing walkups.

So we decided to celebrate my 20th and Dave and our good friend Tim decided to head out to get a keg before the party started. They left me behind with a quarter of a handle of Captain Morgan’s. Before leaving they told me to make sure I don’t finish all the Captain Morgan’s. Thinking I was funny, I manhandled the entire bottle.

This led to me being very intoxicated and not being able to speaking coherently. Well a girl I interned with that summer happened to bring along a bunch of her friends that night. I thought it was a good idea to chat them up. Of course I made zero sense and was slurring left and right and was very incoherent. Later that night, one of girls approaches my coworker and says, “I think it is just great that your company hires people like him.”

Courtney (my coworker) looks at her and says, “What do you mean 'like him'?”

"Oh you know," the girl says, "People are who are physically or mentally handicapped . . . you know . . . slow!”

Yes sir . . . they thought I was slow.

Yup . . . that about sums it up people.

As for this game, the Tide ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLS… Alabama 41, Texas 17.

Dave: Before we get to my final (and likely awful) pick of the season, a few things to clear up...

-- First off, let's take a look at the conferences' bowl records so far:

Mountain West (4-1)
Big East (4-2)
SEC (5-4)
Big Ten (4-3)
Big 12 (4-3)
WAC (2-2)
Sun Belt (1-1)
ACC (3-4)
C-USA (2-4)
Pac-10 (2-5)
MAC (1-4)
Indep. (1-0)

So what does all this mean?

On one hand, it doesn't mean much. Bowl season, while being the one time of year when you're guaranteed intriguing inter-conference matchups, is hardly the best overall judge of a conference's (or team's) overall value. There's a month between games and may of the middling teams have simply packed in their season and are worried more about getting ready for spring ball than winning that final bowl game at some desolate location.

So perhaps the overall records don't matter much, but I'm guessing the Mountain West probably does deserve a hat tip for going 4-1, with their only loss being a close one by TCU in the Feista Bowl. Too bad for the MWC though that the one loss was also its marquee game.

I think, too, that the overall records tell us that the Pac-10 was highly overrated this year. And it wasn't just the 2-5 performance that was bad. It was how those teams lost. Oregon State and Arizona were embarrassed and Oregon was beaten pretty handily by the old stepchild of the BCS, Ohio State. Even the two wins -- USC by a nose over a mediocre-at-best Boston College team and UCLA by nine over Temple -- were far from impressive.

But I'll tip my cap, begrudgingly, to the Big Ten, which actually turned in some big performances in big games. No, I don't think most of the bowl games mean a lot. But the Rose Bowl does, and Ohio State proved worthy. The Orange Bowl means something, too, and Iowa was dominant at stopping the best the ACC had to offer.

As for the SEC -- well, it was some good and some bad, but mostly the latter. Ole Miss had to rely on a complete implosion by Okie State to secure a win. Arkansas was taken to the brink by East Carolina and failed to convert a single third down in the game. South Carolina was thumped by UConn, Georgia won easily against A&M, but still allowed more than 400 yards of offense and had to rely on some big special teams plays to win, LSU lost to Penn State, Auburn needed Northwestern to fake a field goal in overtime to secure a win… really Florida was the only dominant SEC team this year.

(And The Dawg Walk does a nice job of putting the Big 10-SEC thing into perspective, too.)

Of course, that doesn't mean that we can infer that Alabama is going to put on a lackluster performance simply because the rest of its conference did. Heck, the Big 12 wasn't any better, finishing 4-3. Missouri and Okie State had two of the most embarrassing losses of bowl season, to boot.

So let's take this game on its own merits rather than tying it up into some conference-oriented context.

First off, do you realize that, regardless of who wins, we're guaranteed our first undefeated national champion since 2005?

Secondly, if Alabama wins, do you realize the SEC will have won four straight and five of the last seven BCS titles?

Those two things add up to remind me a lot of that 2005 championship game between USC and Texas. Coming into the game, it was USC that was considered a big favorite. If I recall correctly, ESPN was doing a series comparing that USC team to the greatest college teams of all time, and nary a word was mentioned of the Horns.

