Richt isn’t commanding Georgia players’ respect or attention
Mark Richt's biggest problem? Players may be tuning him out.
Sometimes it’s not about whether somebody is a good coach or certainly a good man. Sometimes it’s just about whether players are even listening to him.
Mark Richt preaches to his players, “Finish the drill.” They don’t.
He admonishes them about missed blocks and blown coverages and stresses the importance of playing with discipline, passion and a sense of desperation. They don’t respond.
He states the obvious: Don’t get arrested. They do.
I am not calling for Mark Richt’s firing here. Not yet. There are still seven games left in the season. That’s enough time for Georgia to turn its season around, play in a respectable bowl game and most importantly send the message that this program isn’t going down like Pompeii.
But right now, I’m just not feeling it.
Needing to bounce back after a loss at South Carolina, the Bulldogs lost to Arkansas at home for the first time in 17 years.
Needing to play with a sense of urgency to avoid falling to 0-3 in the SEC, they fell behind after two minutes, 43 seconds in Starkville and lost to Mississippi State for the first time in 36 years.
Needing to regain some measure of respect just on their own campus, the Bulldogs lost at Colorado — which had lost to California, 52-7, only a few weeks earlier.
You thought Shreveport was the bottom? Shreveport was just the flashing yellow light.
They used to attack. They used to play with confidence. They used to have resolve. They used to win road games. They used to win any games.
Now the Dogs are 1-4, and there’s probably someone at Louisiana-Lafayette thinking, “How did we lose to those guys?” They’re 2-7 in their last nine SEC games, and Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are thinking, “We can beat those guys.”
That’s where Georgia is. What does that tell you?
This is about leadership. Either players aren’t following Richt or he’s leading them in the wrong direction. It is becoming clear that he doesn’t command their attention or their respect because, if he was, Georgia wouldn’t be sliding into oblivion.
When college teams lose, certain things get over-analyzed. Here are two of them:
♦ 1.) Recruiting: Some believe Georgia isn’t getting the athletes it used to. Bunk. Watch the games. The Bulldogs are no slower or weaker or smaller than their opponents. Recruiting services have had Georgia’s classes in or near the top 10 annually. If you believed them before, don’t stop believing them now just because it’s convenient.
♦ 2.) Strategy: Football is about toughness and discipline, blocking and tackling. It’s not about the offensive coordinator not calling enough short passes. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo may not be the next Mike Shanahan on offense, and Willie Martinez certainly wasn’t Brian VanGorder’s equal on defense. But Georgia’s slide is not about X’s and O’s. It’s about focus and determination and knocking people down.
Richt’s job should be in jeopardy. Why? Because not only are the Bulldogs not very good, but there is no sign that they are getting better.
The offensive line, expected to be the strength of this team, has been less than average. Freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, the biggest question mark, has been one of their best players. A.J. Green reaffirmed in his first game back from suspension that he is a special player but his presence in Colorado also pounded home the obvious: This isn’t about one player.
Richt gets criticized for not showing enough emotion on the sideline. That might be unfair. But here’s something worth asking: Is he obsessed enough?
There’s no question Richt wants to win. But he has a lot more things important to him in his life now, like taking mission trips to Honduras. It doesn’t mean football isn’t important to him. Anybody who has seen him after losses knows otherwise. But college football coaching, particularly in the SEC, has become a 24/7/365 job.
Richt in a conference with some truly obsessed coaches: Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bobby Petrino. Watch Derek Dooley and you can almost see sparks coming off his head. If we see that, you know Tennessee players see that.
Do you get that sense with Richt’s players? Are they ready to jump at his every command?
Georgia has players. Georgia has facilities, money and certainly fan support. But right now, there is no direction, and if Mark Richt is leading, the problem is that nobody is paying attention.
♦
Earlier posts:
♦ Now that Braves are here, how far can they go?
