Garner to remain at Georgia

Photo by Associated Press

Georgia assistant head coach and defensive line coach Rodney Garner is seen during practice Aug. 17, 2007, in Athens, Ga. Garner said Monday that he turned down an offer to coach at Tennessee. Garner interviewed for a position as an offensive assistant on new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's staff.

Tennessee’s latest bid to add another big-name recruiter to its staff fell short with Monday’s announcement that Georgia assistant coach Rodney Garner will remain with the Bulldogs.

After a visit to Tennessee on Saturday and a visit from the Vols in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Garner opted to stay with the Bulldogs, where he’s spent the past 10 seasons.

“Certainly I’m flattered and am sincerely appreciative of the interest shown by Tennessee,” Garner said in a Georgia release. “But in the final analysis the positives at Georgia were the determining factors. My heart is coaching on the defensive side of the ball.”

Tennessee’s initial offer to Garner, which reportedly approached $400,000 a year, was to coach on offense. Garner has coached the defensive line for 10 seasons at Georgia, after leaving UT where he coached offensive tackles and tight ends 1996-97.

In addition to coaching four first-round draft picks in the last eight seasons on Georgia’s defensive line, Garner is widely recognized as one of the best recruiters in the country.

Last week, UT added former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron to its staff as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach. Garner, who recruited several key members of UT’s 1998 national championship team, held the same title at Georgia.

He told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the possibility of working with UT defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was the main draw to Tennessee.

“That was a major attraction, wanting to just be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge I could from a great defensive coordinator,” Garner said.

Ultimately, though, Garner said Georgia coach Mark Richt was the reason he chose to stay with the Bulldogs.

“The attraction of Georgia to me is Mark Richt, I’m going to be honest with you,” Garner told the AJC. “I love the institution and the community but I work for a great man and that’s the main reason I stayed.”

Garner, who earned $253,301 last season, will receive a raise at Georgia, although Richt declined to specify the amount his 42-year-old assistant would receive.

“Rodney’s the one that made the decision,” Richt said Monday. “I didn’t have to talk him into anything. We did have some good conversations, no doubt, but Rodney believes in what we’re doing here at Georgia. I can’t say it was an easy decision for him, but he was certainly the one to have made the call.”

UT has room for at least two additional coaches on its staff, although the Vols could hire as many as four if two remaining members of last year’s staff — tight ends coach Jason Michael and running backs coach Stan Drayton — opt to leave or are not retained by UT coach Lane Kiffin.

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.