Mark Richt will be back next season — and he deserves to be
The sideline hasn't been as enjoyable a place for Mark Richt the last two seasons as during his first eight. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
ATHENS – It’s probably best that we start with the latest indication of Mark Richt’s future employment.
“Mark’s going to be our coach in 2011,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said. “I haven’t seen anything in 11 games that would lead me to any other decision. I’d be stunned.”
The thinking is, it’s always best to end such declarations with even the smallest of escape routes. Because if for some reason Georgia were to lose to Tech 42-10 Saturday, finish the season 5-7, not go to a bowl game and later that evening 17 players find themselves in handcuffs for whatever reason – well, let’s just say you want the escape route.
But Richt will be back. And he should be back.
Let’s be clear about something. There are significant problems at Georgia. There are problems that may not go away under Richt.
The team has disappointed and underachieved. The Bulldogs are 7-9 in SEC games in the last two seasons. That nearly equals their conference loss total in the previous four years (22-10).
Celebrated recruiting classes haven’t turned into celebrated teams, an indictment of the coaching. Changes in Richt’s staff have not significantly improved the defense. Physically and emotionally, the team too often still seems overmatched by good teams.
But we should judge coaches like we judge athletes – in fact, like we judge all people. Life is a series of credits and debits. Mark Richt has built up a lot of credits. He deserves a chance to fix this.
He won two SEC titles in his first five seasons. I know. That’s so yesterday. As even McGarity joked when alluding to the fact the program’s off-field issues have quieted somewhat: “You’re only as good as the last few minutes.”
It’s the same on the field, especially in the SEC. When Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Les Miles are combining to win four straight BCS titles, and Gene Chizik is undefeated at Auburn and – cover your eyes – even Mississippi State seems to have passed you by with Dan Mullen, nobody in the fan base is talking about that great 2005 season.
Greg McGarity said he and Richt are "brutally honest" with each other in their meetings. (AP photo)
The more likely response is: Fire the coach.
But dial it back for a moment. Richt was 82-22 overall and 44-15 through his first eight seasons in Athens. There were some bad performances in 2006, hiccups in 2007 and the smack downs by Alabama and Florida in 2008 that quickly extinguished any national title hopes. But the bottom line numbers are too overwhelming to ignore so quickly.
McGarity hasn’t been in his job for long. He said he understands “that everyone is frustrated.” He added, “The bottom line is we’re 5-6 and nobody is happy with that. Nobody is pleased, and nobody should be.”
But he has spent the past several weeks analyzing various aspects of the program, particularly since the Colorado game – “That’s when things began to slow down for me,” he said — and doesn’t believe a change is warranted.
“We’re dealing with a team that’s competitive every week,” he said. “I know people don’t like to hear phrases like, ‘We’re competitive’ and, ‘We’re giving it everything we’ve got.’ Trust me, I get that. We all want different results. But I also see a program that is not in disarray.
“The bottom line is we need to close games better and I also believe this is a critical recruiting class for us. I feel like there are a lot more positive signs than negative signs, even though it hasn’t shown up in the win category.”
McGarity and Richt have a standing meeting every Friday. McGarity said the two have a great and open relationship. “We’re brutally honest with each other,” he said.
He declined to discuss specifics of their discussions but said: “We both want the same thing. The question is how we get there.”
It’s justified for anybody who follows the Georgia program to be upset about the record, about the loss in Colorado, about the fact the team hasn’t been a player in the SEC East for two years. It’s justified to wonder about direction. But Richt deserves another season to figure it out. His resume has earned him that.
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706 comments Add your comment
5150 P.O.A.D.
November 23rd, 2010
4:21 pm
Mark Richt is the Berney Madoff of UGAA.
MAKO
November 23rd, 2010
4:21 pm
Al Ciraldo – like your namesake you and he are both deadwood.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 23rd, 2010
4:21 pm
Jeff, did you ever think in journalism school that one day you would grow up and be typing the words “TECH TARD”?
Jeff Schultz
November 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
ARdawg — My opinion is he deserves. I don’t believe the last 5 years have all been a failure, just because there hasn’t been an SEC title during that time. So you’re saying that 11-2 and a Sugar Bowl in 2007 was a bad year?
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
Ciraldo
“If Tech wins Sat?” You wish to tie the firing of Mark Richt to that? Why not just go ahead and “if the cows come home on Sat?” or if “the moon crumbles into the sea?”. There is about as much chance as either of those happening Sat too
gdawginkalamazoo
November 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
So IF we play Texas in a bowl game does Richt and Muschamp stand there and make choking jestures toward each other the entire game?
jacket man
November 23rd, 2010
4:23 pm
No matter who is the Coach at THUGA, the redneck fans remain. Junior Samples is the Hallmark Ga grad for the 20th century. Gosh if anyone with an ounce of intelligence could just step back and gaze at the rednecks entering the stadium every Saturday you would like everyone else would be appalled. Just remember- every ticket sold for the GT game old Markey gets a cut of 4$. Would you do the honorable thing and resign. I think not!
