Win or lose Saturday, can Richt ever again feel safe at UGA?
"Let's try that play where we jump offside. That's working!" (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
The label “must-win” has affixed itself to the South Carolina game, but a more precise description is “darn-well-better-win.” There’s a chance an 0-2 Georgia could still make something of its season. Say the Bulldogs win nine of their next 10: Wouldn’t 9-3 with a strong finish coming after 6-7 be construed as, ahem, significant improvement? That said …
Beyond simply saving himself for next week or next season, can Mark Richt ever again be truly safe in this job?
When the second game of any season is deemed, however inexactly, a “must-win,” matters have already deteriorated. When something is so far gone, is there any going back? The Georgia-Tennessee game of Oct. 6, 2007, was considered a “must-win” for Philip Fulmer, and he won it 35-14 and rose from 2-2 to 9-3 and led the Vols to the SEC East title (shading Georgia on a tiebreaker). Great recovery, huh?
Reality check: Philip Fulmer was fired in November 2008.
The Fulmer parallel is often invoked regarding Richt, and it’s apt. Both men won big for a good long while. Both took two SEC championships. (Fulmer even won a BCS title, a prize for which Georgia under Richt has never played.) Then they stopped winning so much. Fans noticed. Fans began asking: “Is he still the right guy?”
When enough fans ask that loaded question enough times, games stop being games and become referendums on the coach. This week a man who has a finger on the pulse of Bulldog Nation estimated Richt’s job-approval rating at five percent. Should Georgia lose to South Carolina, what might the approval rating be? Two-point-five percent? Zero percent?
We need to ask this, too: Even if Georgia wins this game, will Richt’s doubters again become believers? Or will they just doubt a bit less until he loses again?
A coach cannot serve for long at the displeasure of his constituency: This has always been true, but it’s truer than ever in a world where the athletic director has an e-mail address and anyone with Internet access can post on Twitter and Facebook and AJC.com. With so much money in play and so many seats to fill, can any AD wage a protracted fight against the wishes of his fans?
Loading ...When C.M. Newton was in charge at Kentucky and folks were upset that Bill Curry wasn’t winning, the AD advised the dissidents to go find another school to support. Even with such administrative backing, Curry wound up resigning. When you lose so often that the roar of discontent drowns out the huzzahs raised in any victory, you’re a goner even before you actually go.
Richt is treading perilously close to that tipping point. Losing to Boise State mightn’t have been so bad on its face — the Broncos arrived ranked No. 5 in the land and were favored by Vegas — but the manner of the loss was devastating. This disjointed performance didn’t augur a new beginning; this was merely more of the same, which made it worse than ever. You sign the Dream Team and can’t stay onside? To borrow from Steve Spurrier’s famous 1991 dismissal: “Georgia gets all these recruits, but I don’t know what happens to them.”
Should Georgia lose to South Carolina, as coached by the dastardly Spurrier, Richt won’t resign on the spot or be fired on Sunday. He might still win enough to keep his job. (For another year, anyway.) But here’s the bigger issue: Even a win over the Gamecocks won’t convince many folks that the 51-year-old Richt remains the daring young man who Finished The Drill way back when.
It might take another SEC championship to do that. It might take a BCS title. And if, after Boise, you espy such glory on the horizon … well, count yourself among that five percent.
By Mark Bradley
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594 comments Add your comment
CMR Titanic
September 9th, 2011
3:59 pm
Going down down down……………………………………
schedule nightmare
September 9th, 2011
3:59 pm
You gotta wonder what the “football” background is for many of these blog fans that indicate the BoBo has insufficient football knowledge. What a joke. BoBo probably has “forgotten more about football” than many of these clowns know.
Blame this hate fest on your new AD for scheduling a non cupcake to shake down your new shotgun thingy. You know, like about 95% of other college teams!
Dawg with two bags on head
September 9th, 2011
4:00 pm
I’m afraid we’re going to see the third part of the Liberty Bowl triple-header this Saturday. I think the real question now is “How long after the season will McGarity wait to pull the trigger?.”
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
4:02 pm
@Mike G
The only mistake that the Vols made in firing Fulmer was in waiting too long. Hiring Kiffin, OTOH, was the ultimate bonehead move. Tennessee is probably better off today than they would have been had they kept Phat Phil any longer, although I don’t think Lil’ Dooley is the long-term answer to getting them back to SEC relevance.
Still, I’d give them the edge to beat the Dawgs this year. If you’re honest with yourself, you would too.
Something has died
September 9th, 2011
4:03 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSep7QJXKlE
Non - GA fan
September 9th, 2011
4:03 pm
I have always been amused at all of the fans that are experts when it comes to coaching. I have never seen coaches go tell a banker how to do his job or a lawyer how to practice law. I think it’s amazing at the priorties of some people.