Alabama's not getting quite that much love, but at the same time, they're getting about 80 percent of the straight-up picks from the public, and the SEC's recent success makes the Tide the obvious selection on paper.

But strange things happen in bowl games. That's what we learned in that '05 matchup. That's what this year's bowl season has reminded us.

Meanwhile, add in the following factors:

-- Mark Ingram has been making the rounds following his Heisman win, and the track record for Heisman winners in these games is not good.

-- Texas has gotten to play the "nobody believes in us" card for a month now.

-- As Dan pointed out, some of the big knocks on Texas have proven to be only minor smudges. Texas A&M's offense really is pretty potent, so it's not a huge surprise that the Aggies put up some points in their regular-season finale against the Horns. And Nebraska's defense is absurdly good, so that Big 12 title game really didn't look so bad in retrospect.

-- Terrence Cody has had a week in L.A. to find a really good buffet.

-- This year's bowl season has been the year of the underdog. Dogs are a whopping 22-10 against the spread through the first 33 games (Idaho was a pick-em) and have won 15 of those games outright.

So while every instinct I have from watching football this season tells me that Alabama should win this game, I think we know where my instincts have gotten me in making picks. Instead, I'm looking at the facts, and I'm going to call the upset… Texas 23, Alabama 20.

Bowl season: Dan 17-16, Dave 10-23.

Regular Season: Dan 59-70-3, Dave 57-72-3.

Final Overall Record: 76-86-3 (.470), Dave 67-95-3 (.415).

Clearing the Air: 5 Popular Misconceptions About the DC Search

Here's what I'd love to do for you: I'd be thrilled to death to be breaking the news that Georgia has officially hired its new defensive coordinator. It would mean you'd be thrilled that you knew the answer, I'd be thrilled to stop tracking down leads, and we could all sit back and enjoy the pleasant environment that is always created when a fresh start comes to a program mired in criticism. It'd make my day.

But alas, the best information I could give you is guesswork or speculation right now. The information coming out of Butts-Mehre is close to nil, and the rumors surrounding candidates are just that -- rumors. We've already seen on several occasions what happens when we buy in too much to information coming from outside sources. Generally speaking, there's an agent attached to that rumor, wringing his hands and cackling maniacally.

The latest such rumors seem to surround Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham, and ESPN Dallas is the latest to report that Georgia is interested, and the Dallas Morning News is saying essentially the same thing.

I'm a bit thin on NFL sources, and at the Telegraph, our budget shortfalls and staff cuts mean we don't have a full-time NFL beat writer for me to rely on either. So I'll tell you up front -- inside info on Grantham isn't likely to be found here. I've heard about Georgia's interest in him for a couple of weeks, but I haven't spoken to Grantham or anyone close to him to this point.

That said, you can read Grantham's bio HERE if you're looking for a bit more information on the guy.

I had a reader comment yesterday that he figured Bud Foster probably passed along Grantham's name to Mark Richt after Foster passed on the job, and certainly given Grantham's Virginia Tech ties, that's a real possibility. Again, that's all speculation at this point.

But some of what a lot of fans think they do know about the hire isn't so much about speculation, but rather about misinformation. So, while I can't offer you a concrete answer at the moment on who the next DC will be, I figured I can take a few minutes to clear up some of the potentially incorrect info out there on what is going into this hire.

-- Georgia needs someone with attitude, unlike Willie Martinez. I understand the misconception here because the public image of Willie was generally little more than his postgame, "Bottom line, we've just gotta execute better" quotes. And given that Brian Van Gorder made his gruff demeanor pretty public, it was easy to see Willie as a pushover who was hardly living up to the take-no-prisoners attitude Van Gorder created in Athens. But it simply isn't true.

