Mike Bobo – Georgia’s former offensive coordinator – was far and away the most underrated and under-appreciated offensive coordinator in college football. Raise your hand, Georgia fans, if you ignored the success Mike Bobo’s offenses had on the field and only focused on his shortcomings and questionable decisions. Keep your hand up if you give more credit to the talented players on the field for making his system work than actually giving him credit for implementing it. If you were in a room full of Dawg fans, it’s likely you’d see a lot of hands still raised ready to wave farewell to the newly-appointed head coach at Colorado State.
Sure, Bobo had some extremely talented players come through the program during his tenure, but he also played an integral part in developing those players into superstars. Bobo, who played quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1993-97, knows a thing or two about the position, and that showed in his tutelage of superstar QBs David Greene, D.J. Shockley, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Murray. Don’t forget, Georgia has also seen its fair share of running backs and wide receivers thrive in Bobo’s offensive system. Do the names Knowshon Moreno, Todd Gurley, A.J. Green or Nick Chubb mean anything?
Over the last five seasons, Georgia has ranked in the top 33 nationally in scoring offense with Bobo calling the plays. This season, Georgia ranked eighth with 41.7 points per game. Is that impossible to replicate with a new offensive coaching staff? No, not at all. Will it be hard to replace such a brilliant offensive mind who has lived and breathed Georgia football since 1993? Absolutely. Don’t forget about the recruiting trail, too. Bobo is a likable and effective recruiter in the South (and across the country), especially in south Georgia, which is a hotbed for recruiting battles where some of the state’s most talented players reside. Teams from all over battle it out for Georgia talent, including schools like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State and LSU, to name a few.
For Georgia, if there is one thing that can be said about its offense, it’s that they have had continuity for many years. Bobo had an extraordinary knowledge of his SEC opponents and was capable of coming up with a scheme to counteract an opponent’s defensive strategy. Now, as Georgia looks to break in a new quarterback for next season, the Dawgs will be starting from scratch at the offensive coordinator position for the first time in many years. The return of offensive stars like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Malcolm Mitchell and a majority of the starting offensive line will help immensely, but they will all be learning a new system for the first time in their careers.
So now the big question: who will Georgia hire to replace Mike Bobo? The Dawgs made a big splash last offseason, luring defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt away from Florida State following Todd Grantham’s departure, but this situation is a bit different. Pruitt inherited a defense in flux with a need to improve. Whomever takes over for Bobo will need to come in with the understanding that this offense has not been broken for quite some time.
Here are three big name possibilities for Georgia in 2015:
1) Doug Nussmeier, University of Michigan
If Georgia is looking for a big name with a proven track record, there are few offensive coordinators available that would be a better fit than Doug Nussmeier, the current offensive coordinator for the University of Michigan. Though Nussmeier’s offense at Michigan has fallen well short of its expectations, it’s evident that the talent level at Michigan is not nearly what he would get to work with at Georgia. Nussmeier is cut from a similar mold as Mike Bobo. He was a quarterback in college, went on to coach quarterbacks and then became an offensive coordinator. In 2012, Nussmeier took over for Jim McElwain (former Colorado State HC and current Florida HC) at Alabama, coaching A.J. McCarron to a school record for touchdown passes in a season and leading the Crimson Tide to a national championship. He is a good recruiter and has experience winning in the SEC. As an added bonus, Nussmeier and Pruitt were both on the 2012 Alabama coaching staff – along with newly-hired strength and conditioning coordinator Mark Hocke – so they have a history working together. Nussmeier has shown a pattern of moving around a lot, which could give Mark Richt and Georgia AD Greg McGarity some pause, but he would be a great fit in Athens.
2) Kurt Roper, University of Florida
Yes, that Kurt Roper, the current offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators, a team that struggled mightily on offense this season. But hear me out. Roper inherited an offense in absolute disarray, and he got about as much as he could from Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris in his one year at Florida. Think about what he could do with an offense that can actually be multi-dimensional. Prior to joining the Gators, Roper has shown strong loyalty, following around current Duke HC David Cutcliffe over the years. He worked with Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss (1999-2004), running backs coach at Tennessee (2006-2007) and offensive coordinator at Duke (2008-2013). He helped develop some great NFL talent during his time under Cutcliffe, including Eli Manning and Arian Foster. Kurt Roper is a great offensive mind that would bring a fast-paced, attacking style of offense to Athens. He also brings SEC experience at Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida, meaning he has experience recruiting in the Southeast. Players for the Georgia Bulldogs would likely enjoy playing for Roper, fitting well into his style of offense, and perhaps a new loyalty would form between Roper and Richt.
3) Randy Sanders/Lawrence Dawsey, Florida State University
Randy Sanders and Lawrence Dawsey are the current co-offensive coordinators for the Florida State Seminoles. The two bring different backgrounds to the table, but they have one thing in common: winning. Sanders played quarterback for Tennessee in the mid-80s and has SEC coaching experience at Tennessee (where he also served as recruiting coordinator from 1993-1998) and Kentucky (where he also served as recruiting coordinator from 2006-2008) before joining Florida State. He has two national championships under his belt (1998 Tennessee Volunteers and 2013 Florida State Seminoles) and specializes in developing quarterbacks. He helped develop Andre Woodson at Kentucky, as well as Jameis Winston at Florida State, to name a few. Dawsey, on the other hand, has experience working with Mark Richt, as he played for Florida State during Richt’s early years as a coach/assistant. He also brings NFL experience to the table. Dawsey was drafted in the third round of the 1991 NFL Draft, playing wide receiver in the league from 1991-1999. He specializes in wide receivers at Florida State, and has since he joined the staff in 2007 from South Florida. Dawsey, though he doesn’t have experience in the SEC, is well known as a fierce recruiter who helps Florida State contend for the top recruiting class every year. That’s something Georgia would find extremely attractive. Both Sanders and Dawsey won a national championship working with Jeremy Pruitt, and it would be a coup for Georgia to get FSU’s defensive coordinator one year, followed by its offensive coordinator the next.
It will likely be a couple weeks before Georgia finds its replacement for Mike Bobo, but there are two things we know for sure as the hunt begins: 1) There are plenty of options for Georgia, which is an attractive job to many around the country. 2) Mike Bobo will be sorely missed as a coach, a recruiter and an all-around good guy who knows the Georgia Way.
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