Richt gives no reason to believe he can turn Georgia around
Mark Richt finished with his worst record at Georgia (6-7) and the Dogs had their first losing season since 1996.
MEMPHIS – Mark Richt says he is disappointed. He says he has to make changes. He says the Georgia football program is not where it needs to be, and when a once-respectable SEC program ends its season by failing to score a touchdown against a team from Conference USA, nobody is going to dispute that.
Here’s the only matter up for debate: Does anybody believe Mark Richt can still get it done?
It didn’t look like it this season, when the Bulldogs finished with a losing record (6-7) for the first time in 14 years. It didn’t look like it at Mississippi State or Colorado or in Jacksonville (again).
It didn’t look like it Friday night, because if the average Georgia fan considers it humiliating having to win in the final week of the season just to become bowl eligible — and then get stuck with the Liberty Bowl — what do you call it when the Bulldogs lose to Central Florida, 10-6?
This is what it looks like: Mark Richt has lost control of this program.
At the very least, he has lost the benefit of the doubt. The win totals in the last four seasons: 11, 10, eight, six.
Before Georgia’s game against Tech, I stated that Richt’s early success in Athens (two SEC titles in five seasons) earned him another year and the right to fix the problems. A part of me still believes that. But there’s mounting evidence that’s not going to happen.
The Dogs open next season against Boise State. Is there any part of you right now that says Georgia will win that game?
Ten days before Auburn will play in the BCS championship game, four days before Arkansas is in the Sugar Bowl and on the same afternoon a story broke that new Florida coach Will Muschamp is on the verge of hiring Charlie Weis as the Gators’ offensive coordinator, Georgia lost a bottom-tier bowl game to a team from Conference USA, which is a hiccup ahead of the Sun Belt.
If the damage from this was limited, it’s only because Uga VIII stayed home with a stomach virus.
Hopefully, the dog wasn’t watching on TV when Richt sent the worst possible message to his team on their opening possession. The offense had just driven from their own one-yard line to the UCF three. But on fourth-and-1 — and in the first quarter of the Liberty Bowl — Richt opted for the field goal. He defended the decision afterward.
Is that how Richt now defines finishing the drill?
The Dogs didn’t necessarily look emotionless. They just looked pointless.
Central Florida, coached by the familiar George O’Leary, smacked them in the mouth. Georgia didn’t look equipped to smack back. They couldn’t run the ball. They couldn’t get tough yards. They couldn’t make a big play when they needed one. They were 3 for 14 on third-down conversions.
Aaron Murray completed his first seven passes. Then he went 14 for 31 with two interceptions. A.J. Green had eight catches but they covered only 77 yards (9.6 average, well below his 15.7 season average).
Say goodbye to A.J.: He didn’t make it official afterward that his next catch will be in the NFL but logic says that Liberty Bowl humiliation won’t be enough to keep him in college.
This is worse than Starkville, even worse than Boulder. It came at the end of a season, after a month of preparation, when Georgia should have worked out some of its problems.
Also, Colorado doesn’t play in a conference made by Fisher-Price.
In his typical postgame monotone delivery, Richt said: “We’re all disappointed. We didn’t want to finish with a loss. We didn’t want to finish with a losing record. Nobody would’ve predicted that. But it is what it is. There’s reasons why we ended up the way we did. We have to make changes. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future. We have to change how we go about our business. We’re going to improve. We’re going to get Georgia where it belongs.”
Do you believe him? Because from here, it looks like Georgia just turned into Kentucky – a school looking forward to basketball season.
Georgia loses almost annually to Florida. Now it loses to Central Florida. Get ready for 2012: Florida Atlantic is on the schedule.
Don’t laugh. It’s not that big of a step down. And things are headed in that direction.
– By Jeff Schultz
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2,265 comments Add your comment
It's not just the QB, folks
January 1st, 2011
5:29 pm
Benching Murray and starting Mason next year is not going to change anything. Granted that Murray isn’t very good, but the problems at UGA go way deeper than just the QB.
But I would give Zach a call anyway.
