Even as Richt focuses on Tech, there’s a grim big picture
Turnovers are a symptom, but they're not the problem itself. (AP photo by John Amis)
In the grand scheme, the Kentucky loss should be a blessing. It should yield the sort of clarity needed when quality control has slipped. A coach can fool himself for a while, but when he loses at home to Kentucky after leading by 14 points, he has to acknowledge the obvious. Doesn’t he?
Even as he approached a game against the best team in the state his Georgia Bulldogs long ruled, Mark Richt still wouldn’t address the greater issue, at least not on the record. “I’ve never been one to focus on several things at one time,” he said Wednesday. This week he would speak only of Georgia Tech, saying, “My feeling right now is on the next game; it’s such a crucial game for our program.”
But there he’s wrong. Beating Tech might mean the difference between a bowl in Nashville and one in Shreveport, but winning at Bobby Dodd Stadium won’t cure the systemic ill. On the contrary, it might offer Richt another reason not to change, and if that’s the case, this would be the one time when beating an in-state rival proved injurious to a program’s long-term health.
Because Georgia must change to keep pace, not just with Tech but with Tennessee and Kiffin and Auburn and Chizik. (Forget Florida and Alabama and LSU — they’ve already lapped the Bulldogs.) And it isn’t a one-year blip, as apologists insist, but a trend. In the first five seasons under Richt, Georgia played for the SEC title three times, winning twice, and had a record of 52-13. In these past four seasons, Georgia hasn’t reached the conference championship game and is 36-14, having gone 2-2 against Kentucky.
Think hard about that last part. Vince Dooley lost four times to the Wildcats in a quarter-century of coaching. Ray Goff lost once to Kentucky in six tries, Jim Donnan once in five. Richt has now done it twice. It’s one thing to lose to Florida, as Richt has managed seven times in nine tries, something else again to lose to a basketball school.
Asked about the need for change in his program on the SEC teleconference this week, Richt instead dissected the Kentucky loss. “Turnovers were the story of that game,” he said. “If it was zero-zero in turnovers or we’d have won the turnover battle, that’s a different game.” And it’s true that Georgia had four turnovers to Kentucky’s none, but ultimately Richt seemed to concede the futility of his argument: “Of course, you can’t throw out the turnovers.”
And you can’t. There’s no reason Georgia should be giving the ball to a lesser team four times without once being able to snatch it back. There’s no reason Georgia should be next-to-last in the nation in turnover margin, no reason it should rank 116th among 120 teams in penalties. Richt and his staff have stopped coaching effectively and have begun to rely on recruiting to see them through, and when you lose to Kentucky you see why recruiting is never enough. (If it were, Ron Zook would be Urban Meyer.)
No matter what happens against Tech, Richt will have to change his staff and his approach if he hopes again to play in the Georgia Dome for anything more than a Chick-fil-A Bowl trophy. Is there one Bulldog assistant who has gotten the most from his charges? Mike Bobo? Jon Fabris? John Jancek? Stacy Searels? Dave Van Halanger? Willie Martinez?
Forget this staff’s perceived February successes; even Rodney Garner, the chief recruiter, has insisted: “I’m a coach who recruits,” and not the other way around. But even with the gifted freshmen on campus — Branden Smith, Orson Charles, Washaun Ealey, Rantavious Wooten, Aaron Murray, Marlon Brown — is there any assurance they’ll flourish under these coaches?
Mark Richt is a smart man. He has to realize declining results call for an upgrade in standards. He has to know the only way back to the pinnacle of the SEC isn’t to stay the course but to change the navigators. He has to grasp this. Doesn’t he?
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425 comments Add your comment
2010 Looking Good for Georgia
November 27th, 2009
11:22 am
1. Richt has never had 2 bad turnover years in a row where we were at the bottom in both giveaways AND takeaways
2. Richt has never had 2 bad seasons ina row since he’s been here in 2010
3. Meyer lost 41-0 against Michigan, Saban lost to La Tech, Stoops to K. St, Bear Bryant lost to Texas Tech 35-7. So if 1 game ACCURATELY predicts the future, all these guys SHOULD have had grim futures too, right? Richt has won 60 wins in 6 years, 70 in 7, 80 in 8. 4th winningest active coach out of 120 program.
Case closed.
Papadawg.
November 27th, 2009
11:22 am
Hey folks at the time there were a lot of people thinking Hawaii should be in the title game. I thought they should have been on the blue field not playing the Dawgs.
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:22 am
Watch it GT fans, your team has not won anything yet.
