Georgia Bulldogs Seal State's Border: Rodney Garner To Stay in Athens

In an off-season that has many Georgia Bulldog fans blue in the face, the average barker is once again breathing a sigh of relief.

Georgia assistant head coach and defensive line coach Rodney Garner has announced that he will remain on Coach Mark Richt’s staff despite being courted heavily by Tennessee as their new offensive line coach.

“Certainly I'm flattered and am sincerely appreciative of the interest shown by Tennessee,"  Garner explained. "But in the final analysis the positives at Georgia were the determining factors.”

The positives Garner spoke of were being able to coach the defensive side of the ball, work with Coach Richt and raise a family in the Athens community. Garner also took the time to mention that he is eager to work with Georgia’s returning linemen and the 2009 recruiting class.

Garner is the lone holdover from Jim Donnan’s staff and has gained a reputation as a solid recruiter and exemplary line coach. His resume includes four NFL first-round draft picks from his defensive line: Marcus Stroud, Richard Seymour, Charles Grant and Jonathan Sullivan.

That alone is reason for all of the interest in Garner, who has also recently interviewed with Auburn for their head coaching position. But a closer look reveals a deeper reason Tennessee’s new regime came after the Georgia coach.

Garner served at Tennessee before joining Donnan’s Georgia staff in 1998. At the time Fulmer and Tennessee were regularly taking recruits from the state of Georgia, specifically the Atlanta area. However, since Garner left Knoxville the only top recruit the Bulldogs have lost to Tennessee has been Eric Berry of Fairburn, Ga.

The common denominator in the equation is Garner. The coach has not only helped develop NFL-worthy prospects, but has helped build the fence around the state of Georgia.  Fulmer and staff no longer had an easy drive down I-75 into Atlanta to evaluate talent and talk to mamas.

Since 1998, Fulmer and Tennessee enjoyed seasons of success. But not to the tune of the teams that included Tee Martin and Jamal Lewis. As seasons came and went, the wins became more and more difficult.

Enter Lane Kiffin.

Tennessee’s new head guy is known as a recruiter, but not necessarily in the Southeast. The decision to hire the young Kiffin was not an immediate threat to Georgia, but set in motion a series of other decisions that could have led to a piece being missing in Richt’s staff.

Tennessee also hired the esteemed NFL defensive mind and head coach’s dad, Monte Kiffin, as their new defensive coordinator. The salary agreed upon is a whopping seven figures.

Garner, who very much wants a coordinator and eventually a head position, undoubtedly took notice.

Then late last week, Tennessee also signed Ed Orgeron as their defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Many Georgia fans who had already lived through the courtship from Auburn of not just Garner but offensive line coach Stacy Searels, may have felt Richt’s staff was safe from being cherry picked.

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