Searels to Texas: Georgia OL Coach Flying to Austin
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jan 19, 2011 4:45 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns Football
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PrintThere's no official confirmation that Georgia OL coach Stacy Searels has or will accept the Texas OL coaching position, but he did get on a plane from Athens bound to Austin on Wednesday afternoon. After the false alarm on Monday with Bob Bostad when the same jet that is now carrying Searels -- and the same jet that carried Jeff Grimes back to Auburn, not to return to Austin as a Texas coach -- ended up dropping off a PGA Tour professional in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, at least Searels was seen boarding the plane, so he is most definitely en route to Texas.
With Christian Westerman visiting on Friday and after the high-profile miss on Jeff Grimes and a similar whiff on Steve Addazio when he took the Temple head coaching position, Mack Brown can't afford to have another coach turn him down after flying into Austin and wasting precious time. The thought here is that Brown has already offered the job to Searels and that Searels knows that he's going to take the job. All that remains, hypothetically, is for the two to met and confirm the hire, which should take place sometime Wednesday evening. Once again, that is pure speculation, but given the situation it doesn't seem like a stretch.
More on Searels later, if/when this does go done, but for now satisfy your hungry selves by munching on his bio.
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I like the hire
I don’t care about how Georgia fans and media want him out. If he’s good enough for Saban, Muschamp, and Mack, he’s good enough for me. I think with Harsinwhite’s schemes combined with the Wylie S&C will do wonders for those naysayers over in Athens.
Eight Walls
<> a new MMA blog from Fantake
Please be over with soon.
And wrap up Westerman!
Just ready for this to be over...
If Westerman goes elsewhere because of the hire, I can live with that.
the man, the myth, the legend.
Twitter: @jyarbrough
I won't go into a long diatribe, but this is not a good hire
Look at the statistics of the Georgia offense since 2007. That is all.
by billfromlaketravis on Jan 19, 2011 4:57 PM CST reply actions
Per his bio
Searels in his first two years at Georgia took units that had three freshman starters each season and helped Georgia finish in the top 10 both years. Georgia didn’t have great rushing offenses either season, but then most SEC fans would tell you that it isn’t easy to run the ball in that conference.
The guy has a good track record at LSU and if he was good enough for Nick Saban, that says a lot to me. Bo Davis worked with him for several years at LSU and if he didn’t have a good positive impression of him, I don’t think Mack Brown would even be talking to him right now.
Follow me on Twitter: @GhostofBigRoy
www.burntorangenation.com
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jan 19, 2011 5:08 PM CST up reply actions
Yes, he has some great accomplishments in his past
He obviously knows how to coach the position and if his heart is in it could be just fine or even great.
However, his most recent performances for the last couple years are not great. Then again, the UGA teams have not been good. So, I don’t know if that is attributable to him or the OC and HC. My take on UGA this past year was that they just were not that great and in the SEC not great is a tough place to be.
The stuff about not wanting to travel for recruiting is troublesome because it may also mean not wanting to work the necessary hours to do whatever it takes to WIN.
Where do you get that he doesn't want to travel for recruiting?
Recruiting will be the key, always is. I’m not sure Grimes or Bostad or anybody could have done much with the people we’ve recruited the last several years. If he’s not up to it let’s hope he loves to watch HS game film and just had a bad couple of years evaluating talent.
We have a 12th man and he's Bryan Harsin
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 19, 2011 7:31 PM CST up reply actions
Internet rumorboard
Said that he had an ill mother and wasn’t required to travel. Maybe that is part of why he is interested in Texas since he would not have to travel much since we have quality OLs a plenty.
I have no idea if any of it is true. Any of it.
Suspect?
Why does everyone at Georgia want him out so bad? Where there is smoke, there is fire. I just want us to get the best possible candidate out there. Hopefully Mack has a trick or two up his sleeve.
I think Georgia fans really want that whole staff gone
or Mike Bobo at the least. I would attribute their feelings to general fatigue with the coaching staff as a whole than anything on Searels in particular.
Follow me on Twitter: @GhostofBigRoy
www.burntorangenation.com
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jan 19, 2011 5:04 PM CST up reply actions
Burn the House Down
GOBR…. You are right, Dawgs want the whole lot thrown out and burned in effigy. Mark Richt is on his last leg (HEll toe) at Georgia for all intensive purposes.