GTSteve
November 27th, 2009
11:23 am
UGA actually could have won the national championship that year, there was 1 game they lost, I don’t remember to who, they were driving for the winning touchdown. Moreno was getting 5-10 yards a carry, but jumping up and celebrating after very play. CMR took him out and UGA didnt score. So they tied for the SEC east, didn’t play for the SEC or National Championship. Maybe that is why CMR isn’t as strict on his players now.
GT Rules State
November 27th, 2009
11:24 am
Oh Charlie … much more than your precious mutts
GTSteve
November 27th, 2009
11:25 am
Of course they would have had to beat LSU ( i think ) again, and somebody better than Hawaii in the NC game
Urban Meyers to Notre Dame!
November 27th, 2009
11:26 am
huffington Post says Meyers goes to Notre Dame:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/18/urban-meyer-notre-dame-ru_n_362646.html
Whopper Dawg
November 27th, 2009
11:28 am
It really is not complex –
- Swap your DC that gives up 16 points a game for one that gives up over 30 per game.
- Mix with an average OC and the worst team in penalties and turnover ratio
- Add an incompetent special teams coach
What do you get? 6 and 6. Even with an easier schedule next year, I can’t get to more than 7 wins best case.
Mark Bradley
November 27th, 2009
11:29 am
I’ve read each of these linked posts on Urban Meyer — FYI, it’s singular — going to Notre Dame or the NFL. Not one actually says he’s leaving. Not one. Now, he very well might. But these are speculative.
Yellow Whiz
November 27th, 2009
11:31 am
I am so excited about state of Georgia Tech football! I think I might even go to a game next year. Who our new goalkeeper going to be? Yay!
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:31 am
GT rules, I guess it really does not matter. If tech wins, you will gloat, if they loose, you disappear. I do know your average Tech fan. But the fact is,
GT45
November 27th, 2009
11:31 am
Richt won on Donnan’s recruits
GTSteve
November 27th, 2009
11:31 am
I don’t see Meyer going anywhere
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
November 27th, 2009
11:32 am
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Yet another piece of drivel brought to you by the AJC’s newest Terrance Moore impersonator. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, write (or at least try to). Get a new horse MB this one has been beaten to death
exNFLplayer
November 27th, 2009
11:33 am
UGA needs a new DC and a full time ST coach. That’s it. Period. I haven’t heard one poster here that’s hopped on the fire Richt bandwagon throw out one name to replace him. Nobody is going to come in here and run roughshod over the coaches in this league. Do you think Ole Miss didn’t regret overreacting with David Cutcliffe? Go ahead and throw the baby out with the bath water and I’m willing to bet that 3 years from now the same crowd will be in here again wanting to fire the savior that right now they can’t even name. And just because you are a fan that “cares” and “wants” to win an NC, doesn’t make you rational in your approach to doing just that. Be careful what you ask for.
2010 Looking Good for Georgia
November 27th, 2009
11:34 am
If Cox outgunned Brady, Marino, and Tebow, and if he’s as bad as it gets for Georgia, then 2010 is looking good.
–
Tom Brady 1998 Michigan
131 Effic., 15 td’s, 12 int’s, 2636 yards
Joe Cox 2009 Georgia
139 Effic, 21 td’s, 14 int’s, 2350 yards (2 games to go)
–
Dan Marino, Pittsburg, 1982
58% completion, 2432 yards, 17 td’s, 23 int’s, 67 pass rating
Joe Cox, Georgia, 2009
56% Completion, 2350 yards, 21 td’s, 14 int’s, 138 pass rating (2 more games to go)
–
Cox-
21 TD’S, 2350 passing yards, 10 sacks (2 games to go)
Tebow-
14 TD’s, 1945 yards, 23 sacks
—
45ACP
November 27th, 2009
11:34 am
The Jackets are the task at hand. As they should be.
Coaching evaluations should be handled in the off season.
Which they will be.
Coach Richt has not forgotten how to coach or manage.
He will get the Dawgs back on track.
Buckhead Bulldog
November 27th, 2009
11:35 am
Florida will be dead in 2010: Dude! UF is STILL loaded but so are we. Should be a good one JAX next year!
exNFLplayer
November 27th, 2009
11:35 am
And GT45, Paul Johnson is winning with Chan’s. So what’s your point? Urban Meyer won his 1st NC with Ron Zook’s.
Paddy
November 27th, 2009
11:36 am
Dwyer 7 yrs 5 carries….please keep it up you are making my case for me. See you after the Cumberland game. You will able to spot me, I will be the one who does not have crow feathers around his mouth. Bring me someone else, this guy is just too easy!