Trevdee
January 1st, 2011
5:31 pm
Mark Richt does not deserve to be the UGA football coach any longer. In the last 4 yrs it’s been a steady downhill turn for the football program and there have been too many off-the-filed issues with some of the players. While I understand that Mr. Richt does not and cannot control how kids conduct themselves off school premises it nonetheless points to the fact that there is some lack of discipline on the football team for which he bears some responsibility. It’s time for Mark Richt to be given his pink slip.
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
5:32 pm
APB for..
all those guys are in jail for being drunk and beating their wives I am sure. That is the only possible answer as to why they are not on the blogs running their mouths. Well, they could be in Stright Jackets full of MEDS in the rubber room.
Quote of the day from Memphis
January 1st, 2011
5:32 pm
“Things happen,” said Green, who was named Georgia’s offensive Most Valuable Player. “We’ll take this and learn from it.”
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/dec/31/knights-defense-surprises-bulldogs/
I wonder how AJ is going to learn from it
Vance Duuley
January 1st, 2011
5:32 pm
Anyone bidding on Green’s stuff on eBay?
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 1st, 2011
5:35 pm
Happy New Year Jeff, and keep’em coming. There are no expectations in Athens, because Athens has no clue how to run a winning football program. Let me break it down for you where it went terribly wrong:
1. Vince Dooley: UGA wins 1 national title in 117 years and they think Vince Dooley is somehow Bear Bryant, he is not, check on Donnan and Goff, and now CMR.
2. Arrogance: this program does not understand how to criticize their coaching staff and it always seems that their coaches are hands off, especially CMR.
3. Discipline: there is none on and off the field.
4. Arrests: UGA spends more time bailing their players out of jail as opposed to focusing on the fundamentals of a quality offense and defense.
5. Athletic Directors: poor quality, see Jeremy Foley and how he developed a top-caliber all-around athletic program at UF. UGA’s directors are too busy getting drunk and chasing hookers.
6. Media: the local media goes too easy on the UGA program and needs to hammer on this program to make it better. Too much political correctness, UGA sucks, plain and simple.
7. Boosters: those idiot just keep writing checks and think nothing of the losses.
8. Coaching: when your own players do not return to your program, you know that your program is broken.
Well Jeff, that is just a few, and quite frankly I have plenty more, but my fingers are cramping from typing so much, thus they need a rest. It was a pure pleasure watching O’Leary outcoach those horrible muts from Athens and just to watch CMR’s face.
What is even better is watching their former player Muschamp give them their annual beatdown for the next 10 years or more.
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
5:35 pm
Zack Mettinburger sent Coach Mark Richt a Big Thank You note for kicking him off the DAWGS. Zack said it was the greatest favor Richt could have ever done for him.
Heywood
January 1st, 2011
5:35 pm
Piiful showing. We won’t beat Florida for another few years. Only third-tier recruits or those too small for D1 schools will consider enrolling at UGA. Takes years to recover. Call me a fair weather fan if you will but I’m not looking forward to much from Athens this decade.
Muck Racht
January 1st, 2011
5:36 pm
“I wonder how AJ is going to learn from it.”
How? It takes intelligence to learn. Green has the intelligence of a turd.
Ray Goff Fan Club
January 1st, 2011
5:38 pm
If the rumors are true, Ray’s coming back. Stay tuned to http://www.raygoff.com for more information!
Cecil Dowdlehead
January 1st, 2011
5:42 pm
I TELL YOU AGIN KEEP MARK RICH COACH. HES A GUUD MAN. HE DONT DRANK!!!
Mike Bobo 17 INT
January 1st, 2011
5:46 pm
What Athens program? There is no football program in Athens…
To all the dawg haters
January 1st, 2011
5:51 pm
Pile it on. Kick us while we are down. Enjoy it while you can.
Higga Migga
January 1st, 2011
5:51 pm
What a joke, CMR said it all. We have to make changes but that doesn’t necessarily mean personel changes. No new OC but maybe we can start practice at 3:10 instead of 3:20. Great call coach. The only good part is we only have to deal with your mediocrity one more year
phillydawg
January 1st, 2011
5:51 pm
same crap every year with Richt. excuses excuses excuses. its obvious the program does not respond to him anymore… he is completely inept in big games… looks like a confused moron on the sidelines… get rid of him before the program takes more steps in the wrong direction.
