The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WHY VINCE DOOLEY THINKS BULLDOGS ARE BUILT TO LAST
Now a fan, former coach can say Dogs have shot to win it all.
ATHENS — There’s a large table in the home and relative museum of former Georgia coach and Civil War historian Vince Dooley that dates to the 1850s and was used by the cabinet of the Confederacy for the signing of its constitution. The man associated with writing so much history as a football coach also owns a letter signed by Robert E. Lee.
“I started to get into the business of acquiring things,” Dooley said. “But I found that it is expensive.”
It hasn’t been more than 150 years since Georgia won a national title. It just seems that way.
Dooley’s Dogs won the program’s last football championship in 1980. Georgia’s last SEC title came under Mark Richt in 2005. Dooley can say something now as a fan he would never say as a coach, especially the week of the Florida game: The Bulldogs have a chance to win both — this season and in future years under Kirby
Smart.
“I think he’s got a good chance to win it,” Dooley said. “He could win it this year. There’s an opportunity there.”
Dooley shared comments on a number of topics in the latest “We Never Played the Game” podcast with Channel 2 Action News’ Zach Klein and me. He also responded to some questions after the podcast on quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Jacob Eason and Smart, including:
On Fromm, the freshman who took over the starting job when Eason was injured in the season opener and has kept it: “His big growth was at the Notre Dame game. He made two big mistakes in first half (an interception and a fumble he was slow to try to recover). But he doesn’t make the same mistakes over again. He’s totally confident and you can see the team’s confidence in him.”
On whether he believes Eason will transfer: “If he follows what is normal in this day and time, I think he would. My understanding is he still has a good attitude. But he didn’t get to go into that game (against Missouri). He didn’t play. But it’s just one of those things that could’ve happened to anybody.”
On whether Smart, in only his second season, has proved to be a great head coach: “The test of time is still the greatest test of all. But there’s no hesitation how he wants to do things and that comes from his experience, particularly under (Nick) Saban. He doesn’t lack any confidence about what he wants to do and how to handle it. That comes from his experience and being in big ballgames.”
Different from Richt
It’s Florida week. This is when all expectations for an SEC title or anything beyond that should be on hold.
There’s no question Georgia is a better team than Florida. The Bulldogs have better players, greater incentive given what’s on the table and they’re 14½-point favorites, a stunning sight given that the Gators have won three straight in the series and 21 of 27 since 1990.
But too many things have gone horribly wrong in Jacksonville to assume a Bulldogs win. Until it happens.
Dooley understands the thirst for a championship in Athens. He has lived near campus since being hired by Georgia in 1964 at the age of 31. He was on Georgia’s sideline for the highs of six SEC titles and the national championship, as well as the darker years: two decades between conference championships (19822002) as a coach and then athletic director.
He hired Richt, who won SEC titles in 2002 and 2005, finished with several top-10 rankings and averaged 9.7 wins a season, but never won a national title in a conference that saw other members accumulate several. Then he had to watch Richt get fired after the 2015 regular season, a decision he says he would not have made but came to understand.
“A lot of time it goes with who hired somebody,” Dooley said. “In my case, I hired Mark and based on his record I would not have made the change.
“On the other hand ... (Smart is) who I would’ve picked if I was in that situation. I said that soon after he was hired. In the case with Mark, he was a victim of his own success and expectations.
“Three years in a row we were picked to win the East. Missouri comes from nowhere to win. The next year Missouri defies all the odds and wins again. And then Florida comes out of nowhere and wins. Then we lost some ballgames that perhaps you could say we should have won. Florida, South Carolina, whatever.”
He’s happy for Richt’s success at Miami. He’s also thrilled for what Smart has done for Georgia.
“He’s brought a completely different personality than Mark. Mark is very reserved. People would complain he doesn’t have enough fire and enthusiasm, and Kirby’s just the opposite. He’s into everything. He’s nonstop. If you go to practice you’ll see him everywhere.
“It was time for a change, I guess, and it was the right change.”
Dooley, 85, doesn’t attend the Florida game anymore. He travels to Jacksonville, attends functions like the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame ceremony, then drives back home the morning of the game. A man gets to a certain age when he just doesn’t want to deal with crowds and traffic.
“You get spoiled when you’ve always had a police escort going to the game,” he said, smiling.
But he’ll be watching on television and believes in this team and the program’s future.
“I feel really good about it,” he said. “I’m speaking as a fan. If I was Kirby, I’d be more concerned. I’ve heard we’re favored by two touchdowns and I think we’ll do that . ... I was more conservative when I was coaching than when I was a fan. Even if we were to lose to Auburn, and I don’t think we will, I still think we’ll be there (in the SEC title game). We are one of the two best teams in this league without a doubt.”
The program is overdue for some new glorious history.