Can’t quite bring myself to bail on Mark Richt … just yet
Mark Richt is at a turning point in his coaching career. (University of Georgia)
Some of you are ready to write off the Mark Richt era in Athens.
I’m hearing this from fans who normally are not quick to call for a coaching change. They look at the downward trend in Georgia’s SEC results since the last conference title and figure the die is cast, even though most concede that Richt’s past record has earned him another season after this one, no matter how badly it ends.
And they’re not looking forward to watching that prolonged scenario play out.
Me, I’m not a big fan of change, as my wife frequently notes. I tend to stick with something way past when others would have bailed, whether we’re talking cars, VCRs, old shirts or football coaches.
I’ll admit, the precipitous decline of Georgia’s football program has me teetering when it comes to the Bulldogs’ prospects under Richt. The recruiting obviously has been subpar for several years, the development of talent has been less than impressive, and the players frequently look undisciplined, on and off the field, raising serious questions about the coaching.
It’s true, a couple of key blue-chip recruits can turn around a program nearly overnight, but as I’ve heard more than one fan say in the past couple of weeks, “Why would a five-star recruit want to come to Georgia right now?”
For me, the most disturbing aspect of it all is the seeming lack of urgency among the players and coaching staff. Facing the prospect of starting out “one and whatever the crap we are,” as Mike Bobo put it Saturday, they still were outhustled in Starkville, for crying out loud!
And yet … if Richt coaches his tail off and somehow turns this season around — which at this point would pretty much require winning out, including beating Florida — it will make for one of those feel-good stories that fans and sports media alike love.
Do I see it happening? Frankly, at this point, no.
Still, I can’t yet bring myself to say the words I heard an ardent and intelligent UGA fan utter Saturday night: “I’m done with Richt.”
A COUPLE MORE THOUGHTS ON THE GAME
I know, I know, it’s like picking at a scab, but I can’t let the Mississippi State game go just yet …
Like, for instance, what was going on with that Georgia drive in the fourth quarter where Bobo not only insisted on continuing to try to run up the middle, but was trying it with little Carlton Thomas, the Dogs’ third-string back. Had even Bobo given up on Washaun Ealey and Caleb King?
It sounds like Richt was wondering a bit, too, as he said after the game, “At times we just called running plays blindly. We were going to run the play no matter what, and there were times where we had success and times where we got hit in the mouth.”
Maybe now Richt will bigfoot Bobo and insist on a change in direction. With the Dogs’ offensive line getting manhandled and the backs not breaking many tackles, it’s obvious that continuing to try running play-action out of the I-formation just isn’t working. Our main running threat is our quarterback!
Perhaps it’s time to go to the spread most of the time with Aaron Murray in the shotgun and let him just make plays, whether it’s slinging the ball around or running the QB draw. Spreading things out might make it a little less easy for opposing defenses to jam the line like they’ve been doing so successfully. And if we make opponents defend the pass first, maybe that increases the odds of occasionally breaking a long one on a misdirection counter play with our backs.
Couldn’t be any less effective than what the Dogs have been doing the past three games. …
As for the defense, I still think the linebackers and secondary will figure out the pass coverage one of these days. But Georgia is as soft up the middle as I’ve ever seen them. With our undersized line, everybody’s going to try to run up the gut against the Dogs. It’s well past time for Todd Grantham to figure out a way to bolster the middle.
The Dogs can’t wait for him to recruit the big bodies he needs up front. By the time that happens, this staff may not be in Athens any more. Time to earn those big bucks now.
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621 comments Add your comment
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
4:34 am
Coach Richt did not even PLAY a Top 10 Final AP Poll team in 2007. LSU beat 2 Top 10 Final AP Poll teams. And, you think Coach Richt got JOBBED in 2007.
God
Almighty
God
UGA Season Ticket Holder since 1986
Damn HOMER. If you cannot see LSU beat 2 Top 10 Final AP Poll teams while Coach Richt did NOT even PLAY 1, I have NOTHING FURTHER to say to you except that your POSTS should be BANNED for being a DAMNED BLIND FREAKING HOMER.
