Georgia defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos has resigned, citing “personal reasons.” Lakatos intends on coaching elsewhere next season, so hopefully those personal issues can be worked out in the meantime. We wish him great success and luck wherever he ends up.

Lakatos came to Georgia during the defensive staff reorganization in 2010. Hiring a northeastern coach with few connections to the Georgia area was a head-scratcher for Georgia fans, but we soon learned of the connection between Lakatos and new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. It’s tough to separate the secondary from the entire defense for evaluation, but Lakatos helped continue what has become a golden age of Georgia defensive backs. Even with a good deal of attrition, the unit has produced several NFL players. There was a step back in 2013 of course, but injuries and suspensions to a young group made consistency difficult.

Lakatos states that “there’s no story here,” but there might be one if we step back and look at the entire staff. Lakatos’s personal issues, whatever they are (and we can leave it at that), are serious enough to make him step away from a fairly stable staff and take on the uncertainty of a job search and move. The Olivadotti family has faced their own trial over the past few years. Thankfully there is wonderful news to report on that front, but anyone who has faced a similar ordeal knows how life gets turned upside-down. You saw the emotional strain get to Mark Richt after the LSU game in the aftermath of Paul Oliver’s death. To paraphrase Bull Durham, we’re dealing with a lot of stuff here.

Hardly anyone knows the extent to which these serious events distracted the coaches or impacted their ability to do their jobs, but I wouldn’t blame any of them if it did. These jobs are demanding, stressful, and require a lot of time outside of 9-to-5. I hope even the most passionate fan can appreciate that football becomes a secondary priority when someone or a family member is going through a serious life event. So of the three defensive position coaches, you had a new defensive line coach and two others going through significant personal battles. That’s not to lay the performance of the 2013 defense on distracted coaches, but it’s not the recipe you’d follow for a cohesive and focused group.

The search to replace Lakatos will also be an interesting story. How much input is Grantham allowed in the decision? Certainly you want the position coaches on the same page with the coordinator, but Lakatos was hired almost solely on the recommendation of Grantham. While Grantham might not be as bulletproof as he was when he arrived, he’s still the coordinator with a very clear vision of what he wants his defense to be. If Grantham is working the phones with “NFL guys”, he might be taking the lead in the search. That would give us a hint as to the influence of Grantham within the program four years in, and it would also do a lot to squash persistent rumors about Grantham’s future with the program.