Mark Richt gives a doubting Bulldog Nation reason to believe
Bottom line: A lot of Georgia folks still like this guy. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Here’s one case of goodness being its own reward. The events of this offseason have reminded us that it was never this coach Georgia fans had come to dislike; it was only this coach’s diminishing record. Mark Richt has given those folks reason to believe the record is subject to sudden change, and the cloud of gloom that figured to shroud the 2011 season has all but lifted. (At least for now.)
Georgia folks are optimistic. Cynics among us will insist that Georgia folks are always optimistic until reality descends — then they’re ready to fire their coach. After the Bulldogs lost to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl to finish 6-7, there were a couple of anxious days when some who know the inner workings of the program weren’t certain Richt would keep his job. But here he is, and he’s not acting like a coach about to get canned.
He’s cheerful, almost aggressively so. “I plan on having a hell of a year,” Richt said last month.
In public appearances across the state, he has been greeted not with skepticism, but with an enthusiasm that has redoubled. It’s as if Georgia fans spent the winter contemplating life without Richt and concluded they still want this guy as their coach. They just want him to win more games.
Toward that end, Richt won big on signing day. The “Dream Team” might prove to have been overblown — recruiting classes often are — but there can be no denying that its compilation came at the exact right moment. Georgia fans were wondering if their program still mattered, and the addition of a half-dozen major prospects delivered the message that it does. But there was another component to this offseason, this having to do with Richt himself.
His constituency had come to wonder if winning meant as much to him as it does to them. His answer came in measured steps, but it was the answer Georgia folks wanted. Richt re-assigned strength coach Dave Van Halanger, often described as his best friend, and replaced him with fierce lifetime Bulldog Joe Tereshinski. The mat drills that were Van Halanger’s staple, the exercise routine that had spawned the Richtian slogan “Finish the Drill”? They were dropped.
So was Washaun Ealey, the running back of great promise who kept losing his way. Gone, too, is Caleb King, another hyped runner who failed to meet obligations. “Some of [the departing Bulldogs] left because they wanted to leave,” Richt told the Bulldog Club of Metro Atlanta. “Some we helped out the door.”
A bit later, Richt conceded: “I might not be as patient as I once was.”
This drew the loudest applause of the night, and in that moment it was possible to believe that this coach might well stay in place another 10 years. For all the criticism he has received, nobody who knows Richt wants him to fail. The personal affection Georgia fans have for this coach has been, if not a game-winner, then at least a game-changer.
As of this month, the elements that make up Georgia football have again come into alignment: The coach has been reborn, the players rededicated, the fans re-energized. “You’re either on the bus or you’re not,” Richt said that rainy night in Atlanta. (He has spoken the same words other places.) “If you’re not, you need to get off. If you are, great — now let’s go have some fun.”
Recent seasons have drained the joy from Georgia football. This figures to be the year the fun returns. Unless the Bulldogs lose to Boise State and South Carolina. But they won’t.
By Mark Bradley
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116 comments Add your comment
Tre'
August 28th, 2011
10:09 pm
Geez fellas, perty much ANY OLE COACH can win in the SEC, new winners include Mullen, Petrino, Gene C, Saban, Miles, Meyer, SPurrier won the East last year. 6 new coaches got teams to instant winners. Need some new energy in here.
Forget the bus, the bus died, now there’s a ship,
An Dat Ship Goin Down!
Thomas Brown
August 29th, 2011
12:01 am
I do not believe that anyone in the Bulldog nation is doubting. I believe there are 2 sanctions amongst Bulldogs fans (1) those who think it is a great motivating factor to our team to tell them how great they are and who believe all Mark Richt’s lies and (2) those who believe the “coaching staff” of Mark Richt have blown it in 16 excruciating losses to teams who either didn’t finish in the AP Poll Top 25 or who would not have without their win over Mark Richt, also realizing we have Lost 9 and Won only 3 vs teams who did finish in the AP Poll Top 10 and that the players and coaches have to instead be told to motivate them to GATA.
Both sanctions know full well what we’ve been doing. I told them.
GallopingDog
August 29th, 2011
8:17 am
From my informal survey, about 40% believe Mark Richt will return for 2012. About 60% believe this is Mark Richt’s last year. I remember the survey done right here on this exact blog Jan 1, and it didn’t come out good either for Richt.
Richt would need to beat Florida first of all, and he’s only won 2 out of 10 there. then he’d need to beat Spurrier, and with Lattimore, Jeffery and Big Game Garcia, that’s a long shot. richt has to win those 2 to keep his major team Div 1 job.
Boise? Top 5 team absolutely now way. Mullen? No, Mullen just outworks you. Auburn? No, they’re on fire and they’ll pile up points, a sure way to frustrate Georgia, scored 49 last year on us. Tenn? No, last 4 home team wins.
to be honest, Richt’s lost to pretty much every ranked teams, 2 years straight now, I think he’s 2 out of 10 there. He’s just outcoached.
