Is Richt still under heavy pressure? ESPN’s Haney says yes
"You know, I was on the Hot Seat once myself, Mark." (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Mark Richt won the SEC East last season for the first time since 2005, did he not? Reversed a downward trend, did he not? Removed himself from the Hot Seat, did he not?
Yes and yes to the first two questions. To the third, Travis Haney of ESPN says, “Not so fast.”
Haney places Richt atop his list of coaches under most pressure to win. Others included: Mack Brown of Texas, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame, Bo Pelini of Nebraska and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma. (To be totally accurate, Haney doesn’t dub this his official Hot Seat list; it is, rather, “the precursor to the hot-seat list.”)
From Mr. Haney:
Richt is safe today, but with the expectations again high, that could quickly change. Such is life in the SEC, where the distance from the title game to the hot seat is seemingly never all that far. And the disciplinary issues only complicate that, because fans generally don’t want their school making headlines for the wrong reasons — much less repeatedly — and because it depletes the talent pool.
If Georgia sinks back toward .500 with this roster, despite its personnel setbacks, Richt could again find himself in an uncomfortable position. Or looking for a job.
Not saying it’s going to happen, but … it’s not unprecedented for a coach who took his team to the SEC championship game one season to be gone the next. Terry Bowden resigned at Auburn midway through the 1998 season after winning the SEC West in 1997, and Philip Fulmer was pushed aside by Tennessee in 2008 after his team played for the conference title in 2007. But Fulmer had been under duress for years, and Bowden fell out with the toxic booster Bobby Lowder.
Richt, on the other hand, remains well liked by those in power and the majority of his constituents. Does Bulldog Nation wish he’d hurry up and win a national title? Do Georgia fans agonize over every single loss? Absolutely. But the biggest issue folks had with Richt was that, since 2007, Georgia football had been on the clear descent.
From the disappointing 10-3 of 2008 to the uh-oh 8-5 in 2009 to the regrettable 6-7 of 2010 — that trend had to be reversed. It was. And the bounce-back season of 2011 followed by what should be another strong year would indicate that the Bulldogs are well and truly on the upward trail.
A year ago, Richt was coming off a losing season, his first at Georgia, and then his team started 0-2. Had the season unraveled further, he’d have been fired. It didn’t and he wasn’t. He’s got a contract extension in his pocket, and his team is sure to be ranked in the preseason top 10. Is he on the Hot Seat as we speak? Not even close. But here’s the trouble with an on-the-Hot-Seat characterization: Once the label has been affixed, it’s tough to tear off.
I think Georgia is going to be very good this season, so good it could render all questions about its coach moot. But Haney makes a salient point: “The Bulldogs have dodged the [SEC} Western Division powers in 2011 and 2012. If you're not going to [contend for a national championship] when you’re avoiding them, when are you going to do it?”
By Mark Bradley
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351 comments Add your comment
Kincade
July 11th, 2012
1:57 pm
Mark Richt started his coaching career in 1985 as a volunteer quarterbacks coach for the Florida State Seminoles (FSU), serving under Bobby Bowden. Richt left the Seminoles to join East Carolina University as their offensive coordinator in 1989. After one year at East Carolina, Richt returned to Florida State to serve as the Seminoles’ quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1994 upon the departure of Brad Scott. Under Richt’s direction, Florida State had some of college football’s most explosive offenses; in his seven years as offensive coordinator, the Seminoles ranked in the nation’s top five scoring offenses on five occasions, were top twelve in total offense five times, and top twelve in passing offense five times. The 2000 Seminoles offense finished the regular season ranked first nationally in total offense (549.0 yards per game), first in passing offense (384.0 ypg), and third in scoring offense (42.4 points per game).
While an assistant coach at Florida State, Richt coached two Heisman Trophy winners, quarterbacks Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke, and was part of two national championships (1993 and 1999).
Eisendawg
July 11th, 2012
1:58 pm
Most all coaches of major schools, and pro’s for that matter, are under enormous pressure to win, or be gone. It is the nature of the beast. I don’t think most people even have a clue how hard it is to run a clean program, win, plus keep 85 players happy, academically eligible, and out of trouble, plus please the AD, school board, and alumni. Try coaching a little league all star team where you have 12 players and can only play 9 at a time and you will get an idea. Even though that doesn’t even compare with coaching a major college program, you will get an idea. I guarantee you will have parents, maybe even some of them friends, who will be extremely upset with you.
