What sort of ‘cutting edge’ football are we likely to get from Mark Richt?
Mark Richt doesn't want to "confuse" Aaron Murray with too much change. (Associated Press)
It’s the postseason, so fans and columnists are naturally devoting a lot of energy to parsing Mark Richt’s intriguing but typically vague comments at his season-end press conference.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a whole lot of substance there, and what there was isn’t likely to make folks feel any better about the direction of the Georgia football program.
In other words, a typical Richt press conference.
The most interesting revelation was that UGA athletic director Greg McGarity, who was notable in his presence at the press gathering, has taken some of the administrative duties off Richt’s plate, which the coach says is “going to help free me up to [spend] more time doing the things I love the most, which is study the game of football and be an expert and be on the cutting edge.”
Richt didn’t spell out what that meant, but he indicated he was “not making any plans” to take back the playcalling from offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He said he would meet with his offensive staff to “just look at what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and making sure we’re on the right path.”
Some wondered if he is contemplating revamping or opening up the offense, perhaps installing more spread option elements to take advantage of quarterback Aaron Murray being a dual threat.
But then Richt noted that when you make a lot of changes, it’s tough on the players. “If you just change for the sake of changing, then all of a sudden you’ve got to relearn something all over again. Do I want to confuse Aaron Murray right now? Heck, no. That guy knows what he’s doing, and he’s going to have a lot more confidence going into next season.”
So it doesn’t seem likely that he’s talking about installing the fun ’n’ gun.
Richt’s comments that Bobo and offensive line coach/running game coordinator Stacy Searels “have done a great job — not a good job but a great job” raised a lot of eyebrows and drew the expected hoots of derision. But, really, what did you expect him to say? It’s too late in the game for Richt to be reshuffling his offensive staff. He has to play the hand he dealt himself.
Perhaps a clue to what Richt will be doing with all this extra football time came when he said, “One of the biggest things I am going to be looking for is effort in the team and everyone around here. We need to do what we do well and do it full-speed. As a head coach, that’s the number one point of emphasis that I am going to watch for.”
Coupled with the installation of “old school” Joe Tereshinski in charge of the strength and conditioning program, you might take that to mean that Richt will be taking names and kicking butts during the offseason to try and light a fire under his team.
But then you remember this is Richt we’re talking about, the man mentor Bobby Bowden once joked was so calm and cool you needed to take his pulse to make sure he was still alive. It’s hard to imagine Richt summoning up any inner Nick Saban.
So the bottom line is that Richt says “we’re not looking to blow anything up.”
No wholesale changes, in other words. Which is not surprising. Sure, the Dogs just concluded a poor season in a lethargic manner that makes a good case for major change being needed, but the fact is that Richt only has the one season to turn things around and, as he noted, change confuses players. So whatever change we see on the field in 2011 is likely to be incremental and more of the attitude adjustment variety.
Richt tried to buck up the Bulldog Nation by declaring, “In my opinion we’re very close.”
He meant that the elements are there in his program for success.
But the reality is that if the head coach doesn’t manage to get more out of those elements in the coming season, we’re likely to be very close to the end of the Mark Richt era at UGA.
Were you disappointed by what Richt had to say or was it pretty much what you expected? And what “cutting edge” changes would you hope his football studies produce for the 2011 season?
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282 comments Add your comment
WDE
January 6th, 2011
5:34 pm
I’ll tell you all exactly what you never thought could be true:
It’s ALL been downhill since you danced in the endzone/did the Soulja Boy in Jacksonville. This team has a complete lack of focus and heart, and lacks the pelotas to do something about it.
LakeDawg
January 6th, 2011
5:36 pm
Football is not rocket science. You don’t need to be on the “cutting edge.” Just get your players to block and tackle and play with enthusiasm. You know “old school.”
