There’s no other way to say it: Mark Richt is in trouble at UGA
This was Mississippi State's first touchdown Saturday. It would add two more. (AP photo)
I wouldn’t have thought such a thing possible a month ago or a week ago or even 24 hours ago, but here it is:
Mark Richt is in trouble.
It was possible to write off Georgia’s first two losses as having come against superior opposition. It is not possible to write off losing in Starkville. It is not possible to square all those ballyhooed recruiting classes with being 0-3 in the conference. It is not possible to look on the Bulldogs as anything more than a middling SEC team.
Five years ago, how many other league schools would have gladly traded their coach for Richt? Nine? Ten? How many would today? Maybe three, and that’s depending on how Ole Miss feels about Houston Nutt this week. Too many SEC programs have caught and passed Georgia, and this has nothing to do with the superpowers in Tuscaloosa and Gainesville. Consider:
Last year Georgia lost to Tennessee in Year 1 of Lane Kiffin. Last week Georgia lost to Arkansas in Sanford Stadium in Year 3 of Bobby Petrino. Last night Georgia lost to Mississippi State in Year 2 under Dan Mullen.
No longer does an opponent tremble at the sight of Georgia approaching. On the contrary, this has become — three weeks running! — the team you want to play if you’re looking to establish your program.
The old Steve Spurrier critique of Ray Goff — “Georgia gets all these players … I don’t know what happens to them” — again applies. Georgia doesn’t lack talent. It simply cannot bring its talent to bear. Its new 3-4 defense mustered one sack against Arkansas and Ryan Mallett. Its touted offensive line was able to carve out 113 yards rushing against Manny Diaz’s Mississippi State defense. Its offense could not score a touchdown against South Carolina and needed 58-plus minutes to manage one in Starkville.
There has been no improvement week over week. There is only a weird stasis. The weeks and the opponents change, but Georgia looks no different. How does that happen?
Loading ...Granted, the season might look different had A.J. Green played these four games. But he didn’t because he broke a rule, and that’s the other reason Richt is in trouble. A coach can get away with having his players mess up off the field if the coach keeps winning big on it. But Richt is 10-9 dating back to Nov. 29, 2008, and guess what cheery news awaited him on his return from Mississippi?
You got it. Another player has been arrested.
When I say, “Richt is in trouble,” I don’t mean I expect him to be fired this week or even after this season. I think Greg McGarity, the new athletic director, will err on the side of patience with a coach of such distinguished pedigree. (And a strong finish to this season — winning the next eight and beating Auburn and Florida en route — would effectively get Richt out of trouble.) But the loss at State seems a tipping point. It seems the game in which the majority of Georgia fans stopped seeing Mark Richt as the answer and came to regard him as the problem.
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1,529 comments Add your comment
Gatorade
September 26th, 2010
8:30 pm
A gator will eat a bulldog you know ?
Tide Rising
September 26th, 2010
8:30 pm
Mike,
That’s a very valid post at 8:23. The punishment for this kid does seem out of whack compared to ealey’s one game suspension especially after ealey was told by the coaching staff not to drive. But Richt is mad enough and the timing of this kid’s DUI couldn’t have been worse. I understand why CMR threw the book at him.
Yellow Fuzz
September 26th, 2010
8:31 pm
Irrelevance WAS being passed over by the Outback Bowl and playing in the Shreveport Bowl. Now
Irrelevance is being the only SEC team other than Vandy to NOT play in a bowl this season.
(((((((((((((((((((( hahahaha ))))))))))))))))))))
College Football expert
September 26th, 2010
8:31 pm
Georgia gets good players, good at crime! Or maybe Richt is coaching them into being criminals? That program is in total disarray. Multiple firings just to improve a little are mandatory
Dawg Whisperer
September 26th, 2010
8:32 pm
It should be duly noted that UGA doesn’t care what other SEC fans think. We know that you hate UGA mostly because your school still has a losing series record with UGA. Your opinion will not likely be considered but you are allowed to continue to act childishly on the AJC sports blogs because it pays the bills. Secondly, the school administration will not act on emotion but will evaluate the pros and cons of the program under coach Richt for the body of work that he has achieved at UGA notwithstanding the fact that the last two years have been mediocre. He still has the winningest % of head football coaches at UGA hovering around 90%.
Many ridicule coach Richt for his faith and quickly point to that as the reason for his recent problems but his faith in Christ did not prevent the high level of success that he had during his first 7 years. The thing is that many on these boards are releasing their frustration much like the way they feel about their boss at the end of a bad day. The UGA administration does not have the same luxury of making snap or ill-advised decisions. I liken these boards to a cattle stampede caused by a thunderclap. Maybe, cause for alarm but it’s no way to find another place to graze.