♦ Braves make it back to the postseason in typical dramatic style
♦♦♦
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839 comments Add your comment
5150 P.O.A.D
October 5th, 2010
10:40 am
Ha Ha I am an idiot
Dawgs73
October 5th, 2010
10:48 am
I find it humurous that a man making $2 million a year, that is paid at the upper echoleon of the SEC, is givin a pass and “he has earned another year”…REALLY?????????????????????????????
If this was any other realm of work or politics would any of us say that as currently situated, Richt has “earned” his level of pay and should remain as coach? I would say no, not because I hate Richt or have anything but the highest respect for him as a man and PREVIOUS accomplishments. I say this because I see a steep decline at the very essence of football (tackling, blocking, game management, in game adjustments, special teams, lack of player development and on and on and on).
I believe Mark to be tremendous human being and I appreciate what he has done for UGA, I just believe that he is in over his head and his message has been lost in translation. I see too many mistakes in areas that are alarming and very little ability to adjust.
npgator
October 5th, 2010
11:07 am
Boy – talk about kicking a team when they are down! I still think that Georgia will find itself and end the season with a good team. Just hope that the light doesn’t come on against the Gators.
Sam
October 5th, 2010
11:35 am
You are right about the lack of focus and intensity from the players. We lost to Ark because we couldn’t tackle. I was also at the Miss State game and MSU was so fired up that they wanted to game more than we did. Obviously, we can’t blame Willie Martinez for everything that is going wrong on defense.
Hire Chris Peterson
October 5th, 2010
12:02 pm
Jeff, thank you so much for saying what I have been saying for the past two years. You are right: Georgia has the talent on this team to be undefeated at this point in the season. And you are right about something else: Derek Dooley is full of passion and emotion and heart. It is obvious just watching him. His team is not full of SEC caliber players, but he is definitely coaching them up. Meanwhile, at UGA, what is happening to all that talent we recruit every year? Are the Dawgs being “coached down”?
Hire Chris Peterson
October 5th, 2010
12:08 pm
I agree with Dawgs73. What Richt accomplished in this first four or five years does NOT earn him another year after this year! What is his record over the last 2 and 1/4 seasons? What is his SEC record over that same period? Based on what he has accomplished, or rather NOT accomplished, over the last 2 and 1/4 seasons, he deserves to be fired. Period. Any arguments to the contrary are not valid.
GeorgiaDogs228
October 5th, 2010
12:38 pm
Could Russ be to blame for all this?
Richard Dawson
October 5th, 2010
3:21 pm
Here is why you lose a football game. It is not because a player made a mistake that Richt is not responsible for. Richt is responsible for everything the players do. Regardless, this particular fumble was due to Richt’s highly predictable decision to run up the middle to set up a field goal. Colorado, I, and my dead grandma saw this coming from 1000 miles away. Colorado blew up the play, forced a fumble, and won the game. Blame lies squarely and only with Mark Richt, who is responsible for the terrible, predictable playcalling (and why would you want to set up Walsh for a 40+ yard FG when he already missed one? Go for the TD. Go for the win.), responsible for Bobo’s playcalling, responsible for recruiting good players, and responsible for how they execute. Richt and Richt alone is responsible. Here’s what Colorado’s DC had to say on this horrendous decision.
From ESPN.COM:
During a timeout in the waning minutes and with the Georgia Bulldogs already in range for a game-winning field goal, Colorado defensive coordinator Ron Collins decided to turn linebacker B.J. Beatty loose on a blitz.
“I told him, ‘Let’s run it,” Beatty said. “Because we knew they were going to try to run the ball, milk the clock and kick a field goal. I knew I had the opportunity to come off the edge and maybe disrupt the hand-off.”
Lining up with the Buffs clinging to a 29-27 lead, Beatty was just hoping for the Bulldogs to run the ball, and sure enough, it played out exactly like he envisioned.
Beatty stripped Caleb King just as he got the handoff from quarterback Aaron Murray at the Buffaloes’ 30-yard line and he held King back while teammate Jon Major smothered the loose ball.
