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
Give em a break
September 27th, 2010
4:19 pm
Give Mark a break. He can’t have a winning team every year. GA may need to get rid of Bobo. Run, run, run, run…just isn’t working Bobo. Get a new O-Coach and give them at least 1-2 years. If improvements are not made, get rid of Richt then. He’s one of the best coaches in the nation. I’d rather lose one season with him than have 3 or 4 more losing seasons without him!!!
And for all you MSU haters! I love me some UGA but MSU is on the rise. I know they have never been that great but watch out. In the next 2-3 years, they will win the SEC west. Mark my words. Those kids have passion.
james
September 27th, 2010
4:22 pm
grantham sucks flat out. dont bring your cowboy bs here. we would have been better off keeping martinez, and bobo is fine really. eally sucks he needs to be the 2 or 3 back not 1. he was doing this crap last year!
KL
September 27th, 2010
4:22 pm
A number of comments above state that Mark Richt is a good coach… and that’s just not supported by ANY actions of the last 5 years. Continually declining win record, lack of control over the players, lack of ability in the assistant coaching staff… the list goes on.
Fact of the matter is, CMR is a good person; he’s nice, he seems to care and his heart is in the right place but he is NOT an effective coach.
I hate to say it Dawg fans, it’s not going to get better until you swallow the pill of firing a nice guy. It’s not going to get better immediately after that either. It’s going to take 2-3 years under a better coach before UGA has much of any chance in the SEC East.
mole
September 27th, 2010
4:23 pm
Do not forget 1977 and 1979. We turned it around pretty quick
South Georgia with nothing to do
September 27th, 2010
4:30 pm
All sports teams in North Georgia are chokers,
and their newspapers suck.
Rod Stewart
September 27th, 2010
4:33 pm
PASSION -
brokebackvol
September 27th, 2010
4:33 pm
Richt just needs to toss Mike “Boo-boo” and get some offense rolling again.
Todd
September 27th, 2010
4:39 pm
OK, let’s begin by being honest – I am not a die-hard Georgia Fan. I am, in fact, a Yellow Jacket, but I enjoy and pull for Georgia football 364 days a year. My wife and sister are both UGA alumnae and there is a strong Georgia heritage in the family. That all being said, the problems in Athens today are not limited to the coaching staff, administrator, or players; there is, in fact, a wholesale problem with the entire system. This problem begins with the fans and ends with Michael Adams.
First, too many “fans” are too eager to abandon a coach who has spent the better part of a decade winning football games; folks – Mark Richt is a quality human being and a great coach and shame on those of you who are singularly focused on the Win-Loss column.
Second, the players are out of control – not just those at UGA, but everywhere. The arrest of an athlete, of an individual likely to be receiving a free education in return for their on-field prowess, should be an embarrassment to everyone, from the fans to the NCAA. To wit, most comments on the subject are that of disappointment, but there has been too much tolerance for too long a time. It is time, and perhaps it is now a reality based on this weekend’s events, for ZERO tolerance – if you screw up, you’re gone, period. Now, it is one thing to dismiss a red-shirt freshman who hasn’t seen so much as a game-day jersey, but will the latest stance carry over to any of the first-team players…..let’s hope the message has been sent and we do not have to find out.
Third, the Athletic Director and his staff must do more to encourage off-field excellence in addition to that which is expected on game day. It is a given that this year began on a sour note with Mr. Evans’ ill-timed brush with a State Trooper, but it was also a perfect example of changes needed. College athletes are afforded access to the best staff for assistance, both athletic and academic, that money can buy. If every student who enrolled in college today had access to the same resources, nobody would EVER fail. Alas, that will never happen, but it is important to note that what is lacking is assistance in becoming a responsible human being. Resources must be expended to assist athletes with their personal lives, in addition to their athletic and academic roles.
Fourth, Michael Adams has just recently decided that enough is enough. This decision, though welcome, is too late in coming. The years of looking beyond players’ off-field exploits in favor of winning games has come to promote a culture that believes it should be accepted. It is time for student-athletes to again be held accountable for their actions – all of their actions, including those on the field, in the classroom, and off-campus.
