Since a lot of folks here seem to be freaking out like the sky is falling because Freeze has been our HC for a week and has not yet hired his entire coaching staff, I decided to have a look at another now successful SEC head coach to see what the timing looked like when he hired his staff. This is what I could find for comparison for Kirby Smart's staff when he was hired by UGA back in 2015. Somebody feel free to sanity check me on names/dates. When Kirby was hired, the NCAA had not yet expanded the number of assistant coaches to ten so there are only nine here...
Kirby Smart HC (bama DC hired 12/1/2015)
Jim Chaney OC/QB (Pittsburgh OC hired 12/12/2015)
James Coley WR (Miami OC hired 1/3/2016)
Sam Pittman OL (Arkansas OL hired 12/15/2015)
Dell McGee RB (GA Southern RB hired 1/4/2016)
Shane Beamer TE/ST (Va Tech RB hired 1/5/2016)
Mel Tucker DC/secondary (bama DB coach hired 1/8/2016)
Glenn Schumann ILB (bama grad assistant hired 12/7/2015)
Tracy Rocker DL (retained from previous staff)
Kevin Sherrer OLB (retained from previous staff)
So going by these dates, at this point in time after UGA hired Kirby he was still almost a week away from hiring his OC and still a *month* away from hiring his DC. The only coaches he had hired at this point in time were the two defensive coaches he retained from the previous staff and a bama grad assistant as his ILB coach. A week later, he hired his OC and OL coach. His DC was his final hire in January. I can only imagine if Freeze was hiring on the same sort of schedule as Kirby Smart, the bunker would be on suicide watch by now. But somehow Smart managed to overcome his "slow start" and win a national title and has his team playing for another now. Maybe it would be okay if we all sort of relax and give Freeze a bit more time before we assume that the wheels are coming off?
Kirby Smart HC (bama DC hired 12/1/2015)
Jim Chaney OC/QB (Pittsburgh OC hired 12/12/2015)
James Coley WR (Miami OC hired 1/3/2016)
Sam Pittman OL (Arkansas OL hired 12/15/2015)
Dell McGee RB (GA Southern RB hired 1/4/2016)
Shane Beamer TE/ST (Va Tech RB hired 1/5/2016)
Mel Tucker DC/secondary (bama DB coach hired 1/8/2016)
Glenn Schumann ILB (bama grad assistant hired 12/7/2015)
Tracy Rocker DL (retained from previous staff)
Kevin Sherrer OLB (retained from previous staff)
So going by these dates, at this point in time after UGA hired Kirby he was still almost a week away from hiring his OC and still a *month* away from hiring his DC. The only coaches he had hired at this point in time were the two defensive coaches he retained from the previous staff and a bama grad assistant as his ILB coach. A week later, he hired his OC and OL coach. His DC was his final hire in January. I can only imagine if Freeze was hiring on the same sort of schedule as Kirby Smart, the bunker would be on suicide watch by now. But somehow Smart managed to overcome his "slow start" and win a national title and has his team playing for another now. Maybe it would be okay if we all sort of relax and give Freeze a bit more time before we assume that the wheels are coming off?
