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
David Granger
November 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
I agree that he’ll be back, Jeff…and I guess he deserves another year. Problem is, the program is showing a lot of indications that there is a big loss of discipline…both on the field and off. And when a coach loses that, it’s almost impossible to get it back.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
Keep Richt as CEO. Move Bobo back to QB coach and hire a bright NFL assistant to be the OC maximize Aaron Murray’s talents with a spread-type offense. Our running game would even be better in that offense.
Recruit a nose tackle that Grantham needs for his defense – I believe his second edition in ‘11 will be much better.
With the changes in offense, we challenge for the East in ‘11.
Bubba Grunt
November 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
Thats the spirit Weatherdawg ….. mediocrity is good.
learn something everyday
November 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
Schultz,
the Count should be made a weekly feature.
Bubba Grunt
November 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
Uh, a BRIGHT NFL assistant or any BRIGHT coach period wouldn’t come to Athens.
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
Schultz
If we were only discussing the last two years would be one thing but, the actual decline from a stellar program has been for the last 5 years with nothing but acceleration going South. Me thinks You and McGarity has his head deep inside your respective anuses and should excavate it asap. Get real, if you and McGarity wish to keep Richt come out and say it like a man with some hair on your nads. You are boring us with this “he’s earned it” speech. He’s earned it AND he’s lost it. The accounting side of Richt in on the deficit side in my books. I don’t have a problem with him coming back because, I know he is, I expect next years results to mirror this years as well and we will be having these same discussions a year from now. Why as a voice do you promote this?
NCDawg
November 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
Jeff, I agree wholeheartedly. Richt deserves more time, and I think the team will be much better next year. If the results aren’t there next year then that’s another story. We desperately need to beat Florida next year — I think that’s going to be the key game for next season. If we do, that will quiet some of the howling although we need to also win the SEC East and go back to the SEC Championship Game as well. If Richt and the team accomplish that, this year will be forgotten quickly.
PMC
November 23rd, 2010
11:58 am
I don’t think the question is whether or not proven capable people should get a chance to try and fix mistakes they have made but how long will you give them to do it?
He ignored problems they had with Willie. They were winning enough games to gloss over the fact that they STILL weren’t beating Florida and they weren’t playing for championship games because the defense fell on it’s face against Tennessee.
This defense has been virtually awful in most of the big games since… the Sugar Bowl 2005. Mark hasn’t moved quickly enough to fix the glaring issues he has to know he had. They weren’t getting the players they needed and the recruiting classes were artificially high because they did well bringing in Quarterbacks which skew classes rankings.
The offense could be better but they are scoring points eventually even if they still look horriffic at the beginnings of most seasons and it takes them 5 games or so to figure out what they should be doing.
The defense is just embarassing and it has been for 5 years now.
The question is not… does he deserve the time, he’s a good coach… the question is why has he ignored these glaring issues for so long and let it get to this point?
Willie was the wrong man for the job in the very first half he coached and it didn’t get any better from there.
The year they win the Sugar Bowl… they faceplanted at Tennessee… sorry, beating an overmatched Hawaii team doesn’t earn much credit.
how2fish
November 23rd, 2010
12:00 pm
Bubba Grunt puck you azz clown..and I really mean that. weatherdawg great post.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 23rd, 2010
12:01 pm
Can’t have ANY more arrest either. None. You sit the kids down and tell them that if they get arrested they are outta there. Then they can go to a junior college for a year and then get sold to Auburn.
learn something everyday
November 23rd, 2010
12:02 pm
@OkefenokeeDawg : one problem I see with that. Alot of the offensive recruits we pull come because we run a pro-style offense. Players that want the spread have plenty of options in the rivals around us.
Personally I think coach Searls is at the heart of the problem. It takes him way to long to figure out his offensive line every year.
The arguement about coach Vanhallinger is growing on me too though…
dap01
November 23rd, 2010
12:03 pm
It will be interesting to see if CPJ is on the hot seat after this week.
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:05 pm
SmilingDog
Until something happens, nothing will happen. UGA sucks and your program is at the bottom of the SEC East.
Oh, and you clowns aren’t going to a bowl game.
Mark Richt
November 23rd, 2010
12:06 pm
I sure do hope Vince Dooley and Sonny Perdue can come down to play with my red panties if we win this Saturday.
athensdawg
November 23rd, 2010
12:06 pm
First of all, to those of you who say rookie mistake loses the florida game. Had we kicked the extra point on our next to last touchdown instead of a failed, panic driven attempt to go for 2, we win the game by one. That’s bad coaching folks…from a staff that’s practiced for 10 years…..