I certainly don’t mean to pick on any one person or group – this comment is applicable to just about any college program in the land. The bottom line here is this – there must be consequences, serious consequences for poor behavior. As a result of those serious consequences, good players, perhaps great players will miss games or be dismissed altogether; this will inevitably result in poor on-field performance and a painful record at the end of the season. However, those people who truly believe in and want a top-notch program, from the most distant fan all the way up to Dr. Adams, must commit to a wholesale change in how poor behavior is handled, support the coach in implementing new policies, and be prepared for more losses than wins until the message to ALL athletes is fully delivered.
Judge Judy
September 27th, 2010
4:53 pm
Forget the records the thing that will get him fired is the lack of discipline -i.e. leading the nation in penalties or close to it for the last few years, perhaps leading the nation in players arrested the last few years –How many has it been 30-40 players arrested ? What kind of players are they attracting that can’t stay out of jail despite all the warnings, and week after week commit stupid penalties to hurt their chances of winning?. We won’t even begin to discuss the graduation rate! Players who have no business being in college never mind the state’s flagship university!
Ray Goof!
September 27th, 2010
4:55 pm
Ray’s available and tired of running zaxbys. He’ll coach for only $2 mil per year. Call Ray!!!
NEW CARS
September 27th, 2010
4:55 pm
Rob,
Might come to that. Richt has done a lot of good things for UGA and I don’t think you throw that away for one real mediocre season and a bad start to the next. I’m beginning to wonder if his heart is in it, and if it isn’t it, I think he would be the type to step down and move onto to something else that the Lord is calling him for.
scott
September 27th, 2010
4:57 pm
When Coach Richt had his team disrespect the Gators and run on the field for the penalty. He showed is was cool to disrespect everyone and the rules the team has gone down fast ever since. Look at The UA today and see Discipline wins. Stop recruiting Thugs and more Chris Durhams and Hines Wards.
Vols in 2010
September 27th, 2010
5:00 pm
Stop recruiting thugs.
Vols in 2010
September 27th, 2010
5:00 pm
Just look at Boise…they win with almost all white people!
Jay
September 27th, 2010
5:01 pm
AJ Green is the best player in the SEC and he isn’t even on the field, CALM DOWN. You can’t blame the coach for blown coverages, cause obviously somebody blew their coverage. The secondary still can’t tackle and Marcus Latimore showed that. You have to give the new coordinator time to get his recruits in his system. I’m not a UGA fan but all I can say is before you think about saying get rid of Mark Richt is, do you remember UGA beform Mark Richt got their. one word TERRIBLE.
Gator Fan
September 27th, 2010
5:01 pm
Hahaha
Gator Fan
September 27th, 2010
5:02 pm
got their what?
Mike Vick
September 27th, 2010
5:02 pm
I’ll coach those dawgs.
gt76
September 27th, 2010
5:02 pm
UGA football team bails on another tough opponent:
“The cancellation is a move away from Georgia’s philosophy under former athletic director Damon Evans of scheduling high-profile nonconference games in other regions of the country.”
Look for more weaker teams to be scheduled to shore up wins for declin9ng UGA football program.
What a pity!
SEC West
September 27th, 2010
5:03 pm
SEC east teams have easy schedules because they play crappy schools like UGA and Vanderbilt.
Gator Fan
September 27th, 2010
5:04 pm
Who did they shy away from, gt76?
gt76
September 27th, 2010
5:04 pm
UGA dreamers think that green will make a difference! Ha! UGA loses again!
The Ugly, Harsh Reality that is UGA Football...
September 27th, 2010
5:05 pm
Todd- First, too many “fans” are too eager to abandon a coach who has spent the better part of a decade winning football games; folks – Mark Richt is a quality human being and a great coach and shame on those of you who are singularly focused on the Win-Loss column.
Second, the players are out of control – not just those at UGA, but everywhere. The arrest of an athlete, of an individual likely to be receiving a free education in return for their on-field prowess, should be an embarrassment to everyone, from the fans to the NCAA.
That’s the problem the players are out of control AND he’s losing.
Look, I have to respectfully disagree with the statement it’s happening everywhere. Sure the isolated 1 or 2 instances but the regularity with which UGA players are arrested is ridiculous and shows that he has lost control of this team. I would be willing to lay odds that even with his dismissal, Demetre Baker won’t be the last player arrested this year. Say what you want, but when’s the last time Bama had a player arrested? (the NCAA violation of one player doesn’t count), Look at Stanford, tough admission standards, never hear of players getting into trouble and Harbaugh has them ranked in the top 10. When’s the last time OhSt had an arrest?
