Changing His Stripes

It kind of slid under the radar, but this comment from Mark Richt at last week's Macon Bulldog Club meeting caught my eye...

"Even his high school coach said, 'Coach, I think he's on defense.' He said it the day we got him. But we were smarter than that, and we thought, no, once he gets to do it more, he's going to be something else."

The quote is in reference to Richard Samuel, who pretty much everyone seemed to understand would be better suited for linebacker, but instead spent two full seasons -- including the first half of last year as the starter -- trying to play running back.

Now, to Samuel's credit, he did study hard and he did have breakaway speed and he was a big, bruising body -- so if things had clicked, perhaps he could have been a heck of a running back.

But the quote above strikes me as the biggest reason fans were -- and in some cases, still are -- so upset with Richt last year.

For all the "never been in the arena" talk from the head coach, it sure seemed like the folks on the outside had a lot right.

The fans understood the defense was headed in a bad direction, and the result was five games in which UGA allowed at least 34 points.

Fans knew the kickoff strategy was flawed, and the result was a loss to LSU because of a bad kickoff late in the game. (And, to be fair, a ridiculous penalty on A.J. Green.)

Fans knew that personnel changes needed to be made, and while Bacarri Rambo helped save the Auburn game, far too many big plays also occurred while Bryan Evans chased futilely after a receiver destined for the end zone.

For all the talk about turnovers and penalties and off-field incidents… it still seems like if the defensive strategy had been adjusted, slumping seniors had been benched, kickoffs had gone deep and the answer at RB had been found a bit earlier, Georgia might well have enjoyed a 10-win season (or better) last year.

And the problem wasn't so much that fans recognized those problems last year. It was that they recognized them in 2008, when Georgia actually did win 10 games. And like with the Samuel situation, Georgia's staff knew better and stubbornly stuck to philosophies that utterly frustrated fans.

On the upside, virtually every one of those issues has been addressed this offseason (along with a handful of others, including a renewed emphasis on recruiting the state of Georgia, constant talk of fundamentals, etc., etc.).

So for the second straight year, I discount much of the "hot seat" talk about Richt. But I can't help but wonder if much of that talk could have been avoided altogether if just a few of this offseason's concessions had been made a year earlier -- regardless of whether or not Georgia still finished with five losses.

So here's my question: Have all the offseason moves left you with as much confidence in Richt as you ever had? Or did two years of stubborn insistence on a largely unsuccessful approach shake your belief?

Or perhaps more to the point -- will you stick by Richt if Georgia finishes 8-5 again this year, but does it with a more fundamentally sound D, a better approach to kickoffs and a duo at tailback that understands how to play the position?