Now, is there SOMETHING ELSE you want to TALK ABOUT
UGA Season Ticket Holder since 1986
76-DAWG
September 27th, 2010
4:34 am
ca dawg
You say UGA should wait until the end of the year to make any coaching changes.
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
4:45 am
76-DAWG
That is HARD TO BELIEVE, I agree.
76-DAWG
September 27th, 2010
4:59 am
I disagree. CMR did that last year with the defense and missed out on 2 or 3 defensive coordinator that were higher up on the list than Grantham. Florida changed head coach in the middle of the year. The faster you make a change the better.I don’t want to change head coach but their is a few position coaches and Bobo that need to go.NOW.
The big question is when is there a good time for coaching changes? The answer is as soon as possible. If you wait until January then it’s only one month until signing day.So recruits don’t know who the coach will be and the coach that recruited them may be the one leaving. This year December may be a good month since UGA might not be bowl eligible.But I would like the change to happen now so the new coaches and coordinator will get involved with recruiting so they can best determine who will better fit in with their coaching schemes and philosophy..Then the recruits don’t feel out of place or betrayed as to how they will be used at UGA.
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
5:06 am
76-DAWG
Correct
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
5:11 am
76-DAWG
September 9th, 2010 1:07 am
“Wasn’t it after the 2003 bowl game that about 10 of the players sold their rings on e-bay ? Didn’t anyone at UGA in authority take that warning serious ? I think the world of CMR but he needs to stop treating these kids like they have any common sense and treat them like they deserve. If I was the compliance officer at UGA I would go over the dos and don’ts every week until the players proved they knew the meaning of integrity ,ethics, morals and proved they were proud to be a bulldawg. They are an embarrassment to their school, family , themselves and every alumni at UGA. You idiots that want to continue to coddle these players are the biggest problem . Green deserves everything he is getting .If I was his team mate I would give him hell for letting his team down like this and only thinking about himself. Where is the senior leadership at UGA?”
THAT IS YOUR BEST POST OF ALL-TIME
76-DAWG and you string them together daily – all great
76-DAWG
76-DAWG
September 27th, 2010
5:14 am
BoWeevil
I wasn’t disagreeing with you I was disagreeing with ca dawg. I accidentally posted before I wanted to and didn’t realize I had.
76-DAWG
September 27th, 2010
5:22 am
BoWeevil
Thanks for the complement. I get a little carried away at times but I graduated UGA in 1976, and it meant something to me. It was some of the best years of my life and I take it personal like I would my family when anyone ,including players disrespect a great place like UGA.
Dawg'em out!
September 27th, 2010
5:24 am
look as cfb in he sec evolves so the uga offense obviously needs to as well. didnt think i’d see this coming next yr. though with the way things go nowadays in the SEC. its what can you do for me now, not what have you done in your tenure at uga. at this point CMR must takeover the helm calling offensive plays, and hope he can be krafty enough to get some life back into the line and running game as well. i feel its a shot into the dark from what we’ve known from richt, but im backing him till his final day. whether he resign t’morr or stays another yr or so…. 10 yrs is what about most coaches make it in the sec if they are winning. i doubt we’ll see anybody stay longer than that, or atleast we havent yet…….
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
5:28 am
Let’s study who Coach Richt beat.
# 4 Final AP Poll vols Coach Richt beat 2001 to he said “KNOCK THE LID OFF THE GEORGIA FOOTBALL PROGRAM.” He LOST 4 games that season
# 6 Final AP Poll LSU Coach Richt beat 2005. He LOST 3 games that season.
# 9 Final AP Poll Auburn Coach Richt beat 2006. He LOST 4 games that season, too.
THESE are the ONLY 3 WINS Coach Richt has over Top 10 Final AP Poll teams. He is 3 wins 8 LOSSES in 9 years vs Top 10 Final AP Poll teams.
So, I ask the question, how freaking good is Coach Richt ?
WHO THE HELL HAS HE BEAT ?
He has NOT beat the TOP TEAMS.
NOT.
The 3 FLUKE wins he has in 121 games to-date, he LOST 4 Games, 3 Games, and 4 Games ALL 3 SEASONS.
THAT is the Definition of FLUKES.