Mark Bradley- sir you hit the nail on the head with the state of UGA!
Charity Case
September 27th, 2010
5:06 pm
Why does Chick-fil-A support thugs? They need to reevaluate their contributions and quit contributing to the Athens thugs.
Charity Case
September 27th, 2010
5:07 pm
Surely they can beat Colorado.
gt76
September 27th, 2010
5:07 pm
Gator Fan: U of Or. Hey they can’t compete anymore so…..smart move. But still a pity.
wildbill
September 27th, 2010
5:08 pm
I’m calling AD Mcgarity out!!! Hey man, there is more to being an AD than just looking at the ratings and going out to eat with well-heeled alums. Get outta that office and get engaged. Call on CMR in person. Declare it is spring training time. Get those beer drinkers in shorts and tshirts and start running the stadium steps. Run the beer outta those dawgs. Declare some real tackling practice, not that fake stuff CMR has been conducting. Get those players in shape man! They look all flushed just like the fraternity boys do when they walk on campus. Declare war on fat! Yes, war on fat. Put the coaches in shorts and tshirts too. Work their arses some too. There is more to coaching than spray on tan and spiffy new shirts every game. At least earn some respect from the fans. Beat those plowshares into swords and at least be in physical shape to do some war on Saturday. The dawgs look like pantywaists on Saturdays. They are weak and know it.
Ok, Mcgarity, get to work, NOW!
gt76
September 27th, 2010
5:11 pm
Charity Case:
Uga is a 4 point favorite. But, they will find a way tose, like not falling on a fumble in the end zone or going on 4th and long from their own 30 yd line. They got talent but the team is a mess and out of control!!
gt76
September 27th, 2010
5:13 pm
Uga is so low now that taking anymore shots at them is unsportsmanship! I’m outta here until next week.
dawgfany
September 27th, 2010
5:17 pm
@ Todd : Do you think anyone reads past two paragraphs? Plus you don’t khow sh*t about UGa
dawgfany
September 27th, 2010
5:19 pm
Todd : the term Alumae is not PC
drstrangelovejr
September 27th, 2010
5:22 pm
how2fish, when you get through making love to CMT’s photo, tell us when you would agree he needs to be fired.
Danny
September 27th, 2010
5:44 pm
Mark-
OMG, you CAN’T be serious. Mark Richt and the word “trouble” do NOT belong in the same sentence.
Was Saban in trouble after going 7-6 at Bama in 2007 and losing 4 in a row to teams like Miss St, and La Monroe?
Was Bear Bryant in trouble after ony finishing in the top 10 1x in his 1st 9 seasons where Richt’s done it 6x more than the Bear did?
Richt, top 5 winiingest coach, trouble, OMG.
Richt, top 20 winningest coach SINCE 2005, in trouble, surely you jest?
Richt, 1 of 7 coaches in the HISTORY OF COLLEGE football to win 90 game sin his 1st 9 seasons, trouble?
Richt walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low
September 27th, 2010
5:48 pm
Danny
The difference between those coaches and Richt is that they have crytal balls (or the equivalent of that) in their trophy cases
Richt doesnt, and he never will at Georgia
boodog
September 27th, 2010
5:49 pm
I am just as disappointed as the next fan, but some of you need to get a life. The same people who scream because Georgia doesn’t get a top recruit are the same people now screaming Georgia needs to go after more 3-star recruits. If Richt was an a..hole you would all be crying he is too tough. Things will work out in the long run and Richt is the person to do it. If you can’t handle it, stop watching the games, don’t attend the games, throw away all your Georgia shirts & hats, and go support another team. What ever you do, stop contributing to the alumni association. Wait a minute, I forgot; I doubt a good many of you attended Georgia or any other university. If your happiness depends on a football game perhaps you need to look at your priorities.
Tech fan
September 27th, 2010
5:52 pm
Keep him, pay him……enjoy it.
Old Dawg
September 27th, 2010
6:15 pm
I agree with the earlier comments about CMR’s big contract buyout. He’s not going anywhere. And I agree…it’ll take a few years of recruiting to build a 3-4 D (although I’m not convinced it’s the best in a conference going to more Spreads…you don’t see option football in the Pros). But – and I’ve said it before – promoting Bobo was to keep him from going elsewhere and competing against us. Ray Goff 2.0.
