Progress pleases McGarity, but he’s still not ‘comfortable’
Greg McGarity is pleased but not content with Georgia's turnaround under Mark Richt. (Curtis Compton)
Greg McGarity is avoiding amusement parks and costumed cartoon characters this week. He found his own “Happiest Place on Earth” in Orlando – roaming the aisles of a Barnes and Noble while clutching a gift card.
“I’m going to spend all of this,” he said by phone.
McGarity loves books, particularly anything on leadership. His favorite is, “Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All,” by Jim Collins.
“There’s a section in there on productive paranoia,” Georgia’s athletic director said. “I think all ADs have a level of that.”
It is why, despite the generally positive feelings that surround the Georgia football program these days, McGarity isn’t nearly satisfied. In fact, when asked if he felt comfortable about the program’s turnaround and direction, he all but chewed up the word and spit it out.
“I don’t think you ever get comfortable,” he said. “There’s always something that needs improvement. You always have to find ways to get better. Comfortable? No. I don’t think that’s the word I would use at all. I don’t think anybody should feel real comfortable with any part of our football program, or any program.”
Step on the gas.
McGarity walked into a mess in August 2010. He replaced Damon Evans, who was fired following a DUI arrest. He started work a week before the first game of what turned into a 6-7 football season. He watched as the Bulldogs started the following year 0-2, as speculation grew about Mark Richt’s future. So much for easing in.
As Georgia prepares for the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska, the view has changed significantly. The Bulldogs fell five yards short of going to the BCS title game, losing the SEC championship to Alabama 32-28. Since going 6-9 to begin McGarity’s tenure, Georgia is 21-4. The four losses: two in SEC Championship games (LSU, Alabama), one in a bowl (Michigan State), one in the regular season (South Carolina).
What does Richt get for this? A pat on the back, mostly. He didn’t receive a raise in June. His new five-year contract kept the salary about the same ($2.8 million) but doubled incentive bonuses ($200,000 for an SEC title; $800,000 for the BCS). Richt also was allowed to walk away at any time. No buyout. In other words: You want to go? Go.
“There were some things important to Mark and some things important to me,” McGarity said. “Performance incentives are important. They sort of make all of us work a little harder. I’m not saying that’s the end all, but if you have the opportunity to maximize your potential, any competitive person will justify that.”
Step on the gas.
There’s little sense of satisfaction with McGarity. Don’t misunderstand. He’s pleased with the program’s turnaround. “Gratified,” was the word he used.
He is holding off giving a final grade on this season because, “We still have a final exam against Nebraska. I would just say thus far I’m extremely proud of the way our team and coaches have approached the season. I see tremendous potential for the program continuing to develop, if we have that same commitment and that same drive.”
He understands there’s still an unhappy segment of the fan base. But he refers to them as, “the society of the miserable. They’re going to vent when things are going really well and when they’re not.”
McGarity could have listened to “the noise,” as he calls it, but he didn’t fire Richt after that 6-7 season. He took notes. He asked Richt what he needed and provided support. The nutrition and strength-and-conditioning programs were revamped. When there was a subject that bothered McGarity in the middle of the night, he would wake up the next morning, go to work and ask Richt about it.
College and professional sports aren’t any different in this regard: It’s still about leadership, laying out a blueprint and problem solving.
The 2010 season “wasn’t acceptable,” McGarity said. “Not to Mark, not to anyone. What you saw from that point was perhaps a refocus, a lot of hard work. Mark has said this before, but when the team was 0-2 there wasn’t a lot of finger pointing. Credit goes to the staff and everybody in the program for not disintegrating. The proof is in the record.”
The loss to Alabama still stings. McGarity called it one of the three most difficult defeats he ever has been associated with. The other two: Georgia’s 27-23 loss to Penn State in the Sugar Bowl (1982 season). The Florida women’s tennis team’s NCAA championship loss to Stanford (after leading 5-3 in the deciding set).
“What made the Sugar Bowl loss even worse was the winning touchdown was scored by a player named Gregg Garrity,” he said. “No relation.”
