Richt has impressive company among coaches with no national title
Can Mark Richt be called a great football coach if he never wins a national title? (Jason Getz / AJC)
USA Today’s Mike Lopresti had an interesting column this week discussing who is the best current college football coach without a national championship.
Naturally, Mark Richt’s name came up, with Lopresti noting that the coach “has survived the Southeastern Conference hothouse at Georgia for 11 years and won nearly 74 percent of his games.”
But Lopresti consigned Richt to the “resonable nominees” list along with Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema, Nevada’s Chris Ault (really!!??) and Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly (who has the best winning percentage among the top 10 active coaches in career victories).
His main candidates, though, included Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, Boise State’s Chris Petersen, Oregon’s Chip Kelly, TCU’s Gary Patterson and his ultimate choice of the best coach without a crystal football: Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, who has 251 career victories (the most of any active coach), has had 19 bowl teams and came closest to a national championship in 1999 with a certain dog-abusing quarterback.
Frank Beamer also doesn't have a national championship. (Associated Press)
Who the USA Today columnist picked as the best coach without a national title didn’t interest me as much as the fact that it’s a list of pretty impressive and successful coaching talent who are in the same boat as UGA’s Richt.
So, here’s my question: Just how important to a program is it to win a national championship? If Richt never gets one, will he forever rank behind the Nick Sabans and Urban Meyers, no matter how many successful seasons he coaches at Georgia? That’s been the major knock on Richt and it boggles my mind a little to realize that even if his Dawgs were to manage to win the SEC championship game this season and make it to the BCS game and didn’t win it … he’d still have that same millstone around his neck.
What do you think? Is it all about the national title? If so, does that really make Frank Beamer less of a coach than Urban Meyer?
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382 comments Add your comment
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
2:55 pm
“we SHOULD have gotten in the Big Game
When? UGA hasn’t gone undefeated since Jimmy Carter left office.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
2:56 pm
“Mark Richt is not coaching at some secondhand, poorly funded directional school but instead is coaching at one of the highest profile”
LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Funniest post of the day. UGA and high profile do NOT go together.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
2:56 pm
“Every team has close games that end up in the title game. Don;t try and say that every game is a blowout for the champion because they are not.”- DawginLex
Not quite sir. Usually you would be right but last year was an exception. Other than the regular season game between LSU and Alabama neither one of those 2 teams had a close game the entire season. Both blew out every opponent on their schedule. Bama’s closest game was a 27-11 win over Penn St. when PSU scored a td and 2 pt conversion in the waning moments. LSU didn’t really have any close games either.
DawginLex
August 22nd, 2012
2:58 pm
LSU also lost their last game of the regular season in 2007.
If UK had figured out how to get over the UT hurdle in that 4 OT game THAT I ATTENDED, UGA would have beat LSU like a rented mule and then deeestroyed Ohio state.
But we didn’t, so it’s over.
Only an idiot would say Saban can’t coach. He can
This year coming up is our chance though. Bama lost a ton on defense and Trent is in the NFL. Mett is unproven at QB at LSU. We gotta get to ATL with 1 or no losses and then we get to see if we are ready or not.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
2:58 pm
“If winning a Natl Champ made you a great coach, what happened to Gene C after Cam left?”
Uh, it’s called graduation/NFL draft. Auburn lost 33 players due to graduation and the draft. Kind of hard to win it all after you lose that much experience. Auburn will be just fine as they are closing in on yet another top 10 class.
Auburn was picked to have a losing season last year and still managed to go 8-5 and win their bowl game. Their defense will be MUCH better this year.
CHDawg
August 22nd, 2012
2:59 pm
“Tide Rising,” your obsession with UGA betrays you. The fact that you lied about the TN score, and you utterly failed to mention the teams Georgia beat by a larger margin than LSU, even “forgetting” that Georgia whipped KY, and LSU lost to them, is telling. Florida was weak? Sure! They were only ranked in the top 5 for the first third of the season, and they only won the National Championship in both the preceding and succeeding years!!! You are a football genius, Tide Rising. Or should I say, GTBob?