When your extra win is capped by a loss to UCF in the Liberty Bowl
6-7 is not much diffrent than 5-7.
Glad we are the team that acted on that kind of result whereas UGA has not done much.
for all intents and purposes*
by goingforthecorner on Jan 19, 2011 7:52 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks
LoL that is what I get for not working on my case load and reading blogs all day… Poor self editing :-)
by French-Horn on Jan 19, 2011 10:36 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
For the current crisis of the UT offensve line coach ...
… “intensive purposes” worked pretty well.
I Just Hope We're Not Reaching...
so that we can tell Westerman “here’s our guy!”. I think it’s a forgone conclusion he’s going to Auburn now, so why not get the best guy out there even if it takes us past signing day.
The slow wave is our best weapon.
Not a home run, but still a solid double
It’s not the perfect hire, in keeping with all the seeming home runs that Mack has hit this off-season, but it’s a solid one. The lines at LSU and Georgia have been solid under Searels and bringing in someone with championship experience will definitely help with future recruits. Plus, we did need to fill the hole and I think Searels is probably the best we could get at this point and hopefully Westerman sees it the same way too.
by I Love This Game on Jan 19, 2011 5:15 PM CST reply actions
Comments from And the Valley Shook
the LSU SBN blog about Searels.
Follow me on Twitter: @GhostofBigRoy
www.burntorangenation.com
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jan 19, 2011 5:19 PM CST reply actions
Yeah it's in the comments
it should show up directly where they are.
Follow me on Twitter: @GhostofBigRoy
www.burntorangenation.com
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jan 19, 2011 5:36 PM CST up reply actions
I see the light
Like that LSU was mad that UGA poached him. Don’t think we should hold the problems at UGA against a good position coach considering UGA’s problems are bigger than that.
Glad to see that he played at AU instead of UGA. Otherwise Jerry Gray would have none of that because Searels and Gray were playing at the time the lousy UGA dogs had that lucky muffed punt and last second field goal to cheat us out of another NC.
I could care less about Westerman
He is either a Longhorn or not a Longhorn. We will find out on signing or whenever he signs. I do want us to wrap the search though because we need to be getting ready to play some spring ball and all the learning for next year’s new schemes. Plus, we have juniors to recruit.
Clap Clap Clap... You know what's coming...
This deserves a Mack Clap moment… I LOVE THE CLAP!!!!
by French-Horn on Jan 19, 2011 5:52 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I understand the desire to get the best coach possible...
But it’s hard to get too upset about hiring a guy with as much experience as Sealels has in the toughest conference nonetheless…In my eyes, he can’t be any worse than what we had before, so while the jury may still be out he deserves a season or two before we declare the hire a disappointment or smart choice.
the man, the myth, the legend.
Twitter: @jyarbrough
What does anyone know about the recruitocosm post about his ill mother?
I hate to sound or be crass but if he had time concerns at UGA about recruiting etc., then why would they be better here, especially if Grimes turned us down for the same reason?
I remember hearing his name at the beginning of the whole coaching carousel
and he was a guy that was definitely on the texas radar.
We apparently put out feelers to him a while back when it looked like McWhorter would retire.
Its not got quite the wow factor some of the other hires did but what can you do when your top options say no.
Jeff grimes and Wickline might have been option 1 and 2, but
This is not a bad hire.
.
Exactly
When we were acting on Will Muschamp’s recommendation we had some serious S&C concerns and a lingering Davis problem. Today, we are a significantly better program. I hated losing Will, but I’ll happily welcome his choice of OL coach!
Discipline and accountability are back.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Questions?
With all modesty, I consider myself a very informed and balanced UGA fan. I am also a former Austin resident/Longhorn season ticket holder, so I check this site regularly.
To the extent that anyone wants a non-crazy point of view from a UGA fan, ask away. Happy to contribute if I can.
thumbnail sketch please
strengths/weaknesses
fit with rest of staff
recruiting prowess
Who are you?!
I'm Kick Ass!
by TexasGarcia37 on Jan 19, 2011 6:27 PM CST up reply actions
He's a mystery wrapped inside a riddle.
