5 reasons Mark Richt won’t leave UGA for Miami or anywhere
"Leave all this? And give up showbiz? Are you crazy?" (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
First it was Colorado. Now it’s Miami that’s believed to be interested in Mark Richt. As noted earlier, it might be best for both Richt and Georgia if he found a new job. But I’m guessing he won’t see it that way. And the reasons for that guess are:
• He makes too much money. Neither Colorado, which might not be seriously considering Richt, or Miami, which surely is, can match the $3 million Georgia is paying. His job security might be eroding — he needs to win at least nine games next season to feel safe — but he’s not so near unemployment he needs to take a pay cut.
• He works at a big-name school in the biggest-name league. You don’t exit the SEC to take a job anywhere but the NFL. (The weirdo Dennis Franchione is the exception that proves the rule.) The SEC is the place a college coach works all his life to land; it’s not the place you leave, at least not of your own volition.
• He’s a Miami alum, but he might not be a Miami fit. The folks in Coral Gables are serious about football — they just canned Randy Shannon on merit — but they’re more serious about image. The Hurricanes have worked mightily to clean up their image as Rogue U, and their president is Donna Shalala, who served in Bill Clinton’s Cabinet and isn’t about to let her school revert to being a rule-flouting football factory. And Richt, as we know too well, presides over a program that has seen 11 player arrests this calendar year.
• He has no powerful enemies in Athens. Nobody who matters wants Richt to fail. Already bearing the scars from Jim Donnan and Vince Dooley, UGA president Michael Adams isn’t anxious to fire another high-profile football man, and Greg McGarity, the new AD, is utterly sincere in his admiration for Richt. Indeed, Richt was the biggest beneficiary of Damon Evans’ midnight ride through Buckhead. The former AD’s often-stated goal was to win championships, and 6-6 in a season that coulda/shoulda been 9-3 wouldn’t have been received nearly as well by Richt’s former boss.
• He doesn’t see himself as the problem. For all his cordiality, Richt is a massively confident man. He hasn’t yet conceded that his stewardship is in real trouble. (Not many coaches would, it must be said.) Asked after the Auburn game how Georgia had gotten to 5-6, Richt leaned on the it-was-just-a-play-here-and-play-there crutch
I say again: I don’t think Richt is going anywhere, but I do think he should consider it. Because I’m not sure it’s going to get significantly better for him in Athens, and because the understanding Mr. McGarity mightn’t be so understanding if Georgia continues to be one play away. A coach gets paid $3 million to control his circumstances, not to be the victim thereof.
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324 comments Add your comment
True Center
November 30th, 2010
12:10 pm
I’m not saying Richt is gone and i don’t want him gone, but if so why is no one talking about throwing huge money at Jim Harbaugh from stanford. I’ve read reports on Muschamp being on the short list, but come on…really?
DawginTX
November 30th, 2010
12:12 pm
The standards are no lower in Miami and the competition for football players is just as fierce. And they don’t have a great fan base or a well-healed athletic department. The only thing Richt could gain from the move is a honeymoon period–maybe 2 years–before results are demanded.
I am for being patient with Richt because he has shown he can compete at the highest level (the biggest difference between #3, #2, and #1 is luck), and even the greatest coaches have had 3-year stretches of underperformance (see Bear Bryant from 68-70). That having been said, Richt needs to win at least 1 of the 4 tough games next year (Boise, SC, UF, and AU) and he better not lose to anyone else.
Melvin P. Thorpe
November 30th, 2010
12:16 pm
Loveless copulation!
Seriously
November 30th, 2010
12:26 pm
I think you forgot one major thing also…Richt has a MASSIVE buy out clause of around 6 mill…no school will ever pay that. Richt is here to stay folks so get over it and get behind the man.
Vinnie
November 30th, 2010
12:28 pm
Wow. Coach wins 91 game sin 9 seasons, top 5 win % at .742, top 5 in profits in NCAA, top 5 in recruiting over decade, 6 top 10 finishes over 10 seasons at UGA, #1 at getting players into the NFL, #1 in academics (APR) in SEC.
Yet Bradley CHOOSES to TRY and find something BAD to write about Mark Richt?
Is it envy? Of course. Richt does stuff, writers conceptualize and write about the DOERS.
It is resentment? Doubtless. Bradley likely has a hard time comparing his salary, to Richt’s $3 million salary (which was more than fair considering Richt made UGA $40 million + profit).
