Mark Richt might need 9-1 finish to keep job at Georgia
Georgia coach Mark Richt is 0-2 for the first time in his career. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
ATHENS – Nobody is going to admit now what tight end Orson Charles acknowledged two weeks ago: “Our first two games will make or break our season.”
Because when a team is 0-2 after two perceived make-or-break games, players and coaches must nonetheless publicly cling to a series of improbabilities. Otherwise the rest of the season morphs into a three-month death march.
But reality is that it will take a miraculous finishing kick for the Bulldogs to have a successful season and possibly save coach Mark Richt’s job. What does that amount to? Try 9-1 in the next 10 games.
That may seem extreme. But Richt’s contract situation, the backdrop of the past two-plus seasons, the demands of coaching in the SEC, the divided fan base and a cryptic comment at a recent athletic-board meeting indicates if the Bulldogs do anything less than win the SEC East, which may take a 9-1 finish, Georgia may make a change.
Richt insisted Tuesday, “There’s not a cloud hanging over us” after losses to Boise State and South Carolina. Maybe he just hasn’t gone outside.
He said the attitude has been positive since Saturday’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina, adding, “If the game went the other way, then Georgia’s the front-runner in the East and everybody starts thinking about the positive possibilities.”
The problem being that Georgia didn’t win, and the SEC isn’t about “ifs.” The game actually just reaffirmed what many have suspected. The Dogs have talent. They can compete with most teams when they play hard and, for the most part, smart. But they seem to have forgotten how to win these kinds of games, either because of a turnover, a special-teams breakdown or a penalty.
Richt would prefer that the rest of the season not be about his job status. It’s not exactly a conducive atmosphere for wins and pep rallies. But it’s reality.
Consider:
• The contract: Richt will have two years left on an eight-year deal after this season. That’s basically death in recruiting unless Georgia extends the contract, probably by at least two to three years. To not extend the contract also would set up the extreme rarity, particularly in the SEC, of a coach potentially entering his third straight “hot seat” season and working on a contract that had not been amended since after the 2007 season (when Richt received a raise).
• The schedule: Every remaining game is winnable. To put it another way, there are no “good” losses left. Florida? Maybe. But how would Richt dropping to 2-9 against the Gators go over with athletic director Greg McGarity, school president Michael Adams and the fan base? Losing to Florida means losing tiebreakers to both the Gators and South Carolina in the East. Beating Florida could salvage division hopes, but only with a strong finish.
• The record: McGarity probably doesn’t have a specific number of wins and losses in mind. But let’s look at this logically. Going 9-1 the rest of the way means a 9-3 finish, while 8-2 means finishing 8-4. Two losses mean the Dogs probably will have lost to Florida again. And/or Georgia Tech (making Paul Johnson 2-2 in the series). Or Mississippi State (for the second straight year). Or Tennessee (to Derek Dooley).
• The backdrop: It’s significant that at a recent UGA Athletic Association meeting, board member Tommy Lawhorne stated, “There are many of us who are really concerned about the status of the football program. Yet we have confidence in Greg McGarity to get us where we want to be.” Note that he referred to McGarity and not Richt.
Winning this week over Coastal Carolina, an FCS (formerly Division I-AA) school, won’t change the important numbers. If you take out wins over FCS (Tennessee Tech, Idaho State) and Sun Belt (Louisiana-Lafayette) schools, Richt is 11-14 overall since 2009. He’s 6-10 in the past 16 SEC games and 2-10 against ranked teams. To go 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the SEC the rest of the way is possible. But it would be a stark contrast to what we’ve been witnessing.
Richt said the South Carolina game “could’ve gone either way. Did we improve tremendously? There’s no doubt about that. I left the field sick about losing but encouraged about the team.”
Improvement is good. But winning saves jobs. Richt has left himself no room for error.