David M Smith
January 6th, 2011
5:38 pm
AJ is gone. good.His undisiplined antics cost us the LSU game in 09 and put us in a funk for Tenn and KY.So where is this “Star” when we need him?On the sidelines for breaking rules.
Coach Richt was 3/4 fumbles away from being 9w–3l or 10–2 and playing for SEC ttitle—-what if we had all of the players we lost to disipline p roblems?Why not assign an upper classman to teach freshmen basics of Responsibilty;ie “when am I due n court?
Tighten up the ship Mark
AFDawg
January 6th, 2011
5:39 pm
Vance Duly, I agree. Did you see the play selection Harbaugh and Stanford had available to them? There were so many plays that Luck had to wear half of the playbook on his wrist while the other half was on the center’s wrist. It certainly showed on their offense all year too.
Max Dawg
January 6th, 2011
5:39 pm
The only “cutting edge” change coming for CMR is at the barber shop…you always want to look good during your final season between the hedges…
His tan looked great. And he has those cool sunglasses. That’s something.
NotAnIdiotUGAfan
January 6th, 2011
6:00 pm
Georgia is 8th on the ESPN rankings for the recruits they have coming in next year, how in the world can you honestly say that Richt doesn’t attract top level recruits?
You can sit there all you want and say you arent a fairweather fan, but anyone who says that Richt needs to go falls under that category. If you are a true fan and have always followed Georgia football then you should know that teams go through tough times. Just because you experienced success a few years ago, all of the sudden you expect success every year? Georgia has won one national championship, one!!
If you want to know the reason for a few bad years here it is….
The RECRUITS, not coach Richt are not what they were made out to be, and most of you will say that is on Richt. We have a freshman who will be great in the coming years,
SAdawg
January 6th, 2011
6:01 pm
Two tell alls as to whether there really is any chance:
1. Do we have two-a-days in the fall?
2. Does CMR take his band of merry losers swimming when it gets too hot?
When it gets hot in the kitchen our coach takes the boys swimming; Bama’s coach makes them run sprints.
7576DAWG
January 6th, 2011
6:10 pm
What I want to hear next is CMR holding a team meeting and announcing that there will be no more “MAT DRILLS” but what will take it’s place will make the MAT DRILLS seem like a swim in the Ramsey buildings swimming pool.
Drew Tillman
January 6th, 2011
6:32 pm
Hey, why don’t we fill the coaching jobs with all the know it all, know what you are thinking every move you make, arm-chair quarterbacks we have on this blog!
Lagdawg
January 6th, 2011
6:53 pm
Basically, he’s saying that we are going to continue to suck next year also. When you look this bad and you are too stupid to see the problem, you deserve everything you get. Open up the offense. Use the spread and no huddle so that defenses won’t have time to adjust and to keep them off balance. Use 4 or 5 WR sometimes to create mismatches, trust me somebody will be open. We need to be more creative instead of being so boring and predictable. Nobody changes their gameplan for UGA because it is the same boring crap every year.
Lagdawg
January 6th, 2011
6:55 pm
Idiot Tillman, Ray Charles can see the problem with this team. This just shows all the creativity that the coaching staff doesn’t have and need. Get a clue, but you are probably one of the fans that keeps screaming, “wait until next year.” Such and idiot.
extrapoint
January 6th, 2011
6:56 pm
As for not being ready for UCF, we didn’t want to peak before Boise State.
AUG2424
January 6th, 2011
7:02 pm
Mark Richt kept Willie Martinez three years too long and now Mike Bobo two years too long. His loyalty is going to get him fired. Richt has to understand this is big business. He is a great guy and I’m a supporter but he is running out of excuses.
Drew Tillman
January 6th, 2011
7:08 pm
So, lagdawg are you volunteering to be the next coach since you know exactly what the problem is?
marinedawg
January 6th, 2011
7:08 pm
What we have here is a failure to communicate.Cool Hand Luke. Apparently what we see MCR does not.
