A look at UGA interim coach Herrmann

Athens — Pete Herrmann is known as a gregarious guy and an enthusiastic public speaker. But on Thursday, when he took over as Georgia’s interim men’s basketball coach, Herrmann was uncharacteristically subdued, even somber.

“No, there is not any joy today in becoming the head coach for a month and a half here at the University of Georgia because of the circumstances that surround it,” he said.

Enlarge this image

AP

New Georgia basketball interim head coach Pete Herrmann, 60, has been a coach for almost 40 years. His only stint as a head coach was from 1986-92 at Navy, where he coached superstar center David Robinson.

MORE FELTON

Next hire? Bradley | Moore

Junkyard Blawg: A challenge for Evans

Blog: How it unfolded

Who is Pete Hermann?

Where is Jim Harrick?

Felton's timeline at UGA

Interactive: Rate possible replacements

Video: Felton's UGA run over

Photos: Felton's career • '08 NCAAs • The many faces of Felton

RELATED UGA LINKS

• Standings • Stats

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

The circumstances are that he’s taking over for his longtime boss and loyal friend Dennis Felton, who was fired Thursday morning — less than seven hours after returning to Athens from a 26-point loss at Florida.

Herrmann, 60, is a veteran of the coaching profession and, in fact, has experienced the same fate as Felton: He was fired as Navy’s head coach in 1992. For the past 11 years, he has been an assistant under Felton — first at Western Kentucky and since 2003 as associate head coach at Georgia.

Now, as Georgia begins an external search for Felton’s permanent replacement, Herrmann is asked to run the beleaguered team for the rest of this season.

Albeit somberly, he said he accepted the assignment without hesitation.

“I haven’t been in this situation before, and it’s going to be difficult,” he said. “But we are going to do what’s best for our players here at Georgia … and for the university.”

Herrmann has been a coach for almost 40 years, the past 28 on the NCAA Division I level at five schools. His only stint as a head coach was from 1986-92 at Navy, where he coached superstar center David Robinson.

“Have I always wanted to be a head coach again? Definitely,” Herrmann said. “And I do conduct myself hopefully … as a head coach. But this is not the circumstances that I would want to be the head coach.”

He is a former officer in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a popular speaker at national coaching clinics.

Georgia players know his gregarious side.

“He has great enthusiasm and energy,” center Albert Jackson said. “He tries to fuel the players off his energy. He’s going to bring a spark to us. Whether we take that spark is on us as players.”

Said point guard Zac Swansey: “He’s more laid back [than Felton], real enthusiastic.”

The Bulldogs’ first game under Herrmann will be Saturday night at Alabama, which also is operating under an interim head coach, Philip Pearson, after Monday’s resignation of Mark Gottfried. Georgia will enter the game on a seven-game losing streak.

Herrmann said his coaching philosophies mirror Felton’s.

“I’ve been with coach Felton 11 years now, and our thinking is very comparable as far as how we want players to play the game,” Herrmann said. “We want them to rebound and defend consistently and share the ball.”

He also wants them, as Felton did, to reduce their turnovers. And he said, “We want to run the ball a little more than we have been.”

Said athletics director Damon Evans, who fired Felton: “I think Pete will bring his own special flavor to the court and the locker room. And hopefully that will add up to some wins for us and give our student-athletes a good experience.”