That game was for a national championship. The defeat four weeks ago wasn’t, but the stakes were almost as big.
“You’re fortunate in this business when the great wins in this business outnumber the tough days,” he said. “It just seems the tough losses stay with you the longest.”
The losses mean there’s room for improvement. The losses, and even fear of losses, keeps you a little comfortable. Maybe even paranoid. Nobody should expect that to change.
By Jeff Schultz
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364 comments Add your comment
Game Changer
December 28th, 2012
9:14 pm
G McGarity has not accomplished anything in two years at UGA, although he has fired two women sports head coaches – non revenue gymnastics and volleyball. UGA is awful in mens basketball, baseball and gets no respect nationally regarding football due to weak schedule and not beating but one team in several years that was a top ranked team, Florida 2012, DON’T FORGET SOUTH CAROLINA HAS BEAT OUR A** FOR THREE STRAIGHT YEARS, we cannot beat all 6 teams in our east division and four of them are terrible. STRAIGHT TALK is not what disney dawgs want to hear. UGA mens basketball is getting worse if that is possible. UGA baseball is getting worse. UGA football has improved due to the weak schedule but still has yet to achieve expectations.
Another year, Another wait till next year, —-
Keep this article J Schultz, you can change the dates next year and run it again Dec 28, 2013
The REAL Phil
December 28th, 2012
9:23 pm
Willie, I am not your sport buddy, lets make that clear. Georgia is so not like any other southern state. Neither is AL. The roads in AL are worse than roads in MS for goodness sake. And if your Lexus is driving on one I don’t know how you are going to replace those little tires on that radio controlled RX300 because that is as close to a Lexus as a moron like you will ever have.
I was on a plane to Denver this year and this Alabama grad was sitting next to me. Seemed nice enough. After a while the pilot comes over the speakers and says “This is your pilot speaking. I regret that I ahve to inform you that the engine under the right wing has gone out. Everything is fine we still have the left engine and the tail engine. But we will be an hour late on arrival to Denver.” Guy sitting next to me says ” I hope I don’t miss my connection because we arrive late.” About an hour later the pilot comes on again and says “This is your pilot speaking. I regret to inform you that we have lost the engine under the left wing. However we still have the tail engine and we will be just fine although we will be arriving in Denver 2 hours later than scheduled.” Guy from AL looks at me and says ” If that other engine goes out we’re gonna be up here all dam night.”
The REAL Phil
December 28th, 2012
9:28 pm
Game changer UGA’s schedule is in fact not any weaker than Alabama’s, or LSU’s who include people like the Towson Tigers, Idaho Vandals, and North Texas uhmmmmm, Mean Green.
The REAL Phil
December 28th, 2012
9:31 pm
It’s being reported on ESPN that Nick Saban will only dress 20 players for the National Championship game……………………… The rest will have to dress themselves.
Columbus
December 28th, 2012
10:01 pm
NO sports program in college or pros should EVER be confortable with where they are and rest. It is great to hear McGarrity, Richt and UGA are not comfortable. Comfortable is the LAST thing a program should EVER BE…..
Albert Einstein
December 28th, 2012
10:06 pm
Wet Willie, You can pretend your affluence (the 1990 Lexus is an awesome ride dude) but, unfortunately, like virtually all Alabamans (is that a word?) you can’t hide your ignorance. “Your program leds the country” shows that your are just another slug in the Alabama factor. No one in that state knows how to spell or use the English language. After all, everyone knows that the toothbrush was invented in Alabama because if it were invented elsewhere it would be called the “teethbrush”. Please go away loser. You think you’re someone who is affluent and sophisticated. Instead, you’re just a teenager in your Mama’s basement. Alabama is “losersville” and everyone knows it. That’s why Birmingham is decreasing in population and Atlanta is growing. You, sir (or son) are a moron and loser. Please do not post on this blog again because you are not worthy. Begone you idiot!!! Crawl back under the rock from which you came under your MeeMaw’s basement. You are pathetic.