Coach Richt has to move Bobo back to QB coach (he won’t fire him mid-season…Bobo’s got too many mouths to feed at home) and take over the offense again. And the O-line coach? Him I’d fire on the spot.
God, I hate being worried about Kentucky and Vandy…
inbredville
September 27th, 2010
6:26 pm
Todd, you have drank the coolaid. Plenty of reasons for CMR to be placed on the hot seat..shame on the entire UGA program for waiting until the teams started losing to get the blinders out of your eyes. Had your team been 4-0, not one blessed thing would change and Baker would be in the classroom today unless he decided he did not want to go still suffering a hangover. Truth hurts
Don in DC
September 27th, 2010
6:27 pm
Coach Richt has given us a lot of joy over his years at UGA. He has earned our support.
Jim Maxey
September 27th, 2010
6:28 pm
who are you people to criticize my alltime favorite coach for over ten years he has done great things for us and now ya’ll want to turn your back on him all this bad stuff thats been happening was not his doing they just happen and can happen to any coaches team take usc for instance they are paying a severe peanalty so unless yall kiss and make up I don’t want any more comments about this topic mark richt don’t listen to these people they are only saying bad things about you focus on the good things in life.
Steve "The King" Spurrier
September 27th, 2010
6:37 pm
Don’t forget Mark delivered yet another state championship last year. Success is measured in championships.
Bow before me lowly dogs!! I run your puny state!
Always have…always will
TampaGator
September 27th, 2010
6:40 pm
Chris….
You DAWG fans are the ones saying Florida’s dominance in recent years does not matter because of what Georgia did up until 1990…..not me. Fact is…..since 1990….that is 20 years ago…..Georgia has not only been dominated by Florida…..it has be humiliated by Florida…..but simply, if you go all the way back to 1956…..(when the forward pass came into some focus in college football…..believe me…teams rarely passed the ball in the SEC up until then)….Florida has a overall winning record by 8 victories over Georgia. If you want to count victories when no one passed the ball and teams wore leather helments…Georgia leads. But the arguement could go on forever without any sense to it. Fact is….Florida has been building a better program since 1956….and is now a far better football program than Georgia in 2010….and it will not be long before Florida owns that all time victory lead in the series….and what will be your calling card be then……maybe your 1980 team could beat all the modern day Gator teams….like always….a nice pipe dream not based in current reality.
CD Cobb
September 27th, 2010
6:42 pm
I think that Coach Richt has simply burned out the way Fulmer did at UT. Fulmer allowed his team to slide backward the way UGA is now. He had neither the energy or talent to bring it back, I see UGA heading in the same direction. MR needs to take a few years off and back in coaching with a decent ACC school.
Only Voters for CMR were Gator fans
September 27th, 2010
6:46 pm
and Tech fans. Too keep him that is.
Mark Bradley
September 27th, 2010
6:49 pm
Still raining. We will not start on time
Montana Griz
September 27th, 2010
6:52 pm
There is defintely some issues to be addressed in Athens but you don’t want to be like the Denver Broncos and get rid of a solid coach just to hire some unproven Chachi like Josh McDaniels. The big question is who is Georgia going to find to right this lost ship of Bulldogs?
JD
September 27th, 2010
7:12 pm
UGA needs a Nick Saben or a Steve Spurior or Bobby Patrino, those guys come in and have a power house on the feild with in a couple of years. UGA should have won the national championship when they started the season #1 with Marino and Stafford but instead played flat all season.
I fumble this state
September 27th, 2010
7:21 pm
richt – gailey!
The sad fact is that richt is the best uga will ever get.
YOU EVIL REDNECKS MAKE THE TOP TALENT LEAVE GA
September 27th, 2010
7:28 pm
IF YOU REDNECKS STOP BEING SO RACIST AND EVIL HERE IN GEORGIA,MAYBE WE WOULD END UP LIKE BAMA AND FLORIDA WITH NATIONAL TITLES!
ASK YOURSELVES THIS WHY ARE OUR TOP RECRUITS GOING TO FSU,AUB,ALA AND FLORIDA? BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO PLAY FOR YOU CRYBABY RACIST REDNECKS!
confussedd
September 27th, 2010
7:30 pm
Blame the coach. What about the terrible behaving players. The Athletic director could not even behave, they had to can him no matter how much the athletic hero he was in Georgia because he was acting like a fool. How is that all Mark Richt. The program is a mess but the University is even more of a mess.