Georgia offense coordinator Mike Bobo is making a career change: He has been given the head coaching opportunity he has long deserved and is moving on to Colorado State .
This could be a convenient time for Mark Richt to make a more subtle career change and start calling plays again.
Richt handed over play-calling duties to Bobo in 2007. The noise from the cheap seat notwithstanding, Bobo proved to be a successful play-caller. Georgia has had one of the most productive offenses in the nation and this season averaged an SEC-leading 41.7 points per game (eighth-highest in the nation).
With Bobo gone, Richt has three options: 1) Promote from within; 2) Hire from the outside; 3) Take the job back himself. There’s nothing wrong with the first or second options. Either can work. But I lean toward the third.
Nobody knows Georgia's offensive personnel better than Richt, and, even with the expected loss of Todd Gurley to the NFL, the Bulldogs have the potential to have a very good team next season. While there's no indication that Richt is in trouble following a 9-3 regular season (going into the Belk Bowl against Louisville), the sting from the embarrassing loss to Florida re-ignited criticism of the head coach from fans and media.
Records of 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC generally isn't something to complain about. But in a season when the SEC East was so bad, it’s less than fulfilling.
The Bulldogs also will have a far more difficult conference schedule in 2015. Alabama is back on the schedule, road games include Auburn and Tennessee, and Florida is expected to be improved with new coach Jim McElwain.
The key question: What maximizes Georgia’s chance for success? Is it Richt giving play-calling duties to somebody else or doing it himself, at least for a season? I say the latter. What say you?
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