We performed better in terms of penalties on the OL last season if i'm not mistaken; so it hasn't been a recurring theme during Searles tenure. I'm not here to defend him or any coach per se, I'm just saying players need to take a certain level of responsibility for their performance as well.
Ed Reed and Ray Lewis aren't HOFers because someone simply coached them up. If that were the case then great coaches would consistently produce HOFers on the strength of their coaching alone, and we both know that's not the way it works.
There are a lot of player-focus issues, such as securing the ball effectively, center QB exchange, fielding punts, and blocking appropriately, which have become issues over the last several games that weren't problematic before. So to me it's not simply a coaching issue if players weren't doing it before and started doing over the last 4 games. Malik wins 10 straight, has 31 TDs last season, and we're #2 in the nation; was that not good coaching? So when Malik ****s the bed vs Pitt did Richt forget how to coach? Or did he not have someone better to put in the game? Kehoe said, and I'll never forget, "good coaching is being able to put another guy in that can do what you need to get the job done".
The mob mentality and group-think of forums like this aren't evidence of fact. Most times the consensus you claim is driven by emotion and a need for acceptance if not an aversion to criticism. I can care less how many people think like you or me when it comes to this discussion, friend.
Nature and nurture; both impact the way we interact and perform in life.