By Jeff Schultz
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698 comments Add your comment
CRO-MAGNON MAN
September 13th, 2011
6:56 pm
Vance Duly:
WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT PLAYING WITH HEART? GET OFF MY BOY BOBO, HE JUST CALLED THE BEST GAME HE HAS CALLED AT GEORGIA, AND YOU STILL ARE NOT SATISFIED…..HE’S NOT PLAYING WITH A BUNCH OF SUPERSTARS, VANCE….HOPE YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR JOB AT KMART THAN YOU DO ABOUT GEORGIA FOOTBALL, CAUSE IF YOU DON’T, WE MIGHT TRY TO SEE ABOUT GETTING YOU FIRED AT K-MART….WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT CALLING PLAYS ANYHOW, YOU DON’T GET TO DO THAT AT KMART…
DAWG LOVER!
September 13th, 2011
6:56 pm
Season-to-date:
Wins 0
Losses 2
Improvement – 1
That’s the reality of it all.
chickenman
September 13th, 2011
6:57 pm
Too many errors..Too many excuses.. i like CMR, in fact i rather him just take BACK THE PLAYCALLING!!!! Firing him does us no good… the talent is there
JB
September 13th, 2011
6:57 pm
@6:53, as this time, I would say yes. He’s been on Saban’s hip for a few years and he ( Kirby) knows what it looks like, smells like and taste like. I’m not sure our staff does. Kirby, Like Muschamp, would bring in some high powered guy to run the offense ( maybe Leach LOL) and I say give it a whirl. The Charman ( softness) rules would be gone from Athens !!!!!!!!!!!!
JB
September 13th, 2011
7:00 pm
Couldn’t you see Kirby with two recruiting classes under his belt and him running the D and Leach running the O.
darkdawg
September 13th, 2011
7:01 pm
There is definitely a bunch of Mark Richt haters that don’t know what Jim Donnan and Ray Goff years were like.
Mark Richt will finish strong no matter how you look at it, if he leaves or stays the year has already begun just support your team. Win, Lose or Tie. Bulldogs till I die.
snellville jacket
September 13th, 2011
7:02 pm
Despite being a life time Georgia Tech Fan, I believe the situation at Georgia can be fixed. It apepars there is too much loyalty as far as the assistant coaches go. Our coach got rid of them when they did not produce. Your coach rides the horse too long.
If he does not relaize he is only as good as his weak link and it appears to be in play calling and errors at the worst time, he needs to learn the Johnny Cash Song, I walk the line.
MarineDog
September 13th, 2011
7:02 pm
@Columbus,
well said brother!
Dawg gone fan
September 13th, 2011
7:04 pm
Here’s what happens:
Richt will finish this season, regardless of the record; the AD will force Richt to choose between Bobo or his job; Richt will recycle Bobo and take over offense.
Richt will end his contract and take his family to Central America to be permanent Missionary to a town there.
CRO-MAGNON MAN
September 13th, 2011
7:04 pm
Sick!
DON’T KNOW THAT GEORGIA IS A GREAT PROGRAM….WE ONLY WON ONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LATELY AND THAT WAS WHEN A COUPLE OF MY GUYS WERE ON THE TEAM IN 1980…SICK, YOU MAY BE DREAMING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST….
Delbert D.
September 13th, 2011
7:05 pm
Oklahoma is at FSU this week. 680thefan mentioned that CMR’s last game at FSU as offensive coordinator was the 13-2 loss to the Sooners in the Orange Bowl.
A dose of reality
September 13th, 2011
7:05 pm
For those who talk about the improvement from week 1 to week2, uSC is not that good of a team. They struggled badly against ECU. The real test was week 1. Boise is a good team and pretty much made UGA their B__ch.
JB
September 13th, 2011
7:06 pm
snellville jacket…………….The whole country has been telling him to take back over the play calling……………I do have a theory. I Think Richt promoted him to OC as to get him to 350,000 because of those 5 kids he has. I really do. At QB coach, he could only justify paying him about 180,000…..Call me crazy. Bobo would of been fired as OC at every SEC power school by now.