Need to find some players with mom or daddys in prison since this is SEC culture. Forget kissing up to state players as we have lost them till CMR leaves.Go Junior college thug route. What makes our SEC competition successfull? EMOTION,TOUGHNESS.SPIRIT. tHREE THINGS THAT CMR LACKS.WE ALL WANT TO WIN YET WE HAVE TO ADMIT COACH AT THE LEVEL YOU ARE IN PASSIVENESS WONT CUT IT.
Minnesota Dawg
January 6th, 2011
7:10 pm
I live up here looking at the Gophers play and I would give anything to see our team have the coaching staff and at least the 6 wins the Dawgs had this year!
PHIL
January 6th, 2011
7:30 pm
Bill you and Shultz and Bradley would make a good cast for the Three Stooges remake.
Minnesota Dawg
January 6th, 2011
7:37 pm
No amount of worrying or speculation is going to help. Look at Auburn. Who predicted that? Could that not happen at Georgia? Who knows the timing, but it will happen!
Chuck Uga
January 6th, 2011
7:38 pm
Unimpressed. Should he be fired? Not right now. Should he upgrade his staff? You bet. Too many high school-level coaches on the staff. Since he is making no changes to the staff, I see no reason to expect more from the team’s results in 2011. Too many top-tier players leaving, and when the dust settles next November, I suspect Mark Richt will resign from Georgia. There just isn’t anything of substance coming from Richt OR McGarity. Looks like they have not figured out the definition of INSANITY.
Bo Williams
January 6th, 2011
7:39 pm
Know how to do the “Rocky Flop” (Tn)? Trail in the game for 50 mins., then go up 3 with less than 5 mins to go. Then get 3 15 yd penalties while allowing the opponent to drive 80 yds in 31 secs. Then throw an interception in OT. You then get in a circle and scream, “Carolina Refs”. That folks is called the “Rocky Flop”.
Ponte Vedra Dog
January 6th, 2011
8:07 pm
Two things you can count on next year. On second and long, we will run it up the middle for 2 to 3 yard gains and we will lead the nation in field goals kciked. Starting out 0-2 is really going to suck.
Dawg 39
January 6th, 2011
8:09 pm
The OL coach who is also the running game coach is not doing a GREAT job or even a good job.at either job.
The DL coach who is the head recruiter & assistant head coach is not doing a GREAT job or even a good job at any of the things he does.
I still believe that Richt has been at one time the best HC the Dawgs have ever had & could possibly be again but not with the coaches he now has. Next year will be his last & that is something that I am not looking forward to.
I am not hiding behind an Email name. SO do not attempt to go there.
Hairy Perry
January 6th, 2011
8:26 pm
Mark Richt is not stupid. He knows what is at stake now. The honeymoon with UGA fans is over. I believe in Mark Rich will get this team back to the SEC championship caliber team we saw early in his career at UGA. I believe he had made some bad desicions in the dealings with these selfish players that take advantage of his willingness to help. I think he has learned his lesson and these players that display selfish behavior and lack of focus on the field will have a very short career at UGA.
Hairy Perry
January 6th, 2011
8:28 pm
These are the changes I think he was talking about.
Hairy Perry
January 6th, 2011
8:33 pm
I know the easiest thing to do is throw up your hands in discust and say the train has wrecked its over. I think we are going to be pleasantly suprised by what we see in 2011. The urgency is there and Mark Richt feels it more than anyone. We just need the players to feel it too.
IRISH DAWG
January 6th, 2011
8:42 pm
CAM NEWTON IS STILL A , THIEF , LIAR AND A CHEATERI I HOPE THE OREGON DUCKS BEAT THE CROP OUT OF AUBARNS!!! TRACTOR DRIVING RED NECKS!!
Old Dawg Fan
January 6th, 2011
8:56 pm
Saying that his coaching staff is/was “great” is like saying Charlie Weiss was a “great coach” at Notre Dame!!!! Surely he is not as “dumb” as he comes off as? They should do a remake of the movie “Cluelsss” staring Mark Richt. CMR is as lost as “Gilligans Island”. I could go on forever, this is just too easy.