Willie was downright scary on the practice field. Granted, we didn't often get to see much of practice, but even during the warm-up drills, Willie was often all over his players. While he took a lot of the heat for not having Reshad Jones prepared to make tackles against Tech last year, nothing could be farther from the truth. Willie was as hard on Reshad as anyone could have been. The two had a real love-hate relationship for much of Reshad's early career, but it was Willie who had a big hand in getting him on the right track in 2009. This isn't meant to serve as a treatise on why Willie wasn't at fault for the defensive problems, but simply to say that the faults most people found in his coaching style were a bit faulty themselves.

-- Kirby Smart was Georgia's home-run hire. Could Kirby still be Georgia's guy in the end? Sure, anything's possible. And the more he talks about things, the more it sounds like he's keeping the door open. Of course, any smart negotiator knows that the more doors you keep open, the more money appears in your checking account. So it's probably best not to read too much into that.

But while fans seemed to assume from the beginning -- and, to be fair, most media folks did, too -- that Smart would be Mark Richt's top choice for the job, that's simply not been the case. There have been rumors that Smart and Richt's relationship was a bit frosty during Smart's first stint in Athens as a coach in 2005, but much of that has probably been overblown, too. Most of what I've been told is that Smart left for professional reasons, not personal ones. That said, Smart wasn't Richt's first call when the job opened up, and by Smart's own admission, he hasn't spoken much to Richt at all recently. Yes, Mike Bobo has likely done a bit of lobbying on both sides to bring Smart in, but the fact remains, Richt has offered the job to at least one and, depending on your definition of "offer" as many as three other candidates along the way. And still, Smart hasn't had serious discussions with Richt.

So while it may still end up being Kirby Smart's job, the thought that he was Richt's first choice all along is simply not substantiated by the facts.

-- The only story that matters right now is who ends up as Georgia's DC. Yes, that's the big story, but it shouldn't be the only one. Let's assume Georgia does hire Grantham -- or any other NFL guy for that matter. The biggest question surrounding that hire should immediately be how he will fill out the staff.

While the DC is going to have a say in who gets hired for the other two open positions, it may be that those other two jobs prove more significant in any immediate changes to Georgia's look. Will the new assistants be college guys? Will they be hired more for their roles in recruiting or for their coaching background? Will the new coach decide he only needs one more defensive assistant, thus allowing Richt to bring in a special teams coach? And for all the credit and blame the DCs get, it's the position coaches that players are far closer to. When we start talking about recruiting commitments and possible transfers from the current roster, it will be those secondary hires that really make the difference.

-- Once a new coach is hired, Rodney Garner is skipping town. Will Garner look elsewhere if the right job presents itself? Absolutely. He's never made any secrets about his desire to be a head coach someday, and he's spent a long time in Athens waiting for that chance.

But assuming that, because his feelings are hurt about not being named the DC himself, he's going to quit rather than work for another defensive coordinator is really selling the man short. He's stayed in Athens through a number of DCs, so why should this one be any different? The thought that he'll react like a scorned high-school crush is selling Garner short in the same way fans sold Mark Richt short when they assumed he wouldn't fire a friend. These guys are professionals, and if Garner has an offer that will put him in a better situation professionally, I'm sure he'll consider it. But if that doesn't happen, he's not going to skip town just for spite.

-- The new DC has to have ties to Mark Richt. When we started throwing out possible names early in the search process, the obvious places to start were with coaches who had ties to Richt or to Georgia. But the fact that Richt has said that Garner isn't a candidate -- and definitive answers to any question are rare for Richt these days -- should tell us that he's not interested in more of the same.

Make no mistake: Firing Willie Martinez was no easy task for Richt. It was painful. So to bring in another coach with essentially the same scheme and essentially the same background and essentially the same mind-set that Martinez had would be silly. Richt could have simply kept Martinez.

Yes, Richt has said he wants to bring in someone with a similar coaching philosophy to his. But that's not necessarily about scheme. What Richt probably means is he wants someone who believes in the same things he does about creating a certain enviroment in the locker room and prioritizing key issues off the field and how players and recruiting should be handled. It's not about whether he's a 3-4 guy or a 4-3 guy or whether the new coach is someone Richt would want to invite over to the house for some backyard bocce ball every Sunday.