Ray Charles
October 5th, 2010
3:22 pm
Hey, I am blind AND dead…..even I can see that UGA suxx out loud. My bet is that the UT band will play Rocky Top so much on Saturday even the UT fans will tire of hearing it. Vols 27 Pups 13
monty
October 5th, 2010
4:01 pm
Respecting is one thing,motivating is another. I think all of the Braves players respect BC. Does that mean he is a great motivator of men? No! Saban and Myer are motivators. Men you would want leading your troops into battle. Richt would be the chaplain. But he would not be out front giving orders and showing leadership.
Really?
October 5th, 2010
5:30 pm
3rd and 1 and not a lot of time left in the game. UGA is down by 4. We need this first down. It’s imperative. Can anyone guess they play? Screen! Really? I never would have guessed. It’s not like a screen is called every 3rd down of every game UGA plays. 3rd and 1 is now 4th and 6. Too long to go for it so you gotta punt it. Had you have ran the ball or passed it beyond the line of scrimmage you may have gotten a 1st but if not you probably wouldn’t have lost 5 yards and you could go for it again on 4th and 1. Anyways, my point is screens don’t work on every 3rd down of every game so please quit trying to force them to work. I’m no Florida fan or LSU fan but if UGA had either of those guys for as long as they’ve had CMR and with the talent UGA brings in year after year, they would have at least 2 national championships. Really? CMR is the same guy who couldn’t win a national championship with Knowshon Moreno, AJ Green, Masoquoi and Matt Stafford all on the same offense. Really? It’s easy, give the ball to Moreno or pass it to Green or Masoquoi. Battle’s over. Now I have to ask, is CMR a good coach or was his god (which he talks to more than his players) just letting us win? Maybe he should pray harder or quit moping around on the sidelines and get into someone’s ass about the same mistakes being made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Really?
drzlstrangelovejr
October 5th, 2010
5:36 pm
ga southern eagles suck. 1aa, or whatever. They have a following of one county is SE GA. Georgia State University = GSU.
DAWGINSTL
October 5th, 2010
7:42 pm
Undisciplined players off the field = undisciplined players on the field
Greg
October 5th, 2010
9:44 pm
Yes there needs so be some respect bordering on fear. Also: look at ‘Bama. They play EVERY DOWN (offense and defense) with determination and execution. They don’t slack at all.
Gone Fishin
October 6th, 2010
1:55 am
This blog has been fun to read.
BlueDawg
October 6th, 2010
8:52 am
To all the folks calling for Richt’s head, all I have to say is be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. We have a top tier coach, who loves our program. Sometimes when you cycle head coaches you get a great one, more often than not you get a Goff,Zook,Schula,Petrino,Kiffin, etc.
I definitely think that there have to be changes in Athens, but I think the one thing we have going well for us is that we have a calm hand on the wheel, Richt can win SEC championships, he will win them again in the Future, even Vince Dooley had bad seasons.
Matt the Brave
October 6th, 2010
9:11 am
I love Coach Richt, but I think that you’re right Schultzie. It might be time to retire and focus on bigger things than football, especially when there is still time to do it. If he were to retire now, he’d still be thought of as the second-best coach in UGA history behind Dooley. He would never have a want for money, and would be able to do any mission trip he wanted just off of the speaking engagements that he would do.
Corninmypooh
October 6th, 2010
9:44 am
Jeff -
Have you personally interviewed all the Georgia football players? How do you know they’re tuning him out? There’s a difference between not executing on the field and mutiny, which is precisely what you’re suggesting.
In the future do your homework before spouting off your big fat pie hole.
Brandon
October 6th, 2010
10:15 am
Corninmypooh-
You don’t even have to ask that question. The players are not tuning Richt out. The players have improved almost any way you want to measure it over last season–pass defense, run defense, less penalities, less turnovers, etc. Some folks just don’t want to look for improvement, they’d rather make more indefensible assertions that things are either ALL good, or ALL bad.
