This Week's Dawg: A Little Controversy...

Well, it's the last Thursday before the season officially starts on Saturday, which means only one more Dawg of the Week. And I want to try something that many of you might not like...but like Bischoff says, controversy creates cash. Or at least discussion.

This week's Dawg is RAY GOFF. I know that, as a coach, he left something to be desired. The guy had more pejorative nicknames than anyone you can think of: One-Play-Away Ray, Ray Goof, Ray Gump (was my uncle the only one with a \"Dump Ray Gump\" t-shirt?). He squandered a crush of talent including Eric Zeier, Garrison Hearst and Rodney Hampton.

But...he did beat Tech seven times in a row, including beating them the year after they won the NC...until Richt wins COFH this year, Goff does own the longest streak(on our side) in the series.

And let's not forget that he headed up those Junkyard Dawgs of the mid-'70s. He led the shaved-head charge to the SEC Championship in '76 and the NC game that year, too. He was Mr. Veer. And...wasn't he a Heisman finalist in '76 or is that revisionist history?

So share whatever memories you have of Ray Goff. Good, bad, frustrated, ecstatic...everything.

Uh.....I believe Goff lost to GT in 1989, and 1990. He then won the next 5 in a row over Tech before getting jettisoned to the Zaxby's chicken chain after the 1995 season, lol......If my memory is correct, he was 10th on the Heisman ballot in 76. Although here in So Ga he is still considered a football god, he did do a bad job as a HC.

I work with Ray's cousin (who played QB at Princeton) and he feels that Dooley and the Athletic Dept actually gave Ray the HC job way before he was ready to assume such a high profile position. Ray didn't even come close to having enough experience for that job and probably wasn't really fair to Ray to give him the job. He was totally overwhelmed, inexperienced and not ready for the position he was thrown into. Great guy, great player but not a HC.

I think my disappointment in Goff came because I had such visions of grandeur. I was a freshman his first year as HC..and a journalism major. Lewis Grizzard (my hero, and a great American) was freshman Coach Dooley's first year--so I thought that I was at the start of my 25 year stretch of football bliss. It took me a long time to forgive him for that heartbreak!! haha--sorta. By the way, I still have my \"stupid is as stupid does \"t-shirt w/ Goff sitting on the bench!
Who are y'all pullin' for tonight?
Go Dawgs!!!

I still have a shirt that says It's time to get the Dawgs off the \"Goff\" course, lol. Really, though, I understand that Goff was just the winner of the popularity contest at the time. Haffner was the logical choice, due to his experience with the program, but lost out to the people's choice, which was Goff. He was overwhelmed by the job, and made a couple of bad decisions regarding players (Terrell Davis, and using Robert Edwards as a safety during his first 2 years) that probably did a lot to cost him his job. Again, good guy, good player, but bad coach due to inexperience.

StaffordGirl07 wrote:

I think my disappointment in Goff came because I had such visions of grandeur. I was a freshman his first year as HC..and a journalism major. Lewis Grizzard (my hero, and a great American) was freshman Coach Dooley's first year--so I thought that I was at the start of my 25 year stretch of football bliss. It took me a long time to forgive him for that heartbreak!! haha--sorta. By the way, I still have my \"stupid is as stupid does \"t-shirt w/ Goff sitting on the bench!
Who are y'all pullin' for tonight?
Go Dawgs!!!

Grizzard was the greatest. I am still saddened he is gone.

I am less sad that Goff is gone from the HC position though I am sure he is a great guy.