Let me translate something for the disneydawgs in the audience..”We are giving him all the help we can” (McGarity) Is corporate speak for – “I’m giving you some rope…now are you gonna use it to pull yourself out of the ditch or to hang yourself.” Plus these standing meetings on Friday are an indication that the AD does not have full confidence in our coach. Why micromanage someone who is doing their job??? The addition of the Boise game = more pressure.
The deck was supposed to be stacked this year….and the only question was Aaron Murray.
Murray is the real deal….where’s the rest of the team…oh, I forgot, they aren’t executing the most perfect gameplan that is designed every week. That’s the real problem….the players don’t listen to our world class coaching staff. Uh huh……………
funny...
November 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
Those of you talking about 2-8 versus Florida. Do you honestly think that firing Mark Richt this year puts Georgia ahead of the Gators anytime in the next decade? Harbaugh isn’t coming to Georgia. Gruden isn’t that great a coach. Petersen isn’t leaving Boise for Georgia.
Georgia is a blown coverage away from beating Arkansas. A fumble away from beating Colorado. A better overtime series (f’n Bobo) away from beating Florida. Then you have Auburn, which Georgia was up 14. South Carolina, where they were intimidated BUT in the game. And they played like total dog sh1t in Starkville and were still in the game until the last moment.
I don’t think this team is far away. They need a David Pollack type player on defense and I think they’re every bit as good as those early 2000’s teams. Murray is just as good, if not better than Greene at this time. It’s the defense. They’re undersized, dumb, unlucky, quitters. They need a leader. They need a star. They need David Pollack, Boss Bailey, Thomas Davis. This defense surely shows better than Willie’s idiocy. Give Grantham time. I would say that Georgia’s first year of the 3-4 could be compared to Alabama’s first year of the 3-4 under Saban.
Georgia, the program, desperately needs AJ to stay in school. Georgia needs a better OC. Bobo is just that, a bobo. He has so much talent and still manages to foul that up in half the series. Bobo is so Jekyll and Hyde.
Those you demanding a coaching change, I want to play you in chess. I want to play you in poker. You can’t think ahead, you don’t understand football.
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:11 pm
“Then you have Auburn, which Georgia was up 14. ”
For about 5 mins.
David Granger
November 23rd, 2010
12:12 pm
You’re forgetting one thing, Athensdawg…if we had kicked the extra point on our next to last TD, we would NOT have gone for two again (which we made) on the last TD.
I do think that Coach Richt is a poor game coach, but I don’t blame him for that one.
funny...
November 23rd, 2010
12:13 pm
“Then you have Auburn, which Georgia was up 14. ”
For about 5 mins.
You were scared. One man team. LOL
$cam
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:13 pm
“Then you have Auburn, which Georgia was up 14. ”
If that’s all UGA fans have to cling to, you are in more trouble than I thought.
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:14 pm
“You were scared. One man team. LOL”
49-31
mcdaviddawg
November 23rd, 2010
12:14 pm
This was his year for r3edemption, FIRE RICHT!
Lindsey
November 23rd, 2010
12:14 pm
I think CMR is great and I hope he can stay at UGA as long as he likes!! GO DAWGS, BEAT TECH!!
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:14 pm
Players who scored on UGA in the Auburn game.
Newton, Mccalleb, Dyer and Luzenkirken.
Yep, Auburn sure be a one man team. LOL
gdawginkalamazoo
November 23rd, 2010
12:15 pm
dap01, CPJ is not on the hot seat anytime soon. If you remember he was the best coach in college football just a year ago. His status was elevated even higher after he walked across Lake Lanier. So he will be there until Navy or Air Force needs a new coach.
how2fish
November 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
athensdawg something you forget my friend SC,Ark and Auburn are all a hell of a lot better than anyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season.I firmly believe that we play SC next week we beat them same with Ark…only Auburn in my mind is clearly a better team…given where Murray and the D are now opposed to where they were at the start of the season and add A.J…we win…but that’s all hindsight and wishful thinking but we aren’t far off the mark of being a very good team…and I hope to see further indication of that vs the Bugs..
Ralph
November 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
Another year of Richt, and another class of thug recruits to deal with after he is gone.
McGarrity's second favorite team is Florida
November 23rd, 2010
12:17 pm
For that reason alone he will never fire Richt.
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:18 pm
“Ark and Auburn are all a hell of a lot better than anyone thought they would be”
Herbstreit predicted Auburn would win the West. Phil Steele predicted Auburn would go undefeated.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/08/espns_herbstreit_auburn_will_w.html
ARdawg
November 23rd, 2010
12:18 pm
how2fish
Good point but honestly, I don’t think we’d stop Lattimore if we played them next week.
how2fish
November 23rd, 2010
12:19 pm
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn moron when you have one man that can take you to 10-0 and then turn around and be the reason you are by NCAA mandate 0-10 you have a one man team….your going to see I’m right very soon…you really think without Cam UGA doesn’t beat you by 10 points?
