Georgia football will have to replace another coach as the Dawgs’ are officially looking for a defensive backs coach. The rumors surrounding Jahmile Addae turned into factual information Monday afternoon, and after just one year in Athens, Addae is heading south to his home state.
Those rumors have been going around since right after the national championship game, so while it still stings, it’s nothing new. Addae was a great recruiter and coach for the Dawgs during his one season, but he found a better opportunity for himself, and that is okay.
There are plenty of talented coaches out there that can take the spot. However, it will be about finding the one who fits into Georgia’s culture.
Georgia football needs to reach out to these three coaches first.
Head coach Kirby Smart is a particular man. He has a high standard for his team but an even higher standard for the secondary, so finding someone who understands how to recruit and buy into Georgia’s dominating culture will be the key.
Georgia doesn’t need to go after another alumnus, even though there are some fans out there that have already called for Champ Bailey to takeover. Yes, the Dawgs have looked to former players before and have five on the staff, that doesn’t mean it works at every position. Bailey doesn’t coach, and he needs to enjoy his retirement from football.
Plenty of coaches can produce better results and just as high of recruiting success as Addae. He is leaving the program better than he found it as he helped sign one of the best defensive classes in Dawg history. Plus, with him and Will Muschamp working together, the Dawgs were the No. 2 SEC pass defense and No.1 in the SEC when it comes to interceptions.
Georgia is on the right track, so culture is the biggest key to this next hire.
These three coaches are at the top of the list because they would make the transition effortless.
1. DeMarcus Van Dyke
Georgia football should have Demarcus Van Dyke on their list as the former Miami defensive backs coach is a young guy who is already leaving his footprint.
When Mario Cristobol took over as head coach for the Hurricanes, he didn’t keep Van Dyke, which could be a red flag for some, but this young coach needs to be around the right staff to flourish.
Van Dyke was the assistant director of recruiting at Miami in 2019 and a defensive quality control analyst in 2018. Before coaching with the Hurricanes, he was the cornerback coach at ASA College in Miami.
He is still relatively new on the coaching scene, making him intriguing. Van Dyke is raw and coachable himself, so with veterans coaches like Georgia has in charge, it could make for an exciting hire.
Head coach Kirby Smart and co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp could help him hone his skills and develop into a better coach. He is young and ready to be part of the coaching world, which is evident, but the experience is key.
Van Dyke is a Miami graduate who spent six years in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders.
The young card would be a pull here and being able to inflict the kind of culture Smart wants from his defensive back coach. Smart isn’t afraid to hire young men who are up-and-coming, which. Van Dyke could very well be.
He is definitely an option, and someone, the Dawgs, should look into coaching.
2. Derrick Ansley
The second name Georgia football should consider is Derrick Ansley. He is a former defensive coordinator for Tennessee during Jeremy Pruitt’s years and has some time at Alabama. He also has time at Kentucky working with the secondary.
Ansley’s first time at Alabama came in 2010 and 2011 as a graduate assistant, which if you look at the years, those are two of head coach Kirby Smart’s best years as the defensive coordinator, so he is familiar with Ansley’s name.
Then in 2016, Alabama brought Ansley back to coach the secondary, which was No.9 in college football and No. 2 in the SEC in pass efficiency. He is responsible for Eddie Jackson, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Marlon Humphrey, to name a few.
Ansley is an excellent recruiter and has been around enough SEC teams to know the drill. Plus, with him having a couple of years coaching with Smart as a grad assistant, he would be a guy to contact.
After leaving Tennessee, he is currently with the Los Angeles Chargers as their secondary coach.
Ansley is a proven recruiter who knows how to develop kids and what it takes for them to last in the league. While it could be a hard pull to bring him back from the NFL, he would be a guy the Dawgs could thrive with as the defensive back coach.
1. Karl Scott
The top name that Georgia football should reach out to and bring back into college football is Minnesota Vikings secondary coach Karl Scott.
As someone who coached with head coach Nick Saban at Alabama and one point ranked as the No.1 recruiter in the country, Scott is the perfect fit.
He knows the drill, knows how championship programs run, and is one bad man when it comes to development.
Scott left Alabama last February to take the defensive backs coaching job with the Vikings. He was at Alabama for three seasons, including getting Trevon Diggs and Patrick Surtain into the NFL.
He was a key to the successful secondary Alabama had in 2020 and could do the same for Georgia.
Scott’s recruiting background is also incredible. He is undoubtedly someone who can convince a dog that it’s a cat without flexing. He ranked as the 247Sports No.1 2020 recruiter, and rightfully so with some of the names he got to Alabama and the flips he made happen.
It didn’t matter the state, where they were committed, or anything in between. If Alabama needed them, Scott found a way to get them.
He is the one who signed Kool-Aid McKinstry, Drew Sanders, Patrick Surtain, Jordan Battle — just in the 2020 class alone.
Scott needs to be the top priority for Georgia, but the other two names on this list shouldn’t be overlooked either because they could be real considerations. If the Dawgs could have anyone, Scott would be the ideal choice, and it would be a real moment for them to bring Scott out of the NFL to coach at Georgia and not Alabama.
Georgia needs a guy who can recruit and someone willing to coach that secondary like Smart and even co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp wants.