goFalcons
December 28th, 2012
10:26 pm
The Falcons are great and we will enjoy this season,,,,,,,UGA 5 yards short, we are proud of them but why and i get so mad did we hire a Fish beat writer who is from Kansas and love Kansas basketball and the Fish baseball to rep the Braves on AJC, it will never make sense
Lonnie
December 28th, 2012
10:30 pm
75% 5 SEC championship games. More professionals than anyone. Clean program! By the way mediocre is before Richt. Yes I like our progress!!!!
goFalcons
December 28th, 2012
10:30 pm
Albert i fight bama but the truth about bama is they love the braves and the falcons and not hurt like us because they have bama footballl and we don’t, leave bama alone, they love our falcons and braves but not cry like us because they have a championship team to pull for
goFalcons
December 28th, 2012
10:33 pm
bama don’t have a bitch named jan kemp we do, jan kimp is a srry azz girl who had no self esteem and is nothing but trash in my book
The REAL Phil
December 28th, 2012
10:37 pm
Billy Bob and his family moved from Alabama to Maine to so his Paw could find better work picking potatoes. The next day Billy Bob started his first day of kindergarten. When he got home he rushed to tell his Paw, “Paw, Paw, Teacher ast us to ree-cite the alpherbet today en Ah wuz the onliest one that could!”
His Paw replied “That’s cuz you’s from Bama, son!”
The next day he came home and told his Paw “Paw, Paw, Teacher ast us to count as high as we could en Ah counted the highest!”
His Paw replied, “That’s cuz you’s from Bama, son!”
The next day, he came home and told his Paw “Paw, Paw, today, when we wuz all in a line, Ah noticed Ah wuz the biggest of all! Ah bet that’s cuz Ah’m from Bama, huh Paw?”
His Paw replied, “No son, that’s cuz yer 17.”
goFalcons
December 28th, 2012
10:44 pm
i am ugly as hell and got lucky to get this job but i tell lies about UGA I can get money cause i am a bad teacher but i say they make me fraud grades i cam make money,,,,,,,,Ugly people like Kemp i would spit on and think nothing of it
goFalcons
December 28th, 2012
10:48 pm
just like the teacher who sued and won when p. manning moon ppl and she saw it at UT. trash like these teachers create trash like me, I am a product of teachers like Kemp and that idiot teacher at UT who got paid because P. Manning moon ppl,,,,,,,,,,,,,,trash like that made trash like me
Techster
December 28th, 2012
11:10 pm
Petrino and Georgia would be a perfect match.
SPURRIER IS IN GA'S HEAD
December 28th, 2012
11:19 pm
Please Keep Mark Richt as your head football coach
P
December 28th, 2012
11:26 pm
Yes folks, enter management by best seller. I’ve worked for many companies that hired guys like that and none of them exist today. The basic management tenets have never changed, the people in the positions have. They are weaker, PR occupied, and protecting huge salaries.
As for the “noise” comment. A lot of the “noise” came from the people that pay McGarrity and Richt so it is no wonder he tries so hard to hide in bookstores during bowl weel. Instead, he should be asking himself “what would Frank Broyles do or what would Bo Schembechler do?”
BulldogBen
December 28th, 2012
11:53 pm
Jeff, did you ask him anything about the basketball program??
REALLY curious how spins this current disaster.
The Monger
December 29th, 2012
12:11 am
Mark Richt Can SUCK A D(*CHT !!! 1-11 vs. ranked teams.. Continues to play Murray, who is a failure in big games, continues to lead the league in penalties and not care, continue to give us the newest hype words like “dream team” and “finish the drill” while continuing to fail in every big game 1-11 says it all, continue to allow Grantham to give up 300 yards rushing every game (he’s loving that raise right now), continuing to fail on special teams year after year, continuing to not even show up in almost EVERY BIG GAME of the season (Boise-No SHOW, LSU- NO Show, South Carolina-NO SHOW, Michigan State- 2nd half NO SHOW!!!
