re: OL Depth- Recruiting 2013,2014,2015,2016

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I said above that Mark Richt was a good man and a good coach. I didn't say great, and if we had an experienced head coach with a good track record in mind, it would have at least been a decent gamble. This was a way long shot IMO, and given this choice I'd have kept Richt.

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Valid logic but experienced head coaches weren't exactly lining up for the job and our admins would not have been willing to pay them what would attract them in the first place. As such, it was reasonable to go with an alumnus who had long term success as a DC under the best in the business, Saban. Yes, we don't know if Smart will have the what it takes to become a great HC but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. I have tempered my expectations knowing:
1. First year HC.
2. Best QB is a Freshmen in the SEC.
3. Receiving corp is lacking.
4. Our best RB is coming of major knee surgery.
5. OL is not good even though they are being coached by an experienced and successful OL coach. Hopefully they come around.
6. We lost our pass rushing specialists and no one has stepped up to fill that void so far.
7. Our DB's are decent but we don't have any shutdown type corners so we will struggle against taller more athletic receivers.
8. Our kicking game uncharacteristically is just plain bad.

Conclusion: Even if we had kept Richt, this likely would have been one of his off years. Of course we will never know but my guess is Richt would have had a similar record that Smart will have with our current personnel.