Projecting the Costal programs in a few years

Richt saw Donnan lose three in a row to Tech and get fired, so he made sure uga was always uber ready for Tech. Smart just saw Richt go 13-2 against Tech and get fired. Hopefully he won't bring the same level of intensity that Richt did to that game. I know Johnson didn't in 2009. Richt recruited very well, but wasted a lot of talent. I expect Dabo, McElwain, Jones, and Saban to take a bigger share of that talent for the next two to three years until Smart either proves himself or collapses. Basically, how much worse can we do against Smart than we did against Richt?

Luckily all those new and improved coaches in the Coastal will still have to play each other. 4-2 against the Coastal has always given us a pretty good shot at the ACCCG. The other two conference games will be against Clemson (whom CPJ has a winning record against), and typically against one of the Atlantic bottom feeders. I would lean toward at least one of the hires at VT, Miami, and UVA being a bust. CPJ's record against those three is worse than his record against the other three division foes. How much worse could our record be against VT and Miami in the next 6 years than it has been in the last 6 years? We've lost 5 of 6 to each, so there's nowhere much but up.

Last year, we caught lightning in a bottle. This year we were stuck by lightning: the worst injury year I can remember combined with the toughest schedule (4 top 10 teams), the wettest fields, and loss of all skill players on offense.
 
The nicest guy in college football didn't make a national championship in fifteen years at a factory school. Framing it solely around his wins per year ignores all the factors at hand.

I sort of agree that the relatively low pressure might be enticing for some coaches, but a lot of coaches have that drive to either prove themselves in the NFL or prove that they can win at one of the major programs under all the pressure. Also, a funny thing happens when a coach starts to win at a program: expectations are raised, and simply meeting the standard that the fans had for the coach and the program when he came on is no longer good enough. If Fedora or Fuente reach a point where winning 8-9 games a season is no longer enough, I could definitely see them bolting.

Collectively, the seven Coastal schools are guaranteed 21 losses a year, and factoring in cross-division and occasional ooc losses, 30 losses collectively a season is probably about right, give or take a few. (This year it was 37, but that was with UVA at 4-8 and us at 3-9.) Assuming that these losses aren't going to be evenly distributed, let's say the top three teams one year combine for just eight losses, the middle two teams combine for 9 losses, and the bottom two combine for 13, with one of those teams failing to make a bowl game. When these sorts of scenarios play themselves out over time, some programs will inevitably fall behind, fans will get disgruntled/impatient, and coaching changes will be made. It doesn't really matter if all the programs look good on paper when someone still has to finish last.

Apologies to all for not responding earlier.

I agree... Someone is going to suffer at the bottom. They key for every coach is to make sure it's a different program at the bottom every year or two. Need a lot of upward mobility possible for every program, and that can happen with consistent recruiting by every program.

I put a lot of importance on having two playoff caliber teams at the top of each division, like FSU and Clemson in the Atlantic. As long as you have that, it's hard to exclude a program from the playoff without a strong OOC win, like UNC this year. Regardless, I think we're in for a treat in the upcoming years, especially if PJ can be at his best. I hope our boosters are willing to make sure he and the program have what is necessary to compete in a more competitive environment.
 
But everybody has to play everybody else, too. Two or three loss champs every year?
See above post... The needs to have two undefeated/1 loss teams. The middle just needs to evenly cannabilze each other. Having one bottom feeder is not a problem. This is what the SEC West does really well, though maybe not this year.
 
This. I'm very intrigued to see Richt 2.0. It could go a couple of ways. First, maybe he gets a second wind from being out of a horrible situation with the people he reported to. Alternatively, the new juice wears off after a couple of months and he says, "What did I get myself into? I needed to rest." I honestly think Spurrier did this after getting chased out of the NFL. Took the first SEC offer he could get and then floundered his first few years.

Richt told his UGA players in the last meeting that "rings gather dust" and relationships don't, or something like that. Now, I love Richt, know him personally and he's very genuine; a truly good man. But if I'm a Miami guy I don't want to hear my new coach saying "rings gather dust." There were pics of him making the U with his two hands and immediately people were captioning it, "Look no rings!" Having said all this, I think he'll do pretty good down there. Championships? Not sure about that one. I predict GT-Miami heats up even more as a rivalry.

I appreciate a reasonable UGA view on this. I think Richt is perfect for transitioning the program from the ideology of needing to be the Miami of the 80's, aka Thug U. Making the transition is crucial for Miami having success in the modern college football world, and Richt has both the cache as one of the best coaches in the country, as well as being a member of the 80s teams. I think this will give him the leeway with the fans and alums to reshape the program in the way necessary. Those mouthy former players can't show up Richt as easily. I really believe he is the perfect hire for Miami at the perfect time. I don't know if he'll win championships, but he will modernize the program, and at worst, set it up for the next guy.
 
Re: Projecting the Coastal programs in a few years

Our offense hasn't been figured out, and with the right guys, could dominate like no other offense in the country. But seeing as how we won't get those guys more than once in a blue moon, I'd like to see the offense tweaked, from the oline blocking to how we use our receivers in short yardage. M

Most of all, I want Joe Hamilton again. Was watching some YouTube highlights... Was reminded why this one man made me choose to be a GT fan as a teen.
 
Grow some balls. VPI isn't going to be an annual top 10 program. Their head coach has 1 year of ööööing experience and you're creaming your pants

Because balls are where thinking happens.
 
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