Coach Richt has LOST every EVERY other Game.
Has Coach Richt BEAT 1 Top 10 Final AP Poll team in ANY season when he did NOT also LOSE 4, 3 and 4 games ?
NO.
BoWeevil
September 27th, 2010
5:30 am
3 wins over Top 10 Final AP Poll teams, ALL HUGE FLUKES.
8 LOSSES to Top 10 Final AP Poll teams.
Do you expect Coach Richt to beat a Top 10 Final AP Poll team ?
HELL freaking no.
IS IT ESTABLISHED or is it not established that Coach Richt
CANNOT WIN THE GAMES AGAINST THE BIG BOYS ?
Is it ?
Let’s study the other side of the coin, shall we ?
How many games has COACH RICHT LOST to teams NOT Top 25 Final AP Poll ?
9
Once every 3 and a third years, Coach Richt will get a FLUKE win and ONCE A YEAR Coach Richt will LOSE to a TOTALLY UNRANKED NOT TOP 25 Final AP Poll team.
Dawg'em out!
September 27th, 2010
5:33 am
look this isnt about beatup richt. he had a great record over a avg at best gt team. while he couldnt consistently beat fla unless they we’re down either. found a nice road record along the way though like wevill pointsout he hasnt done well against final ap top10 teams.
Dawg'em out!
September 27th, 2010
5:35 am
cmr did put UGA back ino the national spotlight win or lose, and people are all over what is going on with the program in athens!
TBalt
September 27th, 2010
6:16 am
I’m not willing to give up on Richt yet either, especially not when we don’t know who we’re going to replace him and the rest of the staff with either. Last thing you want is another Ray Goof.
Bobo however, isn’t getting it done on Offensive play calls (or Richt if he’s calling them). Something has to change on offense. There’s too much talent to be doing that badly.
Defensively, we just don’t have the heart, the talent, the size, or the speed. There seems to be a lack of physicality unlike anything I’ve seen in UGA football. I don’t feel this is Grantham’s fault (yet) and feel more that he’s inherited a bunch of bums. They can’t stay out of trouble, and they haven’t been able to make up for mistakes during plays with talent or speed, because they simply don’t seem to have either. I think this is more of a result of focusing on talented offensive recruits rather than defensive recruits. I’m hoping that given the chance, Grantham can change that and bring in the kind of physical, tough, driven players that we’re used to seeing on the defensive side of the ball.
I’d also like to see how the rest of the season plays out. Maybe losing to the bottom feeding MSU Bulldogs is the jolt of reality some of the players and coaches both needed.
attitude
September 27th, 2010
6:22 am
Much of hitting and winning is attitude and then, of course the teaching of hitting and tackling. On the B-team I was on in high school, I will admit I was a bit of a whimp, but I could have been coached a bit too, or just slowly been brought aside and for maybe 15to 30 minutes a practice they could have helped me with technique. Sometimes maybe players can’t admit that they are lacking and it is up to the coaches to look into this and find talent and help them along—-you know its all about the basics. Football is not a complicated game. And when people complicate it they lose games. Don’t make a science project out of it, just take care of the basics, hitting, tackling, running with technique so that the defender has a hard time bringing the runner down and so forth. I said it was simple not easy. Good luck to the Georgia player and coaches—maybe you will dig down into your guts and find a way to win. Attitude goes a long way. A quitter never wins, a winner never quits.
BobDawg
September 27th, 2010
6:31 am
…. I remember handing out “Dump Dooley” bumper stickers in the 70’s during swirling times when we wanted his head handed on a plate to us fans…. CMR has said there will be a huge soul searching this week which will result in his taking over the play calling… I do like how we develop the QB’s over at Athens so I would have Bobo stay in that role and he is a heckava recruiter. AJ coming back will bring the double teams back and probably lift the entire offense and help the O-line and running game… We need a WIN right now so I can step away from the ledge and then hope the AD, coaches figure this out… I will be planning my weekends differently from here on out….
BobDawg
September 27th, 2010
6:36 am
…. I’m reading on the blogs about our talent level and how things have or have not deteriorated…. I’m more concerned with developing the leaders on the team….Who are they at this point??? Where are the Seniors on this team and when are they going to step up and take control of the team and it’s attitude???
