I always thought donnan seemed like a decent coach caught in tough circumstances. And Spurrier did come along at the right time, although I think his offense was so different from what the sec was used to that he was going to get a few seasons before anyone figured out how to stop it. Strangely enough, I know what you mean about richt. Meyer stopped coaching that same year as well. It’s interesting to look at a guy like that through that lens. When he’s committed he’s damn near unbeatable, but when he phones it in, like he did in 2010, he wasn’t much better than muschamp or mcelwain.
And the reason I say Spurrier affected you guys so much was bc clearly he hated uga and took extra pleasure in beating you. When you have a guy like Donnan trying to right the ship and one of your biggest rivals is taking every opportunity to rub your nose in losses, that puts more heat on the seat than normal. I think richt felt it too, hence the end zone thing in 07. But yeah, we’ve been through it now, although I’m not sure if you guys have ever hired a coach as bad as mcelwain. I get why you hire muschamp atcthe time. He was one of the hottest assistants in the country and it seemed like a solid hire. Mcelwain seemed more like a “cost effective” hire.
I’ve said this before, to you I believe, that I think Kirby has benefited from us and Tennessee being so bad. Obvs he’s a very good recruiter, but when several of your biggest competitors for recruits suck like we have for a decade, it makes the decision to go there much more clear cut. I think he’ll come back to orbit a bit. I mean, he almost has to after the past couple years. And it does seem like he may not be the best coach in terms of in game adjustments. The last couple Alabama games have shown that. Clearly you guys had a great game plan coming in. When saban adjusted and changed up what they were doing, Kirby didn’t have the counter punch. Granted it is Alabama and even getting a lead on them is an achievement, but esp in this years game you could see you guys getting more desperate and losing momentum play by play. The fake punt call everyone is so familiar with was the most obvious example, but as teams are able to match uga on a talent level, I wonder if that will become more of an issue