So we try and bring the great down. To medicore. To average.
brandt joel
November 30th, 2010
12:30 pm
both marks are delusional he is getting fired next year.mcgarrity wasnt man enough to do it this year. we are going to get crushed in recruiting, he wont make any staff changes although the o line was physically manhandled every game and the past two years are 7-5 6-6 we are a joke.
sasquatch
November 30th, 2010
12:33 pm
rich and paul hewitt have something in common? big payouts if fired? hmmmmmmmm.
hey, for the record, uga is now an engineering school so all the classes are not grade gifts, poad.
Vinnie
November 30th, 2010
12:34 pm
Richt’s Christianity leads him to be a man of action, faith, decisiveness. He gets his dreams done.
True Christianity results in a propensity towards action.
sasquatch
November 30th, 2010
12:35 pm
i agree mark b – rich is not a fool.
sasquatch
November 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
and poad, uga is now an engineering school with some really tough classes.
Vinnie
November 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
Richt’s one of the humblest coaches I’ve seen,. What an insult to hurl at him that he lacks humility. Richt’s constantly improving his team, look at the turnovers and penalities this year. Very humble guy.
Paul Johnson? Not so much. An arrogant, pompous jerk who rarely changes anything, even when it stops working.
JB
November 30th, 2010
12:38 pm
7-5 next year with beating those we should and losing to who we all expect is going to get Mark fired. Not because Adams wants to, but follow the money. The Hartman fund giving is down 14% the last two years, and i’m sure as much can be blamed on Obama as losing, but it’s down. Another year and I’m afraid Adams won’t have a choice. Privately, I think he’s OK with 6,7, 8 wins a year. But when the money starts effecting HIM at Regents meetings, he will ORDER Mark’s removal. Yes, it’s that simple.
Bluestreak
November 30th, 2010
12:48 pm
For those of you wanting to ‘FIRE MARK RICHT’, who would you rather have in place? I think he is the right man for the job here and needs to stay on. Granted, he needs to reign in the team a bit on the arrests, etc., but that can easily be corrected.
td
November 30th, 2010
12:51 pm
JB
November 30th, 2010
12:38 pm
Maybe Adams will take off the restraints and allow CMR to recruit the same type athletes that allowed him to win in the past. You can not win with high moral kids at safety, LB and DL. You have to have a little nasty to play those positions and Adams has not allowed CMR to recruit nasty since before CBV left.
reality
November 30th, 2010
12:51 pm
Dream Team….what a joke!
td
November 30th, 2010
12:53 pm
Bluestreak
November 30th, 2010
12:48 pm
The real question should be what coach is going to come here knowing that they can not recruit the athletes they need to play defense? Ever wonder why the top DC’s did not want to come last year?
gcs
November 30th, 2010
12:55 pm
Boise State – if Kellen Moore goes pro, it would help – pick ‘em
South Carolina – will be stacked next year – L
Coastal Carolina – W
@ Ole Miss – another long year for Nutt – W
Miss St. – home field advantage might tip this in UGA’s favor – pick ‘em
@ UT – Vols turned it on at the end of the season. They will be tough in 2011 – pick ‘em
@ Vandy – W
UF – they lose a lot of linemen & D but all the playmakers are back – pick ‘em
New Mexico St. – W
Auburn – they lose a lot of talent but you never know in this game – pick ‘em
UK – W
@ Tech – again a you-never-know game but Joshua Nesbitt is gone and this offense is not fooling anyone anymore – W
.
athensdawg
November 30th, 2010
12:55 pm
great recruiting tool, “we suck…come help us win.” That’s gonna get em. Can’t anyone see that this is a coach who says his players don’t listen….and now he is telling us that he’s going to get a new group of recruits and that is going to solve all his problems???????? uh huh…..
CoachDawg 2000
November 30th, 2010
12:56 pm
For all of the “let’s go get Chris Peterson” people he just lost the the putrid WAC. Gary Patterson would not touch UGA with a 10 foot pole. TCU is moving to the Big East and thus they will be an automatic qualifieer. Big East=fast track to BCS championship. SEC= murders row scked every year! If we run off CMR then we will be in very embarrassinbg coaching search (think 1995).
PHIL
November 30th, 2010
12:58 pm
Mark Bradley is right now sitiing at his desk laughing out loud and saying to his partner in crime, that scrappy grade school second baseman Jeff Shultz, “look at all these idiots posting on here! There’s no telling how big my bonus is going to be this Christmas.”
