Mike Bobo Press Conference
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00:00 statements so you're gonna just fire away with questions. Questions.
00:06 Mike, Alex Hudson Mason responded to that. Oh sorry.
00:11 Of course I have it. Three years ago obviously there was an opening year and you were available.
00:18 Why was the time not right then? Why is the time right now?
00:22 Well I went to you know first of all there wasn't really an official
00:27 opportunity to come back here. I made a decision to go to South Carolina
00:33 with Coach Muschamp and unfortunately that didn't work out. This time after
00:39 Auburn I had opportunities to go other places but I wanted to go somewhere
00:43 where I can continue learning as a coach and I always wanted to be under
00:50 Coach Marks, under the Coach Savage tree and learn how they practice, how they
00:55 organize, how they win about things and I tell you know even tell recruits you
00:59 want to go somewhere you're developed and I came here last year you know to
01:03 try to get developed more as a coach and it was really a learning curve and you
01:07 know those guys took me in and it was very very positive with Coach Malkin
01:11 going to the NFL. The opportunity presented itself to be coordinator and
01:16 felt comfortable about being here. Athens a great place. I met my wife here. My kids
01:20 were born here and you know you're at a place working for an administration that
01:26 believes in what we're doing, our head coach that has a plan how to do things
01:30 and to be part of this program that I played at, went to school, graduated from
01:35 the University of Georgia. I couldn't pass that opportunity up but I didn't
01:38 come here to be two years ago or last year being offensive coordinator. I came
01:43 to learn and continue my growth as a coach and it just happened to work out
01:46 that way.
01:49 Yeah, my follow-up on that. Coach Hartley the other day mentioned there's north of 20 alumni, Georgia alumni working in the program. How does that factor into recruiting and telling recruits just what this university can provide for you even after you're playing for yourself?
02:04 I think it's actually I think 26 alumni working working in the football department
02:09 with football and you know when you recruit a young man you know there's never
02:14 going to be a hundred percent stability but you know they're looking for
02:18 stability. You hear them saying don't go you know for the coach, you gotta go for the
02:22 school and where you fit in but at the same time you know recruits are going to
02:26 go you know be attracted to certain coaches and I think that's a selling
02:29 point that you've got coaches on this staff that love the University of
02:32 Georgia and that are here you know to help the University of Georgia be the best
02:37 they can be in all areas not just on the field and it's important to guys that
02:41 graduated from here that this place is successful in all areas and I think
02:44 that's a selling point to the recruits.
02:49 I'm curious how tough is it when you've been running your own program?
02:57 I don't know if I can take a step back but you know start working again for somebody when you've been the guy in charge for a number of years. Is that tough to do?
03:05 You know the question is you know how tough is it to run your own program when
03:10 you come back and you're not running your own program I really think it's a
03:14 little bit easier because you you've sat in that chair as a head coach and you
03:18 know everything that that head coach is dealing with not just you know not just
03:23 with aspect of practice and planning for games there's so much that comes across
03:26 the head coach's desk where before you know you wonder why the head coach might
03:30 do something or why we aren't doing this you really know you don't you don't know
03:34 what all a head coach has to balance so I think you know it makes you a better
03:38 assistant you know knowing when to voice your opinion you know maybe walking in
03:43 there saying something private or the head coach could ask you questions say
03:46 we might have done it this way and then you know how to be a good soldier
03:49 because you've been in that chair and you know what your responsibility is and
03:52 your number one responsibility is to be loyal to the head coach. Mike what have you seen from the quarterbacks at this point in fall camp and when you look specifically to Saturday that first scrimmage what are you looking for from all three of those guys?
04:06 We're basically finishing up our last day of install today and then tomorrow will be a review and then we have the
04:12 scrimmage but I've been pleased with all the quarterbacks we've been focusing on
04:16 the process of each practice and each install and focusing on what we can
04:21 control in that moment those guys have done a great job they've been ups and
04:25 downs but they've been focused they've come into every meeting ready to go
04:28 prepared before the meeting and then Saturday we it's a scrimmage it's the
04:32 closest thing that we can get to a to a game it's how are you going to handle
04:36 those situations when you're out there with a team by yourself there's no
04:39 coaches on the field and the bottom line for a quarterback it's you know can we
04:43 execute are you gonna be able to execute and get us in the right play get us in
04:47 the right protection run the offense handle third down situations red zone
04:51 situations and that's what we're looking for him in those situations in the game
04:55 and having continuity on offense.
05:00 Hey Mike, Mark, did you say you're bringing any sort of extra edge to the job this year given the last two coordinator stops?
