I think CPJ would be better off as an OC

[johncu]

Do you not think there is a skill to recruiting the players that Mark Richt currently has? There are plenty of schools with as-high or higher profiles than U[sic]GA which aren't nearly as successful. A very significant portion of being a head coach in college is getting players to come to your school. It doesn't matter what you would do with great players if you can't get them.

Obviously there is going to be a talent gap between U[sic]GA and GT no matter who is coaching. But I think to assume that CPJ would have the same players at U[sic]GA that Mark Richt currently has is a wild assumption. We still don't know if he can get the same level of players to GT that Chan Gailey did.

Of course there's an element of skill to recruiting. That's why I only listed schools that are such historical powerhouses that recruiting basically takes care of itself, as long as the coach is competent. If you put CPJ at Alabama, he wins 10 or 11 games in his first season and you have players banging down the door to play for him. You also have huge wads of money to throw at quality assistants who also help a lot with recruiting. I would bet you a lot of money that CPJ would average top 10 recruiting classes at Alabama.

I agree that we do not yet know if he can bring in elite talent to Georgia Tech. If he can't do it, he won't last, no matter how good of an X's and O's coach he is. I am still holding out hope that he will be able to do it, and IMO he has already started to, with our last couple classes looking much better than the first few.

 

[gtfan088]

Do you not think there is a skill to recruiting the players that Mark Richt currently has? There are plenty of schools with as-high or higher profiles than U[sic]GA which aren't nearly as successful. A very significant portion of being a head coach in college is getting players to come to your school. It doesn't matter what you would do with great players if you can't get them.

Obviously there is going to be a talent gap between U[sic]GA and GT no matter who is coaching. But I think to assume that CPJ would have the same players at U[sic]GA that Mark Richt currently has is a wild assumption. We still don't know if he can get the same level of players to GT that Chan Gailey did.

I don't know how well CPJ would recruit as the head coach of UGA, but I don't believe UGA is a particularly difficult place to recruit at. The academic restrictions for athletes are virtually non-existent, you're in the SEC, and in a talent-rich state. They have no excuse not to recruit well just like Texas has no excuse not to recruit well.

Mark Richt has done a fine job in getting 4 and 5 star players to go to the type of school that 4 and 5 star players go to, sure. He also had a 5 loss season followed by a losing season with a ton of talent just a couple years ago. I would not be surprised if he's on the hot seat within a few years. UGA has benefited the last two years from not having to play the tough teams from the SEC West.

 

[beej67]

Implying CPJ would get the same players to UGA that Richt does currently. Implying Richt wouldn't get better players to GT than CPJ does currently.

Stay delusional.

Absolutely. Richt gets no better players than CPJ does if they switch schools. Our recruiting issues have to do with self imposed academic restrictions, curriculum limitations, lack of fanbase, lack of widespread state support, media bias, ACC baggage, etc. Richt would recruit no better.

 

[beej67]

Do you not think there is a skill to recruiting the players that Mark Richt currently has? There are plenty of schools with as-high or higher profiles than U[sic]GA which aren't nearly as successful.

Compare UGA's recruiting rank over the last decade to their final AP rank. UGA vastly underperforms.

 

[andrew]

Compare UGA's recruiting rank over the last decade to their final AP rank. UGA vastly underperforms.

It's only an underperformance if you consider their great recruiting rank to be a given, something that would happen if any coach was there. I don't believe that's true...there are plenty of programs with the same type of recruiting conditions as U[sic]GA which have been worse programs over the past decade.

Does it really matter if Richt underperforms relative to his recruiting ranking if overall he overperforms relative to similar programs? I would say "no", and that U[sic]GA would be very foolish to fire him simply because of a rough stretch the past three years which has been decisively ended this year.

The bottom line is that under him U[sic]GA has finished ranked in the top 10 six out of eleven years, with a great chance to make it seven out of twelve. I think you're crazy if you think most coaches could do that at U[sic]GA, or at any school for that matter.

 

[boozinbuzz]

Not so sure CPJ would be able to recruit as well as Richt has at UGA, at least on the offensive side. 95% of the players that go to the big schools like UGA think they will be in the NFL one day and wouldn't want to go play TO offense.

 

[gtfan088]

It's only an underperformance if you consider their great recruiting rank to be a given, something that would happen if any coach was there. I don't believe that's true...there are plenty of programs with the same type of recruiting conditions as U[sic]GA which have been worse programs over the past decade.