GT
July 11th, 2012
1:58 pm
I agree with 1:53!
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
July 11th, 2012
1:59 pm
Well, nobody seems to remember that I was mascot all last season and just look at how the team improved! I may be a temp (because of my brown a$$ at a school that favors white a$$ed mascots) but I am getting the job done. Even with the bad influence of the running backs pervading this team (Coach Dooley calls ‘em bad apples) I set the course to an eastern division championship and then we got to play somebody (I forget who) for the SEC. How did that turn out? I seem to have memory loss. Go Dawgs!
Brian Van Gorder
July 11th, 2012
2:02 pm
Is it true that the Dawgs beat my Barners 45-7 last season? Dayuuuuum! I got some work to do.
Willie Martinez and I to the rescue!
Larry Bird
July 11th, 2012
2:03 pm
GT, you have nothing else to do but come on here and show how jealous you are of the Dawgs? You guys are terrible and getting worse. GT needs to move to the sun belt conference. That’s how you guys are recruiting anyways, like a sun belt team. LSU and Bama fans can get lost too. You would think those morons would be proud of there teams and enjoy the success they’re having. Instead they have to come here and bash the Dawgs. Losers.
GT
July 11th, 2012
2:04 pm
Keep Richt but also keep these emails, the man is hamburger meat in a couple of month. FSU had the same criminal enterprise that Georgia has now. FSU got rid of it and now can’t win a football game. Georgia won’t get rid of it until reality of schedule makes them start losing with the gangsters then they clean it up like FSU and start losing every year to Tech.
@Russ, the temp mascot
July 11th, 2012
2:05 pm
Sorry, but I don’t really believe that you are the same Russ, that has faithfully been filling in until a new uga is crowned. I’m pretty sure that the real Russ cannot type on a computer.
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:06 pm
Richt will never be under huge pressure. UGA fans love him too much to let his actual coaching ability be a cause for concern. He will keep averaging 8-10 wins a season and 8-10 arrests per season and nobody will really care. He isn’t a championship coach, but I think UGA fans have given up on being a championship team so it doesn’t really matter.
james
July 11th, 2012
2:06 pm
thUGA !!
@GT
July 11th, 2012
2:07 pm
If you believe FSU has cleaned it up, check out:
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/07/10/greg-reid-fsu-db-and-former-ajc-super-11-selection-arrested/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
sting_em
July 11th, 2012
2:08 pm
Its gong to come down to the UGA USC game early in the season. With UGA not having to play any of the big 3 from the west, I think USC will loose to LSU and not Ark this year. Ark is ranked preseason #5, however they wont stay there long. Too much has happened to them in the off season. So UGA and USC will have one loss each and the tiebreaker will go to USC.
pb
July 11th, 2012
2:09 pm
Who is this Haney on ESPN and what does he know? Nothing we don’t already know. All coaches at big school programs like UGA are always under pressure to win, no doubt. But Richt just got a contract extension and pay raise. So hardly think that’s a sign a guy is in trouble. But it would also be nice for UGA to beat a few really “good” teams this year. Would take away the doubt in some people’s minds.
GT
July 11th, 2012
2:10 pm
Mark Richt is losing control of…hold on just a second, there’s a robber entering my dorm, I’ll be right back…
@GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:10 pm
Just curious as to your thoughts about your own championship coach?
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
July 11th, 2012
2:10 pm
Hey, it is important to remember that I have several degrees from UGA and that is more than several members of the football team will collect while here. Now, arrests . . . that is a different matter. It’s hard to run with those boys on arrests. I notice one of the running backs ground the numbers off my dog tag and I don’t know where that is going to get me with Clarke County. Maybe Coach Richt can step in and do me some good as a character reference.
MintedDawg
July 11th, 2012
2:11 pm
McGarity’s trying to change perception, by scheduling a bunch of cupcakes.
But the truth is, Richt has lost his touch, Richt hasn’t won a real game against a top opponent since 2009.
And now, Richt is avoiding the top teams because he can’t beat them.
