Georgia Gymdawgs 2022 season WORST in history

[irichluck21]

Georgia will finish the season in 30th place.

This is their all-time worst finish in their history.

What are the odds on CKC stepping down or being fired?

I would go with 97% chance. Then watch Garrett and Courtney Griffith be offered the position.

 

[irichluck21]

Not a good look.

 

[irichluck21]

Compared to Missouri (Shannon Welker

Compared to Kentucky (Tim Garrison)

compared to Auburn (Jeff Graba) NOTE: 2021 low of 35th is a result of COVID forfeit at Regionals, they were ranked 15th

 

[rue_des_plantes]

A certain, retired head coach (the one with a penchant for trolling, and throwing stones from his glass house) has been spreading the word privately that CKC was told a few weeks ago that her contract would not be renewed.

We’ll see who replaces her. Tanking in the rankings, recruiting is so anemic, the boosters and alumni don’t feel engaged, and fans are bummed. Not going to cut it for such a storied SEC program + school.

 

[irichluck21]

I think it makes sense that she go.
Maybe she will attempt to go to Clemson and start the program there.
It was hard to come into a program with their history and then to have to kind of clean up.

I don’t see anyone taking Georgia unless it is a current assistant coach that wants to move into head coach.
I do think the Griffiths are the best option but wonder if they will want it.

I think the entire UGA coaching staff needs to go.

 

[cuuf]

I would put it 50/50 maybe 60/40. Remember Georgia has gone all-in with the football program and has left all of its other athletic programs to just make do. They just fired their basketball coach, the only other revenue-producing sport after 7 years and worse results. It would not surprise me to see her get another covid year. Although even a disinterested athletic director can quickly look at the program and not see any reason to believe next year will be any different. So we will see.

 

[JoseM]

I truly hope the Gymdawgs bounce back. I bet they can ! My fingers are crossed.

José M.

 

[Onyxrose81]

Georgia needs to make up with Georgia Elite and that can’t happen with CKC there.

Please, Suzanne…just stop influencing this team also. If you’re retired, be retired.

 

[MaryClare]

What happened with Georgia Elite?

 

[One]

It’s been awhile, so I may be fuzzy on some details so anyone feel free to correct me. GE is a gym in the area that’s run by former Georgia alums that has provided many gymnasts to Georgia’s roster and had attended the meets as a team for years. From what I recall it started when Danna Durante was fired and replaced with CKC. Durante’s daughter Sami was training at GE and was originally set on going to Georgia but switched to LSU. When LSU came to Georgia for a meet the GE girls cheered for Sami as they knew her from her time training with them. CKC and Suzanne took offense to these kids cheering on a former teammate and denied them tickets to future meets without telling GE. When this situation eventually came out CKC and Suzanne double downed and blamed GE, saying that it was inappropriate for the kids to cheer for another team. Since then it seems like there is bad blood between GE and Georgia as the owner’s own daughter competes for LSU.

Also take it with a grain of salt but a saw a twitter rumor that the Griffith’s aren’t in consideration anymore since taking the job at LSU working with Jay. It’s just a rumor but it seems to fit with the Georgia Gym pettiness.

 

[cuuf]

That’s kinda crazy, I love these stories that get passed around. I am sure there is a kernel of truth somewhere in there, but at this point, Georgia needs a whole lot more than some girls from GE.

I also chuckle at the “Griffiths are out of consideration”. The job isn’t even open? I find it hard to believe that if your university came calling and you haven’t had the opportunity to be a head coach you would at least listen. To have already “eliminated” themselves from consideration of a position that isn’t even open sounds very internet innuendo. But the internet is gonna internet

 

[Seyonne]

I take it that they didn’t eliminate themselves, but that Georgia eliminated them because they work at LSU.

 

[cuuf]

I highly doubt that. Coaches always switch to other universities, even rivals. Remember coaches are paid employees, not fans. AD’s don’t care if they think a coach is going to bring success to their program they will hire them. Plenty examples of coaches being hired from rivals. Jenny Rowland off the top of my head.

 

[RedBirdie]

But Suzanne is still involved and she can be rather spiteful.

What they need to do is a total clean start, remove Suzanne entirely, and get some control over the crazy boosters. Hire an experienced coach and rebuild–and, yes, rebuilding to be a perennial contender is going to be a long, long road.

 

[MaryClare]

A program that is no longer attracting elites or top tier L10s needs good links with local gyms that can supply them with solid L10 athletes, who won’t go elsewhere because they feel a sense of belonging to the school. Which seems to be exactly what Georgia Elite gave Georgia.