Vince Dooley, Ray Goff, Jim Donnan, Mark Richt
September 13th, 2011
7:06 pm
Georgia has an extremely long track record of NOT hiring “proven head coaches” from other Division I — I’m sorry, “Football Bowl Subdivision” — programs.
If McGarity were to drop the $5 million annual salary it would take to pry such a coach away from his current job at a top-tier program, it would be a complete departure from UGA’s history.
I doubt Michael Adams would allow that kind of expenditure. If he doesn’t, we can look forward to the next “up-and-coming” coordinator taking over and learning on the job — just like Richt.
Athdog
September 13th, 2011
7:07 pm
Another thing…..think about the second half of SC game. We were moving the ball, and as I sat in the stands I thought it was very unlike the play management we’ve seen in recent years. I started watching the sidelines and lo and behold, I see NOT assistants signalling the plays into Murray, it was Richt doing the signalling. I’m wondering, did he take it over at halftime? The philosophy was certainly different from the first half. Anyone else see that?
darkdawg
September 13th, 2011
7:08 pm
Patterson isn’t leaving TCU, Gruden ain’t going to coach for peanuts. Leach physco. Dan Mullen I don’t think he would be a good choice, defense coordinator helped him have a successful season last year. Kirby Smart would be alright.
I got it Mike Bobo………. I figured some of you were throwing ridiculous names, I would too.
JB
September 13th, 2011
7:08 pm
10-4 about Adams. It’s his show and his ego. Ain’t no room for a 4-5 mil $$ coach.Hell, it’s just football
trouble
September 13th, 2011
7:08 pm
I just love the fan who wants to compare Richt to Donnan. When in fact it they had done their homework they would know that for 3 years after Richt arrived he was playing kids that JD had recruited, signed and had turned to dawgs before he was fired. As the Donnan influence started to get watered down and the aggressive attitudes those players learned from one another under JD and his staff the wins slowly faded and the arrest went up with the exception of one or two years.
DawgDawgDawg
September 13th, 2011
7:09 pm
If Dooley had coached during this era, he wouldn’t have lasted ten years.
Dawg Whisperer
September 13th, 2011
7:09 pm
Jeff, if you say so, then it must be so. Who are we to question your scope and depth of understanding and wisdom?
Help Wanted
September 13th, 2011
7:10 pm
That Chris Petersen had a nice audition this month. Now we have a Dan Mullen coming in next week. You will remember him last year. So I guess this is a follow up visit. Now I liked the results of that George O’Leary from a few months back, but we have reason to believe he may have embellished his resume.
atlien052
September 13th, 2011
7:11 pm
I want Gary Patterson at TCU. If he can get the Horned Frogs to play defense, then surely he can help the Dawgs.
trouble
September 13th, 2011
7:13 pm
If UGA loses to Ole Miss, or MSU or Tennessee, he will need to just go ahead and empty the bench and find some players who will want to win for the next coach. Play some of those kids everyone was raving about the past two signing days. Where is Ray Drew? Is he doing anything besides eating a pregame steak? I know I know, and giving up a year of eligiblity is not worth it. In the end it is, because you will just not know what kind of kids that coach will want on his team and getting some players out earlier might be a blessing.
CRO-MAGNON MAN
September 13th, 2011
7:13 pm
OLE SCULTZIE WILL GET TO DO WHAT HE DOES BEST IF RICHT LOSES A COUPLE MORE….HE WILL BE HIDING IN THE MOUNTAINS WATCHING THE BATTLE DOWN BELOW, AND WHEN IT IS OVER HE WILL COME OUT OF HIDING AND KILL THE WOUNDED….IT IS OBVIOUS THAT HE HAS A PROBLEM WITH CMR, AND BRADLEY DRINKS THE TECH KOOLADE ALSO…FOR THE TWO OF THEM, THE 0-2 START IS WHAT THEY DREAMED OF….NOW THEY ARE WORKING HARD TO SEE IF THEY CAN TRY TO SPLIT THE FANS AND GET THE COACH FIRED….BOYS, STILL DON’T THINK ITS GONNA WORK…..AND SHAME ON TOMMY LAWHORNE, HE SHOULD KEEP HIS COMMENTS TO HIMSELF AND NOT AIR OUT WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS….ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY ARE PLAYING IN ATHENS WITH THE SAME ATHLETES THEY PLAYED WITH IN THE EARLY 2000′S IS WRONG…
JaxDawg
September 13th, 2011
7:13 pm
kirby is waiting!