Will fans be snowed by running up the score against teams like Buffulo, and winning 9 or 10 games because you only play 1 top 25 team?
Richt can’t fix the problems that keep happening:
no special teams coach (Last in SEC in field goal %, punt return, kick return)
turnover margin against ranked teams
rushing game better than 7th in the SEC
conditoning, losing the 4th quarter
2nd half adjustments
bland offense
defensive points allowed against ranked teams
Larry Bird
July 11th, 2012
2:12 pm
@GTbob,
UGA has given up on being champions? We played for our championship last year and will again this year. You guys are recruiting terribly and can’t play defense. I would say y’all have given up sir. Do you really think your program is getting better with PJ? Didn’t think so.
AustellDawg
July 11th, 2012
2:14 pm
LMAO at GT getting robbed! That is truly hilarious. Boo got shot (on the tech campus no doubt)!
scout
July 11th, 2012
2:14 pm
To jdatl, responding to your comment about whether Dooley would make it in today’s environment, I think yes. Dooley’s philosophy was to live on a physical run game, excellent/perfection special teams play, and stingy defense. In this day of spread offenses, we see that the teams that win most of the National Championships are the teams committed to the same Dooley philosophy…. running the football with authority, playing excellent special teams, and stingy defense.
Gnats On The Flats
July 11th, 2012
2:15 pm
Ga Tech students are now being robbed at gunpoint in there dorm rooms and Paul Johnson is gonna be a sheriff in Athens??? C’mon Goldenrod that’s a stretch! How do Tech players learn the playbook when they spend all their time running for their lives??? Oh yeah,the playbook is only 3 pages, left ,right and up the middle!!! Yeah you guys are gonna fool Grantham with that! Dream on Gnats! 52-9
Isaiah Crowell's Brother
July 11th, 2012
2:15 pm
I think CMR needs to go.
FloridaFred
July 11th, 2012
2:16 pm
Please keep Mark Richt, we think he’s a great coach.
Douglas
July 11th, 2012
2:17 pm
Sorry, I’m a UGA grad but even if UGA wins the east, they will not beat Bama or LSU in the SEC championship game. As long as Bobo is the OC, we will never win the SEC again. And I think our 2nd string QB is better than Murray.
GameCockGreg
July 11th, 2012
2:17 pm
We love Coach Richt, he’s just had some bad luck of late. Please retain him, he is as good of a coach as they come.
LennyLSU
July 11th, 2012
2:20 pm
We’d love to play Richt again in the SEC Championship, so please don’t fire him, we want Mettenberger to say “Hi” at the end of the season since Coach Richt thought Mettenberger couldn’t lead a team to a Championship. 42-10. We’re going to try and hit 68-0 this time.
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:20 pm
UGA has given up on being champions? We played for our championship last year and will again this year.
UCLA played for their conference championship last year also. They also got pummeled by their opponent. Being in the championship game doesn’t make you a championship team.
Do you really think your program is getting better with PJ? Didn’t think so.
Yes I do, and almost all numbers prove it.
Jarvis Jones Fan Club
July 11th, 2012
2:21 pm
Hey FloridaFred, which one of my five sacks against your pathetic QB’s did you enjoy the most?
Aaron M.
July 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
Why do you think that Doug? Have you ever seen Hutson play a full sec season? Nope. Murray is the man. I do think Bobo could be a lot better, you’d think he would learn a lot more from Richt. His FSU offenses were awesome. But I know we can beat Bama LSU and anybody else. Boom goes the dynamite.
James
July 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
Can he beat a backwater Uni on the road, in the armpit of the South, on 10/6 ?
Hey GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:22 pm
Which one of your beloved PJ’s bowl victories at tech is your favorite?
….
What’s that?
….
{crickets}
CarolinaCarl
July 11th, 2012
2:23 pm
Coach Spurrier though UGA played real good last time, and deserved to win. Just had some unlucky plays here and there, and had a little bit of a hard time, AGAIN, stopping Marcus Lattimore. I’m sure, the 3rd time will be the charm for Coach Richt. Surely he won’t lose 3 straight to the lowly South Carolina? No, so keep him, he’s better than Saban anyday.