So 6-6, best case scdenario.
Whiskey Breath
August 29th, 2011
8:25 am
I thought you guys stated Richt never ran off anybody? That was purely Nick Saban’s domain. So what is it? A 5th year guy ( King), suddenly can’t study? Telling a recruit they will start, (Crowell) has consequences. ( Missing man formation)
Which will happen first? You dawgs will figure out Richt can’t win, or the guy is the biggest phony?
Anyway you look at it, it will probably be Nick Saban’s fault.
GallopingDog
August 29th, 2011
8:25 am
One thing we’ve all come to expect here at Bulldog nation, is Richt underperforming. The man always seems to find a way to lose more games than the year before. We’ve seen it 7 out of last 8 seasons, and last 3 in a row. Richt has only exceeded his AP Preseason Poll ranking once in 5 years according to pollspeak.com. Ungreat expectations, that’s what we’ve come to expect.
Mark Richt Farewell Tour
August 29th, 2011
8:42 am
is getting closer now…..Buh bye Mark!
GallopingDog
August 29th, 2011
8:51 am
Kellen Moore is 38-2 as a starter, and 9-1 against ranked teams.
Aaron Murray is 6-7 as a starter, and 0-5 against ranked teams.
daddy dawg
August 29th, 2011
8:53 am
2-0 to start. Boise can’t hang and Gamecocks can’t finish, simple as that. You want to say “if, if, if, because…..”, fine, it’s that time of year, nobody’s lined up yet. Anything could happen. Dawgs might lose a game or 2 this year but not yet……not yet. GATA!!
daddy dawg
August 29th, 2011
8:55 am
2-0 to start….Boise can’t hang and Carolina can’t finish….simple simple….
GallopingDog
August 29th, 2011
9:02 am
Yeah yeah yeah. I used ot be blindly optimistic too, until I noted, for the 7th time in 8 years, Richt lost more games than the year before. I opened my eyes.
GallopingDog
August 29th, 2011
9:04 am
Did you guys know just how good Boise is? forget the 38-2 record? Forget only 1 loss to a ranked team under Moore. Did you know, out fo the 120 teams in the NCAA, Boise has OUTPERFORMED the AP Preseason Poll better than ANY OTHER TEAM over last 5 seasons? That means, at #5 pre season, they’re very likely going to end up higher.
5 Time National Champs Nebraska
August 29th, 2011
9:05 am
I don’t know……The UGA program has been suffering the last few years. This is Richt’s last chance to save his job.
jaxdawgfan
August 29th, 2011
9:56 am
I know without a doubt that Coach Richt is a man of great faith and integrity and nobody respects that more than me. Those are 2 fantastic qualities to have in a head coach but…. performance MUST follow.
When Coach Richt challenges us to decide whether or not we’re “on the bus,” he and we need to understand that the bus belongs to the team, not the coach. He is the driver and chief mechanic. Riders are there to support the team, not just the head coach. If he wants riders, he’ll need to be sure that the engine is started and running at peak performance and that the bus is not still stuck in reverse. If there is a misfiring plug, it needs to be cleaned or replaced. If that misfire is caused by the head coach, then it is he who needs to be “helped out the door.” Again, I hope that is NOT the case, but, if it is, then, for the good of the team, that needs to happen and no one should slam true fans who call for change that will benefit the team.
Since Mark Richt is still our head coach, I’ll give him this year to prove that he’s still an excellent driver. GO DAWGS!
Game week arrives: SEC links for Monday - River Region Sports
August 29th, 2011
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Dawg Follower
August 29th, 2011
10:38 pm
I cannot wait to come back and smear some loud-mouth agitators’ faces into their heaping platter of crow late Saturday night.
LogicalUS
August 30th, 2011
7:40 pm
“Cynics among us will insist that Georgia folks are always optimistic until reality descends ”
All you need to take from this article…ESPN doesn’t call UGA fans the most delusional in college football for nothing.
It seldom takes most UGA fans more than a few hours after any beatdown to start talking delusional trash about the next opponent and the “luck” of the previous opponent in not getting a beatdown if the UGA had played properly.
Facts are that regardless of all the peptalks, the UGA staff is still manned by the dreaded Bobo and Grantham, both who were complete disasters last season. Bobo averaged less than 14 pts a game against teams with winning records and Grantham’s defense fell apart as the season wore on.
And these disasters are supposed to take a cast leftover after losing its most productive players from the past two seasons, either thru leaving early or running them off, and form a viable MNC product? In what world?
Expectations is one thing, but the delusional optimistic swagger of Dawg fans for 2011 is weird.