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
5:53 pm
Are you guys watching the Rose Bowl? TCU seems like the real deal. Gary Patterson would be a nice fit for UGA but no way he leaves TCU. Its a low pressure job, plus they are moving to the Big East in 2012.
OldFan
January 1st, 2011
5:56 pm
What a pleasure it was today to watch 3 real SEC teams uphold the prestige of the conference. Each team was well prepared, focused, well coached, and played to win. When was the last time we could say that about the Dawgs? When will we be able to say it again?
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
5:59 pm
It just proves how weak the SEC East really was this year.
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
6:03 pm
TCU has speed, but If the Badgers would just POUND the ball I think by the 4th qtr TCU will not have the legs to stop the Badgers.
Laughing Bee
January 1st, 2011
6:05 pm
Right, the work starts now…FIVER FINGER DISCOUNTS ON ALL MERCHANDISE FOR UGA PLAYERS, AD’S, AND COACHES IN ALL STORES IN GEORGIA!
Laughing Bee
January 1st, 2011
6:09 pm
Athens: Where five star players coming in as Freshmen, and leave four years later as zero star janitors. Athens: Where football careers END.
Big East > SEC East
January 1st, 2011
6:11 pm
Anyone recall that pre-season article out of Florida that said UGA was #60 (or so) and how many Thuga fans said it was bunk?
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
6:12 pm
Fake punt on your side of the 50 on 4th & 9? Damn that was a crazy call.
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:13 pm
Sanford Stadium is going to be very empty next season. I know many people that aren’t renewing their tickets.
Big East > SEC East
January 1st, 2011
6:15 pm
7. Boosters: those idiot just keep writing checks and think nothing of the losses.
Until this stops, UGA will continue its tradition of being a mediocre regional program.
Plus, what about the dumb***** that keep buying season tickets all while supporting mediocrity? Until the idiots who complain stop showing up to games, those in charge will never get the message.
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:15 pm
Hey 5150…….
at least someone has the balls to call something like that. Their backs were against the wall and they still made the fake punt. CMR only needed a couple of inches and settled for the FG, go figure. UGA is officially field goal U.
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
6:16 pm
Junk
That took some HUGE BRASS ONES for sure.
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:18 pm
Big East > SEC East………….
I really think this season the donors aren’t attending the games. I know several people that are fed up with this crap and refuse to give another dime to UGA. If they basically start a boycott of the games it will really seal the deal on CMR’s fate in Athens.
DAWG with two bags over head again
January 1st, 2011
6:20 pm
Jeff,
Thanks for finally waking up and smelling the coffee! Many of us for months have been telling the blind homers that there’s no reason to remotely think that CMR can change anything. Then time to change the whole staff is about 3 years overdue. McGarity needs to grow a pair and fire CMR.
Jeff Shultz Gives No Reason To Believe He Gets It
January 1st, 2011
6:20 pm
McGarity did not depart from his earlier statements regarding coach Mark Richt’s future, saying that coaches and others in the UGA athletics department are constantly being evaluated, but that he expects Richt to be the Bulldogs’ coach when the 2011 season opens.
“Mark and I will continue to talk daily about our program and the things we need to do to get the program back to the stature we all want it to be
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:23 pm
I am really expecting McGarity to lay the hammer down after UGA loses to Boise State in a nationally televised beat down. I really think he scheduled this game because he knows Mark Richt will lose, and this will give him a good reason to hurry up and fire CMR.
Stevie Sarcasm
January 1st, 2011
6:27 pm
Waiting until after the Boise St game to lay down the hammer is a great idea! We’ll be on the right track firing out coach after game 1!
Junk Yard Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:28 pm
I have the brain of little child. I think McGarity scheduled Boise ST because he knows CMR will lose and make it easy to fire him. I have a pea brain.