Seriously, the guy only occasionally does interviews, so it’s hard to get a feel for him. He also rarely lets OLs do interviews, FWIW.
My understanding is that he is a hard nosed, demanding coach. He’s tough above all else. He wears a sweatshirt at practice so no one can complain about the heat (curious to see if he can keep that up in Austin). He’s also not afraid to sit a guy when he’s not performing.
As for weaknesses, I was most displeased with his ability to evaluate his players in the preseason. He got some credit for juggling guys during the season to form a strong line, but inherent in that is having the wrong guys out there day one. Our OL has started slow the last four seasons.
He’s not a huge recruiter, imo. We’re a bit behind on OL recruiting. We’ve landed some stud tackles, but we’ve had rotten luck with injuries there. I’d say he has a lot to prove in this regard.
I think he’s probably a good coach. He certainly enjoys a good reputation. However, with the way our OL has performed recently, many of us are okay with giving someone else a shot.
One final thing, he supposedly had a huge problem with the quality (lack thereof) of our strength program. We made a change there in the offseason. Sound familiar?
Thanks for sharing
Honestly, I am just fine with this hire. He will have to prove himself or he won’t be here long. We have pleny of talent on this team and the incoming class. Let’s see what he can do. If it is like he did for LSU I will be very happy.
Hauntingly
but thanks for the input, most of us here don’t know a lot about him.
It’s kind of ironic, really. Same thing happened to MacWhorter in to a greater degree. Three years or so ago MacWhorter was deemed one of the best in the nation. Then we had terrible luck recruiting and keeping people. If only there were a way to recruit people you know would excel in college ball…
I like the ‘sonofabitch in practice’ aspect. Maybe his luck will change here b/c I believe this is the most important hire we will make.
We have a 12th man and he's Bryan Harsin
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 19, 2011 7:17 PM CST up reply actions
'but' to a great degree...nt
We have a 12th man and he's Bryan Harsin
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 19, 2011 7:18 PM CST up reply actions
Pass protection
how well did the Georgia O-line protect the QB? How often were the linemen committing false start penalties, especially in critical situations? That was a huge issue with our guys.
How was the run blocking?
Glad this coach is willing to sit some guys. That’s accountability.
by goingforthecorner on Jan 19, 2011 7:58 PM CST up reply actions
Actually, pretty decent.
The pass protection has been pretty solid. Run blocking, not so much. It was actually shocking in 2009. Statistically, we protected the QB as well as anyone, but the run blocking was miserable. Part of that could be attributed to the fact that we no longer had Knowshon as well.
This year run blocking looked pretty awful generally. Again, we faced a lot of 8 man fronts given the lack of AJ Green on the outside for the first few games and the fact that we had a RFr QB. AJ coming back really opened up the offense and made everyone else look better.
I think he teaches technique pretty well, but we have had a toughness issue the past few years. That might explain why the pass protection is better than the run blocking since my understanding is pass blocking is more of a science, whereas run blocking is much more about physicality.
Penalties were a big problem for us generally until the last season when we got that corrected. I don’t remember many false starts, but we had a pretty veteran group this past season as well.
"Meh"
S’okay. Texas could do much, much worse than Stacey Searels. I can’t help but question his performance in Athens, even under the circumstances, but he’s probably pretty decent.
This wouldn’t seem to be a home run like Gray. Maybe a stand-up double?
Just Harsin around.
by burntorangehorn on Jan 19, 2011 6:58 PM CST reply actions
Ho Hum
In this decision I will just go with – “In Mack We Trust”
Don’t know much about him except that he wasn’t our first or second choice. This late in the game and with so many quality openings around the country I guess you can’t get everyone you want, even in recruiting of college coaches. We can only go up as our O-Line has been a recent disappointment in performance but the talent is there or coming in soon enough.
"Sectional football games have the glory and the despair of war, and when a Texas team takes the field against a foreign state, it is an army with banners."
~John Steinbeck
by HazzardousHorns on Jan 19, 2011 7:09 PM CST reply actions
I'm on the fence with this hire.
I guess it’s a wait and see for me. Not the splash I was looking for that’s for sure.
ATX
From 247:
We are still told by sources at both Texas and Georgia that Stacy Searels has not accepted the offensive line position at the University of Texas.
according there sources.
