Paul Finebaum assesses how much Todd Monken's departure impacts Georgia's 2023 outlook
Todd Monken left his offensive coordinator job at Georgia for the Baltimore Ravens. However, it should not alter the barometer for the Bulldogs’ goals next fall.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum evaluated the move and did not see it as the biggest loss in the world for Georgia. Mike Bobo replaced the departed Monken at offensive coordinator.
Finebaum said the departure of Monken should not change Georgia’s expectations for the 2023 season.
“I’m somewhat surprised by the massive overreaction to this move,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “It’s as if Kirby Smart has abandoned his stewardship of his program and threw the keys to Mike Bobo … I understand Bobo’s past. I mean, we all do. We’ve all followed him and he’s probably gotten a lot of blame that coordinators shouldn’t get but get anyway. But ultimately, I really don’t understand how this changes the trajectory.
“I don’t understand how people are writing articles saying, ‘hey, now this opens the door to Nick Saban.’ I mean, are we convinced that Nick Saban has the right choice at offensive coordinator? Some of us like him, like I know you guys do but I just think we’re looking for some reason to find fault. Fans collectively, and media collectively, (find fault) for Kirby Smart and that’s exactly what happened here.”
Bobo was on staff last season as an offensive analyst so he became familiar with Smart and how he operated at Georgia. Bobo coached at Georgia as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2001 and became offensive coordinator in 2006. He left for Colorado State in 2015.
Bobo had the luxury of coaching Aaron Murray, one of the better quarterbacks in school history. Monken oversaw the development of Stetson Bennett over the last couple of seasons and won two national titles.
“My job was just to try to do the best I could to make it better the best way I could,” Monken said prior to the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in December. “Fight my ass off to help make it better. Hopefully I’ve done that. When you have a good job and they pay me a lot of money. We all know that. You have to be careful. The grass isn’t always greener and money isn’t everything. Now I value getting paid.
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t do this for nothing, but the reality is you have to be careful because your happiness is in winning. It’s about winning. It’s the fight song in the locker room. That’s what it’s about.”
But with another loaded roster, Georgia should firmly be in contention for a third straight national championship.