Does it really matter if Richt underperforms relative to his recruiting ranking if overall he overperforms relative to similar programs? I would say "no", and that U[sic]GA would be very foolish to fire him simply because of a rough stretch the past three years which has been decisively ended this year.

I hope they do fire him though.

What would you consider similar programs? He is sitting on a gold mine in the state of Georgia, but as of yet has yet to translate it into a national title, and he hasn't won a conference title in several years.

 

[andrew]

What would you consider similar programs? He is sitting on a gold mine in the state of Georgia, but as of yet has yet to translate it into a national title, and he hasn't won a conference title in several years.

Alabama, Auburn, Texas, USC West, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, and LSU all spring to mind immediately. I think you could make an argument that places like Notre Dame, Texas A&M, CAL, and UCLA are very similar too, and I'm sure there are some I'm missing. Hell, the state of Missouri produces FBS talent at a rate similar to Georgia. Take a look at these two maps:

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1118/grant_e_PastedGraphic-2_640.jpg

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1118/grant_e_PastedGraphic-1_640.jpg

There are plenty of programs sitting on "gold mines"...the problem is that it takes a great coach to mine them -- just look at Alabama in the decade before Saban.

Certainly the knock on Richt has been that he's never won a national title, and, God willing, that will continue to be the case. But since he's been at U[sic]GA I'm not sure there's another program in the nation that has been as consistently good as they have.

 

[gtfan088]

Alabama, Auburn, Texas, USC West, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, and LSU all spring to mind immediately. I think you could make an argument that places like Notre Dame, Texas A&M, CAL, and UCLA are very similar too. Hell, the state of Missouri produces FBS talent at a rate similar to Georgia. Take a look at these two maps:

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1118/grant_e_PastedGraphic-2_640.jpg

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1118/grant_e_PastedGraphic-1_640.jpg

There are plenty of programs sitting on "gold mines"...the problem is that it takes a great coach to mine them -- just look at Alabama in the decade before Saban.

Certainly the knock on Richt has been that he's never won a national title, and, God willing, that will continue to be the case. But since he's been at U[sic]GA I'm not sure there's another program in the nation that has been as consistently good as they have.

I see 1.74 vs. 0.63 and 1.56 vs. 0.71 in those maps. Maybe you meant Oklahoma?

 

[ScionOfSouthland]

"You know, Mona had a dream once where I hit the dog with the car. She was mad at me all day, and I never hit the dog. We don't even have a dog."
-Roger Sterling

 

[atlinsight]

Absolutely. Richt gets no better players than CPJ does if they switch schools. Our recruiting issues have to do with self imposed academic restrictions, curriculum limitations, lack of fanbase, lack of widespread state support, media bias, ACC baggage, etc. Richt would recruit no better.

Bingo. It's apples to oranges, just many different situations/variables.

Which school provides the most NFL prep, media exposure, conference prestige, selection of parties/women, better game-day atmosphere, degree selection/difficulty, fan support (aka $$$), etc.

I hate Georgia and wouldn't give a ---- if the school burned down tonight, but if given the choice between the two for the top athletes (stereotyping here), is it really that difficult of a choice for most? CPJ is 10x the X's & O's coach that CMR is... and his system is great (IMHO) but not a sexy, intriguing brand of football that you can sell to a big $$$$$ school to bite into... I think it is perfect for GT, but let's be honest- all NCAACFB is these days is a big revenue generator and league to propel kids to the NFL as quickly as possible.

 

[The Champ]

CPJ is 10x the X's & O's coach that CMR is

LOL. How is he 10X the X's and O's coach? Because he knows 5 offensive plays and has run the same things over and over for 30 years?

You morons that think we have some sort of football genius as a head coach really crack me up. He is good at calling plays in an option offense, really good, but in no way is he 10X the X's and O's coach of anyone in CFB, much less Richt.

 

[knoxjacket]

LOL. How is he 10X the X's and O's coach? Because he knows 5 offensive plays and has run the same things over and over for 30 years?

You morons that think we have some sort of football genius as a head coach really crack me up. He is good at calling plays in an option offense, really good, but in no way is he 10X the X's and O's coach of anyone in CFB, much less Richt.

People forgot Richt was an absurdly good OC at FSU. His 2000 FSU offense was better than anything CPJ has put forward.

 

[andrew]

I see 1.74 vs. 0.63 and 1.56 vs. 0.71 in those maps. Maybe you meant Oklahoma?

I meant Mississippi...maybe I was just thrown off by the fact that Mississippi could actually be good at something?