Bulldogs will face ex-assistant Kines in bowl

ATHENS, Ga. --- Joe Kines is making his third postseason trip to Shreveport, La.

The well-traveled Texas A&M defensive coordinator is coaching at a third different school in a bowl game that has had a different title sponsor each time and is now known as the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl.

"It's been under a lot of different names, you know, when I've been there," said Kines, who is preparing to face Georgia in Monday's 5 p.m. game.

Kines was Arkansas' defensive coordinator in 1991 when it lost to Georgia in the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl. He made a memorable impression as Alabama's interim head coach in 2006 in the PetroSun Independence Bowl when the Crimson Tide lost to Oklahoma State. Kines' energetic halftime interview became an instant classic. One version of the clip has nearly 100,000 views on YouTube.

"Sometimes I get talking too fast," Kines said. "That 15 or 20 seconds, I had to answer a lot of questions."

Kines, 65, is in his second year at Texas A&M. He has had stops at four Southeastern Conference schools, including Georgia, where he was defensive coordinator from 1996-98 and assistant head coach and ends coach in 1999.

"My wife, my family and I, we enjoyed every minute we were there," said Kines. He said he was treated "extremely well" by university president Michael Adams and athletic director Vince Dooley "right on down."

Kines also worked at Clemson and Florida State, where he coached with Georgia coach Mark Richt in 2000.

"God made some special people, and Mark Richt's one of them," Kines said.

Kines' defense, ranked 104th in the nation, will go up against an offense run by Mike Bobo, who worked with Kines on the Bulldogs' staff.

"I remember telling Mike way back yonder what a great career he was going to have in front of him and how proud we are of how he's handled that," Kines said. "Mike is a great mind."

Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@morris.com.