Kinda hard to take a report seriously w/ this lack of detail.
by vy til i die on Jan 19, 2011 10:39 PM CST up reply actions
UGA's OC was a lot worst than GD GD
Check out the article. No doubt that Searles is trading up with joining Harsin/Applewhite and the whole Longhorn family. And this article, while taking a jab or two at the OL, explains the undertones of why Searles was probably very frustrated and ready to join our dream team. UGA’s HC Richt with OC Bobo is going to be a mess this year at UGA.
Murrary is a very talented young QB, and I wonder if he isn’t looking for more from his coaches instead of taking the blame for their mistakes.
I’m not buying what UGA fans are selling. This is a good hire, and we are the program to watch.
FWIW
Searels has been an enigma over the last 2 seasons. In 2007, I thought he worked wonders his first year, plugging and patching holes on a depleted line that helped pave the way to a final #2 ranking. Injuries hit us again very hard in ‘08, when Georgia was everyone’s preseason #1. 2009 and 2010 have been horrible. I don’t know if that is lack of running back talent or, the excuse du jour, strength and conditioning. And please don’t try to convince anyone of anything who reads an Examiner dot com article. Anyone can write for them (as a matter of fact, I do in the South Florida market…and I am a novice writer).
I think he’ll do fine at UT, I really do. And I’m not sad to see him leave Georgia. Whatever was going on the last few years has not been working. In the end, he took an offer he couldn’t refuse. But something was fundamentally wrong on our offensive line, especially in the season that just concluded. The loss in our bowl game against UCF was the epitome of failure: We outweighed UCF’s defensive front by 25 lbs. on average per man. Bobo’s playcalling had nothing to do with our inability to line up and push the defense back to pick up a few key feet. That was just poor execution.
I hope he is successful at Texas. But I can’t really say I am disappointed that he left Athens.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Jan 21, 2011 12:46 PM CST up reply actions
And, HC Richt gives Searles a ringing endorsement
Mike Bobo is the [offensive] coordinator. Mike Bobo is the quarterbacks coach, and Coach [Stacy] Searels is the running-game coordinator," Richt said. “And they have done a great job — not a good job but a great job — so I have all the faith and confidence in those guys.”
Unfortunately, he also endorses OC Bobo which is a bit alarming. UGA can keep Bobo – I’m on the Searles bandwagon and ready to drink the Kool-aid. Welcome aboard.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/uga/mark-richt-officially-turns-796110.html
Why was my first reaction to hum Johnny Cash’s classic “A Boy Named Sue”?
Still a Blaine Irby fan
by patienthornsfan on Jan 20, 2011 5:03 AM CST reply actions
what happened to Hand?
was that just a mirage? wasn’t there an article this week on getting that dude?
"you can destroy a man, but you cannot defeat him." - e.h.
Personality fit and not the right amount of experience we were looking for.
"That defense couldn't stop a nosebleed." - Bart Scott/New York Jets
Doesn't Hand have more experience than our new DC?
And waht does “personality fit” mean exactly? That Mack didn’t like him?
"Only angry people win football games." --DKR
I don't think anyone knows for sure what the reasons were
People have speculated that it was experience (which doesn’t make sense), personality, etc. I think the “fit” issue could just be either how well a guy’s personality meshes with the other coaches (critical for group dynamics). It’s unlikely that it’s about how the guy conducts himself in practice or games, because I really don’t think Mack or anyone else at Texas has been on a sideline with Hand. Or Bostad. Or Wickline. Or Grimes.
Just Harsin around.
by burntorangehorn on Jan 20, 2011 11:43 AM CST up reply actions
My question, too
After reading GoBR’s analysis 2 days ago, I was totally sold on Hand. Was he not interested or was Mack not interested in him?
"Only angry people win football games." --DKR
It is official
Posted on mbtf. Searels to Texas.
by BigJohnson on Jan 20, 2011 4:34 PM CST via mobile reply actions
I think this is probably the most underwhelming hire of the off-season for Texas
Just Harsin around.
by burntorangehorn on Jan 20, 2011 5:06 PM CST reply actions
PS--although Diaz gives it a run
Just Harsin around.
by burntorangehorn on Jan 20, 2011 5:06 PM CST up reply actions
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