Jeff Schultz
November 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
Gdawginkalamazoo — Oh yeah, I’d do this job for free.
Bug Zapper
November 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
JB….True, hats off to ALA for being bold but I’ve never considered the UGA job to be on par with theirs although its widelly considered one of the top ten jobs in the country….I just do’nt know how big of a name coach is going to leave a great job and come here….If we let CMR go I hope theirs a great game plan that will lure a great, current coach in who in turn can lure and coach up the great athletes in this state that we are already getting….
SoCal Dawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
Jeff Schultz- West end of the San Fernando Valley. However I’ve been in Memphis for the past year, my daughter is a patient at St. Jude.
jacket man
November 23rd, 2010
4:24 pm
With the contract old Markey has, he will be there as long as Jopa.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:25 pm
Dead, yes. But not as lifeless as your coach and your mascot. Looks like the whole system needs a defibrillator.
Jeff Schultz
November 23rd, 2010
4:25 pm
Gdawginkalamazoo — Oh yeah. I read a lot of journalism books about how Ernie Pyle blogged with readers of his war columns on line and many had screen names like Tech Tard. … Kidding.
Jeff Schultz
November 23rd, 2010
4:26 pm
SoCal Dawg — Sorry to hear it. I hope she’s OK.
Jeremy r
November 23rd, 2010
4:27 pm
Jeff 2007 was the only year that wasn’t a disappointment in the last 5 years. 2008 was bad because we were ranked #1 in the nation starting off and that’s when the arrests started. Does it not bother some people that no other school comes close to our arrest record the last few years?
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:27 pm
Jeff
When we get our azzez handed to us like we did in Knoxvegas and J’ville, win the rest and get to beat up somebody’s little sister in the Sugar Bowl, yeah, there’s just not a lot there to feel overly good about. That was a very good team and also ranks high on the underachieving. Should easily make the underachieving HOF
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:27 pm
Nobody will stay at the top in the SEC. It is too tough. Look at Fla. and Ala. Everybody said as long as Meyer and Saban are there they will win the SEC every year. All you can ask is that you can compete each year for the title. Somebody said Ohio St. is there every year. For years Michigan was there only competition and now Wis. and others are trying, but Ohio St. just has too many athletes. All teams in the SEC has athletes.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
ARDawg – I guess you didn’t hear the CPJ interview after the 2008 display…when asked why he didn’t take some shrub, “Why? I’ll be back and do it again in 2010.”
danbo
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
BS, we need a real coach!
Tackling fuel
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
Jeff Fisher!
MAKO
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
jacket man & Al Ciraldo….like 2 peas in pod…both of you pulling on the old slide ruler at work…only a Techie
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
Jeff, you sounded mighty glad to hear from Courtney. Care to expound?
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:29 pm
Who’s Jopa?
Tech Tard
November 23rd, 2010
4:30 pm
I said we were in position to win a NC every three years. Ask anyone and they will tell you it comes down to luck almost every year in the BcS system. And yes I will take that every decade.
Uga VIII
November 23rd, 2010
4:30 pm
http://www.richtsgottago.com
SoCal Dawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
Schultz- Thanks. She’s my hero. I’m amazed everyday by her courage and fight.
kral
November 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
Here is hint for you toad do not make a statement that is broadbased open to conjecture and possibly full of pig dooty..it leaves you tollally open to ridicule…from which you can try to give a rebuttal but in reality you really can’t because you were a farthead earlier
Russ
November 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
Just curious, but what championships will Saban, Meyer, Brown or Miles win this year? You mean all these coaches that are so much better than Richt are not going to win the SEC, Big Twelve, or even sniff a national championship this year?
Nate the Great
November 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
I agree whole heatedly Shultz, he definitely deserves a chance to correct the program, but I think he should take the Colorado job. He would buy at least 2 year extention and live in the Rockies, without having to coach in the toughest league in college football. Lets see, go to the Pac-10 conference and dominate against inferior coaches or stay and hope that a rediculous fanbase doesn’t fire you because you lost one game or didn’t win the national title or better yet one of your players acts like complete moron and THAT gets you fired. Colorado all the way!!!