MASSDAWG
September 27th, 2010
6:41 am
You are correct my friend!!!
bigdaddyj
September 27th, 2010
7:03 am
Three top candidates – Harbaugh at Stanford, Peterson at Boise State and Patterson the TCU coach. All get more out of little talent than we do with 5 star recruits. I love Richt the man but Richt the coach has outlasted his time.
Mike
September 27th, 2010
7:04 am
You don’t do things right off the field as a player (keeping your grades up, not getting arrested and staying out of trouble in general), you won’t do things right on the field (turnovers/penalties). You don’t do things right off the field as a coach (especially the head coach, not disciplining your players properly like have all of them present a valid driver’s license at the first team meeting in August, those without one, take their keys until they can show you one), you won’t do things right on the field (like manage the game and play clocks properly. It was evident.
All those recruits...
September 27th, 2010
7:09 am
Another week, another arrest. No news here.
Lowcountry Dawg
September 27th, 2010
7:10 am
Bill…I’m a CMR fan, but let’s face it…as Spurrier once said, we get comparable recruits to UF, Bama, LSU, etc…but they just don’t seem to pan out. Plus, Richt was mad as hell after the botched punt by Rambo…you could see it in his face…and what did he do…NOTHING!
Richt has done a great job here, but this team isn’t playing with the 3 P’s right now…
PURPOSE
PASSION
and most importantly
that UGA BULLDAWG PRIDE!!!
If we keep accepting mediocrity, that’s all we’ll get!
muttsuk
September 27th, 2010
7:11 am
Hey! Maybe a new addition to your pre-game, a breathalyzer!
Willie Martinez
September 27th, 2010
7:14 am
LMAO!!! Heck of DC ya got there, chumps.
FORTY ONE POINTS to your seventeen points
September 27th, 2010
7:16 am
just a reminder mutties, you still get to play us…and Auburn’s looking pretty good too.
((((((((((((((41-17))))))))))))))
Phil
September 27th, 2010
7:28 am
Bill,
Let me guess, you are also a big Bobby Cox supporter, right? We needed to pull the plug on him 10 years ago instead of standing pat. Fear of change doomed us with the Braves. We are going to do the same thing with Richt unless somebody has the guts to stand up and say this program is going into the toliet and it’s not getting any better.
Blowing Smoke up my rear end
September 27th, 2010
7:37 am
Time for these goofballs in Athens to go and that includes some of the players.
SOUTHGADAWG88
September 27th, 2010
7:43 am
I think recruiting is the most important thing in college football.Saban is all rage now but look at his track record.When his talent is average so is he.When he can pull in top3 classes he is a genius.Players are the key…I have always said coaches get paid too much damn money.Bear Bryant couldn’t “coach up” Duke.
Joe
September 27th, 2010
7:46 am
Bobo got this team to a #2 finish in 2007, so did Richt, finished #10 in 2008. Pretty good guys up there. You have a brand new defensive staff, who is going to be very good once they get their own players in there, and learn the new system, and you have the 3rd new QB in 3 years, that’s a formula for disaster, the QB is a freshman, just not a leader yet, no experience.
I see the 1 long blogger has been busy here under all his fake names posting a bunch of anti-Georgia posts. Like we all don’t know that’s a Florida fan.
Support your team gang, you can’t win em all, but Georgia’s playing hard, on the 2 turnovers, Ealey was fighting to get in the end zone, and Rambo was blocking for his teammates down field. You can’t fault effort, effort usually pays off. All yuo can ask is for your guys to keep trying, the late scores against Ark and Miss St. show the guys are fighting.
Mark Richt has spoiled fans.
6 top 10 finishes in 9 seasons, Saban has ZERO in his 1st 9 seasons.
Dane
September 27th, 2010
7:58 am
Bail is evidenced by a bond or recognizance, which ordinarily becomes a record of the court. The bond is in the nature of a contract between the state on one side and the defendant and his sureties on the other. The agreement basically is that the state will release the defendant from custody the sureties will undertake that the defendant will appear at a specified time and place to answer the charge made against him. If the defendant fails to appear, the sureties become the absolute debtor of the state for the amount of the bond.
collegeballfan
September 27th, 2010
8:07 am
“The recruiting obviously has been subpar for several years…”
Bill, UGA has had top 10 recruiting classes for 10 straight years under Richt. Are you saying that Scout, Rivals, ESPN and the like are jokes?