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
2:59 pm
“Other than the regular season game between LSU and Alabama neither one of those 2 teams had a close game the entire season. Both blew out every opponent on their schedule. ”
That is true.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:00 pm
“UGA would have beat LSU like a rented mule and then deeestroyed Ohio state.’
Woulda, coulda shoulda doesn’t apply in the real world. Using that logic, Auburn would have won the 2004 championship against Oklahoma if USC had been caught cheating prior to the big game.
Eisendawg
August 22nd, 2012
3:01 pm
Thank you Ron Roberts for an intelligent, insightful post! (11:25 AM). In regards to comments about Richt having incredible talent, I think you have to give Richt and his staff credit for that. Getting good players to come, takes alot of work, but it gives you a better chance to win. Alot of things have to happen in order to win the NC. Alabama, for instance, got a chance to play for the NC last year, even though they didn’t win their conferance. UGA was not given that opportunity a few years back, even though I think they were, at least, as good as the two teams that played for it. It takes alot of skill, and some luck, to get to the big game, and win it.
DawginLex
August 22nd, 2012
3:01 pm
Auburn will go 6-6 this year or 7-5 if they are lucky. Looking at a 1-4 start
Chizik better hope BVG still has some of his old UGA magic left
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:02 pm
“Georgia beat by a larger margin than LSU”
It’s funny to see how pathetic dawg fans really are. You’re arguing what happened in 2007????
AGAIN:
UGA DID NOT WIN THEIR DIVISION.
UGA DID NOT WIN THE SEC TITLE.
Get over it.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:03 pm
“Auburn will go 6-6 this year or 7-5 if they are lucky. Looking at a 1-4 start”
DawginLex predictions are about as relevant as Herschel Walkers Trans Am.
“Chizik better hope BVG still has some of his old UGA magic left”
BVG came over from the Atlanta Falcons. BVG doesn’t remember UGA.
DawginLex
August 22nd, 2012
3:04 pm
I have always equated 2004 Auburn and 2002 UGA as 2 teams that deserved title shots. Wouldn’t have mattered if we beat Florida that year, the ESPN boys already had OSU and Miami as the darlings. Same for Auburn in 2004. 2 future NFL running backs and an NFL QB don’t deserve a shot? Yes they did and so did 2002 UGA
both teams were kept out by cheaters
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:04 pm
DawginLex will be crying in his beer when UGA loses to one of its high school opponents.
I wonder if UGA will ever win another bowl game?
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:06 pm
“I have always equated 2004 Auburn and 2002 UGA as 2 teams that deserved title shots.”
Except for the fact that Auburn had a MUCH better team than the 2002 UGA team. Better offense and defense. Check the numbers if you don’t believe me.
Auburn beat 6 top 25 teams that year including one of them twice. Auburn also set an NFL draft record with players who went in the first round.
OH, and all of those players are still playing in the NFL.
The biggest difference between the two is that Auburn went undefeated. UGA not so much.
GTBob
August 22nd, 2012
3:06 pm
Guys, don’t waste your time trying to talk to GTBob or argue with him.
He is an idiot of the highest order and his hatred for UGA and absolutely insane, comical comments make him someone to be pitied.
Post this a few more times, just in case someone misses it.
KeepDreaming
August 22nd, 2012
3:08 pm
Bill, YES IT’S ABOUT THE NATIONAL TITLE!!!!
@hyh??????
August 22nd, 2012
3:09 pm
ALABAMA DID NOT WIN THEIR DIVISION
ALABAMA DID NOT WIN THE SEC TITLE
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:09 pm
“I tried conversing with you in an adult way and you continue your smartalec responses.
You must have me mixed up with someone else, Lex. I don’t see ANY conversations between us before your meltdown.
CHDawg
August 22nd, 2012
3:09 pm
HUH??, he, or should I say you? Was discussing the subject, not me. I simply corrected his lies and mistakes. Get over it. Let me tell you what is pathetic…people like you who hate other teams so bad that they post a million lies on blogs all day. Go look in the mirror if you want to see a picture of pathetic.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:10 pm
“ALABAMA DID NOT WIN THEIR DIVISION”
And they were still better than every other team in the country. Combined.