BTW, good job to those SEC teams that won this weekend. They all seemed to have earned it.
Tide Rising
September 26th, 2010
8:32 pm
Gatorade,
Stafford was also from Texas and Knowshon from New Jersey to add to your list. Sure enough we all get players from all over the place.
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:32 pm
At least Georgia is #61 in the new CBS poll.
jojatek
September 26th, 2010
8:34 pm
Time for everyone to rally around the Falcons. Dawgs on life-support, and Tech not far behind…
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:34 pm
Yellow Fuzz from the Ghetto. How does it feel to be from the inferior school in Georgia? Do any of your Alumni have jobs? When you root for Georgia Tech, does losing become an obsession? Are you afraid of the dark? Did you mommy tuck you in too tight? Is the room you play around in keep you safe and warm, or is being a geek, just more that you can bare. How ugly is your campus? Small old dingy stadium must make you feel inferior. It would anyone to be a Ghetto bug.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
8:35 pm
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:32 pm
At least Georgia is #61 in the new CBS poll.
That’s right, just in front of Colorado at # 64————–should be a humdinger next sat.
TY44
September 26th, 2010
8:36 pm
CMR IS NOT THE PROB. HE NEEDS TO SURROUND HIMSELF W/ A BETTER COACHING STAFF!
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:36 pm
UNC, Rutgers, Navy and Baylor are ahead of Georgia in the polls.
Jesus H. Christ!
Red Panties
September 26th, 2010
8:37 pm
crap sandwich
I think Rember When??????????????? aka PATRICK is now a crap sandwich
bama fan
September 26th, 2010
8:37 pm
Dawg Whisperer,
not everyone in the sec has a losing record against georgia as you think. I can think of one team that has a double digit lead in the series with georgia.
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:37 pm
Gatorbait: Is that game even going to be televised?
Jacketsrule
September 26th, 2010
8:40 pm
Yes, I am a Tech fan, so I am hurt too. But I have to defend Mark Richt in one area. You can be a man of faith and a good football coach. These post stating this is football not Sunday school are a joke. Do you have problems at UGA? Yes, and only time will tell if Richt is the right man for the job, but his faith has nothing to do with his ability to coach. After all, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry were’t exactly atheist (sp?). Either was Bear Bryant and many of the great coaches who came through Notre Dame back in the day. God doesn’t care who wins and loses a football game, but it’s refreshing to know men like coach Richt won’t run from their beliefs.
Ron Jeremy
September 26th, 2010
8:41 pm
Gatorbait,
Funny. A humdinger between Colorado and Georgia. We’ll call it the mediocrity bowl. The worst of the sec meets the worst of the big 12 in a battle of titans, er uh, a battle of midgets. Heck Georgia even has a midget at qb.
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:41 pm
Peter North, good name. Wehich school are you from. Let me guess? The porn school of Yankeeville, FL. Am I right. Do you feel slighted by your Peter size Mr. North that you use the moniker of a porn star? Is that you life? One of ineptitude and irrelevance? Do you feel betrayed by flunking out of school? Sad to say, but a good need for you to seek the help for your impudence and dysfuctional ways.
Where art thou Patrick Sulley?
September 26th, 2010
8:42 pm
Is patrick sulley aka simple simon, q dog, 100 other handles hiding and lurking somewhere on here tonight? Is he crap sandwich tonight?
Dawg Whisperer
September 26th, 2010
8:42 pm
That’s the point, Bama Fan… no need to hate when you own the series.
Red Panties
September 26th, 2010
8:43 pm
Yea, 7pm on ?????????? I forgot, but just go to ESPN or CBS to check their schedules.
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:43 pm
No Patrick here.
Where art thou Patrick Sulley?
September 26th, 2010
8:44 pm
crap sandwich- Is that you patrick? aka simple simon, q dawg, and about 100 other handles?
tony
September 26th, 2010
8:44 pm
All of you who keep saying give Mr.Richt more time to turn the program around, you guys apparently weren’t around during the Herschel Walker era. I was 17 yrs old when we won that National Championship in 1980. Actually I didn’t become a college football fan until the Willie McClendon and Eddie Lee Ivery era(1976-79) because back then most folks were into the NFL, NBA and Boxing. It has been over 30 years since we won a national. That’s 30 yrs too long.