It seems pretty obvious to me that what Richt is looking for is someone who is undeniably outside of the circle of friends he has counted on throughout his career. He wants a new voice and new ideas. He wants a shakeup. Now, will he be seeking out those trusted confidants for advice on who gets the job? Sure. But to assume that the next DC has to be a "Richt Guy" is a broad leap in logic that flies in the face of the tough decisions Richt has already made.

Looking Ahead: The 10 Best Moments of 2010

Yesterday, I rated my top 10 plays of the 2009 season. But it's early January, and the retrospective looks at the year that was are about as interesting as a Georgia Tech bowl game. So I figured it was time to quit talking about last year and peer into the future to see what's in store for Georgia fans in 2010.

Having said that (h/t Larry D.) here are my 10 biggest moments for the Georgia Bulldogs next season...

10. Richard Samuel knocks down a last-gasp pass at the goal line against South Carolina. Hey, if Rennie's leaving, someone's gotta take over that job, right?

9. Zach Mettenberger throws three touchdowns against Idaho State. I'm assuming, of course, that Georgia is up by 50 at halftime in this one, and Mett gets his chance to show off his gun against one of the worst teams to set foot in Sanford Stadium in recent years in the second half.

8. Blair Walsh's opening kickoff against Louisiana-Lafayette soars deep into the end zone, followed by many more like it. OK, I'm not totally against directional kicking if the new special teams coach(es) can ensure Georgia knows how to cover it. But regardless, here's to not blowing two games because of kickoff problems. It's a modest and attainable goal for the team.

7. Georgia thrives in Boulder, I survive Boulder. I must say, I had this trip circled on my calendar when I took this job. For one, I'm excited about a trip out to Colorado, which will no doubt be every bit as cool a destination as Arizona State was two years ago. And secondly, for UGA fans, this is shaping up like a game Georgia should win easily. And finally, for me, it's a chance to catch up with my old college roommate, Colin, who lives in Denver now and will no doubt ensure that I need a liver transplant upon my return to Athens.

6. Rambo First Blood: Part Two. Let's hope when Bacarri lays out a big hit against Auburn in 2010, he'll remember it. Also, this gives me a good chance to post this great comment, posted anonymously: "i think a bar in athens should come out with a new mixed drink...the bacardi rambo...I can see the tag lines now "sure to be a hit with the ladies", "nothings given more pop to bacardi since the mojoito", "sure to get you black out drunk"…etc." I'll take two!

5. Richt gets his revenge on Kiffin. OK, I'm taking a big leap here and assuming that Lane will say something this offseason that finally gets under Richt's skin (maybe a crack about his hair?) and Richt finally unleashes the fury when Tennessee comes to town on Oct. 9. And this time, Kiffin won't have Jonathan Crompton to bail him out!

4. Georgia earns redemption against Kentucky and I get to gamble on the ponies. The trip to Lexington comes early in 2010 (Oct. 23 to be precise) which means that a.) the Bulldogs will get a chance to redeem themselves against the Wildcats one week before the Florida game and 2.) I get to head to Keeneland while the horses are still running. Seriously, I'm giddy.

3. Caleb King and Washaun Ealey each go for 200 against Georgia Tech. They have an extra week to prepare this time around, and they've got to do something to top 2009's performance.

2. A healthy A.J. Green hauls in 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. In Year 1, he had to learn the offense and deal with a lingering groin issue. The result was All-SEC honors. In Year 2, he had to deal with an offense in which he was the only legitimate threat for much of the year and injuries that cost him three-and-a-half games. The result was All-SEC honors. Seriously, how can you not be excited to see what this kid can do when the chips aren't stacked against him?

1. Aaron Murray proves he's the best quarterback in the state of Florida. The Tampa native chose Georgia over the Gators, and in Year 1 of the post-Tebow era, he'll give Florida a lesson on what they missed out on, leading the Dawgs to a big win in Jacksonville and causing Urban Meyer to take the rest of the season off to recover. Hey, it could happen.