Mark Richt can coach my son any day!
Something has died
September 9th, 2011
4:04 pm
good luck…… Caleb King
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
4:04 pm
Classic song and very apropos.
Get on Da Bus
September 9th, 2011
4:05 pm
Richt is toast
Medgeorgia
September 9th, 2011
4:08 pm
I love Coach Richt but he should have let Bobo go. If I were going down I would go down calling my own plays. With that said it is probably time for a change I just hope all these guys remember when we get a coach who wins and then has to forfeit because of cheating like and Auburn etc. which is better?
UGAmutt
September 9th, 2011
4:12 pm
We are going to lose this game. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. Those poor kids have received the same lies and hype that we’ve been fed ever since VanGorder left: we’re making adjustments. We know the problems. It’s the conditioning and it’s been fixed. It’s the DC and he’s been replaced. We just needed a big recruiting class.
Let’s face it gents: Our Coaching schemes are stale. We’re as predictable as tic-tac-toe. Our athletes aren’t hard and mean the way that Erk and CBVG would have had them. They look like sissies. All that “strength and speed” just to go out and hit like a bunch of ballerinas. Until our staff changes, expect these same results: continuous short-comings against top-quality competition and sloppy, poorly coached avatars that are supposed to represent football players. UNSAT.
I drank the Kool-aid that the AJC and our Atheletic Department were pouring all summer. Now, I wish that we were Alabama or LSU. Sad.
Toof Less Dawg
September 9th, 2011
4:15 pm
Georgia Football Saturdays…..Built Ford Tough. Of course the transmission crapped out of my Ford about 3 years ago and its up on block in the front of my mobile home. But my kids use it fer a playground. Dawgs git spanked by the LameCocks or I lose my trailer to my boss.
UGAmutt
September 9th, 2011
4:16 pm
Let’s face it, Dawgs. We are going to lose this game. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. Those poor kids have received the same lies and hype that we’ve been fed ever since VanGorder left: we’re making adjustments. We know the problems. It’s the conditioning and it’s been fixed. It’s the DC and he’s been replaced. We just needed a big recruiting class.
UGAmutt
September 9th, 2011
4:16 pm
We are going to lose this game. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. Those poor kids have received the same lies and hype that we’ve been fed ever since VanGorder left: we’re making adjustments. We know the problems. It’s the conditioning and it’s been fixed. It’s the DC and he’s been replaced. We just needed a big recruiting class.
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
4:16 pm
Yeah, let’s give Tennessee the edge this year. They looked so dominant in their 41-14 loss to UGA last year. The reason Phil had to go was he truly lost institutional control of the program regardless of wins and losses. Not the case here.
DAWGtired
September 9th, 2011
4:17 pm
We are going to lose this game. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. Those poor kids have received the same lies and hype that we’ve been fed ever since VanGorder left: we’re making adjustments. We know the problems. It’s the conditioning and it’s been fixed. It’s the DC and he’s been replaced. We just needed a big recruiting class.
DAWGtired
September 9th, 2011
4:19 pm
Face it guys, we are going to lose this game. I know it in my head, and I know it in my heart. Those poor kids have received the same lies and hype that we’ve been fed ever since VanGorder left: we’re making adjustments. We know the problems. It’s the conditioning and it’s been fixed. It’s the DC and he’s been replaced. We just needed a big recruiting class.
Let’s face it gents: Our Coaching schemes are stale. We’re as predictable as tic-tac-toe. Our athletes aren’t hard and mean the way that Erk and CBVG would have had them. They look like sissies. All that “strength and speed” just to go out and hit like a bunch of ballerinas. Until our staff changes, expect these same results: continuous short-comings against top-quality competition and sloppy, poorly coached avatars that are supposed to represent football players. UNSAT.
I drank the Kool-aid that the AJC and our Atheletic Department were pouring all summer. Now, I wish that we were Alabama or LSU. Sad.
Joey
September 9th, 2011
4:19 pm
Burdell 90, who’s your team, scumbag? Don’t answer – has to be tech. “Redneck and THUGS” gave you away.
You must have some pretty good koolaid yourself to put up with 9-1, you dumba$$ nerd scum.
As lousy as UGA has played the last two years, we always know we have a cupcake at the end of the season.
And the best I can tell, none of our “THUGS” have murdered anybody lately like you know who. And who’s on NCAA Probation, once again?
Marc Trestman
September 9th, 2011
4:19 pm
Hire me I can fix the offense.
schedule nightmare
September 9th, 2011
4:20 pm
if dogs win Sat, many of the bobo bashers will be bobo praisers!