Then Mark Richt “earns” 3 million dollars every year. What a joke….MARK RICHT CAN SUCK A D!CHT~~
The Monger
December 29th, 2012
12:15 am
IF UGA WON in the SEC Championship, who honestly thinks Georgia with Mark Richt and Aaron Murray at the helm, would have even kept it close with Notre Dame? Murray would have thrown a pick 6 with his first pass and pissed his pants the rest of the game. It would have been 14-0 after a bonehead special teams gaffe, and Georgia would have lost 31-10 against Notre Dame’s defensive line in the backfield all night. Georgia is nowhere close to elite… They lost 2 of 3 biggest games this year, and almost lost to Kentucky and Tennesee. Elite teams don’t do this. Without Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree….We may lose 5 or 6 games next year and Hopefully Richt will be gone….
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
1:51 am
all mark richt does is win, and the h8ers hate
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
1:52 am
ASK NOTRE DAME LAST TIME THEY FACE US IN A CHAMPIONSHIP FOOL
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
1:54 am
UGA WIN THE EAST AND OUR FALCONS DOING THINGS BUT YET U LOOK FOR LOOP HOLES AND IT STARTING TO GET SMALL,,,,,,,,,,,GA DOING THINGS AND U HATE IT
HoneyBooBooChile
December 29th, 2012
2:00 am
lmboobooaceoff……relax ,Dawgs ok and Falcons ok naysayers!
The REAL Phil
December 29th, 2012
2:05 am
Q. Why did they build the Mercedes plant so close to the University of Alabama?
A. Because they have an endless supply of crash test dummies right down the road.
LakeDawg
December 29th, 2012
2:07 am
I’ve never been in “the society of the miserable.” I’ve been in “the society of fulfilling one’s potential.” I have been critical of Mark Richt and personally would have canned him after the 6-7 season. However, I’m not a Richt hater. I’m a Dawg lover AND I’m a realist. The Dawgs were underachieving under Richt, but since we kept Richt and gave him an opportunity to turn it around we should let him do that. No realist expects a coach to take a 6-7 team and overtake Bama in two seasons. That is unrealistic. Richt has done a good job the past two years. He’s gone from 6-7 to winning the East to taking Bama to the wire. That’s good improvement. Kudos to coach Richt and his staff. However, there is still unfinished business. Richt has to keep his foot on the gas as Schultz says. That is why I’m glad McGarrity is there. He will keep the pressure on. Richt has had a tendency to relax after a good year in the past.
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
2:10 am
ALL U IDIOTS THAT NOT LIKE RICHT LOOK AT UT WHEN THEY FIRED PHIL WHO THE HELL U GOING TO GET TO BEAT NICK AND MILES? WE BETTER KEEP RICHT CAUSE NOTHING OUT THERE,,,,,,,,,,I TELL THE TRUTH
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
2:14 am
It is us, bama, lsu, s. car, and behind us is fla, we in great shape Dawg nation
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
2:17 am
MY DREAM AS A DOG FAN IS TO KEEP BOZO AND NOT SMART ON THE D,(THAT NOT MY DREAM) I WOULD NOT REJECT BUT I WANT JOHN CHAVIS AS OUR D CORD…………….THAT IS MY DREAM AS A DAWG FAN
goFalcons
December 29th, 2012
2:21 am
DAWGS and Chavis would win championships
dap01
December 29th, 2012
5:33 am
Browneye: Are you still talking about your mother?
dap01
December 29th, 2012
5:41 am
Whether you hate the Dawgs or you love them, whether you are on this blog to troll or to get UGA info, you have admit one thing: UGA is one of the top 5 teams in the ENTIRE NATION. UGA was a play away from playing for a National Championship. UGA has a great recruiting class lined up. UGA is making progress.
Damion Evans’ era hurt UGA. McGarity is getting us back on track. Our coach is one of the finest Character men in College Coaching. No other college in this area can say that. Saban good character? CPJ good character? Spurrier? NOT.
Go Dawgs.
