Is it ‘hot seat’ time already for Mark Richt at Georgia?
Mark Richt is coming off a 4-4 SEC season at Georgia. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
Sometime last season — probably between the 45-19 loss at Tennessee and the 41-17 loss to Florida — I lost track of the number of times I was asked on blogs, emails and radio shows if Georgia coach Mark Richt was in trouble.
My response now is the same as it was then: He’ll be in trouble if he has one more bad season. I’m not sure if that qualifies me as being among the “handful of anonymous Internet trolls,” that Bill “Junkyard Blawg” King referred to this morning.
Fact is, even most fans who wake up every morning in their Bulldog boxer shorts must understand that life in the SEC is different than any other conference in America.
This is a topic now because a few publications are compiling their coaches-under-the-gun lists. The latest came today: The Orlando Sentinel is running a five-part series on coaches on the hot seat.
Part I focused on Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez, and you can hear the laughter all over West Virginia from here.
Part II focuses on Richt.
An excerpt:
Two words: National Championship. It’s been 30 years since the Bulldogs won their last title and Georgia fans are getting restless. Watching Florida, LSU, and Alabama win the past four BCS titles hasn’t probably helped either. Or the fact that Georgia has gone 2-6 against the Gators during Richt’s tenure.
But problems have dogged the Bulldogs program in recent years.
In the offseason, Richt decided to shake up his staff, firing defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and two other assistants. The Bulldogs went after several big-name coordinators eventually settling on Todd Grantham, an NFL coordinator [sic] with the Dallas Cowboys.
Then the program was hit with a string of arrests culminating with starting [sic] quarterback Zach Mettenberger’s arrest outside of a bar in Valdosta, Georgia.
In many ways, Richt is under more pressure now than ever before. While expectations certainly aren’t meteoric like two years ago, when the offense included Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, Richt knows going 4-4 in the SEC again won’t cut it in 2010.
Because if that happens, folks, the seat would be very hot in 2011.
Agree? Or do you think Richt is on the hot seat already?
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Bud Selig, Phil Jackson get it right on immigration law
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736 comments Add your comment
My funniest Mark Richt fact
May 18th, 2010
4:51 pm
To improve on penalties this year, he is considering rewarding the boys by letting them grow facial hair, tatoos and longer hair. What a motivator he is. He is also a very good platform diver.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
I see him having one bad year
Michael
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
I can’t believe anybody is seriously considering that. You can’t win 10 games every year, even if you play 13. The man hasn’t won fewer than 8 games in a season, has three division titles, two SEC titles, a No. 3 final ranking and No. 2 final ranking. Jim Donnan, he is not.
One of these days, fans may learn patience once again. Richt was unlucky to have the 2002 season that year instead of 2003. LSU had the same record and played for the national title. Yes, the teams have slipped recently, but it’s not like they’re struggling to beat Eastern Louisiana State Junior College. The SEC is tough and things don’t always go your way. Remember how long it took Bobby Bowden to win a national title?
As far as the Florida record, Richt is 2-6. I don’t think Goff or Donnan beat Florida twice. It needs to get better, but have some perspective.
Patrick is the biggest moron on earth
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
Pat you are so so sad in that you must be the biggest fool on the planet to even try and compare Mark Richt.
You keep saying in 2002 Richt did the same thing Meyer did when he won a National title and went 13-1. Well Pat Meyer has gone 13-1 THREE times in the last FOUR years. Richt has done that one time in his career and that was almost a decade ago.
Here’s another stat for you idiot.
In the last 5 years Meyer has had 26 players arrested. Guess how many of Richt’s players have been arrested in the same time? THIRTY-SIX
There isn’t one Athletic Director or Owner of an NFL team that would choose Mark RIcht as their coach over Urban Meyer if they had to choose between the 2. NOT ONE.
Revision G
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
Richt’s got more class than meyer and saban—that should count for something.
poof!!!