With the downward spiral (read toilet bowl-like) of circulation for the AJC, the only way for the company to get readership and advertising revenue is to be able to show the advertisers high hit numbers to their web version of the paper. So it’s Bradleys job to write this stuff in order to get as many responses as possible. And we do just the thing he wants us to and that is get mad and post here while he sits around the office and makes fun of us. A better response would be not to reply to his column at all. He gives a platform for all these slobbering idiots who have never stepped foot on a college football field, even to mark the yard lines, to criticize the offensive coordinator that just set a school record for points scored in a season and did it with a Freshman QB. That would be just like saying how stupid a DC was that had just set a school record for least points allowed. Where is the logic in that? That alone is enough reason not to ever post here again.
That being said, I would like to know why the continued maligning of the program over all these “arrests.” ANYBODY with the first lick of sense knows that the same violations in Tuscaloosa and in Gainesville don’t even get reported. It would take a moron to put the offenses of the UGA players in the same class as those that have happened this year at Knoxville, yet at UT those players don’t even have to sit out a game. Where is the outrage on that from this reporter, or Barnhead, whose column I have boycotted, btw. If you compare riding a scooter the wrong way with giving death threats like they do at Florida and then Meyer allowing him to stay on the team, he is OUT like Mettenburger at UGA, but he plays at UF. Where is the outrage from this reporter on that? What about some real journalism like telling us what all the FBI has on Auburn and how the exploits of their recruiting coordinator Trooper Taylor have been in question at EVERY school he has been?
The schedule next year may be easy, but with our losses in key personnel I think it will be difficult to have a better team. Now without Murray imploding at Florida and a fumble hear and there, we would have a better record, but the team, wouldn’t actually be any better. So if the few plays go the other way next year we could have a better record but I can’t see the team being any better. Not if Vince Lombardi was the coach.
Why? Because football is about players. It’s not about coaches. Why is Sabin a good coach? Because he recruits more players than any other coach in the country, always has no matter what school he has been in charge of. Read the WSJ article. How does Auburn take a coach that is lifetime 5-19, then goes 7-5 first year, suddenly able to sign the best player from AL, MS, AR and LA plus the number 1 JUCO player in the nation? Well now we know how they got them. That’s not the way I want my University to run it’s athletic program. If you recruit on the up and up all you can do is talk some kid into coming. You can’t MAKE anyone come to the University of Georgia. Some kids have character or academic issues and you don’t want them no matter how good they might be if you are trying to run a clean program. So you say we were looking at that kid as a TE. Look at Texas. Their recruiting class is ALWAYS ranked higher than that of ours. They aren’t even going to a bowl. You think it’s because of the coaching? Really? At Texas? It’s the coaching? It’s the players, they have no QB and no defensive players.
Many have mentioned the similarities of the last couple years and the last few years of the Fullmer years at UT. My comment on that is much like the thoughts I have about the presidency of this country. The guy that was in charge had a couple tough years so they replaced him with this new fangled guy. I want to ask all the UT fans and the admin how that “Hopey/Changey stuff is working for them now. UT has been a joke and a soap opera since the day Fullmer was fired. I would much rather go through some hard times and keep the program intact than go through what UT is going through.
46-40
November 30th, 2010
1:01 pm
We’re 1/2 way there!! Adams fired Donnon for losing to TECH 3-straight yrs, not for losing to FLA. However, it was the mutual consensus that the NEXT coach could, and WOULD, not only beat TECH, but also get over that dreadful hump of losing to FLA (most) every year. SO, do you look at the glass as 1/2 empty OR 1/2 full??
Guess it depends on who’s looking… But I will say that as much as I like Richt (and I do think he should stay another yr or two-pending results) I think he will be on borrowed time if he can’t right this ship.
Navigator
November 30th, 2010
1:07 pm
Richt will be fine, everyone is just a little disappointed with the last two years. When you transition to new coaches there is always a bump in the road. However, he needs to keep a watchful eye on the off the field issue that have been prevalent. I don’t think that’s the coaches duty to watch these fellows, but it does fall back to his responsibility.
jwr
November 30th, 2010
1:10 pm
Mark, your last sentence hit the nail on the head, but you’re forgetting one thing:
CMR isn’t paid to win the NC, win the SEC Championship, have winning seasons, or even keep his players out of the care of Clarke County’s finest…he’s paid to beat Tech, and he has done so consistently. Richt will stay the coach as long as he is beating Tech more often than not, even if he never takes the field in December again.
td
November 30th, 2010
1:11 pm
PHIL
November 30th, 2010
12:58 pm
Great post and right on the mark.
