Should Mark Richt’s job ride on winning the SEC East?
Predictions about what it will take to save Mark Richt's job are all over the place. (AJC file)
While we brace ourselves for the inevitable new round of Mark-Richt-on-the-hot-seat talk with the arrival of the SEC’s annual media days, it’s interesting to see the way expectations of what Richt needs to do to keep his job vary.
Recently we discussed here how many wins we thought Richt needed to get this season to keep his job, and the consensus appears to be that 10 wins was a sure thing, nine probably would save him and if it was eight, it would depend on whether that number included a victory over Florida.
But while South Carolina appears still to be most prognosticators’ favorite to win the SEC East, Georgia has popped up in quite a few predictions as the dark horse to take the division, and CollegeFootball News even goes so far as to posit that if the Dogs don’t win the East, Richt won’t be back.
Their all-or-nothing reasoning goes like this: “The timing couldn’t be better to come out of the blue and be a major player in the SEC. Florida probably has one more year before it becomes a monster again, Tennessee is still sleeping, and South Carolina, as good as it is, is still South Carolina; there’s going to be a gaffe or two along the way. Georgia might have a ton of flaws, and it might be relying on a slew of unknowns to carry the way, but the East is never going to get easier than it is right now, and Richt has to take advantage. … No, Georgia won’t be 2010 Auburn, but it could rise up and be good enough to win the East and play for the SEC title. And if not, next year will be all about a new era in Georgia football.”
Summing up its preview of Georgia, CFN says, “The season will be a success if … the Dawgs win the East. When you miss the three best teams from the West — Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas — and get South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Auburn at home, you have to take advantage of it. There are major holes on the offensive line, receiver, and linebacker, but the schedule is favorable, the influx of new talent should be a boost, and the desperation is there to win the East. Winning the SEC title is a stretch considering how good the West champion will be, but getting to the title game will be enough for Richt to stick around.”
At the other extreme, the Macon Telegraph asks whether Richt’s recruiting prowess and the commitments he keeps snagging might not be enough for him to keep his job even if the Dogs have another subpar year on the field, simply because a coaching change might send some of those recruits elsewhere.
I’m not buying either of those scenarios.
While winning the SEC East would surely boost Richt’s stock quite a bit, I don’t believe his job is riding on it. At the same time, if the wheels come off and Georgia has a disaster of a season, I don’t think nonbinding verbal commitments from some blue-chip recruits who may or may not pan out down the road are going to be enough to save Richt. That will still come down to wins and losses.
What do you think?
SILVER LINING
While I’m dismayed yet another Georgia running back has gotten himself in trouble, I have to admit the first thought I had when I heard Carlton Thomas likely won’t be playing against Boise State was that at least Mike Bobo won’t be tempted to run him up the middle on third-and-long.
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397 comments Add your comment
Troll Power Ratings
July 20th, 2011
3:08 pm
@gruff: How about some stats on Murray’s shortcomings (pardon the pun)? Your medication must be wearing off or a dosage adjustment is in order.
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:09 pm
Scout says likely Richt’s last year.
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1065899.html
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:12 pm
ESPN doesn’t have Georgia in top 25 pre season:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/20992/preseason-top-25-features-three-from-pac-12
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:13 pm
55% of UGA fans say Georgia should get new coach:
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/09/26/theres-no-other-way-to-say-it-mark-richt-is-in-trouble-at-uga/
Spanky
July 20th, 2011
3:15 pm
No Offense, Bill, but this topic has been microwaved a few times already!…Need a new topic?..here’s one…I see both Christian LeMay and Nick Marshall as being premeire “Mystery Backs”, which is what Hines Ward would’ve been minus QB Bobo’s injury in ‘95. Both LeMay and Marshall could successfully run the “Wild-Dawg”…FINALLY, and both could be plugged anywhere in the backfield, creating a slight panic in the defense! My question is this, which one’s jersey will you see more of?….someone else perhaps? Both Brandons are still in the mix as well! Go Dawgs!
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:16 pm
Richt has hottest seat by ESPN May 13 poll of 4000:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:18 pm
Only 8% believe Richt will win the SEC:
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/42007/sec-champion-poll
Not Impressed At All
July 20th, 2011
3:19 pm
For me, they can’t show the door to CMR fast enough – he should be gone now! Not worth his salt as a coach – look at the sorry lot of recruits he has – they would be lucky to be able to scrawl a legible X where their signature goes…..they are dawgs, that is for sure!
loel
July 20th, 2011
3:20 pm
you people seem to forget that the Auburn game was very close and Georgia matched Auburn score for score the first half. Georgia was to get the ball to start the second half only to have a now scared Auburn team pull the on side kick and score. Even so Georgia got the next kick off and scored a field goal. The now 10 point deficit as just to hard to catch up and this on Auburn’s field. Auburn loses Farley and Cam for this year and they just ordinary,, huh????