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
He will always be on the hot seat as long as two of the top potential head coaches are Bulldog alums. If Muschamp or Smart decided to opt out of their positions the hot seat will become nuclear.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:53 pm
Gatorbait 17-3
May 18th, 2010
4:50 pm
Patrick, I didn’t put Joe Cox in, that genious HC Richt did!—-don’t blame me
for an 8-5 season, and it does count–no “do overs”
===========================
no no no…no do overs…but you said TREND. One year doesnt make a trend…It makes a bad year
Saint Richt
May 18th, 2010
4:53 pm
The tanned one was on the hot seat until he got the Georgia faithful back on board by asking them to watch Aaron Murray’s high school tape. And assured them he would have been the starter even if Mettenberger hadn’t gotten arrested for sexual assault. Sure.
At least the woman in Throw Momma From the Train had a pair.
Mike
May 18th, 2010
4:53 pm
If Richt gets forced out, Georgia deserves another Ray Goff tenure. The fact is, Richt put Georgia higher on the national map than they have been since Hershel Walker left.
Yes they went 4-4 last year, but they also lost Stafford, Moreno, Massoquoi, returned a poor defense, and played one of the top 5 hardest schedules in the nation. Its a lot easier to win games when you play Coastal Carolina and Tulane instead of @Oklahoma St. and @Ga Tech.
Oklahoma lost Bradford to injury, didnt play as tough a schedule, and finished with the same record. Why isnt Stoops on the hot seat? His team gets waxed in the BCS every year.
Richt will be fine. Georgia will be fine. They will win at least 9 games next year just because of schedule alone. When Gratham gets the defense rolling again, UGA will be back on top of the East.
The 2nd dumbest morons on earth
May 18th, 2010
4:54 pm
Anyone who would respond to such a moron as patrick.
Hey Pat you idiot
May 18th, 2010
4:54 pm
WHAT IS THE RECORD FOR MARK RICHT VS. URBAN MEYER?
Gatorbait 17-3
May 18th, 2010
4:54 pm
Richt is 2-7 against the Gators……………..not 2-6
Judge Dawg
May 18th, 2010
4:54 pm
Why don’t you write about Bobby Cox or Paul Hewitt? Lay off of Coach Richt.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
Patrick is the biggest moron on earth
May 18th, 2010
4:52 pm
Pat you are so so sad in that you must be the biggest fool on the planet to even try and compare Mark Richt.
You keep saying in 2002 Richt did the same thing Meyer did when he won a National title and went 13-1. Well Pat Meyer has gone 13-1 THREE times in the last FOUR years. Richt has done that one time in his career and that was almost a decade ago.
Here’s another stat for you idiot.
In the last 5 years Meyer has had 26 players arrested. Guess how many of Richt’s players have been arrested in the same time? THIRTY-SIX
There isn’t one Athletic Director or Owner of an NFL team that would choose Mark RIcht as their coach over Urban Meyer if they had to choose between the 2. NOT ONE.
——————————————
top ten finishes in 9 years…Meyer 3…Richt te
.
bowls in 9 years…meyer 7…Richt 9
.
Bowl wins in 9 years…meyer 6…Richt 7
.
ten or more wins in a row…meyer 3? ….richt 4
.
Your right there is no comparison
Dawglasville
May 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
You are right. I would say that they are Double D’s.
MattDawg
May 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
NOPE
HugoStiglitz
May 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
I think alot of people arent taking some other things into account. Richt has done well in the past but appears to be slipping. He also seems to not have any control over his team which ranked near last in turnovers and penalties. Then he goes searching for a new DC and turns the whole process into a bit of a joke being turned down several times before finally getting somebody for the job. Then he has several players with off season legal problems with a few being kicked off the team. None of these things look good for UGA and therefore dont look good for Mark Richt. He still has time but I wouldnt be surprised if UGA is already looking at potential candidates to replace him.
albert the alligator
May 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
Mike how did it work out for georgia stafford and moreno’s last year.
36 Dawgs in Jail doesn't = better coach than Saban or Meyer
May 18th, 2010
4:56 pm
36 Dawgs in Jail doesn’t = better coach than Saban or Meyer
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:56 pm
top ten finishes in 9 years…Meyer 3…Richt 6
albert the alligator
May 18th, 2010
4:56 pm
top ten finishes in 9 years…Meyer 3…Richt te
.
bowls in 9 years…meyer 7…Richt 9
.
Bowl wins in 9 years…meyer 6…Richt 7
.
ten or more wins in a row…meyer 3? ….richt 4
.