“ALABAMA DID NOT WIN THE SEC TITLE”
And they were still better than every other team in the country. Combined.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:10 pm
“If UK had figured out how to get over the UT hurdle in that 4 OT game THAT I ATTENDED, UGA would have beat LSU like a rented mule and then deeestroyed Ohio state.”
I seriously doubt that. LSU was simply better than Georgia that year and their record proved it. They didn’t lose at home to an unranked team and they didn’t get blown out by anyone- they lost 2 games in triple OT on the road to bowlbound teams. Championship teams do not get BLOWN OUT. And you also forget that LSU drilled VT 48-7 that year. VT ended up finishing 4th in the nation that year. Funny how you guys forget the impressive nonconference game LSU won that year.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:11 pm
“people like you who hate other teams so bad that they post a million lies on blogs all day.”
What did I lie about?
Million lies? Show me a million lies.
All day? I’ve been here all of maybe 30 mins.
Geez, you dawg fans are horrible with math and reading comprehension.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:11 pm
“And they were still better than every other team in the country. Combined.”
Yep!. A 21-0 stomping in the rematch proved it. No missed 4 field goals the 2nd time around.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:11 pm
“Go look in the mirror if you want to see a picture of pathetic.”
You’re in my mirror?
GTBob
August 22nd, 2012
3:11 pm
Bob — Where is Bama @ on this list?
Bama wasn’t in the top 5 for the decade.
@hyh??????
August 22nd, 2012
3:12 pm
But, the point is they were given a chance that other teams were not given.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:13 pm
Tide Rising
I absolutely positively hate UAT. BUT, I will defend their awesome record against angry dawg fans any day of the week. Why, because as an Auburn guy, I’ve had to deal with this kind of mess for years. UGA football has a lot in common with the Chicago Cubs. A lot of talk, drunk fans and nothing to show.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:13 pm
“But, the point is they were given a chance that other teams were not given.”
Like who? What teams were not given a chance?
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:14 pm
“I have always equated 2004 Auburn and 2002 UGA as 2 teams that deserved title shots.”
Nope. The AU team of 04 was demonstrably superior. They didn’t lose a game and most of their games weren’t even close. Georgia’s 2002 team not only lost a game but was lucky to win a couple of squeakers.
let the excuses begin.....
August 22nd, 2012
3:14 pm
#1 amongst the losers. that’s the ranking I want for my coach.
like winning the NIT.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:15 pm
Huh,
I understand the hate. But I have to look at things objectively and agree with you on the AU 04 team. In my mind you have 2 bcs titles. And the comparison by the dawg fan of the 04 AU team to the 02 dawg team is laughable.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:16 pm
@hyh??????
Dawg fans are going to have to get over the fact that they didn’t play for a title in 2002 or 2007. Trust me, I was there in 2004 when AU was left out and that really hurt. Why, because I watched the best team in the country stomp all over every opponent by the stellar defense.
The best way to get over it is by winning A national title. 2010 made me get over 2004, 1993 and 1983.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:17 pm
“Nope. The AU team of 04 was demonstrably superior. They didn’t lose a game and most of their games weren’t even close.’
I’ve talked to MANY Bama fans who will admit that that 2004 squad had a better defense than the 2009 Bama championship team. Every player who went into the NFL is still playing/starting for whatever team they play for.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:19 pm
“In my mind you have 2 bcs titles.”
I wish but that 04 team did help the SEC get first dibs in playing for the national title. Back then, people at ESPN laughed at the SEC. I remember Lee Corso saying that Auburn could not beat USC because USC beat them the year before. What a moronic comment that was. It’s like saying AU couldn’t beat Bama in 2010 because they lost in 2009.
The state of Alabama OWNS the college football world and has for 3 straight years. I will always pull for Bama and Auburn in bowl games/title games.