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:20 pm
SEC fans say Richt needs to win the most:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/22733/poll-which-sec-coach-needs-to-win
Vance
July 20th, 2011
3:22 pm
I love Mark Richt; however, if he does not win the first two games or at least one of those, his job might be in jeopardy. His legacy will be the coach who “almost, but not quite was.” We’ll have to see how the young backs do and the offensive line holds up. I’m hoping he’ll be ok, but on the field results will dictate his fate.
Ceasar
July 20th, 2011
3:24 pm
With this cupcake schedule, 12-0 is a must!!!!
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:25 pm
Most Bama fans say SEC East coach that will lose their job, by a long winner, is Richt:
http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2011/6/30/2252258/poll-which-sec-coach-is-most-likely-to-lose-his-job-in-2011
UGADawg16
July 20th, 2011
3:27 pm
Define hotseat. If that means a coach could get fired, then I reckon that applies to everyone – look at Jim Tressel. There is always a level of putrefaction that will show a coach to the unemployment line. It’s when that level reaches a reasonably attainable status that the coach is on the hotseat, imho. I figure a measure of this season against last is a good baseline – i.e. if the team has the same results as last year will the coach be canned? If so, then that is saying an improvement is expected or else.
If that suffices as a definition of “hotseat” then YES, MARK RICHT IS ON THE HOTSEAT.
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:28 pm
Vance….you are correct…lot’s of people rooting for him………But, at 3 mil a year, he can’t let this program slide anymore. I know of no one who gets to stay in a big paying job and not do what they are being paid to do. Notice, I said job.
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:30 pm
Gruff……………No polls needed to come up with that…….I’d like to see a poll that ask, Who will go on probation next, Auburn or Alabama?
Rabun Dawg
July 20th, 2011
3:33 pm
680 The Fan was reporting yesterday that Jenkins might be suspended for several games or forever for something done in Columbus. UGA supposedly not involved, but whatever went on might put his career in peril. Anyone know what is up with this?
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:33 pm
Richt has a great chance to become the story of the year in the SEC, either way. I would love to see a headline in December that said ” Richt has last laugh, Goes 11-1 and signs a 5 year extension”
ConVick
July 20th, 2011
3:34 pm
Dawgs be careful what you wish for. Just look North for your future. UT has Fulmer, top recruiter year after year, top active coach in wins, but one NC to which he got in 1998. Tenn fans got fed up with ok years, we wanted it all. Got rid of Fulmer, got Lame Kitten, who left us high and dry after 1 season, along with NCAA violations as the butt, then we get Dooley, while the jury is still out, UT still has several years to go before they get in the hunt again. We screamed, we got what we wanted, and now look at us. So again be careful for what you wish for
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:34 pm
Rabun Dawg, you mean Jarvis Jones
DawginLex
July 20th, 2011
3:35 pm
After we beat boise, “gruff” will post under a new blog handle:
“Aaron Murray still has never beaten a team with a winning record.”
since Boise will be 0-1
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:40 pm
It won’t be against Boise. Kellen Moore will torch Georgia. He’s accurate, from any distance. Boise is 5-1 vs. ranked teams, and went 3-1 last season, they play big in big games, and rarely lose.
Richt was 0-5 against ranked team in 2010, and is 2-9 since 2008.
Richt plays small in big games.
James in Athens
July 20th, 2011
3:40 pm
Trust me on this- Our AD has no ties to
this coaching staff and if improvement is
not very noticable this season whatever the
final record my come out to be- A change will
be made after the TECH game. We will all know
pretty quick if we have improve vs. Boise State
and SC who is loaded this year…. Go Dogs!
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:44 pm
ConVick……….One biggggggggggggggg difference between our situation and yours. If, and I mean if Richt got fired after this year, the new guy would walk into a roster with an all SEC 2 tear starter Junior QB, the Best TE in the SEC and a loaded roster. There is a lot of young talent in Athens. A lot of real Dawg fans know this, and even if we look average this year, lot’s of Dawg fans want to wait till after 2012 to really judge him. The last class was special…and more on the way. Game day coaching and staff is still an issue.
Producer
July 20th, 2011
3:44 pm
Seriously, Bill?! His job is surely on the line and in my opinion, He shouldn’t even still be here at all. He can’t keep his kids out of jail, can’t motivate them to perform on the field and has to convince people of his worth by wearing his religion on his sleeve and in the pages of the Constitution. He’s a disaster as a coach. Winning the SEC East is the least he has to do. Even if if he doesn’t beat Florida or Tech, he should be gone. When he lost to that Florida junior college last year should have been the last straw. I don’t know, for the life of me, how he’s still employed here. And I’m a UGA alumni. My patience with this guy is gone!