Any political crap on a football blog is still crap…even if it comes from a looser cracker.
better safe than sorry
September 9th, 2011
4:23 pm
you guys start with Coastal Carolina and this blog is completely different.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 9th, 2011
4:30 pm
Joey
Good points
Burdell should worry about filling Tech’s high school stadium instead and cleaning up the crime located on North Ave instead of wasting time on here.
Talk about Thugs North Ave is the capital
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
4:30 pm
Fulmer didn’t lose institutional control, he just got caught controlling the institution. He was a low-life from the beginning — when he stabbed Majors in the back to get the job.
But Georgia under Richt? Now that’s the epitome of a clean college football program. No way they’ll ever win the Fulmer Cup.
Oh, wait… Never mind.
lawzoo
September 9th, 2011
4:31 pm
If Ga. wins– this game is mobbed up. No kidding.
Buck Blew
September 9th, 2011
4:32 pm
it’s sad that the day has come when Bradley starts quoting darth spurrier in his columns when talking about the demise and misery of Dawg football.
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
4:37 pm
It might be they do a lot better tomorrow. The coaches made a horrible mistake in not taking the effects of the crowd noise into planning.
I think it contributed to the players looking disoriented and confused (not to mention the uni’s they had on probably had similar effects as LSD).
Boise planned better for the noise.
Now, Bobo’s fruitless play calling? That was horribly sad.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
September 9th, 2011
4:38 pm
UT needed to fire Fatboy Phil but they screwed the pooch when they hired the punk and not because they fired lardazz. Dooley learned all he knew from Shug Jordan at Auburn and that was one good year and one bad year and repeat. The fact is UGA is a average program that has had a couple of very good years but more bad than good. You can’t handle the truth about your program but your trophy case says it all!!!! Heck GT has as much hardware as you Dawg fans so STFU until you do something. Richt should have fired Garner years back but he knows where all the bodies are buried and like all the Dye guys he will get paid now and forever.
Joey
September 9th, 2011
4:42 pm
techie posters – beat down so much by UGA over the last decade, they have to resort to posting as fans of other teams, so as to be critical of UGA fans as koolaid drinkers.
Well, we love our team. We would never pretend to be fans of any other team.
I’ve got a couple of Tech-grad friends, and they don’t hate UGA like you girls do.
You little techie-posting girls are pitiful. And silly. But that’s how little girls act, right? Silly . . .
Ray Finkle
September 9th, 2011
4:48 pm
The laces were in and Mark Richt is to blame. All you arm chair know it all’s are good for is laughs. I’m sure most of you was the star on your pee wee football team which is why you’re so knowledgeable about the game. Win or lose just chear on your team and keep your expert opinions to a minimum. And no that is not a banana in my pocket I’m just really excited about beating SC. Go Dawgs!
Joey
September 9th, 2011
4:48 pm
Wet Willie, you got a 12-0-0, AP and UPI, Undisputed National Championship is your trophy case?
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
4:53 pm
@Restore UGA
Valid point. These Dawgs aren’t used to hearing a lot of cheering when they play. Maybe some red earplugs should have been part of that fancy uniform ensemble?
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
4:55 pm
really Wet Willie, I believe the only “hardware” in the GT trophy case recently is the empty spot where the ACC title that they had to give up USED to be. So how about YOU STFU until that lame excuse for a team learns something other than the quadruple option with a no arm QB. More bad years than good? Look at UGA’s record in the 2000s and look at GTs .. I can’t believe with that crap being played at GT that their fans are even willing to type on a blog.
Ray Finkle
September 9th, 2011
4:56 pm
The laces were in and Mark Richt is to blame.
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
5:00 pm
No worries JB, I watched the tax payer paid campaign speech last night, and I understand your frustration.
Do you think it will work, if we demand repeatedly, “Richt, Win the game now!” or “Richt, bring in an OC genius!”
Joey
September 9th, 2011
5:00 pm
Flat Tire, like Lewis Grizzard said years ago, is any other football program in the country DOWNSIZING their stadium? UGA fans buy tech season ticket packages every other season, just to get tickets to one game in that smelly, little stadium. I did that for a decade, until the gang-like crowds outside convinced me it wasn’t safe to take my wife and daughter up there.
I don’t blame the tech girls on these UGA blogs, though. If I was a tech fan, and had hateful feelings towards my “big brother in Athens,” I’d probably come up with a name like, SSI Gator, Bronco Blue or something like they do. Lord knows I wouldn’t let anybody know who I was really a fan of . . .
