ATHENS – The Georgia football team’s primary off-season concern is secondary, and one might think that Charlton Warren’s sudden departure would exacerbate that.
It’s a fair concern, but Kirby Smart has proven to be able to update his team before, and it’s safe to bet that the Bulldogs’ head coach isn’t panicking.
“Tthat’s part of the profession for me, ”said Smart last year in New Orleans, as he discussed hiring Matt Luke to replace former offensive coach Sam Pittman.
“When you win football games…. people get opportunities. “
Warren is expected to be announced as Indiana’s defensive coordinator, news that ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg first reported on Sunday afternoon.
Comings and goings
Smart had to replace at least one assistant coach in each of his five years as head coach at UGA.
Internal lineback coach Glenn Schumann and running back coach Dell McGee are the only remaining members of the Smart 2016 original field team.
McGee, oddly enough, played defensive at Auburn when the Tigers went 11-0 in 1993.
Two of the Smart team members in 2016 are now head coaches: Mel Tucker in Michigan and Shane Beamer in South Carolina.
Current defensive coordinator Dan Lanning has asked schools to approach him about head coaching opportunities.
Lanning recently turned down an opportunity to become Texas’s defensive coordinator.
RELATED: Dan Lanning is ready to run it back with Bulldogs
help Wanted
Georgia seems to need all the help it can get in high school, with six former starters advancing, including All-American cornerback Eric Stokes and ex-cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and DJ Daniel.
Second year student Tyrique Stevenson started as a cornerback too, moving from nickleback to singing for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Stevenson did not seem to have the speed and technique needed to be competitive in the SEC in the cornerback before moving to Miami last week.
The depth of Georgia suffered a blow last season when nickleback Divaad Wilson was transferred to Central Florida, and safety Otis Reese was transferred to Ole Miss.
The Safety Lewis Cine is the only player who started all season last year by returning at the end, although Christopher Smith took over from Richard LeCounte in the middle of the 2020 campaign.
There will be no shortage of candidates for the coaching vacancy in Georgia, and Smart probably already has a shortlist.
Warren and the recipient’s coach, Cortez Hankton, were the only two UGA coaches who did not receive raises after the 2019 season.
Player coach?
Sources indicated that Smart is looking for another player coach to take on the secondary.
Warren is known as an authoritarian because of his military background in American Air Force Falcons football.
The training work observed by the media in Georgia, and on Warren’s previous training stops, revealed a serious and extremely detailed trainer, who allowed very little room for error.
Smart, a former security captain and All-SEC team in Georgia, is also known for his nature as a vocal trainer, making it for intense settings.
Smart does not hide this, its program is built to compete annually in championships. “Pressure is a privilege,” likes to say Smart.
So while the name, tone of voice and nuances of the technique change with a new secondary trainer, Smart said the program’s identification will not change.
“I think every time you build the infrastructure in a program, when people leave, as long as you don’t change that infrastructure, it doesn’t create a lot of doubts or anxiety in the players,” said Smart two years ago after having to replace Tucker as a coach. secondary and DC.
Coaching conversation
Smart interviewed LSU cornerback coach Corey Raymond the last time the position of secondary coach was opened before he signed Warren.
Raymond was born in Louisiana and played at LSU before a six-year career in the NFL. In addition to being considered one of the best secondary coaches in the country, Raymond is also the recruitment coordinator for Tigers.
Tennessee’s defensive and secondary technical coordinator, Derrick Ansley, is another name on the radar.
Ansley, who has experience as an NFL coach, was recently linked to the position as Oregon’s defensive coordinator.
Would Smart be willing to create a title and pay Ansley – or Raymond – the kind of coordinator money, if these elite SEC secondary coaches were interested?
Georgia’s football budget is such that money is not expected to be an issue for Smart when approaching candidates.
Many know that former South Carolina coach Will Muschamp spent time with the Georgia team during bowling training and even earlier this month.
Muschamp, as Smart, an ex-safety from Georgia, started his career as a defender in West Georgia (1998), Eastern Kentucky (1999) and Valdosta State (2000).
But Muschamp, whose son Jackson is entering his second season on the team as a replacement, seems more suited to an analyst role with a comfortable $ 15.5 million acquisition of South Carolina on hand.
If Smart intends to promote internally, the current UGA defensive graduate assistant, Nick Williams, can be considered.
Williams, like Smart, is from Bainbridge, Georgia, and is already popular with current players. Williams started his UGA career as a safety before being transferred to the linebacker during his junior season.
Smart hasn’t rushed his signings in the past, but with key players in demand on the secondary, both from the prep ranks and the transfer portal, it’s fair to assume there will be a sense of urgency.
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