Chase
November 30th, 2010
1:12 pm
Ain’t nuttin average bout Coach Richt.
Joe
November 30th, 2010
1:12 pm
What a dumb comment – that Richt isn’t a fit.
tony
November 30th, 2010
1:13 pm
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!”
46-40
November 30th, 2010
1:17 pm
jwr –So you’re looking at the 1/2 full glass??
independent
November 30th, 2010
1:21 pm
The best thing about Richt staying is another year like this or worse is assured. You figure blowout losses to Boise, Florida, and Auburn is a guarentee, losses to S Carolina and Tenn is likely and you already have 5. Then the chances are they will lose at least one or two of Miss, Tech, and Kentucky and 6-6 or 5-7 is certain. I’m loving it
GT
November 30th, 2010
1:22 pm
I think there is merit in not firing him and spending some private time figuring out who they really want. Why make the timing an issue, shoot the horse when the timing is right. Richt is not hated and he will not totally destroy the program so what is the hurry. I wouldn’t extend that contract no matter what but I imagine he has an automatic extension anyway. I would be finding where Smart is sitting during a SEC convention or the man down in Texas, Muschamp. I would find a way to be at the bowl TCU is playing Patterson may be the man. But I would not pull that trigger until I knew where I was going to land. Remember the search for the defensive coach. I think that was coaching candidates seeing the writing on the wall with Richt, but it may be that atmosphere at Georgia, the last real SEC type winner was Dooley.
td
November 30th, 2010
1:24 pm
PHIL
November 30th, 2010
12:58 pm
“The guy that was in charge had a couple tough years so they replaced him with this new fangled guy. I want to ask all the UT fans and the admin how that “Hopey/Changey stuff is working for them now. UT has been a joke and a soap opera since the day Fullmer was fired. I would much rather go through some hard times and keep the program intact than go through what UT is going through.”
I could just about guarantee you that the same people calling for CMR head right now voted for Obama. Stupid then, Stupid now.
powerhouse?
November 30th, 2010
1:24 pm
toooo thuggish for Mia? Wow, thats gotta hurt.
SlimG
November 30th, 2010
1:26 pm
I would say thinks are the same over in Athens. Good coach, good players, now lets form a good team. Nuff said…..
Gatorhater
November 30th, 2010
1:27 pm
Reality-for you!
BCS National Champions have been named since 1998. In the 12 years the SEC has six of the National titles and have won it every year they have participated in the Championship game, (Sorry Auburn you were robbed!) No other conference has won more than two, with six wins divided among four other conferences.
Get over that!
Reality Check
November 30th, 2010
1:31 pm
Sign a real stout RB, WR and a couple of good DL and watch how fast the dawgs can get back to elite status. SEC football goes in cycles see how UF did not lose for two years and then they are down this year too. Everyone complained about the DC needed to be changed last year and I guess everyone assumes you can just plug in a square peg in a round hole and have a top ranked defense. The offense has a good QB returning next year, a great hybrid TE in Orson Charles and some quality recruits at WR. Most glaring weakness on offense is a gamebreaking RB, but hopefully Crowell or some other kid will come. If you do not think a FR RB can make a difference look at SC and their RB. Also, we are only three days after the end of the season. Lets wait until Signing Day to make judgement on changes or lack of before real UGA fans write off 2011. Most of the teams UGA has lost to this year are home gomes next year and it is ludicrous to project losses already.
War Cam Eagle
November 30th, 2010
1:34 pm
Chizik’s bringing in a boatload of 5 star talent next year—Auburn will be dominating the SEC for years—get used to it. Georgia’s a minor league program. LSU, Auburn and Alabama are the big dogs in the SEC. Auburn beats Oregon by 13 for the BCS title—mark it down.
UGA Alumni
November 30th, 2010
1:36 pm
What UGA coach has the highest winning percentage?
Who are the top three coaches with most wins in UGA history?
Difficult year – absolutely.
Defense cannot give up 400+ yds rushing to Tech.
Offense must get play makers the ball.
RICHT MUST STAY despite this challenging year!
Jim
November 30th, 2010
1:40 pm
I guess UGA beating Tech over and over again is just too boring for Mark to write about.
georgedawg
November 30th, 2010
1:42 pm
Bradley, Will you a schultz leave so the Georgia program can catch a break from all the over blown criticism. I’ll take richt as coach any day over you as journalist.
i cancelled my subscribtion because of Tucker, you and Schultz and take great delight in pointing out your agenda to everyone I can. I’ve tried to convince others to cancel their subscribtions. I think it’s working.
