UGA playcaller Mike Bobo finds peace knowing he’ll never please his critics
ATHENS — It has unquestionably been a great year for Mike Bobo.
The Georgia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach was named a Broyles Award finalist, given to the nation’s top offensive coach. Bobo was the lone offensive finalist.
His quarterback, Gunner Stockton, has blossomed as one of the best players in the sport. Stockton finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting in his first season as Georgia’s starting quarterback.
Georgia went 12-1, winning the SEC and earning the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff. For large portions of the season, Georgia won because of its offense, like when it needed 44 points to beat Tennessee and 43 points to take down Ole Miss.
Yet Bobo knows that for a vocal portion of the fan base, it will never be enough. Even if this season ends with a national championship, he knows he can’t concern himself with those who want to fire Bobo.
“I don’t listen to the noise. I’m not sitting here and saying, ‘Hey, you don’t hear noise,’ or you don’t pay attention to it,” Bobo, 51, said on Sunday. “I mean, you hear it, but you don’t listen to it. You focus on what’s important. And what’s important is those coaches and those players and me doing my job here at the University of Georgia for our head coach, Kirby Smart.”
Bobo joked that his hearing was poor when asked a question about backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi on Zoom. Age seems to have given Bobo a few perks, even with its drawbacks.
As for Smart, the Georgia coach believes Bobo is doing a great job. Despite calls for Bobo to be replaced after the 2024 season, Smart stuck with the longtime playcaller.
Even with all Georgia had to replace from last year’s team — a starting quarterback, four offensive linemen currently in the NFL, a leading rusher — Bobo got the job done over and over again with what the Bulldogs had available this season.
“I mean, it’s satisfying to coach a group of kids that we had this year that have come in and gotten better every week, have worked extremely hard,” Bobo said. “We carry a lot of offense, and we put a lot on them each week. And they come out the right way and prepare.”
No one has been more appreciative of Bobo’s efforts than Stockton. The two have been linked together dating back to when Bobo was the offensive coordinator at South Carolina. Stockton first committed to play for Bobo there before ultimately flipping to Georgia when Bobo left to become Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
Stockton had a marvelous season as Georgia’s starting quarterback. He threw for 23 touchdowns and ran for another eight as he piloted the Bulldogs to an SEC championship.
Not bad for someone who, like Bobo, faced plenty of criticism to start the season.
“Coach Bobo, he’s a great coach to play for. I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else,” Stockton said. “Just to see all the work he puts in and just the love for the University of Georgia and the passion he has for the players and Georgia, it makes everybody around him better. He’s a great coach to play for.”
Bobo used the word outstanding to describe the offensive performance this season. Even if the numbers don’t reach the same highs as the Todd Monken era, this offense has been perfect for how Georgia wants to play.
The Bulldogs spoke all off-season about committing to the running game after finishing 15th in the SEC in rushing offense last season.
The Bulldogs averaged 62 more yards per game on the ground this season. They ranked third in the SEC in rushing offense and first among the conference’s five College Football Playoff participants.
“He doesn’t chase numbers,” Smart said. “Look at what they’ve done in the red area. It’s been incredible. The ability to run the ball has been really, really well. And I think he’s a credit for that because he puts the game plan together. He has to decide ultimately what’s in. He has to decide what’s called. And he’s done that with a really tough schedule and two freshman O-linemen and a lot of O-linemen out that have been injured in and out. So I’m really pleased and proud of what he’s done.”
To Smart’s point, Georgia ranks second in the country in red zone touchdown percentage at 79.2%. When Georgia smells blood in the proverbial water, it finishes.
If the Bulldogs continue to do that this season, they could at last win a national championship with Bobo as the team’s offensive coordinator. He was on staff as an analyst in 2022.
He’s now been nominated for the Broyles Award three times in his multiple stints at Georgia. Winning a national championship is just about the only thing Bobo hasn’t done in his time as Georgia’s offensive coordinator.
Yet he knows that hole doesn’t define him. Not as a coach and certainly not as a person.
“Now we got a chance in the playoffs to accomplish another goal,” Bobo said. “But as a competitor, you wanna win, and that’s why we do this thing, we compete. But the other thing why you do this, and why I got into coaching, is the effect that you can have on young men and help them, see them grow. That’s what I saw my whole life growing up.”
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