Sarah Palin
September 9th, 2011
5:02 pm
Mark: Why don’t you write about me? Everyone wants to read more about, hear more about and see more of me.
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
5:09 pm
Mtn Dawg, if nothing else, Boykin would have made a great decoy after that 80 yard run. UGA probably could have run just about anything with him in, and the Boise D would have been watching him.
Delbert D.
September 9th, 2011
5:11 pm
Some honesty here. What Mark Richt has show me is that he is naive. He believes that there is inherent goodness in everyone. He believes that by showing patience and love he can correct the personalities of miscreants. He has shown that he is not mentally tough enough to deal with the realities of this big-time business. Last year it was clearly evident on the limited TV shots of his interactions with Grantham that Grantham hand to show unusual restraint from his style of coaching.
I obviously don’t know Mark Richt personally. From reading quotes in the paper and listening to his interviews, I don’t believe that he is a person that can can lead effectively. Sometimes leading by example is not enough. He can’t step outside of his own shadow and manage situations that need dramatic changes. He doesn’t seem to have the competitive edge to be a truly great football coach. He appears to be too accepting of mediocrity and too trusting of his assistants when evaluating personnel needed to form great teams. Too many bad eggs have sullied the program over too many years. I never gave it much thought until recently, but I now believe what Bobby Bowden said when he accepted the Georgia job: He is too nice.
I think that he could be effective at a different program, one where the highest level of performance is not required to succeed. One that automatically attracts many recruits with high character, one that reflects his his belief system. I think he needs to do a self-assement and decide what he wants to accomplish in the rest of his life.
BILLY JACK
September 9th, 2011
5:12 pm
IF UGA STARTS OUT 0-2 NO WAY THEY COME BACK MENTALLY-THIS IS A MUST WIN AND I HAVE A FEELING THEY WIN A TIGHT ONE.20-17
jay
September 9th, 2011
5:12 pm
Nobody cares when you when ugly. When you start losing ugly, that should get
the attention of an AD.
JB in Blakely
September 9th, 2011
5:12 pm
And all the Dawg fans should look north to Tennessee to see how they have done since firing Fulmer!
Ggdawgs
September 9th, 2011
5:14 pm
How about Jeff Fisher for 2012? Any takers?
Fire Mark Richt
September 9th, 2011
5:15 pm
“Settle down and take one of your wifes Midol tablets.”
That’s actually good advice. I took one of my wife’s Midol tablets after running out of Tylenol one time, and was loving life inside of 10 minutes. Good stuff.
Delbert D.
September 9th, 2011
5:15 pm
I made several misspellings in the 5:11 post, and I apologize for them. My thoughts were so intense that I didn’t notice them until after I posted.
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
5:19 pm
@Delbert D.
I wouldn’t worry about a few typos. Your post was spot on.
BILLY JACK
September 9th, 2011
5:20 pm
The answer is we are recruiting the right kind of players-everybody else wanted these players but the coaching staff is not developing them.Rodney Garner and Tony Ball are not taking players to the next level with the talent at UGA.King and M Brown look like they are getting worse by the year.Chris Petersen would have won 2 national championships coaching these players.
Yeah..Right
September 9th, 2011
5:25 pm
Why should the players care, when they can clearly see that neither the coaches nor the fans do?
If this game isn’t a “must win”, then which one is?
Annie in Statesboro
September 9th, 2011
5:28 pm
Mark Richt is UGA’s Paul Hewitt. The suffering is not going to end until Richt & Co. Are run out of Athens. Period.
Unfortunately, after a loss to USC on Saturday, the dawgs could win all or most of the rest of their games with the cupcake schedule they have. On paper, UGA could have a pretty decent season, maybe 9-3 or 8-4, perhaps even run the table for a 10-2 season. That would be catastrophic, since it would save the malignant, inept Richt for another year.
Run the guy out of town now, pay the buyout, and get a new start with a winning coach.
Richt has brought enough humiliation to Athens already.
JDawg1785
September 9th, 2011
5:31 pm
I’ve always had a ton of respect for Coach Richt and continue to be one of his dwindling supporters. We all know he’s a good coach- he just seems to not be coaching up to his potential these days. If his head’s not in it 100%, he should do himself and UGA a favor and resign at the end of the season. As much as I like CMR, I like seeing the Dawgs winning that much more.
Regardless, I stand by him as the coach of the team I will love to the grave.
Go Dawgs!!
Rafael
September 9th, 2011
5:33 pm
Chris Petersen would have won 2 national championships coaching these players.
Only if you threw out the lamebrains with the dreads and the tattoos. These guys are losers. No coach would have won any kind of championship with goons like Ealey and King.