Mike Bobo didn’t bode well as Georgia’s new offensive coordinator after Todd Monken. Bobo has been an old hat in Athens in some capacity for two decades, whether as a player or coach. In his second stint as offensive coordinator, following Monken, who led the Georgia offense to back-to-back National Championships, Bobo tried his best in his first year but couldn’t touch the benchmark. In 2023, Monken finished fourth in the country. But this season, the Dawgs downgraded severely, finishing barely inside the top 50 in yards per play and scoring.

But no, it’s not at all Mike Bobo’s sole responsibility. Brooks Austin joins Paul Finebaum to weigh in on the popular debate.

Mike Bobo might just be the scapegoat for a rotten Georgia offense 

The Sugar Bowl blow fell heavy on Mike Bobo’s Georgia reputation as a play-caller. The Bulldogs could only rack up 296 total yards of offense and scored just 10 points. As a result, the team lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a score of 23-10 to cap off their lackluster season. Many fans on the internet rest the gun on Mike Bobo’s shoulder, blaming him for being a little extra aggressive at the end of the first half. Yes, it was a grisly decision to put Gunner Stockton behind an unstable offensive line, and Bobo had taken the charge, but it’s never really the linchpin of the loss.

The Georgia offense never found its footing, even before their star QB Carson Beck’s injury. The problem stretches beyond some bad play calls as well. On The Film Guy Network podcast, Brooks said, ”I just don’t think he [Mike Bobo] had a fireable season last year, Paul. I think there were a litany of reasons as to why Georgia didn’t perform at the rate that most people expect them to be, like yourself expect them to be. Not last of which but way down that line would be play calling or offensive design or anything like that.” They have clear issues on the receiver play, the drops, the inconsistencies with routes, and the inability to separate downfield when it mattered the most, resulting in an offensive disaster.

“Mike Bobo has been running the last two years the same system schematically that Todd Monken was running at the University of Georgia during his three years, here, as you know as offensive coordinator. So when, you know, I study the film, it’s kind of what I’ve been known for in the space, when I studied the film I saw more execution-laden problems, that led to a lack of success on the offensive side of the football has far more to do with that than. We’re just not calling good plays,” Brooks continued backing up Bobo, and quite rightfully so. It’s undeniable that the red zone’s inefficiency and a lack of creativity throughout the offensive strategy contributed to the downfall. There are more areas to shed light on and repair before we head to a compelling off-season.

Top Comment by Cricket

Most of the blame after sll he had plenty of chances with Mark richt also had plenty of talent ...more

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But regardless of the drawbacks and the opportunities for growth in another brand new season, Paul Finebaum doesn’t see a silver lining in Mike Bobo’s future and the overall Georgia production.

Paul Finebaum continues to bash Mike Bobo for the major Georgia downfall

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has never backed off from dining savage or calling out a fact as it is, and his latest remarks on Georgia football might come off as a heartbreaker to the fans. Speaking on the Always College Football podcast with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, Finebaum took the Bulldogs’ national championship hype under head coach Kirby Smart with a pinch of salt.

“I don’t feel great because I do think they [Georgia Bulldogs] took a dip,” Finebaum said. “And I think just like we used to with Nick Saban, expect him to play for the national championship, and losing the title game felt like a lost cause. It’s almost that way now with Georgia, and I felt like they underperformed.”

Despite Georgia’s rebound later in the season, including a clutch performance against Texas, Finebaum stuck to the heavy inconsistencies and some bad plays under second-year offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and refused to bet a dime. “They had so many disappointing moments … But there were just so many decisions made, and talking to the fans every day, Greg, whether it’s true or it’s imagined, they do not like Mike Bobo,” Finebaum straightway denoted.

It will be interesting to see what Kirby Smart and Mike Bobo can do with another chance under their belt to flip the narrative and take the team to national prominence, beating all the doubts.