One thing that I appreciate about Vince Dooley is that his teams played smash mouth football. He didn’t try to fool anyone from an offensive standpoint…..he just ran the ball down your throat. Strenght against strenght was his philosophy. We dominated the SEC from 1980-83. Yes, they had some down yrs but they were good down yrs because Dooley teams fought to the very end in every game.
Can I say the same things about Mr.Richt teams? I like the defense under Brian VanGorder but from an offensive standpoint the offense has been sporadic since Mr.Richt got hired. I was use to watching the dawgs run the football down their apponent throats any way. When Brian VanGorder left the program he took the fire with him. This team is too boring to watch anymore.
College Football expert
September 26th, 2010
8:44 pm
how many more arrests will it take to get this bum fired?
barneyb
September 26th, 2010
8:44 pm
The one bright spot at UGA is the Redcoat Band…they are the best!!!
Yellow Fuzz
September 26th, 2010
8:45 pm
“At least Georgia is #61 in the new CBS poll”
Yellow Fuzz and 1,063,782 others like this
really sorry gator
September 26th, 2010
8:45 pm
I suggest that the Athens City Council apply for some stimulus money to expand their jail and hire more policemen to accommodate all the young criminals the university(sic) recruits. No consistent policy there so the bad acting guys know the chances of getting in trouble are a crap shoot. The whole football program is in the tank…and the uga folks are crying! Adams ought to focus on taking this situation on and he should quit telling the Regents that u(sic)ga should have an engineering school!
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:45 pm
They are Barneyb, indeed they are.
bama fan
September 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
Dawg whisperer,
Bama fans actually pull for Georgia in the east. Most bama fans hate UT 2nd only to AU, everybody dislikes UF because lets face it UF has been the best team over the past 20 years in the sec. So we pretty much pull for georgia in the east. i hope richt keeps his job and gets it together. We need a strong counterweight to florida and ut in the east.
Yellow Fuzz
September 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
barneyb
September 26th, 2010
8:44 pm
The one bright spot at UGA is the Redcoat Band…they are the best!!!
I totally agree. And many the title nine sports teams are good too
Time For A Change
September 26th, 2010
8:47 pm
When you compare the statistics for Jim Donnan, a coach we decided was unfit to remain at UGA, to Mark Richt the numbers are actually worse for Richt when comparing Richt’s most recent 5 seasons to Donnan’s 5 seasons at the helm.
Richt
56 games overall
39 wins
17 losses
35 SEC games
20 wins
15 losses
.696 win percentage overall
.571 win percentage SEC
Donnan
59 games
40 wins
19 losses
40 SEC games
25 wins
15 losses
.678 win percentage overall
.625 win percentage SEC
Donnan was 1-4 against Florida
Richt is 2-7 against Florida
Georgia’s last season under Donnan they finished 20th in the AP and 17th in the Coaches Poll. After Donnan’s first season Georgia never finished outside the top 25. Last season found Georgia back in the Weed Whacker Bowl and unranked at the end of the season. Donnan had 2 losses in ‘97 and 3 losses in ‘98. Richt had identical numbers of losses in his ‘07 and ‘08 seasons ten years later. I’m not trying to make a case to hire back Jim Donnan, nor that Georgia should have kept him. Donnan had some other issues that lead to his demise. But if Richt’s numbers are now like Donnan’s or worse and this season looks like a Ray Goff year, why would we keep Richt when this is what he has had a decade to build? 2002-2007 were mostly great years, but given the recent 3 years of losses and off the field troubles, it’s obvious he has lost control over the direction of the program. There are way too many good coaches out there who could do a great job at Georgia. Given the talent, it is clear that the current coaching staff is no longer able to maximize those talents and translate it into wins.
Stumpknocker
September 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
“YellowFuzz”, I too am banned for King and Tuckers’ blog, but that’s their loss. My enfraction was to state some well researched facts that they apparently found insulting to their beloved dawg nation. I really could’nt give a crap less. If you’ve got to be a coolaide drinking homera to post there, then count me out.
dawgmatic
September 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
At least the Dawgs always beat the nerds. But it’s a shame to embarrass those virgins like that, but the tech girly-boys have to become men somehow.
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Poor Yellow Fuzz. Did your mommy let you respond? Is the room closing in on you now? In the Ghetto does Georgia Tech make you wash your hands? Can you play hopscotch in your underwear with the other children? How does it make you feel to have the inferiority of a three year old? Poor you are, with having to root for a second rate school, with such inferior qualities.
DennisVols
September 26th, 2010
8:50 pm
I don’t have a dawg in this fight but I have seen this story before and know how it can end.
