The Dashboard

It’s been a crazy past couple of days, but let’s take a look at Georgia’s Sugar Bowl loss to Texas, offer some honest observations, and look ahead to possible changes that may be coming the Bulldogs’ way.

There’s a lot of ground to cover.

Tuesday’s loss to Texas might not have been the most shocking upset in college football history, but it’s the way they Bulldogs lost that was the most surprising to most people.

Yours truly included.

After all the initial brouhaha over getting left out of the College Football Playoffs, I talked with players in the weeks leading up to the game. I concluded that the Bulldogs were anxious to make a statement—that they truly wanted to show Texas and the rest of the college football word that it was a team deserving a shot in the sport’s final four.

Instead, the script was flipped.

Texas was the team that showed up to play, displayed the energy championship squads are supposed to exhibit, and out-executed and out-hustled the Bulldogs at every turn.

It was almost as if the Longhorns took a cue from mascot Bevo. The mascot didn’t take kindly to being introduced to Uga, and sent everyone—dog, photographers, onlookers—scrambling.

Georgia certainly appeared scrambled for most of Tuesday’s game. The Bulldogs exhibited all the energy of a wet dish rag, and it wasn’t until it appeared the contest would be a complete blowout that the team finally started showing some life. By that time, it was way too late. The final seven-point margin was not indicative of how lopsided the game was.

So what happened? Maybe Dr. Phil has an answer.

I just knew when Georgia players started tweeting out their “opinions” during Clemson’s rout of Notre Dame that trouble was coming. This was a clear indication that minds weren’t on the Longhorns as they should have been. Some of the tweets were indeed cringe-worthy.

It was certainly uncharacteristic of what we’ve seen from Georgia teams in the past. It showed a severe lack of player leadership, an aspect that’s been lacking all year.

The talk wasn’t directed at Texas. But if you’re going to toot your own horn about how good you think you are then you’d better have the pipes to play a tune worth hearing. Because they didn’t, there are a lot of folks around the country laughing at the Bulldogs right now.

Kirby Smart and his coaching staff are definitely not without blame.

Coaches are always going to pay some of the price when teams don’t come prepared to play. We saw that at LSU and again versus Texas. Still , the debacle against the Longhorns was more about effort as compared to the loss to LSU, where Jim Chaney and Georgia’s offensive coaches called their worst game of the year.

So, what do we take away? What’s going to happen moving forward?

Talent-wise, I’m still very excited about the potential of this team, but it’s time for the program to grow up.

Leaders need to be found. Coaches need to demand accountability, and in some cases, be more accountable themselves.

Now that all this distraction surrounding Justin Fields is over—yes, I think it's been a distraction—it's time for Jake Fromm to truly assert himself as the leader of this team.

Look back at any of Alabama’s recent championship teams, or Clemson when it beat the Tide behind DeShaun Watson. It's always been the quarterback who's been the man who's led the way—in every aspect, on the field and off.

Fromm needs to be the Man. But he’s not the only one.

I absolutely love Jeremiah Holloman. He’s got some of the best moxie on the entire team. Same is true for Andrew Thomas on the offensive line. Elijah Holyfield can be that type of person, if he elects to come back for his senior year.

Defensively, somebody’s got to step up to fill some of the leadership gaps. In 2017, Roquan Smith, Davin Bellamy, and Lorenzo Carter were the leadership linchpins for Georgia’s defense.

Jonathan Ledbetter tried to be that man for the Bulldogs, but he didn’t have a lot of help. Now he's gone. It's unclear who has the ability to step up and be that player with the kind of fire in the belly you need to really get the rest of the defense to follow.

Talent-wise, there’s a lot to be excited about. This is going to be a very good team in 2019, but Smart has to find a way to get everyone’s minds in the right place if the Bulldogs—who will be a preseason Top Five pick—want to ultimately assert their championship claim.

What players are coming back? Any coaches leaving?

Those are two of the hottest topics right now. Let’s examine both, shall we?

Let’s begin with the players looking to leave early for the NFL Draft. Call me a skeptic. I’m not suggesting anyone is a liar, but when players tell me they haven’t really thought about their future—with the NFL Draft deadline to declare for underclassmen just two weeks away (Jan. 14)—I’m not sure they’re not stretching the truth just a little.

Right now, I expect several draft-eligible Bulldogs to move on.

Isaac Nauta, Elijah Holyfield, Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley declared Friday afternoon. Neither decision comes as a surprise.

As far as coaches are concerned, like you, I’ve seen the rumors regarding Jim Chaney. It's been suggested that Jeremy Pruitt is possibly considering him for the vacant offensive coordinator’s job at Tennessee.

Although I’ve heard nothing specific from my end on this, until Pruitt makes the call, it’s a situation that bears watching.

Chaney, like all of Georgia’s current assistants, received a raise back in February. However, it was only $100,000, compared to the $600,000 increase given to former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, and the $480,000 boost given James Coley (current salary at $850,000) to spurn an offensive coordinator’s offer from Texas A&M.

If Chaney does leave, it’s not expected to have any impact whatsoever on offensive lineman coach Sam Pittman ($825,000). On the other hand, you can bet, don’t be shocked if you hear other teams ultimately checking in, given the coach's success.

That’s what happens when you're a high achiever at this level. Other schools are going to come after you.

Don’t be shocked if Del McGee ($550,000) gets some overtures, too.

Like Tucker, I’m told McGee ultimately wants to be a head coach. There are a lot of folks at Georgia Southern who wished the Eagles had named McGee the head man in Statesboro after Willie Fritz left for Tulane. McGee would coach the team to victory in GoDaddy Bowl against Bowling Green that same year.

There’s currently an opening at Troy that could peak McGee’s interest. No contact has been made to my knowledge, but again, like the situation with Chaney, it invites your watchful eye.

As far as Georgia’s defensive coordinator is concerned, it remains unclear what Smart is thinking, although I’m hearing we’ll be told something on this all-important decision reasonably soon.

Neal McCready of our Ole Miss site contacted me on Wednesday about former Rebel defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff, who was let go a few weeks ago. At the time, I was spending 10 hours flying and in airports. I had to go to Orlando before ultimately arriving in Atlanta early Wednesday morning. So the answer was no, I had not.

However, Thursday, his name popped up in conversations with sources. So again, it bears watching, although this may be as the team’s secondary coach. If true, it would mean Smart may still be looking at an internal hire as far as the defensive coordinator is concerned. Co-defensive coordinators may be an option, too.

You know what it all comes down to, right? We'll just have to wait and see.