Fair n Balanced
July 11th, 2012
2:24 pm
Haney is right. Sadly, GA teams under Richt haven’t done well when expected to. This heightens the pressure even more. But comparing Richt to Bowden n Fulmer is not a fair comparison.
Jaded Dawgs Fan
July 11th, 2012
2:25 pm
This is exactly what I’ve been saying. Last year was good enough to buy Richt more time, but that’s about it. Ten wins sounds nice, but who did we really beat? I haven’t bought this “Richt is no longer on the hot seat” trope that people have been selling. It’s not like we won the national championship.
I’ve always been a Richt supporter. Love the guy to death as a person. But I’m tired of the direction of the football program. Hanging on to Willie too long, refusing to upgrade the offensive coordinator position, the endless arrests, the inability to win big games, the losses to non-conference opponents…it’s just getting old. We saw some things turn back in the right direction last year, but we need to see more of it this year. If the progress stalls in 2012, I’ll be ready for a new era in Georgia football.
Larry Bird
July 11th, 2012
2:26 pm
The rushing numbers are improving but that’s about it. I feel sorry for the next coach of GT. He’s going to have to come in and recruit ALL new players. You guys would be recruiting terribly even for Idaho State.
Fair n Balanced
July 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
9-3 would not be a surprise to me. .500 would be unacceptable and Richt would deserve the hot seat. Maybe worse.
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:29 pm
Which one of your beloved PJ’s bowl victories at tech is your favorite?
I have never and will never care about meaningless end of the season waste of money exhibition games.
Jump31
July 11th, 2012
2:30 pm
Mark,
ESPN’s not the only one that’s given up hope for Mark Richt. Phil Steele, who has been on the mark on the SEC East for many years, says it’s Florida in 2012, and not UGA. I guess that’s because UGA hasn’t won consecutive games vs. UF in over 20 years. And Steele can’t see the way Spurrier has figured out how to beat Georgia (blitz Aaron Murray to get interceptions and fumbles, win special teams, count on 3 turnovers, save Lattimore for the 4th quarter due to UGA’s inferior conditioning, etc.)
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:31 pm
The rushing numbers are improving but that’s about it.
He has the highest winning percentage of any GT coach since Bobby Dodd and is the first GT coach in history to win 8 games 3 of his first 4 seasons. I would call that improvement.
Old Dawg
July 11th, 2012
2:32 pm
Well, well, well. Yes, UGA has problems with bad eggs … but so do other schools. FSU just had a player arrested for a small amount of dope in his car, a suspended license etc.
Arkansas has had several arrests, and the list goes on and on.
All of the players at UGA and other schools were recruited by other SEC and D-1 schools, so it’s not like they would have been angels if their signatures were with other schools. On the surface, at least, it appears there is something unbalanced in UGA’s policies compared with other schools. Whether that can be worked out, I tend to doubt it.
As for this season, I expect the Dawgs to have an excellent year. The schedule certainly lines up that way. I’m just hoping the players can focus on the games on the field and not the off field games.
GT
July 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
Bottom line, Angelic Richt recruits thugs. Saban and Miles don’t do it and Paul Johnson CERTAINLY doesn’t do it. Mainly UGag and Free Shoes going after boyz from da hood.
Mike S.
July 11th, 2012
2:35 pm
I’m with you Mark. I think UGA would have to sink towards .500 again to get Richt in jeopardy.
This whole “dodged the West powers” is all bull. People manipulate this schedule argument all the time depending on what point they want to make.
UGA didnt dodge anyone. They won the East, and ran into LSU in the SEC Championship. If you think they arent as good as Arkansas, Bama, and LSU, then the best they can do is win the East which is exactly what they did. Besides, I dont recall anyone knocking Bama last year because they didnt play South Carolina or UGA when comparing schedules with OSU.
DumbBunny
July 11th, 2012
2:36 pm
Even though Richt loses more games than te year before
THE LAST 7 OUT OF 9 SEASONS
20% chance we win more games this year.
Ohh, does tha mean 80% chance we win 9 games or less?
DumbBunny
July 11th, 2012
2:37 pm
Even though Richt followed
THE LAST 4 SEC EAST 1ST PLACE FINISHES
with a WORSE season the NEXT YEAR
ALL 4 TIMES, 4 OUT 4, 100% OF THE TIME
I predict we will win 11 or games.