Richt 1 Meyer 4
Your right there is no comparison
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:57 pm
chest pains for losing…Meyer wins that one
36 Dawgs in Jail under Saint Richt
May 18th, 2010
4:57 pm
Jail time is a given under Richt regime.
82Dawg
May 18th, 2010
4:57 pm
Patrick…your 4:43 comment is correct except for one thing…Myers has 2 NC’s Richt has none. No matter what you argue that is the bottom line. I like CMR and hope he can get us turned around and win some NC’s and stay here a long time.
wes stansbury
May 18th, 2010
4:58 pm
R u nuts? I wouldn’t trade him for any coach in the country! Ask the country’s #2 quarterback that’s coming to Georgia. Why? CMR!
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:58 pm
crying after a loss…meyer wins that one
David Granger
May 18th, 2010
4:58 pm
Hard to say.
Coach Richt does two things very well:
1. He’s a good recruiter, which is probably the most important single ability for a coach to have.
2. He’s clean cut, and represents the university well. (Talks about Jesus a little too much, which can sound insincere…but otherwise says the right things.)
His drawbacks:
1. The team has NOT achieved to the level of the talent…not just one year, but year-in and year-out.
2. The team plays to the level of its opponent, even when we win. With the team we had three years ago, why should we have needed a last second field goal to beat Vanderbilt? And when was the last time we just blew a team away?
3. He’s too “gimmicky”, and this doesn’t play with either in the SEC, or with long-time Georgia fans. To hell with what color jerseys wear, and blacking out the stadium. And I don’t EVER want to see our team deliberately draw a penalty again….If we wanted to see chicken-sh*t crap like that, we’d pull for FSU or Miami.
4. He makes some VERY strange calls on both offense and defense…especially during critical moments of the games. Why blitz on third and 15?
5. The team continues to make the same mistakes over and over, year-in and year-out. Way too many penalties, and our kickoff coverage has been atrocious. I can’t remember the last game when we didn’t have several long kickoff returns against us.
6. The team never seems prepared. Remember last year’s game against OSU? Here’s a team that is KNOWN for surprise quick-snaps on short yardage. And yet, they caught us TWICE in the second half with quick snaps…once for a first down, and the other for a TD…while our defense was just standing there dumbfounded. The good preparation ISN’T there…and that is always the fault of he head coach.
Coach Richt reminds me a lot of Bobby Cox. He’s good at building a team and putting the parts together…but not so good at getting everything out of the team once it’s built. They’re both Eisenhowers, not Pattons.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
4:59 pm
Contemplating retirement after a loss…Meyer wins that one
albert the alligator
May 18th, 2010
4:59 pm
funny, he never cried against georgia patty.
albert the alligator
May 18th, 2010
5:00 pm
wes stansbury, ME Lemay won’t becoming if Murray has as good a year as your delusional buddy Patrick says.
Anonymous Internet Troll
May 18th, 2010
5:01 pm
Richt didn’t do himself any favors by hanging on to Martinez when even we Anonymous Internet Trolls knew it was time for him to go.
Just start beating Florida and everything else will fall into place. If Richt can’t do it, we need to find the guy who can.
A challenge for all georgia and florida fans; Dont reply to Fatrick.
May 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Enter your comments here
Antwon
May 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Gotta give him one year with new D. One thing that has really bothered me though over the last few years is playing his #2 QB not in QB time but in other game situations like punt return time. #2 QB is one play from having to go to third string. Also, again for second time in the last seven years we will have a new quarterback for the third year in a row. Can’t possibly build on that and that concerns me too Dawgs!
Gatorbait 17-3
May 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Hey, don’t call my pal Patrick an idiot, he has a lot of good stats, he just
doesn’t interpret them very well sometime. If we can just get him to quit repeating
his post this could be a lot of fun. This should be fun anyway no one should take this stuff to seriously or personally
.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:03 pm
Keep Meyer…. I will take Richt hans down….WITHOUT questions. Lets see how Meyer does now that Tearbow is gone (no coincidence that Meyer has not won a NC without Tearblow)
wes stansbury is nutz
May 18th, 2010
5:03 pm
Yeah that carolina QB is headed to athens because Richt talks about being a christian. 95% of head coaches practice religion, they just don’t wear it on their sleeves like they are a Saint. I’ll take a Nick Saban or Urban Meyer, who are great coaches and have strong beliefs over a Saint Richt anyday.