Mark Bradley
November 27th, 2009
11:37 am
To be clear: I don’t think Richt should or will be fired. He’s an outstanding coach. But even outstanding coaches have to change the dynamics. Nobody wins the same way all the time.
45ACP
November 27th, 2009
11:38 am
Mark – Well stated.
GT45
November 27th, 2009
11:39 am
wannabenfler, You best look at PJ’s overall work, and Meyer’s
GT Rules State
November 27th, 2009
11:39 am
UGA isn’t good enough for Richt … you guys will run him off and he will come back and haunt you. The conflict is, the fan base doesn’t have the same charcter. Go ahead, pull the trigger.
willie martinez
November 27th, 2009
11:40 am
Well Mark, you didnt name me but sure did, as you said, invoke me.
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:40 am
It is amazing, you are not going to win them all every year. Granted, UGA is having too many penalties and turnovers, but it is not exactly life and death, or something that can’t be fixed.
Even the mighty USC got smoked by Stanford.
I think you UGA fans who want Richts head are just naturally unhappy people.
FLA DAWG
November 27th, 2009
11:41 am
Mark,
I used to agree that Richt was an outstanding coach. I no longer feel that way.
He may still be an outstanding OC but any Head Coach that hires his old roomate as DC whose track record is at best unimpressive and an On The Job Training OC is not performing like an outstanding Head Coach.
Denver Dog
November 27th, 2009
11:41 am
Young players, and inconsistent coaching are the root of this evil. However, I said it early and often, Richt will make the changes he needs to make, or UGA will make them. Some coaches take that very personal though. AKA Dick Sheridan when he was told he had to keep Bill Lewis on the UGA staff in 1989. Let’s see what happens now, he can’t change coordinators in the middle of the season, and he can’t change the results. I would believe that we will see at least three new coaches this year, and 2 of the 3 coordinators will be replaced.
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:43 am
I look forward to seeing Tebo in the NFL. I am curious to see what he can do.
FLA DAWG
November 27th, 2009
11:43 am
By the way, I continue to hear that Tubberville is coming our way. If Richt does this and then takes over Offensive Playcalling we will be in a better position. I’d still like to see Spurrier (can’t believe I’m typing this!) as Head Coach with Weiss as OC and Tubberville as DC.
Dream Coaching Team!
Mark Bradley
November 27th, 2009
11:44 am
I always like to offer an invocation, CWM.
willie martinez
November 27th, 2009
11:44 am
Mark once my persona did invoke
supposedly not to provoke
he can’t know
how high my bp goes
when he asks me about mirrors and smoke
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:44 am
I am pretty sure Martinez and Bobo will resign.
exNFLplayer
November 27th, 2009
11:46 am
Paul Johnson has yet to win any championship beyond lower division. Chan Gailey did that. Jim Donnan did that. Right now PJ’s body of work doesn’t come close to Richt’s on the big stage. Come back when he does. And yes he is winning with Chan Gailey’s players. So what?
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:46 am
FLA Dawg, why in the world would Weis want to come to UGA as an OC?
lmp
November 27th, 2009
11:48 am
Willie will be leaving Sunday, you can bet on that. Richt will go back to the play calling and Bobo will be the QB coach. All you haters will see what happens(possibly tomorrow) and def. NEXT YEAR!!!!!
exNFLplayer
November 27th, 2009
11:48 am
Thank you GT Rules State. You nailed it.
willie martinez
November 27th, 2009
11:48 am
Mark,
i do also, but yours sounds more like my obit. willie
Charlie
November 27th, 2009
11:48 am
Exactly, CPJ is at Jim Donnan Status. He has won a couple of big regular season games in D1.
jeffrey d
November 27th, 2009
11:49 am
If there are not any changes in the coaching staff after the season, then CMR’s job should be on the line next year.
It’s not saying much, but that is one of the smartest and most logical statements I’ve seen on here. Everyone wants to throw out CMR’s previous body of work, attributing it to Greene, VanGorder, etc. And judge him because he’s having a bad season. It’s obvious there needs to be big changes made. If by next season we’re seeing the same story, then I think it’s time for Richt to go.
FLA DAWG
November 27th, 2009
11:50 am
Charlie,
I didn’t say he would.
I have heard that the Tubberville rumor is a very strong one.
goalinestalker
November 27th, 2009
11:51 am
How has LSU lapped UGA? We were going for 4 in a row when some Ref decides to pull his flag out of his pocket! LSU went from NC to 7-5 last yr? Mr. Timex couldn’t even manage the end of the Ole Miss game. If Miss St had ant creativity in there play calling on the goaline we are not even having this convo. I will give you the Fla and Bama lapping UGA however not LSU
Meyers to Notre Dame
November 27th, 2009
11:52 am
Bradley, if you can speculate about Georgia’s grim future, and that’s ok, why is NOT ok to speculate about what some journalists think will happen to Urban Meyers in the future: NFL or Notre Dame?