Why is it we now “officially” have the “worst football team in the SEC East” and going no where!!!! McGarrity is our only hope here-he seems to be “intelligent” and knows what is going on. He has to be “scratching his head” and saying “what the hell”!!!!
mountainman
January 6th, 2011
9:05 pm
Richt is self-mutilating the Dawg football program, is that the CUTTING EDGE he’s talking about??? No sense of urgency, no real defined corrections to fix things, no apology to the fans and alumni about this past season’s debacle. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near a football program anytime!!! Hope he’s fired before the Florida massacre this year!!!
J-Man
January 6th, 2011
9:12 pm
CMR need to spend a little less time in the tanning bed and a little more time in the faces of his heartless players and how come UGA never recruits in Atlanta……………. If we had Butch Davis NOTHING would leave the state of Georgia. And we would get some of those south Florida kids also…………..But we have a Politically correct AD and fan base to have the Ballz to do the best move because there not who they want……(black)…….and I am a white guy saying this, but the truth has gotta be told.
coachgb
January 6th, 2011
9:40 pm
Bill, I know Shultz and Bradley, and you are no…wait maybe you are as clueless. Can’t find anything decent to read about my dawgs anywhere! All of you just wail away against Richt! Bill, you just going for the Blog hits now too huh?
AltamahaDawg
January 6th, 2011
9:43 pm
Interesting story developing about Thomas Brown joining the S&C staff. The very little I have ever heard about the previous (and nothing is determined about the future of these guys yet) assistant in that area is that while they were great guys and true workout junkies, they joked around and ran the place like well, workout junkies hanging at the Gym. Very committed to the lifting and working out, they never actually followed the guys out to the practise field. I’d say it’s a great move to get some actual football guys involved in the S&C. Clearly there has been some disconnect between getting stronger and putting that into action for it’s intended purpose.
cynicaldawg
January 6th, 2011
10:33 pm
The last great cutting edge idea CMR had was the Black out against Alabama, after that one the well has been dry.
AthDawg
January 6th, 2011
10:43 pm
Hopefully Richt will take the extra time he has to see when the last time Georgia……
1. Ran a fake punt?
2. Ran a fake FG?
3. Ran the No Huddle?
4. Blocked a punt?
5. Used clock management to try to score with under a minute to play before halftime?
6. Coach showed energy and motivation on the sidelines and locker room?
7. Made big adjustments at half time?
Poor
January 6th, 2011
10:44 pm
Very poorly ran football program from the coaching up through the AD, to Pres. UGA football will be down for a very long time to come. No direction what-so-ever. Studying the game of football,,,,got come up with something better than that. And Dream Team. It was a DREAM all along,,,only now it is a BAD dream.
By The Way
January 6th, 2011
10:50 pm
Went by Wal-Mart to buy me a “G” shirt and all they had was the “G” in PINK. And now the mascot is a PINK POODLE.
oakwood dawg
January 6th, 2011
11:06 pm
The comments about kirby smart and will muschamp–smart will not leave UA with a lateral move. his next job will be head coach. thats why the rumors that he would join muschamp at uf were just that i.e.rumors. muschamp would not have left texas with a lateral move. his next job would be head coach and that is exactly what happend. Believe me both of these coaches would have loved to have the h.c. job at uga. Its too late for muschamp but not too late for smart. I expect if smart is still at UA next year and uga fires m.r. smart will be our next h.c. if that happens will it be good for uga? Probably,but who knows. however, he is a great defensive coach and one hell of a recruiter in the south and a particularly great recruiter in the state of ala and ga. If we have the season I expect next season, kirby will be our next h.c.
Camden Mark
January 7th, 2011
12:27 am
The only thing I wanted out of Mark for the new year was his resignation.Program has been in melt down mode for 4 years, coachs fault.