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:31 pm
Ciraldo
do you seriously believe the results will be the same as 2008? I’m not Nerd or a Tech “hater” per se’, I just don’t like ya’ll but I got to say. I have never seen a Tech team as bad as your boys were last Saturday
gdawginkalamazoo
November 23rd, 2010
4:32 pm
Hey at Texas A & M you can get a TSA degree. Here is an A & M player doing his thesis for his Body Search 410 class.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I1lQwmSXO4
Bo Pellini was mad because it wasn’t him.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:32 pm
MAKO, I’m surprised McDonald’s has internet… Oh, that’s right. My staff installed Wifi there for you Dawg fans. Hey, I didn’t get any ketchup with my fries.
Tech Tard
November 23rd, 2010
4:33 pm
Quitting time. Later losers
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:33 pm
UGA VIII- What a joke! My kid can’t learn because of the teachers and my little boy can’t win because of the coaches. Who’s fault will it be when he loses his job?
5150 P.O.A.D.
November 23rd, 2010
4:33 pm
OKEDAWG
you don’t know the Penn State caoch? You geally need to get out of the trailer park and read about other teams besides UGA.
Josh Smith For 3
November 23rd, 2010
4:34 pm
I hate seeing bad UGA teams as much as any other fan, but you whiners are just going to have to suck it up. We aren’t going to just throw an ad in the paper and lure a coach better than Richt to Athens right now. Give the guy a chance to fight his way out of the corner. Even if he can’t, it won’t be the demise of the program.
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:34 pm
Jeff,
For the record, I am okay with Richt coming back next year. It wouldn’t be my choice but, I’ll live with it. I don’t think he “deserves” to come back. I do believe it is in the best interest of UGA for him to come back. I seriously believe we’ll have these discussions next year. I hope I am wrong
MountainDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:34 pm
Emotionally, it’s easy to say “fire CMR”. However, he’s overall success & close losses this year add validity to retaining him. I’d agree he needs to crack down on the discipline (on & off the field) & ratchet up the S&C program a few degrees. All & all I say keep him.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:35 pm
AR – we can be 1-10 and “show up” in Athens. It’s the strangest thing. I agree, this is a disappointing season – but they will show up. Even without Joshua.
Okee – ???Who is Jopa? Seriously?? Maybe you don’t get sportingnews in the swamp. UGA isn’t the only team in the nation. Paddle yourself out of the county sometime…
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:36 pm
Good post Josh Smith for 3! He will win. This thing can be turned around in one year and it will.
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:37 pm
Ciraldo,
I look for a hard fought game and likely close but, I think your boys leave with ya hats in ya hands
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:38 pm
UGA got screwed with the AJ deal. Pearl can lie and only be suspended for not even a third of the year. When is the NCAA going to rule on Pearl. As usual they are scared of Tenn.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:39 pm
Oh, Jo Pa. I’ve heard of him. In fact, he just announced he’s coming back next season.
Why the trailer park remark, poad? Even if I live in one, I still know to spell “really.”
tell me again
November 23rd, 2010
4:39 pm
All fo you idiots who want CMR fired are so off base…before CMR this program had NO CHANCE of going anywhere…..he has brought a face to the program we can be proud of – would you be proud of a coach like Chizik??? And as for Saban and Urban being SO GREAT – what happened to Florida this year with their multiple top 3 recruiting classes? What happened to the mighty Tide and their returning Heisman running back? I guess they have FORGOTTEN how to play football overnight like CMR has, right? What are Alabama’s and Florida’s excuses as to why they are not once again at the top of the BCS? Gee – I guess their programs are in total disarray now….no other reason for such an amazing downturn, is here? And can you imagine the grief UGA would be getting if it was learned that Cam, while a UGA player, was shown to be an academic fraud, a traffic ticket maniac and a 200,000 buck for sale recruit? Richt is fine…..even Joe Pa had five losing seasons at Penn State…..the wheel goes round and round folks – be a fan and support the coach and team – or else go find a team somewhere that never loses, never has a down streak and never has any trouble with 18 year old kids – good luck with that little quest. GO DAWGS!
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:40 pm
Oh yea! AJ told the truth. That is the proble, some people in leadership positions can’t handle the truth. Oh yea and what about Rainey? Richt has had to deal with some unfair decisions with his program.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:41 pm
“Paddle yourself out of the county sometime…”
*********************
Haha! That’s good, Al.
I have no comeback . . .
Hit A Single
November 23rd, 2010
4:41 pm
Chizik the fist pumper and head cheerleader.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:42 pm
AR – you may be correct. The dawgs have pride. But CPJ will make it happen. If I had to pick a coach for this game, I’d take PJ over MR.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
4:43 pm
Nice post, tell me again.
Al Ciraldo
November 23rd, 2010
4:44 pm
thanks, Oke. I was married to a yank from PA (wuz). I agree Jopa doesn’t make sense but it’s second nature to the first 12 colonies.