05:10 You know I think I have the same edge that I've always had you know for whatever
05:15 reason those things didn't work out and when those things don't work out you
05:19 look yourself in the mirror you don't point fingers or make excuses they
05:23 didn't work out and come here with it with the mindset that I'm doing
05:27 everything possible to help us be successful at the University of Georgia
05:31 and that's that's my my edge as an offensive coach it's not okay this
05:37 didn't work last time this situation I got to prove myself this time you know
05:42 I always tell the players you know there are gonna be moments that we have
05:45 failures and you keep getting yourself back up on your feet because what's on
05:49 the other side of failure is success and keep putting yourself out and we know
05:54 this job has pressure there's pressure that comes with this job I've sat in
05:57 this chair I understand those pressures and I think I'm older and have more
06:02 experience now and those pressures and focus on our football team
06:07 especially our offense but I'm in charge of it getting them ready to
06:11 practice on a daily basis and getting ready to play on Saturdays.
06:16 Coach, I'll obviously ask Ross for a turnover. Darnell plays such an impactful role for you guys.
06:21 The sense of invincibility is very different than what you might be playing in the position this year.
06:25 How much would the offense have changed no matter the offensive coordinator change anyway?
06:29 I think each year you try to figure out your identity as an
06:35 offense and you know whether you know I was sitting there coordinator coach
06:38 Monk and came back you got to figure out what what pieces of the puzzle fit to
06:42 what things that we did well last year what are we going to have to change
06:45 Darnell was such a big impact for us you know not not necessarily just
06:49 blocking in line but being able to block on the perimeter Stetson's ability to
06:54 move so we got to figure out the pieces that fit best for us offensively and
06:57 that's part of what fall camp is about day one in the first meeting we talked
07:00 about competition to our to our players and building depth but competition not
07:06 necessarily going against the defense competition between position groups you
07:10 know there's competition between the tight ends and the receivers are we
07:13 going to you know our tight ends going to step up we're going to still be a lot of 12
07:16 we're going to have to be more 11 so those are things that you're figuring
07:18 out through camp and at the end of the day you got to put the best guys on the
07:22 field to give you the best chance to be successful and then we want to build
07:27 depth and there's multiple people that can do multiple things that increases
07:30 our volume as office more things that we can do so we're still trying to figure
07:34 that out practice we got a good feel for it right now but we still got to go play
07:39 on Saturday in their scrimmage and find two things the next you know eight nine
07:43 days before till the second scrimmage is over
07:47 since you've been here last year we're just one two national championships and
07:53 play for another and it would appear just based on roster size and speed that
07:59 that has changed and increased in the time you were away and in other places I
08:04 just wonder if you can validate that and once you got down there in the weeds and
08:09 you start figuring out who can do what who's got what skill level and how does
08:15 that play into you know what your philosophy is going to be well you know
08:19 I think the number one thing I think they've done a great job of recruiting
08:23 around here there's always been good players at the University of Georgia
08:27 buddy coaches done a great job of building depth and all the positions you
08:31 know ones twos threes and the way we practice the way that we go about it
08:37 develop guys to spot things guys are constantly working on their craft and
08:42 whether you're a fourth stringer today or first ringer you're getting reps like
08:46 the first string guys so guys get developed and I think that helps you
08:50 know them being able to play faster when their opportunity comes you know be a
08:53 injury or guys graduate they're able to step up and play at a successful every
08:59 guy chance to compete that would be that would be the number one thing for me is
09:03 that the depth that is here now in the development and coach mark does a great
09:07 job of having a plan of developing these guys and you know there's never a
09:11 meeting that goes by that development in stress by our head coach of you know
09:16 you're not just coaching the first team or the second team you're coaching
09:19 everybody out there
09:21 hey Mike you coach a lot of uniquely talented players and I think Brock Ivers fits in that category
09:28 what is your sort of plan of getting the most out of him this year and how's
09:31 working with players who are that talented challenge you as a play caller
09:36 or as a coach to get better and find better ways to do it?