BoWeevil
January 7th, 2011
3:45 am
Scout.com Team Rankings
1. Texas 23 Big 12 4826 11 7 9 7 13 10 0 23 0 4.00
2. Ohio State 20 Big Ten 3918 5 3 11 6 9 11 0 20 0 3.85
3. Florida State 22 ACC 3688 7 3 8 11 10 12 0 20 2 3.64
4. Alabama 21 SEC 3628 7 2 11 8 9 12 0 18 3 3.71
5. USC 23 Pac-10 3282 6 4 5 9 8 12 3 19 4 3.35
6. Stanford 22 Pac-10 3119 0 0 7 15 13 9 0 22 0 3.32
7. Arkansas 26 SEC 3045 1 1 6 17 15 11 0 23 3 3.23
8. Notre Dame 19 Indep 3020 4 0 9 10 8 10 1 19 0 3.47
9. Oklahoma 18 Big 12 3017 3 2 6 10 10 8 0 18 0 3.56
10. Clemson 23 ACC 2937 3 3 4 13 14 9 0 23 0 3.30
11. Auburn 16 SEC 2811 2 0 10 6 8 8 0 16 0 3.63
12. North Carolina 21 ACC 2751 3 2 4 12 9 11 1 20 1 3.24
13. LSU 19 SEC 2723 4 2 5 10 10 8 1 18 1 3.32
14. South Carolina 28 SEC 2695 1 1 3 19 13 15 0 27 1 3.00
15. Oklahoma State 23 Big 12 2645 4 1 6 13 10 12 1 19 4 3.13
16. Oregon 18 Pac-10 2534 3 1 7 8 11 7 0 16 2 3.39
17. Virginia 24 ACC 2477 0 0 3 17 10 14 0 24 0 2.96
18. Florida 16 SEC 2474 2 1 6 9 8 7 1 16 0 3.50
19. Georgia 16 SEC 2452 1 0 8 6 8 7 1 16 0 3.38
Rivals, no different :
2011 Team Rankings
Rank School
#1 Alabama 22 2 15 5 3.86 2,482
#2 Texas 23 1 16 6 3.78 2,410
#3 Florida State 22 2 9 11 3.59 2,074
#4 USC 23 2 7 9 3.09 1,822
#5 Oklahoma 17 2 8 7 3.71 1,805
#6 Ohio State 20 0 9 11 3.45 1,787
#7 Oregon 20 0 10 10 3.50 1,703
#8 Clemson 23 1 7 12 3.26 1,687
#9 LSU 19 1 7 10 3.42 1,669
#10 North Carolina 21 0 8 12 3.33 1,577
#11 Stanford 22 0 8 12 3.27 1,450
#12 Texas Tech 21 0 6 15 3.29 1,445
#13 Nebraska 16 0 10 5 3.56 1,414
#14 Mississippi 24 0 5 19 3.21 1,370
#15 Florida 16 0 8 7 3.44 1,366
#16 California 15 0 9 6 3.60 1,342
#17 Notre Dame 19 0 6 12 3.26 1,336
#18 Auburn 16 0 7 9 3.44 1,326
#19 Georgia 16 0 8 7 3.44 1,261
This is the “DREAM TEAM”
the truth
January 7th, 2011
5:39 am
Richt is what he is=====Georgia was his first head coach job—so ===he won 2 sec championships——and thats about it so far—-he has not even made it to a national game yet and 10 years is long enough====nothing personal===but give some else a shot==i am sure he will be hired by a smaller school somewhere===he is a good guy===and for the most part i think he has been good for Georgia==but good and great are two different worlds===Florida is loading up right now===this next year could be even worse than last year for Georgia==you know something is wrong when you cant even score a touchdown in a bowl game—–hellooooooo—
BoWeevil
January 7th, 2011
6:11 am
Mark Richt vs SEC
LOSS Auburn
LOSS Florida
Win Kentucky
Win Vanderbilt
Win Tennessee
LOSS Missy State
LOSS Arkansas
LOSS South Carolina
LOSS Kentucky
Win Auburn
LOSS Florida
Win Vanderbilt
LOSS Tennessee
Out of the last 13 SEC games, Mark Richt has Won 5.
