Via EDSBS, the day Georgia fans have been waiting for: There's some serious bloodletting afoot in the Athens coaching ranks. Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, defensive co-coordinator and linebackers coach John Jancek, and defensive ends/"part time special teams coach" (nope, no potential for trouble there) Jon Fabris will not be returning for the 2010 season.
Georgia's defensive woes have been protracted and well-chronicled, and this news will come as a relief to Bulldog partisans who saw last year's inept run defense flow into an utterly hopeless 2009 pass defense that couldn't keep guys within 5-7 yards of an intended receiver despite employing two senior corners and a junior safety. A partial list of quarterbacks permitted to look like demigods against Georgia this year includes Ryan Mallett (OK, understandable), Stephen Garcia (slightly less understandable), and Jonathan Crompton (wait, what??).
While Georgia's special teams play has been particularly atrocious (and that doesn't even include egregious kickoff/punt gaffes against Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky), the bulk of the blame will fall on Martinez, who was kept on past his prime by virtue of having been Mark Richt's best man, and who never managed to consistently adapt his defenses to the spread, tantamount to a death sentence in today's game. We wish Martinez all the best and do hope he catches on elsewhere in the SEC, that he might further hone his innovative "Widespread Panic Dancer With A More Refined Concept Of Personal Space" tackling strategy, the preferred afternoon delight of opposing receivers and running backs across the Southeast.
Georgia Cleans House On Defense, Fires Coordinator, Co-Coordinator, Position Coaches
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