09:40 okay well number one as a play caller it's about players and not plays that's
09:45 number one your job as a play caller if a guy's got a unique ability to make
09:49 plays and plays to turn it explosive we got to find a job as a do a good job as
09:54 a staff of designing plays that get him touches as far as getting the best
10:00 out of Brock Ivers you're gonna get the best out of Brock Ivers every single day
10:04 he is not a guy that needs to be motivated he's locked in and every
10:08 meeting every walkthrough I've had the good fortune of sitting in a tight end
10:13 meeting room last year being able to see you know how something he's a guy that
10:17 would coach Harden would mention it one time he got it he did not need a lot of
10:21 reps he's extremely smart and he's very humble he reminds me a lot of a guy like
10:26 Nick Chubb when I was here before that just went and worked every single day he
10:31 tried to get better no matter what he had done the day before the game before
10:33 the year before he was constantly trying to improve his craft so you know he's a
10:39 joy to coach and glad he's a Georgia Bulldog. Mike when we talked to coach
10:44 Munkin last winter he really praised you and said that you would do all the
10:48 little things to try to help what was your mindset as an analyst and just the
10:52 ways you wanted to be able to help? well I kind of mentioned it earlier I think
10:56 Sam asked the question you know when I came came back to the University of
11:00 Georgia and off the field role as an analyst, as an analyst your number one job is to
11:04 help the coaches and you know I wanted to help coach Munkin and that staff in
11:08 any way that I could and also learn you know you're coming in and you're trying
11:13 to learn how coach Mark set his practice schedule how he ran the offseason all
11:17 those things but also how coach Munkin was running his office so you're
11:20 learning and then I've sat in that chair before too and you know at first you
11:26 don't want a guy that's got a bunch of ideas you want a guy that if he gives
11:29 him a task he's going to get it done and whatever my task was I wanted to try to
11:33 do it to the best of my ability and know that that he could count on me and I
11:37 think as the season went on that trust continued to build between coach Munkin
11:41 and I and you know felt more comfortable asking me some questions about what I
11:46 thought but the end of the day I've sat in that chair and if he didn't use my
11:49 idea I didn't get my feelings hurt and I think that's what you got to do as a
11:53 good staff member you're going to present ideas we all present ideas well
11:57 end of the day the coordinators got to pick which ideas he wants to put on that
12:00 call sheet and he'll use my idea so be it if he does great in the day I'm going
12:05 to help those coaches coach those ideas to the players so just trying to be a
12:10 sponge in there and help me anyway that he asked but no matter whatever it was
12:17 talk about presenting ideas I know Munkin mentioned a play call I guess in the LSU game that he credited you with
12:24 I'm curious what you added to your toolbox as a play caller and offensive coordinator
12:29 and then just spend a year with someone like Todd that obviously you have your own body of work but what did you gain from that?
12:34 Yeah they're all you know oh they all have a body of plays and then they're all pretty
12:40 similar when you look at different offenses now some might focus more on
12:43 balance, bro style like us I might be more spread we have elements of all that
12:49 and I you know I'd like to think that I've had elements of all that in my
12:53 offenses in the past I would think the number one thing is probably more
12:57 movement more shifts in motions you know really to the skies formations and
13:03 get guys in matchups that were beneficial to our offense he really did
13:08 an outstanding job of that.
13:11 Yeah Mike, Curt Reed everybody's mentioned that the offense for the most part will
13:16 stay the same with your kind of influence on it what has that process
13:18 been of maybe putting your own spin and terminology and stuff on some things while
13:23 keeping the majority of things the same for to keep the players from having to learn too much?
13:27 Well the main thing that did change was the terminology you know you want to
13:31 keep the terminology safe for the players there'll be little nuances that will
13:36 change of how we do things and a lot of what Brooks asked earlier you know
13:41 what's our identity gonna be you know offensively I think that you might see
13:45 some changes of our identity changes of who we are offensively and what we got
13:49 to do we don't have a guy that that could possibly extend play as well
13:54 where we've got two of those guys that can but Stetson had elite quickness and
13:58 ability to get yourself out of trouble we don't have a 6'7" 285 pound
14:03 tight end so I think you'll see some different things there and that
14:06 that's it would have been a little bit different anyway no matter who's
14:09 standing up here.
14:10 Any more questions?
14:12 Kind of along the same lines of Mark talking about the three-block sting but just from a procedural and a process standpoint
14:18 with Coach Monkett, what did you learn there in terms of how he did things and how he approached things, used personnel, things like that?
14:25 Procedure I'd say during the game week you know we've usually said as a whole staff
14:31 that kind of watched things and had ideas it was it was broken off each guy
14:37 had a responsibility presented to the staff and he allowed ownership within
14:41 the staff I had an area you know Coach Harley has an area, Coach Clinton has an area, Coach McGee has an area
14:47 and those guys took ownership of that and I think you know again he doesn't use
14:52 every idea that somebody presents but he gave the staff in that room
14:56 ownership of the game plan and I thought that that was unique and then and then
15:02 again the shifting of motion and stuff like that getting us in some plays and
15:08 some advantages of those guys not being able to attack certain formations.