Gruff
July 20th, 2011
3:45 pm
Murray couldn’t score a td last season without AJ Green against South Carolina, that was with Ealey & King & Durham, all 3 are gone. Won’t be pretty.
truedawg
July 20th, 2011
3:46 pm
This again?? With what’s going on with players droping like flies in Athens, I’d say it’s 8 wins now and keep it close in loses. Be playing for something in November, and beat UF and the bugs. IMO UGA will have a 10 win season this year and will play for an SEC title, and finish the year in the top 5, after beating the crap out of some pac 10 team in the sugar bowl. 10-3 or 11-2 GATA GO DAWGS!!
ksleezy
July 20th, 2011
3:46 pm
Agree with the person above stating, “It’s a shame that there is so little to write about and so much space to fill that all we get is “hot seat” articles!!!”; really folks, come on!!!
MCDAVIDDAWG
July 20th, 2011
3:46 pm
Richt should already be gone. If he continues, I’m sure I’m not the only one that will go to TV and cancel season tickets. It’s not much fun to see us beat a New Mexico State by a couple TD’s than get shocked by an undermaned Vanderbilt. Richt is not a winner, he doesn’t coach. Watch him during games, he walks the sidelines behind his shades and talks to no one. He’s not involved. If he was so honorable he would admit his lack of interest and go preach. But he’s not going to give up the money until we show him the door. I want some one who plays to win and for multi millions is willing to do it full time. He’s can’t coach, can’t produce balance recruiting, and can’t develop talent. He has ruined many a player that should have been great. As much as I love Georgia if I had a son currwntly being recruited, I would advise him to go somewhere else. This years recruiting is off to a very bad start, compare it to other schools at this point and we are not even in the game. Richt needs to go. I have no good feelings about this year at all, you folks expecting an east champion must be smoking something.
Snoop Dawg
July 20th, 2011
3:46 pm
Richt should have been fired after last season. Actually, he should have been fired after the 2009 season. Nevertheless, he’s still around. I have it from an impeccable source that Adams and the AD have set the bar at ten wins or else this year. Personally, it is possible to win the SEC East with Richt; however, the danger lies in that we can’t give him a new contract but rather just a one year extension. Most likely, he will lose five, six, or even seven games this year. The Bulldog nation doesn’t need to fret about what the players think when he is fired, because if a truly quality replacement is hired, this will generate extreme excitement almost immediately. UGA is a football college, in the top ten in all-time wins, makes more money than any other program except Texas, and has the most tolerant fan base in the NCAA, Life after Richt is going to be GREAT when we return to GLORY!
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:48 pm
Sadly, about half the Dawgs i talk to feel like Producer @3:44.
truedawg
July 20th, 2011
3:50 pm
Gruff did you see that game in SC? SC didn’t blow out the dawgs, and it was at their field. Also no AJ no Justin, and no nose tackle. No we have film on Lattimore, and more experince at QB and Defense. PLUS we got’em between the hedges…DID that Sc team that lost to KY get better during the off season? NOT much!! DID the DAWGS get better…leaps and bounds…GO DAWGS!!!
Dawgbreath
July 20th, 2011
3:51 pm
Sorry but “SC is still SC” is hogwash. That team is loaded and they have superior coaching. That’s the way it is.
chazzo
July 20th, 2011
3:51 pm
For those idiots talking about the intelligence of the UGA players. UGA’s players rated best academically next to Vandy, edgin out UF by a nose. Richt has taken on some hard cases and maybe given them too many chances, but for every story you read about a suspension or arrest, there are ten more that you read about players whose lives are better for having played under Richt.
Gruff (name d’jour), I don’t know why I am even addressing you, but any self-respecting Dawg fan doesn’t give a rat’s arse what someone from the state of Alabama thinks!
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:52 pm
This is where you guys laugh and smirk, but I have a friend who’s brother works for the Athletic dept in Athens and has told him , as all offices have gossip, but that McGarity wants Mark to turn it around, but has a list he is compiling, and has heard that Patterson from TCU is on the top. Probably BS, but I’ve heard that elsewhere also. Let’s hope we go 12-0
Dawgbreath
July 20th, 2011
3:53 pm
@Truedawg: The score wasn’t a blow out but what happened on the field was indeed not close. And they are loaded and are better than us at just about every position. Yeah, Murray may be a better talent but Garcia is experienced and he’s not a bad QB. Then there’s Lattimore. Then there’s Jeffrey. I think SC prevails rather handily.
chazzo
July 20th, 2011
3:54 pm
There is a hell of a lot more going on here than Ws and Ls. Many of the detractors would be okay with paying Cecil newton six figures if it meant we could have and NC. That aint winning, folks.