Freehawk
December 29th, 2012
6:46 am
C’mon, quit with the “five points from the national championship” garbage. Take that dream scheduling, say a silent prayer of thanks, and quit yipping, Poodles. Three in a row to the Gamecocks and counting.
Freehawk
December 29th, 2012
6:53 am
Monger vs The Real Phil in a funny duel
Buckeye
December 29th, 2012
7:13 am
Morning dogs,
Another 24 hours.
Still cryin’ and a humpin’?
Darby
December 29th, 2012
7:39 am
Nebraska 45, Georgia 17
Aundrea
December 29th, 2012
7:48 am
Our coach is one of the finest Character men in College Coaching.
Sure he is. Except for a few little issues…
What about the 53 arrests in the past four years?
What about the Fulmer Cup?
What about Isaiah Crowell?
What about Caleb King and Washaun Ealey?
What about AJ Green making one of the lowest Wunderlic scores ever recorded?
What about all the dawgs who are busted for illegal drug use every time they have a surprise test?
What about the joke phony majors that Richt sticks most of his dummies in?
What about a team full of morons whose IQs barely exceed the intelligence of vegetables?
And on and on it goes, with no end to the embarrassment and shame that Mark Richt brings to UGA?
So you see, Richt is the biggest douchebag this side of Lane Kiffin. That’s your UGA reality.
silver britches
December 29th, 2012
8:05 am
McGarity should can the name calling . He may run the train but that does not mean we all have to be a passenger on it. He should read the vents and listen to the average fans with an open mind, not just the ones in skyboxes and big money alums. Richt is a good coach and his record speaks for itself. That does not mean he does not make some bone head decisions. We all do. We need to learn from them. Richt does not seem to see it that way and continues to make the same ones over and over.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
December 29th, 2012
8:26 am
@DaReal Fil…if you were a stock I would like to buy at the true worth and sell at what you believe you’re worth! Enjoy Mickey Mouse and Goofy.
It’s lonely at the top bu oh so crowded at the bottom…1980 sport
Paddy
December 29th, 2012
8:40 am
Q……..folks from Ohio are not yankees. Check your map!
WTF
December 29th, 2012
8:53 am
Petrino? Petrino? Are you kidding me? Petrino?!?!
MT
December 29th, 2012
8:57 am
Buckeye record vs the University of Georgia?
ask Herbstreit.
He’s not that into you, sorry. | Get The Picture
December 29th, 2012
8:57 am
[...] Call ‘em realists (that’s how they refer to themselves). Greg McGarity’s got his own catch phrase for a certain segment of the Georgia fan base. He understands there’s still an unhappy segment of [...]
UGA Number 11 in all time football victories
December 29th, 2012
9:01 am
49-40-2 vs Florida, 63-39-5 vs Tech, 1-0 vs Michigan’s arch rival
MT
December 29th, 2012
9:04 am
What about AJ Green making one of the lowest Wunderlic scores ever recorded?
Yeah that low Wunderlic score is really hurting him, isn’t it?
I wonder if they even considered keeping him out of the Pro Bowl over it?
Buckeye
December 29th, 2012
9:09 am
Aundrea,
Thanks for the recap! Succinct!
Buckeye
December 29th, 2012
9:11 am
MT,
What’s Murray being Murray in big games Murray’s record v Top 25?
Ask Herbstreit.
MT
December 29th, 2012
9:14 am
Paddy
Q……..folks from Ohio are not yankees. Check your map
Uh… I think Ohio fought on the side of the Union, that makes them Yankee’s. Check your history.
MT
December 29th, 2012
9:22 am
What’s Murray being Murray in big games Murray’s record v Top 25?
I know what is record is. Good chance Murray will play his last game
Tuesday.
But we do know no OSU QB has a win over UGA.
UGA only has two losses EVER to a Big 10(whatever) team
Michigan 1957 Michigan ST 2012
MT
December 29th, 2012
9:23 am
his record is. sorry
Steve
December 29th, 2012
9:26 am
Wow Buckeye you are still here????? I guess it really is true about you not having a life.