Either you are dead wrong on the recruiting or the recruiting services are a joke. All have UGA with top 10 classes.
But maybe it is the players, but not the way you mean Bill. UGA has recruiting great high school players for 10 years. Bunch of them in the NFL.
But maybe, just maybe, they are not recruiting with enough emphasis on Character. If the best athlete in the state is a low character type, do not touch him. Earlier this year Richt had to dismiss his top QB prospect from the team. The top QB recruit for the 2011 class was suspended from his high school over a character issue. Yet Richt has not pulled his offer to the kid. Why?
I am saying UGA may have just too many low character, bad attitude, me first types, on the team. Just maybe they need more “TEAM – me” types.
johnnydawg
September 27th, 2010
8:19 am
I’ve been a dawg fan as far back as can remember.
I wacted them win the national championship in 1980 when I was 9 years old with my father and they played for 3 and won 1 in those years.
after vince retired I endured the Goff years and the Donnan years and both coaches will never be as good of coach as Mark Richt.
You guys can bash him all you want but he’s a great coach and knows what he’s doing.
A freshman quarterback and a new defensive coordinator it’ll just take some time to work things out.
this might not be the year of the dawg but we have had some great years under Mark richt.
Hell even as great of coach as Vince Dooley was he had some bad years.
I’ll stand by Mark Richt any day.
turkeycaller
September 27th, 2010
8:19 am
The racism comment by Season Ticket Holder is saddening at best. This team is comprised of only a few white kids. If race matters not then accept the responsibility of accepting the facts.
SOUTHGADAWG88
September 27th, 2010
8:22 am
Grantham had to face probably the 3 best playcallers in the SEC back to back.I’m still waiting for all that ATTACK he promised.Remember how we was going to find that weaklink on the OL and attack it relentlessly?Hit the QB and hit him again?Willie blitzed more than we have so far!LOL. It’s funny how everybody is on the “we don’t have the right players” kick all of a sudden.CTG said he didn’t need a big NT because his system is different than Saban’s.Ok well nickle is nickle no matter what scheme you run…we suck at that too.Bobo and Searles need to go but this new DC is looking confused and highly overpaid right now.
Foster Brooks
September 27th, 2010
8:24 am
“The recruiting obviously has been subpar for several years”. This Mr. King tells me that you don’t have a clue. We have had top 10 recruiting classes 4 of the last 5 years and the one that was not a top 10 was rated at 16. How can you say recruiting has not been good? I agree that it seems we do not recruit on anything but “stars” and talent, because we certainly do not recruit kids with much character, but to say we have not recruited well as far as talent goes is just a false statement. Richt and UGA have had really one good season simce BVG left. If not for BVG, I woulder if we would even be having this discussion today, as I wonder if Richt would have been gone now for 3 or 4 years. Face it, he might be a good man, but he like his mentor Bobby Bowden he recruits talented kids, but alot of those are thugs. Then when they get in trouble he has handed out slaps on the wrist punishment. He has no discipline and seems to have lost the program.
johnnydawg
September 27th, 2010
8:27 am
BoWeevil you talk to much what you need is a nice tall glass of $TFU
DawginLex
September 27th, 2010
8:27 am
Bo weevil, you go to practice today and announce to the players that “the season is over”. I’ll pop some popcorn and sit back and watch.
AthensHomerDawg
September 27th, 2010
8:28 am
that slide since the last SEC championship season your talking about………..
9-4,10-3,11-2,8-5 with a number 2 in the nation finish and anther division first place finish in those seasons prior to 2010.