Just the Facts.
January 7th, 2011
6:15 am
The only reason Richt is returning is that it woulld cost the school almost 20 million in a buyout and a contract for the new coach. It’s all about the money.
BoWeevil
January 7th, 2011
6:22 am
I think so.
Mark Richt needs to return his salary for the last several years
We pay him WAY TOO MUCH
What he needs is to have to return monies for LOST GAMES
and, return monies for every SUSPENSION / ARREST
like Marcus Dowtin yesterday which he said he will tell us about in a few days
It has been a few days Mark Richt
Palm City Dawg
January 7th, 2011
7:30 am
Did not our Dawgs lose to Miami of Ohio in the mid to late 80’s. Just relax. This will pass as well.
NewnanDawg
January 7th, 2011
7:57 am
Richt never had it (all he had was VanGorder…the one good hire) and never will. His mind is elsewhere anyway.
bitter ole school
January 7th, 2011
8:03 am
anyone recruited this year will take 2 years to see the field, its all about what we already have for this coming year——7 and 6—-sorry just saying
delta_airdog
January 7th, 2011
8:04 am
And where are the ‘real silver britches’ we are wearing a faded gray version of Ole Miss pants or Ohio State gray–LSU & TN have the slick shiny pants from Nike–pay attention to details in ‘very thing’ that goes on. The correct silver britches will not change the terrible coachin of the OL by Stacey Searles. No improvement in the OL since he has been there and the running game sucks–get rid of Caleb King–he is worthless & is taking up a scholarship grant–if MR is not going to be fired then fire Caleb King–jdw
Old Flatulent Dawg
January 7th, 2011
8:09 am
Somebody explain to Richt that you can’t reinvent the wheel as far as football is concerned. What you can do is get bigger, stronger, become disciplined on & off the field, recruit more high character kids so the few less character kids have someone who’ll keep them in line. Become teachers/coaches (1st teach them the techniques they need & then coach them up to strive to be the best at their position) and no more being Mister Nice Guy on the sidelines, if a player jumps offsides, snatch his butt out of the game right then and there, stress self discipline & motivation, along with a little positive reinforcement.
And lastly, just because some recruiting service rates a kid 4 or 5 stars doesn’t mean he’s worth the effort, look into their eyes and see if there is anything in their other than a me first mentality. Thats the kinda kid that helps you win more often than not.
jerry
January 7th, 2011
8:20 am
Georgia/Auburn 2001
Sanks was stuffed at the goal line and time expired before it could get off another play.
“We had 16 seconds left,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “Strategically, it was the wrong thing to do. We could have run a play throwing it in the end zone or throwing it away. We could have gotten more plays.”
The first indication that Richt was going to make some bad decisions and the last time he admitted one.
JDawg
January 7th, 2011
8:22 am
Richt’s comments are incredible. Only after losing 12 games in two seasons does he decide he needs to “study football”, and “be on the cutting edge?”
And the best one of all, “make sure we’re doing the right things.”
6-7, and he’s pretty sure he and Bobo are doing the right things?
Rich’s chickens have come home to roost. All of this losing has turned off recruits. When the end of the Richt era comes, there will be nothing but a really good QB for the new coach to work with.
CrawforDawg
January 7th, 2011
8:24 am
Coach Richt is ten years into the mission. Why oh why does it still take so long for him to “get it?” No matter what the problem or perceived problem may be with our Dawgs it appears to take Richt a season or two to “get it” and then finally implement a strategy for change. His immediate SEC competition acts and reacts far quicker than he. I for one would like to see that change.