Egads, 0% chance, uh ohhhh///
Mike S.
July 11th, 2012
2:39 pm
@GT – then how do you explain Zach Mettenberger in an LSU uniform…kicked off the UGA squad for getting into legal troubles. You’ve been living under a rock if you think Saban and Miles arent recruiting from the same talent pool. Johnson would too except none of them want to run the triple option.
@GTBob
July 11th, 2012
2:39 pm
Do you really think your program is getting better with PJ? Didn’t think so.
Yes I do, and almost all numbers prove it.
Well, at first I thought you were crazy with this statement until I went back and took a look at those numbers.
2009 – UGA 30 – Tech 24 = 6 points
2010 – UGA 42 – Tech 34 = 8 points
2011 – UGA 31 – Tech 17 = 14 points
What type of math you guys studying over there?
GT
July 11th, 2012
2:39 pm
From a statistical standpoint, the Georgia Tech defense did not show an improvement last season. This is Al Groh’s third season, will we finally see the switch to the 3-4 pay off for Georgia Tech?
Its going to be tough to improve a lot on defense having lost, unexpectedly, the most productive player in ILB Julian Burnett to a career ending injury. Replacing Burnett and how much the defensive line, especially the NT position, improve will be the biggest keys. The linebackers have more depth having recruited to the 3-4 for two seasons now, even with the Burnett loss. The unit needs some players to step up as difference makers; OLB Jeremiah Attaochu is a player to watch here as is RS Fr. Jabari Hunt-Days.
The secondary is the strongest unit on the defense with three solid cornerbacks and two productive safeties. This unit was better than the stats showed last year, but the lack of pressure from the front seven made pass defense tougher than it should have been.
One overlooked item this offseason was the hiring of a new strength and conditioning coach. I have thought for the last three seasons under the old regime Tech looked physically overmatched on defense, especially up front. It may take until next season to see changes with the hire coming just last month.
The improvement on defense really comes down to finding playmakers in the front seven to slow the run and get a consistent pass rush.
If Georgia Tech improves this year, it will likely be on the strength of their defense which has shown little to no improvement under Al Groh since Tech switch to the 3-4. Last year Georgia Tech was fifth in the ACC in total defense at 359 yards per game (in 2009 before the switch they allowed 360). Tech was eighth last year in points allowed at 26.1 (in 2009 they allowed 24.8). If Georgia Tech wants to take the next step forward they must do it on defense and I just don’t see the horses in the front seven to think they will improve this year. I don’t think they will be worse, but I don’t see a big jump happening for Tech on defense. Tech will compete in the ACC this year, just like they do every year under PJ. They have an excellent chance of finishing second in the Coastal division behind Virginia Tech. In order to take the next step they need to recruit better players on defense and they need to do a better job developing them once they get on campus.
Boise Dawg
July 11th, 2012
2:40 pm
First let me say I really like Mark Richt and hope he is our coach for a long time. That being said, I absolutely agree with the ESPN article and that Richt is still under a lot of pressure this year. But what coach at any top Tier SEC team isn’t? This isn’t all that different though from any other major program. Bottom line there are some SEC coaches (Saban, Spurrier and Miles come to mind) that have built up enough good will with their fan bases that they could withstand a very disappointing season.
Richt moved the program in a positive direction last season… but it is going to take more than 1 good season for the majority of fans to forget the dissapointments of 2008 – 2010. I think the only way he builds up some job security is winning the SEC again and/or beating a top 10 team. Short of that…. I don’t think he can afford another dissapointing year. With the schedule we have and the talent coming back anything short of 10 wins and I think McGarity is really going to hear it. Not saying that is right, but just what I think….
Money for Nothing
July 11th, 2012
2:41 pm
Who gives a flying {flip} about something as insignificant as georgia tech football? You can’t spell pathetic without tech!!!
MattDawg
July 11th, 2012
2:41 pm
This is the last year for Richt unless he wins it all. There is no excuse left. He has good players on both sides of the ball, a schedule that should allow him to go to Atlanta, UGA should also be favored in every game with the exception of maybe South Carolina. Its Atlanta or Bust for Richt, and I think he has to win there too or he is out… If he doesnt do it this year… when will he? never.