Red Panties
September 27th, 2010
8:34 am
Do you realize Richt must go 6-2 from here and then win a bowl (toilet) game just to match last year’s 8-5 season. Best case he will go 5-3, end 6-6 and hopefully win a bowl game. It is very very possible Richt will go 4-4 and end 5-7 and some people say give him one more year to really take this program to the depths of the SEC, battling Vandy for 11th place in the conference.
johnnydawg
September 27th, 2010
8:34 am
well lets face it their kids and drinking looks good to them, when I was 18 i drank beer got in a little trouble myself,and all the college football teams go through this every year with their players getting into trouble. sometimes you dont hear about as much as you do in georgia
The Ghost of Johnny Griffith
September 27th, 2010
8:35 am
Success does weird things to some people.
Maybe it’s my imagination, but does anyone else notice that CMR has gained considerable weight? As in “fat and content” maybe?
I don’t judge the man, after all, if I became a multi-millionaire, I would probably slack off worrying about some things, too.
All real men lay in bed and worry about providing for our family and our children – CMR doesn’t have to anymore. Could this “lack of urgency” in his own personal life be the root cause for the increase in THUG behavior and so-so performance on the field?
Itsover
September 27th, 2010
8:37 am
Itsover!!!
TommyJack
September 27th, 2010
8:38 am
Bobo will be dropped into the grease just like the DC last year. This will prolong GA’s inexorable slide into the abyss. The rest of the SEC is all for you guys keeping Richt.
GBO
klemkudtlhpr
September 27th, 2010
8:46 am
When these highly rated kids come out of high school, their ego’s are so inflated, they are only concerned about themselves. These ego’s have to be broken, and attitudes need to be humbled considerably. More of a drill Sargent type of coaching mentality needs to be in place. I believe coach Richt can still change and become this type of coach. These kids need a strict hard disciplinarian as a coach not a friend. Just my thoughts.
The Ghost of Wally Butts
September 27th, 2010
8:46 am
I’d be less critical of CMR if it appeared that the players respected themselves and the game.
Instead, we see them jump up and beat their chests after every play – strutting around like they have won the Nobel prize or something – even when they are behind in ballgames.
Don’t believe that the Head Coach can affect how players act on the sidelines? Watch Saban’s players on the sidelines….they are not jumping up and down and dancing and flashing gang signs to the crowd…they are not all smiles…even when they are beating the crap out of somebody, they look all business.
I’m tired of the thug attitudes. The arrests and suspensions are only the manifestation of the undisciplined environment that our Head Coach allows.
Itsover
September 27th, 2010
8:48 am
I said.”itsover”! For me college football has ended. I will look forward to watching the Falcons. You guys have a loser’s attitude and that is what disgusts me.
GATA
September 27th, 2010
8:52 am
Sick and tired of these meaningless generalities after losses – where’s the outrage?? What do you think Saban would do with this talent?
“[The coaches] just gotta make sure every thing we’re doing is the right thing to do and that we’re doing it well,” Richt said. “That’s part of my job as a head coach. I’m responsible for everything that happens. I gotta make sure every part of our football program starts to do the things we need to do to win.”
SOUTHGADAWG88
September 27th, 2010
8:57 am
I don’t know what the recruiting services say but where is all this top 10 talent?The OL has 3 starters rated as 3 stars so maybe they ARE playing up to their abilities.The D though has every starter rated at least 4 stars so what’s their deal?
ford tough?
September 27th, 2010
8:59 am
this could seem like a weird analogy, but in the ford truck commercials during the bama-arkansas game you had the opportunity to see richt, saban, and chizuk all together. richt certainly comes across as the least inspiring, least exciting of the three. if his recruiting and coaching is anything like the personality shown in a commercial then it is no wonder the program has fallen off like it has. i know, i know it’s just a commercial….but it got me thinking. and this was before the miss state debacle.
CKLAslan
September 27th, 2010
9:00 am
All those calling for Richt’s head should take a lesson from the past. As a Bama fan I usually don’t care about UGA. But from 1960 to 1966 Bear Bryant lost a total of 6 games going undefeated 3 of those years. Then from 1967-1970 he lost 15 games and went 6-5 and 6-5-1 in 1969 and 1970. These days those two seasons would have gotten him fired. Had Alabama done that they would have missed out on 1971-1975 when Bear went 11-1 four of those years and had 1 conference loss in 5 years. Give the man a chance to turn things around.