Thanks for another crummy, agenda driven hachet job on Georgia.
Lawrence
November 30th, 2010
1:51 pm
You are so bias in your writings about CMR. You need to check what the great smart CPJ record is against Georgia is, Then if you check how many 10 win seasons CPJ has in ACC which anyone that knows football will tell you is not nowhere as good as the SEC, You could also check CPJ bowl record at GT. You might come to understand that he’s not the smartest or greastest coach even in the State of Georgia.
Oconeedawg
November 30th, 2010
1:52 pm
Mark, here you go again! Stop! Coach Rieth is a great coach, a great individual, and even a better man. Yes, we have to go get some big lineman for his D. Mark you need to report on the trade school on 10 th avenue and not UGA.
MJ
November 30th, 2010
1:57 pm
No one needs to worry about Mark Richt leaving for Miami if you believe what you read here. According to this, Jon Gruden will be the next coach at The U. Give Gruden 2 years and Miami is going to be unstoppable!
http://www.thefyisportsblog.com/2010/11/jon-gruden-to-accept-head-coaching-position-at-the-university-of-miami-a-done-deal/
Alabama | MrSEC.com
November 30th, 2010
1:58 pm
[...] (Meyer blew off his postgame interview after Saturday’s loss.)2. This writer gives five reasons why Mark Richt won’t leave Georgia (even though he believes the coach probably should go).3. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is [...]
Billy ( Not Martin)
November 30th, 2010
2:05 pm
You Georgia fans kill me.
I am a tech fan and would love to have Richt as our coach.
Look at the quarterbacks you get. Murray is going to torture Tech for the next 3 years. Before that you had Stafford and before him Green.
We got a 3 and none of them can throw better than my grandmother.
Just for conversation, look at your beloved Vince Dooley.
Through 1969-74 he had records of 5-5, 5-5-1, 7-4, 7-4-1 & 6-6, certainly nothing to get excited about. The only great season he had in that span was in 71 when he went 11-1. Richt’s had 3 subpar seasons and you want to run him out. Too funny
Mike
November 30th, 2010
2:15 pm
CMR seemed that the beginning of the season to be burnt out to me. He just didn’t act and look like he was doing what he wanted to be doing. Who could blame him? late night calls about kids in jail, beginning 17 year old kids to come to your school, fans that expect a win every week and on and on. He has his pockets full of money how much of that kind of stuff do you take?
Hopefully things will turn around and he will get excited about coaching at UGA again and we will be competitive.
If he wasn’t burnt out and just couldn’t get the team ready to play that is a different matter all together. He needs fired if he can’t do the job— a little slack, not much at these wages,if he simply let down from a little burn out.
fair and Balanced
November 30th, 2010
2:16 pm
GA won’t go 9 – 3 next year. Who says the schedule is not overly difficult? SC has arrived. TN on the rise. Auburn is certainly there. We never beat FL. And now the AD does the dumbest thing for the football program to succeed and adds BSU. GA does not go 9 – 3. We have hit a new low of mediocrity that took 3 years to get down to. We won’t rise that fast to go 9 – 3. Hence, CMR gets another year and then OUT.
Tbone
November 30th, 2010
2:19 pm
The 6th reason Richt isn’t leaving is because Derek Dooley isn’t ready to leave TN yet. UGA is waiting on Derek to get a few more years under his belt, then he will be named the new head coach at UGA! Done deal!
Headley Lamar
November 30th, 2010
2:24 pm
Georgia’s a minor league program.
We have twice as many SEC Championships as Auburn.
Auburn beats Oregon by 13 for the BCS title—mark it down.
Youd better beat South Carolina first.
Chizik’s bringing in a boatload of 5 star talent next year—Auburn will be dominating the SEC for years—get used to it.
How much are all those 5 stars costing?
Headley Lamar
November 30th, 2010
2:26 pm
GA won’t go 9 – 3 next year. Who says the schedule is not overly difficult? SC has arrived. TN on the rise. Auburn is certainly there. We never beat FL.
I gotta go to the dog track with you people. You can obviously forecast what kind of team everybody will have before the previous year is even over. Amazing.
Aurburn wont have Cam. Ask Florida if losing Tebow hurt a little.
Pete
November 30th, 2010
2:42 pm
So Richt stays. Great. The longer they keep their “Pat Boone” wanna-bee, Pablum Meister , the better !!