Bubba Grunt
November 23rd, 2010
12:20 pm
@how2fish – You need to loosen up your red panties. Obviously they are restricting the blood flow to your feeble little brain. “Not far off the mark of being a very good team” Bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa You tickle me so.
how2fish
November 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
ARdawg maybe not stop him but we could surely prepare to slow him down enough to make Gracia beat us, and I like our chances if it came to that…hell he had a 100 yards before we even had a clue he was THAT good..
Einsteindawg
November 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
Richt deserves to be back if…you enjoy being outcoached by half of the SEC coaches, you like being dominated by UF, you are proud of our arrest record, you thrill to an offense that is out-dated, you realish top 10 recruiting classes that underperform, you get absolutely giddy watching us waste time and timeouts, you are happy to win 7 or 8 games out of a 12 or 13 game season, and last but not least, you yearn to continue to pay $3M a year for mediocrity. Just my opinion and I think we can do better!
ThugaStinks
November 23rd, 2010
12:22 pm
49 – 31! That is great news that McGarity says Saint Richt is coming back. However, the Athens police better get ready for another busy offseason. They just thought dealing with Wayshon was bad. After Tech beats the Thugs in Athens, there will be a lot of property destroyed. Also, don’t forget to get those Red Panties at Walmart!
how2fish
November 23rd, 2010
12:22 pm
Bubba Grunt I stand by what I say and glad I could bring a little sunshine into your benighted existence..have a great turkey day.
WDE
November 23rd, 2010
12:23 pm
There’s a difference between college and NFL coaching, Schultzie. That difference is that the perception of a coach’s ability is perhaps even more crucial than his actual ability in college ball. This is definitely true in recruiting- and with the inroads other SEC schools have made in Georgia the past 10 years, I think all it takes is for him to be on the hotseat before it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
It’s an unfair system of employment, but that’s the world we live in for being so obsessed with CFB.
ThugaStinks
November 23rd, 2010
12:23 pm
49 -31!
Saint Mark says y’all need to finish the drill!
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:23 pm
how2fish
Nothing has happened nor will it happen. You can keep on spewing garbage about the FBI and NCAA but the fact remains that nothing has happened. ESPN has gone silent on the matter and won’t report anything because everything so far has been garbage.
Your team is 5-6 and will most likely lose to GT.
Sucks to be you.
WDE
November 23rd, 2010
12:23 pm
Prophecy* for the grammar Nazis
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:24 pm
“your going to see I’m right very soon”
You’ve never been right. You’re a loser.
Bill King is a ..................
November 23rd, 2010
12:24 pm
Hell yeah bring him back….and while we are at it, lets bring back Goff and Donnan to be his coordinators.
T'VILLE DAWG
November 23rd, 2010
12:24 pm
All of you demanding Richt be fired, I want to take you back about 3 years ago when the liberal media demanded a change in our national leadership, 18 months later and your beloved nation is roughly 20 trillion in debt and may actually be bankrupt. The moral of the story is be careful what you demand for you may get it. This is not meant as a political rant.
ThugaStinks
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
Wayshon is running for president of SGA.
WDE
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
And I’m sorry, but did we not have these same exact articles being written last year? And it’s only gotten worse. I thought this year was his year to rebound. 2008 was a relative disappointment and 2009 was an absolute disappointment.
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
“I don’t think we’d stop Lattimore if we played them next week.”
Auburn has been the only team to stop Lattimore.
saban
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
If there are so many integrity problems surrounding Richt, then ask yourself, why does he tolerate it.?
He tolerates it because to him it is ok. As a bartender he learned to make drinks and keep drunks happy.
He didn`t learn that leadership is firing Grantham in Florida when he grabbed his neck.
ThugaStinks
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
5 and 6….and 5 and 7 is right around the corner………
UGA got Chizzed on by Auburn
November 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
T’VILLE DAWG
The “liberal” media has nothing to do with the failures of UGA football.
MURPHY
November 23rd, 2010
12:26 pm
To me the jury is still out on this coaching staff. Do I think Richt can right the ship-Questionable at best.I think our program is in dire straights.We need to overhaul our offensive strategy and play calling.I feel we are to predictable and have been for many years.We need some fresh material and energy on the offensive side of the ball.I would like to see us hire a bright,young,aggressive O-Coordinator and move Bobo to Q.B Coach.On defense,im not ready to pull the plug on Grantham yet.I like his energy and hope his defense will take shape in the off-season and show the strides in next year campaign. Maybe Richt is the man for the job,maybe he isnt.I know this,we have Boise to start with and we cant have our customary slow start to a season.