JB
July 20th, 2011
3:54 pm
Sorry, Snoop and impeccable don’t go together….LOL
Tech Sucks
July 20th, 2011
3:55 pm
BMDPD must be a Tech fan.
chazzo
July 20th, 2011
3:59 pm
Dawgbreath, I hear you, man. SC is the most underrated team in the NCAA. Yes, I am saying it again. How does anyone have a nine win season in the SEC, return all of the fire power (and Lattimore 30 lbs. heavier) and not even break the top twenty? AU is was underrated, as well. How does a team drop from #1 down below #20 because they lose two guys?
Don’t get me wrong, I want UGA to kick the snot out of both of them, but it isn’t going to be easy.
truedawg
July 20th, 2011
4:00 pm
Dawgbreath- Not taking anything aways from SC, but Thay have one WR that’s good, and one RB, and good D, but its always a close game, Last year they were clearly better than us, wasn’t even close, but still the Dawgs were in it til the 4th. They lost to KY, were they better than KY? more tallent? but the game has to be played. And UGA has a chip on there shoulder, and looking to get a lil pay back, and like i said, better QB, and better at RB this year. IMO also, its in Athens. The better D wins this game 9 out of 10 times, and this year, UGA will have the better D, have faith and you’ll see. LOADS better Defense this year. GO DAWGS!!!
DawgswinSEC
July 20th, 2011
4:00 pm
I’ll have whatever AV is smoking. You’re wrong and your opinion/theory is pathetic.
10-2 CMR stays!!
Sayonara Richt
July 20th, 2011
4:00 pm
It was fun Marky. Go coach at Liberty University
FDawg
July 20th, 2011
4:02 pm
I admire Coach Richt for his religious beliefs and the way he conducts himself as a man. But this isn’t Sunday school…this is big time college football. I think we need to see some serious improvement on the field and in the win column or he’s gone.
And to all the folks that think we’re going to show up and just mash Boise…I’m not so sure about that. This isn’t the same Boise team from 3 or 4 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love the DAWGS but these guys can play. Our defense better be ready….
Icedawg
July 20th, 2011
4:02 pm
9 wins he stays
The Ghost of Wally Butts
July 20th, 2011
4:02 pm
I predict we start the year 0 and 2, with plenty of sideline dancing and gangsta-rap gang sign flashing despite what the scoreboard says.
Then, the hot-seat talk will REALLY begin.
chazzo
July 20th, 2011
4:06 pm
Of course, McGarrity’s compiling a list. He is a good administrator. He needs to be ready for any eventuality. Every AD in the nation had better be thinking it. What if Saban decides to split for the NFL again? He hasn’t stuck around long most places, and he backed out at Bama previously. You don’t think their AD hasn’t got a list just in case. If he doesn’t he is an idiot.
I think it would be hilarious if UGA went 12-0, and Richt told everyone to kiss his arse and left Bobo in charge. He wouldn’t do that, though. he is a better man than me.
Reed
July 20th, 2011
4:07 pm
I just don’t feel UGA can pull out 7 wins. If you know the history of the UGA-Tenn series, you know how important playing on your own field is. Whoever played on their own field won the last 4 times. So you figure that’s a loss. Then you got the big boys Richt just can’t beat these days like Florida, Bopise, Carolina, Auburn and Mullen. That’s 6 losses. Tech–Kentucky could be surprise UGA losses, as they had the same 6-7 record as UGA last year and are not to be underestimated. Could be 8 losses there, easily. 8 very tough games of equal or better teams. Only 4 games are pretty much locks being NM St, C Caro, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss. Ole Miss could also be dangerous because Houston Nutt has to win this year or he’s done and they usually do score some points. Could be a 9th loss to Ole Miss.
Dog'67
July 20th, 2011
4:09 pm
We all want the DAWGS to do well but not at the sacfifice of school spirit and tradition. We had some lean years at GA when I was there, but, winning all the time was not the true meaning. Sitting in the stands and watching your team run out made the hairs on my neck stand-up. Playing any sport at UGA is truly a privilege and not a given. Too many of these young men feel that UGA owes them something and they can act-up however they feel. It’s time to put away the attitude of “what are you going to do for me” and start asking “what can I do to earn this privilege of being called a GEORGIA BULLDOG?”.
beebee
July 20th, 2011
4:09 pm
SP: I had that thought. Richt win it all then go out on a bang and lend his life to mission work/philanthropy.
As a Tech fan/Bama fan, I hope it doesn’t happen. But the thought occurred to me.
bee