Eisendawg
August 22nd, 2012
3:22 pm
I have to agree about the 2004 Auburn team deserving a shot at the NC. That was a flagrant example of how the BCS system was flawed. But, there have been plenty of others. For example, Boise State gets no respect, while Ohio State has gotten more breaks than a skydiver with no chute.
@HUH????
August 22nd, 2012
3:24 pm
Yep, Auburn has been cheated out of a NC, but they have also cheated to get one, so I guess it all worked out. lol
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:25 pm
“For example, Boise State gets no respect”
BS hasn’t gone undefeated recently. Their schedule is a joke.
“Ohio State has gotten more breaks”
Yep, and they payed a heavy price by getting destroyed by LSU and UF.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:25 pm
“I’ve talked to MANY Bama fans who will admit that that 2004 squad had a better defense than the 2009 Bama championship team.”
That’s a tough one. Its close but statistically I think the 09 team was better. I do know that statistically the 2011 Alabama D was better than both and is probably the greatest Defense to have ever stepped on the field. They were no. 1 in all 4 major statistical categories and by a wide margin over everyone else.
Regarding 04 I think a retroactive rewarding of the title to AU would have been appropriate. I doubt it would have made anyone’s day at AU though. Kinda would take the luster off the trophy 7 years late.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:26 pm
“but they have also cheated to get one,”
When did that happen? I mean, Auburn hasn’t been on probation since 1993. OH WAIT, you’re talking about the great and powerful Cam Newton.
Sorry ma’am, but that has been cleared by the NCAA.
CHDawg
August 22nd, 2012
3:26 pm
Huh, since you have come to a Georgia football fan blog, insulted our school and program, misrepresented discussions, and admitted you don’t know the identity of the person you see in the mirror, and you have chided us for living in the past, let’s talk about ‘12. How bad do you think your War Eagles will beat the “pathetic” Georgia Bulldogs in 12, and why?
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:27 pm
AU not getting a shot in 04 is about the only example I can find where the bcs got it wrong. In every other case it looks to me like they essentially got it right.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:27 pm
“Regarding 04 I think a retroactive rewarding of the title to AU would have been appropriate.”
No, if they didn’t play and win it then it should remain vacant.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:27 pm
So now Chdawg thinks that a 10 pt win over UK constitutes a whipping. Delusional I tell ya.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:29 pm
“since you have come to a Georgia football fan blog”
This is a blog about national championships and Auburn’s name has been brought up several times.
“insulted our school and program”
No, they do that to themselves every year.
“misrepresented discussions”
When and where? You keep saying that yet you can’t prove it.
“you have chided us for living in the past”
As have the rest of the SEC.
“How bad do you think your War Eagles will beat the “pathetic” Georgia Bulldogs in 12, and why?”
Your words, not mine. I do know that UGA will not be playing for a title game since they are incapable of beating a top ranked program.
Bama or LSU will again STOMP UGA.
Tide Rising
August 22nd, 2012
3:30 pm
“but they have also cheated to get one,”
I guess dawg fans have usurped NCAA authority and now are the sole arbiters of who is cheating and when and where. I’m still waiting on them to provide their proof.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:30 pm
“So now Chdawg thinks that a 10 pt win over UK constitutes a whipping. ”
He also accused me of lying and misrepresenting a school yet has NOT provided ANY evidence. I really how he’s not a law student because whoever picks him as a lawyer will lose a lot of money.
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:31 pm
” I wanted to recruit Cam Newton as a tight end.” – CMR
Nuff said.
RxDawg
August 22nd, 2012
3:31 pm
“UGA has gotten the talent. Ask Scout, Rivals, etc.”
Ok, first of all, do not reference Scout, Rivals, or ESPN recruiting “rankings” to try to prove any fact. All the recruiting services do is pick out which fan base will give them the most money to blow smoke up their arse
HUH?????
August 22nd, 2012
3:32 pm
“All the recruiting services do is pick out which fan base will give them the most money to blow smoke up their arse”
Best comment. Ever.