In 2002 the off field discipline issues started to increase at UT under coach Fulmer. A National championship and still being able to win the east division of the SEC every 3 or 4 years gave him several bys. In the end though the continued rise in arrests lead to a team in ’05 that was predicated to win the conference and a possible shot at a National Championship to go 5-6 and not even a bowl appearance. Top 10 recruiting classes became top 10 flops.
Fulmer would last just 3 more years and that was due more to a lifetime commitment he had made to UT, and a National Championship that with each year slipped farther away. Fulmer was a good guy, loved his family, church and university but this is a game about winning today and not wins from yesterday.
Coach Richt is a good man and has done a great job at GA but in the sport of “what have you done for me lately” there have been more disappointments and success. I hope the best for coach Richt but there has to be a change in the program or there will be a change in the coaching.
Keeping it Real!!!
crap sandwich
September 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
Well put dawgmatic.
sharonstone
September 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
By the way Dawg Whisperer………………..please ignore the overal W-L under CMR. Look at his record against ranked and SEC teams. It is deplorable, particularly over the past several years!
No one can argue the fact that this is a program in decline. for the obscene amount of money that Coach Richt and his staff is getting paid, fans, constibutors, and sponsors deserve so much better.
I would not send my son to play there for anything, regardless of Mark Richt’s perosnal values and character. Those traits have not translated into performance on or off the field for his players in quite some time. The beginning of the end was watching Knowshon and his thug buddies dancing Soulja Boy, some with dreadlocks, tattoos, etc. on the sidelines several seasons ago. The ghetto thug mentality and sense of entitlement started long before this season. No character, no heart, no talent = no wins. Anything short of housecleaning is merely rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic.
Bum on tech's campus
September 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
When they football team loses, I caint get no money unless’n I steals it. Got damn NC state, they messin’ up my cash flow!!
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
crap sandwich: I’m not even a UF fan per se, but I always cheer them on when they play UGA!
And by the way way, speak for yourself as I’m no slouch. Ask your sister.
ellie mae
September 26th, 2010
8:53 pm
Thank you, Dennis Vols. You said it well. Richt has got to go. I have thought that for about 3 years now.
College Football expert
September 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
Richie about to be fired, more money down the drain. Way to go Adams!
Dawg2010
September 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
I couldn’t agree more with the comment above referring to when Bobo took over play calling. Ever since then, things have slowly spiraled out of control. A program that was on its way up has now fallen to the bottom. Flat on it’s face.
Peter North
September 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
crap sandwich: Do tell her I’m really sorry about that UTI. I know it was hard for her to explain to your parents why she was hospitalized for that.
Tony Flack
September 26th, 2010
8:55 pm
Me and John Little, Jeff Sanchez and Gary Moss are coming out of retirement….now if we could just find Tommy Thurston….
Mayhem Is Coming
September 26th, 2010
8:55 pm
What has happened to Grantham? He was really into it the first game. He was on the players when they made stupid mistakes (almost every down). He was inspired and so was the defense. Is it possible that Grantham was told to be all nice-nice and keep it down? Whatever, he’s not the same coach since the first game. We’re just the same boring defense as we were were with Martinize. No take aways and give up huge chunks of yardage.
Campbell
September 26th, 2010
8:55 pm
Don’t be silly! CMR has more “Class” than anyone we have ever had! Remember the past 10 years? He is the best we have had and I include Vince. When these kids understand the opportunity they have maybe things will change. There is no better Coach in these United States! We do not need a “Thug” to lead “Thugs” we just need young men that can act like they want to be part of the Bulldog family.
GoDawgs
September 26th, 2010
8:55 pm
I feel Richt has earned the right to coach next year. He is still the 4th winningest active coach in the FBS. I don’t feel this man would work as a head coach for us but Mike Leach the former Texas Tech head coach would be a great addition as an offensive coordinator and a chance for him to get back into college coaching. He may only be there a year or two since he is a former head coach and would be looking for a program that would offer that opportunity but hopefully the UGA coaches would take notes while he was there and continue to run Leache’s style of offense after he left. What are your thoughts on this?
ugaalumn81
September 26th, 2010
8:55 pm
the poster, “Time for a change” above” is dead on the money. Donnan wasn’t anything to write home about, either. But his overall stats were similar and in some categories, better than Richt’s. Also keep in mind that in some of the “great” richt years, richt was playing with Donnan recruits, like Pollack & Greene. Did anyone remember that?
chris ashmore
September 26th, 2010
8:56 pm
mark richt needs to go.his expiration date has come.the article is correct he is the problem not the solution.hire boise states coach atleast he will get the guys ready to play.