augustadawg
September 13th, 2011
7:14 pm
CMR is doomed as long as Bobo is play calling……. His teams are not well coached as the losses continue to pile up…….. He and Bobo play for field-goals and just play close enough to tease………
CRO-MAGNON MAN
September 13th, 2011
7:15 pm
Athdog:
THINK YOU MUST HAVE SEEN SOMETHING NO BODY ELSE IN THE WORLD SAW…BOBO WAS STILL CALLING THE PLAYS…..NICE TRY, ATHDOG
bob
September 13th, 2011
7:15 pm
delbert….was Richt actually the OC at that game, or already at Georgia?
trouble
September 13th, 2011
7:16 pm
DawgDawgDawg
September 13th, 2011
7:09 pm
If Dooley had coached during this era, he wouldn’t have lasted ten years.
You are right sir dawgdawgdawg…It is all about the Cash^
brad
September 13th, 2011
7:16 pm
Cro-Magnon:
Amazing how worked up you get about a bunch of 20 year old kids playing a game. Get a life, or at least a new hobby.
Dawg Whisperer
September 13th, 2011
7:16 pm
Who needs a dose of reality when you can have the entire enchilada? Boise State was #5 and SC #12. How’s that for reality? Just keeping real.
vadawg
September 13th, 2011
7:18 pm
derek what planet do u live on?????????? i can not even respond.to you Our next coach is the head coach at Utah Kyle Whittingham was under coach meyer at Fl. a great coach!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Delbert D.
September 13th, 2011
7:24 pm
“He said something about having a good chance and then said, “…when’s the last time anybody went undefeated in the SEC East?””
2009, Coach Richt. Florida, 12-0.
Enemas for Easter
September 13th, 2011
7:26 pm
Jeff Schultz should have to finish 9 – 1 in blogs to keep his job.
Mailing it in.
VA DAWG
September 13th, 2011
7:27 pm
Trying to steal my handle? Richt will be here in the end. However, if he’s not CUM won’t get a whiff and shouldn’t for good reason. Neither will Mullen or Smart. Whittingham would be in strong consideration, but doubt he leaves the 12 pack…maybe Fitzgerald would be considered or a similar personality.
kb
September 13th, 2011
7:28 pm
Richt has the highest per centage
SEC COACHES VS. WINNING TEAMS
A look at how all 12 coaches in the league have fared during their careers against teams that finished the season with a winning record.
Coach Team Record
Mark Richt Georgia 50-31, .617
Nick Saban Alabama 63-46, .578
Steve Spurrier USC 80-68-2, .540
Les Miles LSU 36-34, .514
Bobby Petrino Arkansas 23-22, .511
Gene Chizik Auburn 11-15, .423
Houston Nutt Ole Miss 36-61, .371
Joker Phillips Kentucky 2-4, .333
Dan Mullen Miss. St. 5-11, .313
Derek Dooley Tennessee 1-21, .045
Will Muschamp Florida 0-0, First year
James Franklin Vanderbilt 0-0, First year
fan
September 13th, 2011
7:28 pm
it’s better to play somebody than nobody two good teams they played another thing he been in the sec for what 10 yr. and two championship and only making around 2.6 mill. and other coach’s in the sec making 3 to 4 mill. uga. need to pay more look around and how much ark.fla.ala.aub. paying them to coach
Delbert D.