Say what you want about Georgia, but things are not ALL bad. Anytime you see a writer saying that, throw it out, because it’s just not true.
Brandon
October 6th, 2010
10:22 am
There are two views you can have in this world.
You can believe the world is a zero-sum game.
Or you can believe the world is non-zero sum game, like Bill Gates does.
If you believe the world is a non-zero sum game, then you have no problem with charity work, like Bill Gates does, because you know, when you give, you don’t lose, you win.
Some people get this, like Covey, who wrote about win-win, others don’t get this paradigm and view the world as scarce and hyper-competitive.
Brandon
October 6th, 2010
10:54 am
One of my favorite websites, by the world’s #1 problem solver, Bill Gates. Gates has some interesting thoughts on how helping others, is good for organizations. I feel Gates would approve of Richt’s charitable work as being a good thing overall.
Nice brief video clip where Gates talks about how corporations (University of Georgia is a corporation), can be more involved in helping the poor, without losing out.
http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Infrequently-Asked-Questions/SpecialFeature.aspx?ID=66
Proud to be 5th in the ACC
October 6th, 2010
11:16 am
Why can’t Georgia do like Tech? We never recruit boys who would sell their shirt or let their drivers license expire. If Georgia wants to be a winner like us, Mark Rich has to be more like Coach Johnson. Our coach only goes after nice boys and would never offer a scholarship to a thug-like individual.
When I was at Tech I never went to any ballgames. I didn’t even know anybody who went to watch football, except for really old people. We filled our Saturdays with robotics competitions and exhibitions. But now I follow it a little so I can talk with the men at the barbershop.
Anyway, what I want to emphasize is that 3-2 in football is so much better than 1-4 ( just do the math yourself and you’ll see ) and if Georgia wants to have that kind of success their coach needs to be more like Coach Johnson.
You don’t have to be the best in the world, just strive to have the best heart. There’s no shame in not being really good. Tech has never been good in my or my dad’s life and my dad says that’s okay as long as the boys have fun and nobody gets hurt. Here’s to a great game for all teams this weekend. Go Yellow Jackets!
Travis Fain
October 6th, 2010
11:50 am
Disagree.
http://lucididiocyblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/schultz-dawgs-just-as-strong-as.html
Sunday Snacks: One and F— « Rachel G. Bowers
October 6th, 2010
1:39 pm
[...] Jeff Schultz goes after Richt no longer being able to command respect from his players. He’s got a point. The problems of this team stretch beyond the X’s and [...]
Paul
October 6th, 2010
3:12 pm
Believe what you want about recruiting. UGA may be top ten every year. But that is still only 5th or 6th best in the SEC. If you believe that recruiting translates into future wins, then UGA is in trouble. Let’s use 2011 commits and rivals rankings. On overage AL, FLA, and UGA have about 15 verbal commits. 50% of those commits at AL and UF are ranked top 10 in their position. UGA has 1. Overall all of the recruits at UF and AL have a combined higher ranking than UGA. So unless UGA can develop lesser rated recruits into better players, nothing is going to change.
Ethel Merman
October 6th, 2010
6:51 pm
I like to watch Georgie Tech football games in a thong.
Dario Stankini
October 6th, 2010
6:59 pm
Jeff Schultz interviewed every UGA player for this article. He asked each player if they listening during practice and if they felt like they wanted to get up in the morning. He asked every UGA player if they understand English, which we all assume is the language the UGA coaches are speaking. Jeff spent weeks observing the attentiveness of each player to see if they were tuning out the coaching staff and were preparing to enlist the help of Johnny Depp to stage a mutiny.
Brandon
October 6th, 2010
11:45 pm
I know one thing, if some consultant without experience walked into Microsoft, and tried to critique Gates’ charity work, and became obssessed with Gates’ charity work, and said Bill Gates was spending too much time on charity work, people would look at the consultant like he was absolutely bonkers since Bill Gates is the world’s richest man and Microsoft is one of the world’s most profitble companies.
