Georgia football: Expect UGA to promote from within at DC

Georgia football is still looking for a defensive coordinator and it looks increasingly likely that that person is going to come from within.

As Kirby Smart continues to look for a defensive coordinator, some fans are starting to get rather frustrated. In their defense, it’s now been more than 6 weeks since we found out the Mel Tucker would be leaving the program. That does seem like plenty of time to go out there and find the next guy. I mean the Dawgs only lost Jim Chaney a week ago and already they have hired a new tight end coach and promoted James Coley.

Smart seems to be approaching the DC role differently. His defensive staff is and will remain smaller at just 4 members of staff so he’s taking a very methodical approach to the process. As he does that however, it looks increasingly likely that the next defensive coordinator for UGA is currently already on the staff. With Smart taking his time and still in need of a defensive backs coach, the list of names who could fill both roles really is very limited.

That’s why it’s more likely that Smart settles for the best DB coach he can find and promotes from within. The main name that everyone seems to be talking about right now is Dan Lanning and that’s for good reason. Lanning did a fantastic job since arriving last season and is clearly an up and coming coach. Fellow LB coach Glen Schumann is another name to watch but he’s a few years younger than Lanning. It seems like the ILB coach might be in line for a co-coordinator role instead of the full job initially.

While this might upset UGA fans looking for a big splash, the fact is that it shouldn’t. Georgia currently has 3 very young, hungry and good defensive assistants in Lanning, Schumann and Tray Scott. Adding in a similar type of coach like Derrick Ansley makes a lot of sense and promoting from within sends the right message to the other coaches.

Kirby Smart appreciates and rewards hard work and Georgia remains a place where your career can be kicked into overdrive if you do a good job. promoting from within and rewarding these young coaches is a great way to ensure coaching stability for the next 2-3 years and that’s a good thing. Eventually, top programs are going to come calling as we saw this year, but offering real job advancement and financial rewards to good, in house options is one way to build loyalty into the culture that he’s currently building. While it might not be a sexy hire, promoting from within might just be the best decision Smart can make.