September 13th, 2011
7:35 pm
The guy that won 9 national Coach of the Year awards in 2007 is available, and he is quite possibly the polar opposite of Mark Richt, even though they share the same first name. That would be Mark Mangino, who a lot of people think is a raving maniac.
96 wins
September 13th, 2011
7:37 pm
This article is so off base. This team just needs to grow up a little bit and the support of the fans. The past 2 years the team had numerous “cancers” in the locker room, and now they are required to lean on freshman talent, give these guys the rest of the season and next summer, and this team will come back unstoppable. Firing Richt will set us back years. The difference between Richt and Fulmer is that Fulmer wasn’t getting the talent. Richt is still pulling in top talent just give it time, these young guys know what it takes and they are hungry. GO DAWGS!
The goodnews is that Greg McGarrity isn’t an idiot, and he won’t spend his time listening to bitching rednecks.
Mike
September 13th, 2011
7:39 pm
Don’t you mean 10 – 0
jay
September 13th, 2011
7:39 pm
I think there are a lot of coaches who would like to take a crack at the SEC. Especially at a
school with the upside that Georgia has. Speaking of coaches, I hope that traitor Muschamp
is gone by this time next year.
dawg tired
September 13th, 2011
7:40 pm
Tom Landry, Phil Fulmer and Bobby Bowden are all championship coaches that were fired after they stopped winning and all of them had better records than Richt.
Will
September 13th, 2011
7:42 pm
Jeff:
Two independent sources with great interest in the evolving coaching story at UGA have confirmed that the AD has developed a short list of candidates in the event that UGA does not significantly improve in the win column for the remainder of the season.
First, it is hardly news that an AD has a list of candidates. It has been my experience that most good ADs maintain a constantly evolving list of candidates for head coaching positios regardless of the need.
Second, “significant improvement” is not defined.
In saying this, I will pass along that both sources report that the current head coach at Missouri is high on the list and, for any number of reasons, would be very interested. This interest has increased with the expected collaspe of the Big 12 and Missouri’s future up in the air.
Dan Mullen is on this list but is not the number one choice.
The Auburn OC is not a viable candidate for replacing Coach Richt as he is viewed as a splendid coordinator but not so much as a CEO.
As a UGA season ticket holder and graduate. I am both surprised and disappointed that the Missouri coach appears to be a leading candidate at this point.
Ten games is a long time. Everything is likely to change, including the direction of this football program. The feeling within the athletic administration is that UGA will win 8 of the last 10 games and this will put the administration in an uncomfortable position of believing that the best of Coach Richt is in the past but terminating his contact with a 8-4 record would be difficult.
As one administrator reportedly said, “we are entering the Chan Gailey period of coaching decisions”, meaning that UGA is likely to win enough to make terrmination a difficult decision but not winning enough to be a nationally competitive program will make it difficult to keep Richt.
As the season progresses, I will keep you and your readers updated.
Joey
September 13th, 2011
7:43 pm
Lsu vs Uga for the title……
rg
September 13th, 2011
7:44 pm
Who cares what this does to recruiting. Top recruiting classes over the last several years hasn’t seemed to do us all that much good.
tide roll
September 13th, 2011
7:45 pm
I didn’t like the “Canned” question at the SEC media days that Richt set up regarding sickle cell anemia. It was meant to be a shot at George O’Leary and the off-season tragedy at Central Florida.I guess to get even for being embarrased in the Liberty Bowl. Extremely low class by Richt.
Gators for Richt
September 13th, 2011
7:46 pm
You can’t fire Richt! No way!! Not before the Florida game!!!
FLA DAWG
September 13th, 2011
7:47 pm
Hire Auburn’s OC Malzahn.
He can coach and I am sure he would LOVE TO BE THE UGA HC.
Lloyd Benson @ Dilbert D.
September 13th, 2011
7:48 pm
umm..I’ve seen SC play..I respect Spurrier..but the Gamecocks aint the 2009 Gators
JSD
September 13th, 2011
7:49 pm
Dan Mullen. Enough Said