georgia football todd monken offense

Todd Monken’s time at Georgia has come to an end. He leaves behind a new standard of offensive play.

Each year under Monken, the Georgia offense improved. In his first year following a failed stint as the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator, Georgia averaged 32.0 points per game in 2020, up from 30.8 points per game the year prior.

In 2021, Georgia saw that number jump to 38.6 points per game as the Bulldogs won their first national championship since 1980. Then in 2022, the offense put up 41.1 points per game. Georgia averaged 501 yards per game last season as well.

Those were both high water marks since Kirby Smart took over as the program’s head coach. Georgia’s offense peaked at the end of the season, as the Bulldogs scored 50, 42 and 65 points in their three postseason games.

“I did have a feeling that our offense had a really good plan,” Smart said after the TCU game. “And as I watched the offense each day I said, we’ve got a good plan. If we execute this plan we’re going to attack these guys and we’re going to be really aggressive.”

Monken schemed up Georgia’s offensive revolution despite battling constant injuries at wide receiver and instability at quarterback. He started three different quarterbacks in 2020 and switched from JT Daniels to Stetson Bennett in 2021.

Only once did Georgia have a quarterback start every game of a season under Monken. Bennett did so in 2022, on his way to becoming the school’s first Heisman Finalist quarterback. While Bennett deserves obvious praise for the way he improved over the course of his college career, it’s impossible to separate that from Monken’s influence on him and the offense.

“The dude just knows how to prepare and call plays,” Bennett said of Monken. “I know he said in a lot of his speeches, he’s given the credit to other people and rightfully so. We’ve got a lot of good coaches who do a lot of good things, but it started changing when he got there. He’s intense, and he expects you to do right. Sometimes we don’t see it the same way, but at the end of the day, I know his goal no matter what, bar none, is for us to score points. That’s his job, and he does that very well.”

Now, Mike Bobo will be taking over that job. He’ll be tasked with replicating Monken’s accomplishments and statistical feats. Smart named Bobo as the replacement to Monken almost immediately after the latter was announced as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Monken has spoken highly of Bobo and the role he played in Georgia’s offense last season. Bobo, working as analyst, helped in play design. In addition to calling the offense this season, he’ll also take up coaching Georgia’s quarterbacks next season.

Whoever would’ve stepped in for Monken would’ve had large shoes to fill. In the hiring of Bobo, Smart brings in someone who understands the pressure of the job. Perhaps better than anyone, Bobo knows what it’s like to be criticized and second-guessed as a play-caller.

Monken’s offenses were as unique as any in college football. In each of the last two seasons, Georgia’s leading wide receiver was a tight end. Brock Bowers became one of the best tight ends in the country thanks to Monken’s system. Bobo will get to work with Bowers once again in 2023, as he returns for his junior season.

Georgia’s offense brings back plenty of talent next season. In addition to Bowers, Georgia also brings back top wide receiver Ladd McConkey. It imported Dominic Lovett and RaRa Thomas from the transfer portal to help with some of the depth issues at wide receiver. Georgia returns its entire interior offensive line and brings back Amarius Mims to fill one of the holes at offensive tackle.

Bobo has impossible expectations to live up to, in part because of his past time as Georgia’s offensive coordinator. He held the title from 2007 through 2014. His final offense averaged 41.3 points per game in 2014, working with an offense that was far less naturally talented than what he’ll have next season.

In replacing Monken, he’ll have to field an offense that maximizes its best players and complements what Georgia does on the defensive side of the ball. That’s what Smart asks of all his offensive coordinators.

And Monken followed those instructions to perfection, resetting what was thought to be possible on offense under Smart.

“We are extremely thankful and appreciative of the three years Todd and his wife, Terri, have spent with our UGA family,” Smart said. “We wish them the best as he moves on to the Ravens organization.”

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