“We love winning 10 games and finishing 2nd in the SEC east.” Whoopie!!!
Best reason for signing with a team
May 18th, 2010
5:04 pm
Bible studies and bowling with the head coach.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:04 pm
Gatorbait 17-3
May 18th, 2010
5:02 pm
Hey, don’t call my pal Patrick an idiot, he has a lot of good stats, he just
doesn’t interpret them very well sometime. If we can just get him to quit repeating
his post this could be a lot of fun. This should be fun anyway no one should take this stuff to seriously or personally
====================================
I am getting all misty eyed.
We pay him 3 million a year to lead young men.
May 18th, 2010
5:05 pm
Except for the 30+ that have been arrested.
Billy Howard
May 18th, 2010
5:05 pm
You people are crazy. There couldn’t be a better person to personify UGA Football and the University of Georgia better that Mark Richt. Schools go through ebbs and flows of talent and coaching (Seeing BVG leave really hurt). Everyone needs to relax!
Dr. Phil
May 18th, 2010
5:06 pm
Now, now Patrick you cried when you were kicked out of the marines for sleeping with Willie M the chihuahua.
Willie M the chihuahua
May 18th, 2010
5:08 pm
Patrick keeps me warm on these cool California nights.
Hey Pat you idiot
May 18th, 2010
5:08 pm
Maybe if Mark Richt actually cared enough to cry after a loss then maybe he wouldn’t be such a loser as a head coach when in comparison to Meyer.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:08 pm
Billy Howard, you are correct; I am crazy.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:08 pm
other than head to head (which is huge) the only real difference in Meyer and Richt…..USC losing to UCLA in 2006 and Stanford in 2008.
answer the question Patty
May 18th, 2010
5:09 pm
or are you too big of a tard to do so?
WHAT IS THE RECORD FOR MARK RICHT VS. URBAN MEYER?
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:09 pm
Dont ask dont tell
answer the question Patty
May 18th, 2010
5:10 pm
No Patty the real difference is Meyer has done 13-1 THREE times in FOUR years and also had a 12-0 season. you’re too dumb to realize how dumb you really are.
Gatorbait 17-3
May 18th, 2010
5:10 pm
Patrick,
What awards has Richt won?
Put them up against this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In five seasons, Meyer has guided the Gators to a pair of national championships, two Southeastern Conference Championships, three
SEC Eastern Division crowns and five straight January bowl games, including three BCS bowl games.
His .851 winning percentage (57-10) is the best in the history of the school and his .800 winning percentage (32-8) in SEC play is the tops in league history
among head coaches who spent five or more years in the conference.
Meyer, who was named Sporting News and Sports Illustrated “Coach of the Decade” in December of 2009, is the
first coach ever to win two BCS National Championships outright National Titles.
and he is one of only two coaches in the history of the SEC to win two
Since the SEC’s inception in 1933, no coach had begun his SEC career faster than Meyer. With
his win vs. Arkansas in 2009, Meyer collected his 50th win as an SEC
head coach, reaching that mark in just 59 games. That ties
Frank Thomas of Alabama for the fastest to achieve 50 wins as an SEC head coach.
Meyer is the only coach ever to have three wins over a No. 1 team in the BCS rankings, defeating Ohio State and Oklahoma in the 2007
and 2009 BCS Championship Games, respectively, and Alabama in the 2008 SEC Championship Game.
The 2009 team said goodbye to the winningest class in the history of the SEC after posting a 48-7 record.
Meyer earned multiple National Coach of the Year honors in 2004 after leading Utah to a perfect 12-0 season, the school’s first in 75 years. Meyer collected the
Home Depot National Coach of the Year, the George Munger Award for the Collegiate Coach of the Year presented by the Maxwell Club and the Eddie Robinson
Coach of the Year (Named by the Football Writers Association of America). He also was named National Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly and
earned the Woody Hayes Trophy Award and the Victor Award.
Patrick Sulley
May 18th, 2010
5:10 pm
I forgot to mention the other difference between Richt and Meyer is Richt screwed up and lost to Tenn and SC in 07 but that was just bad luck.