 

[cuuf]

I would first qualify that I have no deep exposure to the Georgia program, I have been to Athens several times for other reasons, but never a meet. I am much closer to the Florida program and I am a huge SEC fan and a big Gator booster of all SEC sports, so my commentary comes from a good knowledge of how SEC programs (not just gymnastics) operate. Maybe there is some insider information that makes Georgia the exception? But based on my experience I would not count on it.

Suzanne’s indirect involvement might be true to an extent, I highly doubt she holds any sway over the AD and who he chooses to hire or fire. Let’s also put this in context, gymnastics is a very very very tiny concern of the AD and boosters. All their efforts and money go to the football program which is the engine of the athletic department. While there might be a few boosters that solely contribute to gymnastics, it would be really an exception if they contribute to the level of football boosters to get the ear of the AD. I mean we are talking about $10+ million level of contribution. When the AD does choose to fire Kupets, will he consult Suzanne as a courtesy to a coach that brought 10 titles and is still local? Sure! But will it change his hiring decision? not one bit That AD has no ties to Suzanne, never worked with her, it would be more a performative gesture. Much like when UF recently hired a new football coach, after the hire decision was made, the AD talked to Steve Spurrier about it. But he had no influence in the hire.

I do agree, when they do try and make a change it is a 7 year rebuild. Look at Bama, it is only now that they are finally starting to look like a contender that they have been in the past.

 

[Orange]

Suzanne’s SO, Don Leebern, is a big time Georgia booster and was on the UGA board of regents for years. While I don’t know how much money he’s donated to the school over the years, I would guess that it’s not insignificant. She’s definitely getting a say in the hiring of the new coach.

 

[cuuf]

Lol, at first I had no idea with SO stood for, but then my thick head got it Just doing a quick search on the background, sounds like Leebern is part of the old-school southern way of politics but was shown the door by the Kemp administration 3 years ago. His influence I am sure is waning, at least from that old-south politics standpoint, but if he still is a big booster you are right, he will have the opportunity to “comment” on the hire. Still, I would find it incredibly trivial if Suzanne was blocking the hire of a decorated Georgia gymnast because she was an assistant coach at a rival?! I guess we will see how it plays out when it plays out.

 

[cats]

Out of curiosity, what’s the appeal for hiring CKC? I haven’t seen that UGA has done anything particularly well under her tenure. There isn’t a standout event, a particular style, or a real sense of identity for that program (their social media is extremely “corporate” and impersonal for a college gym team, for example). She hasn’t attracted a killer team of assistant coaches. She was a phenomenal athlete, but… that was quite awhile ago now. It would be a mark in her favor if she had some coaching accomplishments to pair with it.

I’m just not really sure what a new program would see in her. She doesn’t have the results or the buzz-building ability that a new program will need to build up staff and recruiting. Maybe I just don’t see something obvious.

 

[irichluck21]

Out of curiosity, what’s the appeal for hiring CKC?

After a few years of turmoil under Jay Clark and Danna Durante, TPTB decided to try to appeal to the fan base and boosters by bringing CKC on board as head coach with Suzanne coming back as volunteer coach to “mentor” her. Something about bringing back their all time best as coach would bring former star quality back to the program. Also, it was probably done for recruiting purposes. Suzanne made lots of decisions while CKC was getting her feet wet. One of the issues was mentioned, the Georgia Elite scene. There was another issue, Charlie Tamayo an assistant hired by CKC ended up using his Georgia issued credit card for inappropriate expenses. There was something else that happened and I can’t recall.
Then Suzanne moved on to leave CKC to her own devices.

At the end of the day the program was struggling post Suzanne and CKC never really stood a chance.

Suzanne never really let go of the program after her retirement and was there and often going against Jay and Danna.

Danna released three gymnasts from the team and IIRC Suzanne petitioned to have them added back to the team and eventually Durante was dismissed.

I think it comes back to her ego and her passion she put into building the program from rock bottom into champions. Instead of walking away completely she still meddled in the program behind the scenes.

A fresh start is needed and who knows Georgia may never be able to bounce back and become a powerhouse again.

Yoculan’s days are long gone along with Patterson, Kondos, and Marsden. It is a new NCAA world and there is so much parity now in NCAA. Look at all the upsets that happened at regionals, there is so much competition now that we can witness upsets,when 20-30 years ago it was an elite handful of NCAA teams that dominated.

I remember on WWGYM when CKC was hired, many of us were skeptical of her abilities to run a program as head coach do to limited coaching experience and running an NCAA program, which is so different than being a star athlete.