Ekim
January 1st, 2011
6:30 pm
APB, it’s kind of scary that you know all of their names.
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
6:35 pm
mcgarity has no reason to set up failure as a reason to fire the HC. That was a great PR move to re-set the footing for the program, unfortunately based on yesterdays and the effort at the Tech game it could end up being a mistake though the intentions were good. I’ll be there for sure; still my school!
Loooooosings great!!!!!
January 1st, 2011
6:38 pm
HEY mCgARITY I’m glad you think you “get it “, buuuttt. you to will get the axe if the ship does not get righted. stop dragging and get to it.d!ck
Cobb Dawg
January 1st, 2011
6:39 pm
14-12 in the past two seasons at UGA. That wouldn’t be stomached at any school in the SEC except Vandy. If CMR is back next season, I won’t be. I have better things to do with my time than to sit and watch mediocracy over and over again.
Ron Burgundy
January 1st, 2011
6:40 pm
I find Schultz articles compelling and rich.
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
6:42 pm
RB you’re hilarious
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
6:53 pm
Ekim
If you have been on the blogs and knew who the worst offenders of being Dawg A..Holes you would know their names too.
It is so funny they are hiding like little girls when they have been running their mouths like BIG BALLED MEN.
Einsteindawg
January 1st, 2011
6:56 pm
No inside information but take it to the bank…Richt will be gone by Wednesday. Negotiating a buy-out/pay-out as we speak; both sides are looking at a way to keep the “high road”. If I was a betting man, I would think our next head coach would be Mike Leach, a no-nonsense coach that can win big with SEC players, plus he has a pipeline into Texas.
Well Said
January 1st, 2011
7:04 pm
I can’t argue with any part of this story, right on the money. I respect Richt as a man and for verbalizing his belief’s, I admire him for that, but we are talking GA Football and we are talking a lot of pride and a lot of history to let some bird in a seat like BOBO screw this up, like the 3-4 new defense that has not worked all season, like a head coach who has lost control. We have to start over next season anyhow, it may as well be with coaches who have pride, drive and enough common sense to know, the same crap you started with that didn’t work thos season, you finish with it and make no changes, get no results and you refuse to change anything? How are you going to tell everyone you are going to change next year when you put us through the same lame play after lame play? This was not the same mixed plays that we saw in the past, this was a watered down version of dogcrap. BORING YEAR watching the same plays that worked 15% of the time. Something has to be done. A fish stinks from it’s head back, and we are a big fish right now.
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
7:05 pm
Interesting insight. Leach would not put up with any crap for sure including fans and admin..
Dog Island Gator
January 1st, 2011
7:08 pm
Mushchamp is coming. Woof,woof,woof. There is joy in Gainsville, while in Athens the mobs are in the streets. Lindsey who?
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
7:08 pm
Is Leach off or def guy?
5150 P.O.A.D.
January 1st, 2011
7:12 pm
Letterman85
If you have to ask that please get off a football blog and go to The GYM DAWGS blog.
The Wing
January 1st, 2011
7:13 pm
The loss was painful, but knowing that the Bug fans would turn their mothers over into slavery to get O’Leary back ended up putting a smile on my face.
Richt definitely dug his already deep hole even deeper. Now instead of just having to win the East next year he might have to win the whole conference.
Not going for it on 4th and goal in the first was a horrible call. Allowing Murray to continue using those God awful gloves that were clearly effecting his accuracy proved to be another boneheaded decision. And the usage of a timeout when the clock was already stopped in the fourth was the icing on the cake. Yes, UCF was getting away with murder all day with their late and dirty hits, but even withstanding that trash UGA still should have won.
Sick of Losing
January 1st, 2011
7:13 pm
I am so sick of watching them lose, i dont care what has to happen, but i know the play action pass and the 21 dive right and 45 dive left can only be ran so many times, we need charlie weis worse than the gaytors. Anyone watching the TCU game right now and remember when UGA played that way? I do too…..
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
7:13 pm
TCU a hungry group. Fun to watch
Letterman85
January 1st, 2011
7:15 pm
5150
So you don’t know either?