So, uh, isn’t Richt the #4 winningest coach and isnt Georgia the #6 most profitble college football team in the last decade?
There are mountains, and there are moehills, good to know the difference.
Lamar L. London
October 7th, 2010
6:21 am
LLL-UGA I am proud of UGA; HOWEVER the standards that is being displayed by OUR football team are NOT the standards of the Univ. of Ga. We are NOT a second rate University, which OUR football team is displaying. THE STANDARDS OF EXCELLANCE MUST BEGIN FROM THE TOP. We have Good athletes, BUT THOSE ATHLETES ARE NOT BEING DEVOLPED MENTALLY THAT IS REQUIRED TO COMPETE AT THE TOP LEVEL. They are lacking in BOTH DISCIPLINE AND RESPECT.
Your article is VERY WELL SAID.
WILLIAM
October 7th, 2010
7:07 am
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU LOOKED AT COACH RICHT’S WINNING STATS VS. ALL OTHER COACHES.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A BAD YEAR?
GIVE ME A BREAK.
Rosezeee
October 7th, 2010
7:35 am
Nothing will change as long as that doofus barney fife heads up this program. So accept reality, this is Georgia football – – total lack of discipline, arrests, penalties, turnovers, sloppy play, bad decisions like going for it on fourth and one on your own 25 yard line in the second quarter when your down by 7 points (remember arkansas). Until someone at the top brings in a top coach, this is what it is. Any wonder why the first three DCs offered the job last year turned it down?
Just look at the difference between the Shula and Saban eras at Bama.
Rosezeee
October 7th, 2010
7:36 am
This is Georgia Football – - start it at the 60 second mark!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yDMEX57Lyc&feature=related
Mike
October 7th, 2010
8:59 am
I agree, Richt show’s no emotion on the sideline’s, he just walk’s back and forth. If there’s a bad call, he doesn’t put up any kind of fuss or anything, he just turn’s and walk’s up the sideline.
He doesn’t high five his player’s to get them motivated when they need a big play or come off the field after a big play. I’ve hardly ever seen him talk in his headset.
Lambert Longhorn
October 7th, 2010
9:20 am
The problem is that most if not all of the recruits are buying Mark Richt. Once he’s on the ropes or is pushed out, every one of our recruits will be back in play for other schools. Plus you’re looking at three to five years before UGA has a chance at getting back to a competitive level with FL, AL, AU, etc.
Typical lonely, socially awkward Jacket fan
October 7th, 2010
11:29 am
hahahaha!!!! UGA sucks!!!! My life has purpose again!!!! I can’t even name a single starting player on my Tech but who cares!!!! UGA stinks!!!!!!! That’s all that matter!!!! Yay!!!!!
Mo
October 7th, 2010
7:30 pm
What if I went to work and failed 75% of the time AND made a million dollars? And I am a medical professional AND my spouse thinks that others aren’t trying to make me fail, but really, look at the record, politics and massive amounts of money aside. UGA has player talent and enough to make the rest of the country impressed, what are we doing, or rather, what is Richt doing with that talent? I know, I lived in CA where PAC-10 is the bomb. Really, that is the reality there in Berkeley. Wish I had a break like Bobo.
lmao
October 8th, 2010
3:04 pm
As Ray Goff would say “We’re just not a very good football team right now…… I understand when people boo their booing me but I am a tough man got a tough hide” Hey Coach Richt run now so you can at least get a good job.
LSUTigerTown
October 8th, 2010
10:50 pm
I tell yall what… you can have LES “The Mess” MILES and we’ll take CMR!! Just a couple of years ago CMR was beloved in UGA land now there’s an outcry for his job — Be careful what you ask for!!!
Bobby's Bass
October 9th, 2010
12:06 am
find it humurous that a man making $2 million a year, that is paid at the upper echoleon of the SEC, is givin a pass and “he has earned another year”…REALLY?????????????????????????????
Two Words:
Booby Cox.
It must be a GA thing, where losers and idiots get to keep jobs well past the expiration date.