GT
November 27th, 2009
11:52 am
Mark right down the middle again. One thing that always amazes and educates me is Georgia unlike Georgia Tech has picked their talent right off the tree. No having to work with what is handed them or having to recruit second choices or forth or fifth. When Tech has had their worst years the coaches couldn’t or wouldn’t recruit the talent, seldom were they down with talent the cause. Usually they had to coach and take what came after Georgia picked over the crop. Gailey had Calvin but was stuck with Reggie who I am sure came to Tech because most others were thinking of moving him to another position. I can’t remember a quarterback for Georgia under 6ft. tall, yet I can remember several for Tech lke Dewberry or Hamilton. To watch the rich kid drop out of college when Tech has stuggled all these years to have enough dimes and nichles to get in the game amazes me, but teaches me that coaching is more than just getting Hershal Walker. Vince was more than Hershal Walker too. Maybe this little time in the cellar might cause a little new found respect for the man who caused all this talent to come to Georgia and I would think now bites his tongue watching it being wasted.
GT45
November 27th, 2009
11:53 am
Dude, the blog is about a faltering UGA program! My point is, Richt has not improved the program. PJ and UM are proven winners-with whoevers talent. CMR has only UGA on his resume’. Don’t take it personally, but he doesn’t have the head coaching experience!
GT45
November 27th, 2009
11:56 am
By the way, PJ is doing a heltuva a lot MORE with Gailey’s players than Gailey ever did!
GT Now and Forever
November 27th, 2009
11:56 am
Yellow Fuzz—————– The Dawg fans really don’t have a leg to stand on with their trash talk this year! So your childish posts don’t make us look too good! Show some class my Tech friend!
LCDawg
November 27th, 2009
11:59 am
Rumor has it that Willie has already been fired and that will be announced after the Tech game regardless of the outcome. More than likely on Sunday. Question is does he promote Garner or Jancek from within or look outside the program. Not sure they can lure Kirby back to his alma mater after the way he left last time.
JET
November 27th, 2009
12:01 pm
Please keep in mind that it is a small percentage of “fans” who think Richt should be cut loose right now. Richt should not and will not be fired this season and if he is, then we are screwed. Richt is and has been the right man for the job and he will do what needs to be done to correct the issues in Athens. Of course he isn’t going to talk about this in the media and he shouldn’t. Does that mean he hasn’t thought about it? No… his #1 reason for getting Bobo on the OC seat was so that he could focus on being the head coach of the program and not allowing those responsibilities to affect his play calling plans and vice versa. He is saying he isn’t good at thinking about more than one thing at at time, but he is and does. Change will come in Athens, but it won’t be full blown ousting of WM and MB like some want. Let’s allow this man to do what is needed and see how it goes.
1 season of shock shouldn’t cause this much of a tailspin. Dawg fans need to have some perspective and just calm down. Has the D been an issue? Yes…It could have been addressed, but Richt stuck it out and now that experiment hasn’t worked. It will be fixed. If and when UGA loses to Tech, Dawg fans shouldn’t blow up about it…we should lose! At the beginning of the season, most rational and educated fans (the majority mind you) knew we were looking at 8-4 or 7-5 because of the loss of 93% of the offense and the D issues (specifically the secondary). (Which by the way, do we really want WM as the secondary coach? They ARE the weak link). Tenn and Kentucky losses are the two unexpected losses that have driven the shock.
That being said, UF and ‘Bama are the two programs in the SEC, but LSU has NOT lapped us in any way shape or form. Remember, journalists are about reporting and creating some sense of upset to create interest. Same here on the good ‘ole ajc.com.
Support your Dawgs and be thankful we have had a great coach for the past 9 years. Sure this year has been sad, but what did you expect? And, don’t give me the 10-3 last year was a bad year. We didn’t win a NC or the SEC, but thats how it is. We were in an unknown territory with some “leaders” who didn’t have the team in mind. It was great to see Stafford or Knownshon on the field, but they were about themselves because of the hype, attention, and results. This team will be back…
Go Dawgs!
exNFLplayer
November 27th, 2009
12:01 pm
I agree with that GT45. Just like Meyer did more with Zooks and Richt did more with Donnans. Not sure what your point is other than coming in here and trying to start another Paul Johnson lovefest. Aren’t they doing that in the GT blog this morning?