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
Fan of the Game
July 11th, 2012
3:58 pm
Greg Reid arrested. Boy college football is going down the drain. We put these guys on a pedastal and they have little or no character and don’t blame it on home life growing up. When are we going to really straigten up the real problems with college football and it isn’t a playoff system? Somebody needs to be accountable because it sure isn’t this wave of athletes we keep catering to.
CorbinaDawg
July 11th, 2012
4:00 pm
Mark Richt didn’t get a raise.
and Mark Richt’s buyout after this year was reduced to almost $0 in case Richt’s fired.
You have to be an idiot not to see that this means AD McGarity LOVES Mark Richt as a coach.
Dawglasville
July 11th, 2012
4:00 pm
GT Bob – Your dig at UGA is that we can’t win national championships. It doesn’t matter, in your argument, that Bama, Auburn, LSU, schools not as strong as UGA academically, have won the BCS recently (Florida being the exception). So Tech, who is not as tough as UNC or Duke academically, should be winning NC’s in basketball. The point is Bob, I’m not sure why you always have so much time to look at our program and so little to spend on your own. Apparently your basketball program suffers from some of the same problems our football program does.
MaconDawg
July 11th, 2012
4:03 pm
To read nothing but happy talk articles, check out Seth Emerson’s pr happy talk articles, oops, I mean, journalism pieces, they all just happen to be positive about Georgia. Or just go to georgiadogs.com, that’s where Seth gets all his dieas from for his puff pices, oops, hard hitting journalism..
notso fast
July 11th, 2012
4:06 pm
Coach R will be around for many years.He can recruit and he still has one wild card he can play if he has a bad season…fire Bobo. Good people are hard to get rid of.
Greg
July 11th, 2012
4:07 pm
Haney is from the metropolis of Cleveland, Tennessee and he graduated from UT. His bias is coming through here. He knows UGA needs to continue to have a coach in trouble to give his alma mater a chance to get some of the better players out of GA and become at least somewhat relevant again.
Truth be told, there is no coach on a hotter seat than Dooley at UT this season.
SSIgator
July 11th, 2012
4:08 pm
Fan of the Game
July 11th, 2012
3:58 pm
Greg Reid arrested.
_________________________________
No big deal. FSU is just following the blueprint for athletic recruitment that Bowden and Richt put in place for them in the 90’s. You can see that Richt has not lost his touch during his stay at UGA either.
Bama in Atlanta
July 11th, 2012
4:10 pm
Question to Mark and UGA fans – If the dawgs go undefeated in regular season but lose the SEC CG and their bowl game then would you consider Richt back on the hot seat?
Bama in Atlanta
July 11th, 2012
4:12 pm
Question: if UGA goes undefeated in regular season but loses in the SEC CG and then loses their bowl game would you consider Richt to be on the hot seat?
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
4:13 pm
Apparently your basketball program suffers from some of the same problems our football program does.
You seem to be making the assumption that academics are the sole determining factor in how good a sports team is, which is silly. I have never argued that academics are the only reason GT is worse then UGA if that is what you are implying. There are plenty of other reasons.
Eddie
July 11th, 2012
4:15 pm
I did not even read the bologna article or what is sure to be many stupid and sarcastic comments to follow. Coach Richt is in good shape and he should be. Any moron who would not want him as coach does not have a clue what the heck they are talking about. He is under no more pressure than anyother big time coach at any big time program.
JB
July 11th, 2012
4:15 pm
10 -4 this coming year with losses at Carolina, Jacksonville,SECCG and Bowl to me would mean we road this mule as far as he’ll take us. Go 12-0 and lose the SECCG and the bowl will buy some time.
I don’t know what this staff will do different this year to make the sins of the last 3-4 years go away. I’m rooting for them.
@SSIgator
July 11th, 2012
4:16 pm
Speaking of blueprint: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/02/16/another-gator-football-player-arrested/
JB
July 11th, 2012
4:17 pm
uh, s/b be “rode this mule.
Columbus
July 11th, 2012
4:18 pm
Richt took care of the main problem and got a new DC. The rest was OL problems, Cox at Qb and extenuating circumstances that were unusual but unfolded Murrays freshman year. He promptly got a new dc and cut down on turnovers and penalties.
Richt is THE man who has NOW put UGA in position to contend for the SEC title the next 5 years and he is not going anywhere, just like, I cant believe Im say this, Bradley said! Because they will be winning and going to the SEC championship several times.
One issue I have with Haney and his thinking is that the time is now tfor Richt to win the NC because UGA does not play the west powers. That makes sense but its not fair to Richt. The team this year on paper is not ready to do that. They could win the SEC possibly and play for it but winning it will take a lot of leadership and great QB, RB, OL and receiver play. A lot of growth has to be done over the year. When the team is ready to win the NC would MOST likely happen next year IF Murray stayed for his senior year IMO. But since he most likely wont, that will hurt the chances unless Mason or Lemay cannot turn the ball over. So it does bode better for this year than next year.
There is a chance this year to win the SEC and then the NC shot will likely happen. The next few years this scenario is likely also thanks to Granthams D being able to stifle other teams. If the OL makes great strides and we have some receivers step up the next couple years, UGA will be in the SEC and national spotlight, regardless of when they are playing the West. The West will have to play UGA and I assure you they will NOT be looking forward to it either.
Its not RIchts fault though if its time to play the west and he has a rookie QB or the team is not quite as good as the west when they play them. Thats not a fair scenario. Sometimes you are strong and sometimes you are not. Scheduling might help you or hurt you when you play the west. Personally I think UGA will be strongest when they are playing the west. Personally I would not mind playing them this year if Murray can refrain from choking
The IMPORTANT thing is, and McGarrity already stated this, is progress and going in the right direction. NOT winning NC’s. ONLY one team a year out of 40-50 or so that have legitimate programs can make it. Half of those have no chance after the first few weeks. NOT good odds and certainly will not decide if Richt is on the hot seat or not.
Playing in the SEC championship several times and winning the SEC and playing for the NC a couple times the next 5 years should make ALL UGA fans very satisfied and ALL should praise Richt and bash him no more.
GTBob
July 11th, 2012
4:22 pm
Any moron who would not want him as coach does not have a clue what the heck they are talking about.
In the past 10 years UGA is ranked #2 overall in recruiting. The other 4 teams in the top 5 have played in at least 2 national championship games and have all won at least one. I could see where people might be getting frustrated that UGA is nowhere near the same level as those teams with similar talent.
Honky Talkin
July 11th, 2012
4:23 pm
With the easiest schedule in the SEC, anything short of 10 wins will be a dissappointment.
Mash
July 11th, 2012
4:27 pm
That’s crazy. Richt is nowhere near the “hot seat”. As a fan of Mark Richt’s I will say this, he needs to get a better feel for the game when the game gets tight or close. The Michigan State overtime fiasco of trying to position for a long field goal on 3rd down, rather even attempting to get a first was a terrible lapse in judgment. Or punting to Mathieu – TWICE! – when our defense had absolutely dominated the game and he’s the only player on the entire LSU roster that can hurt you with his hands on the ball. He ended up returning both of those punts and a complete domination went for naught because of a key strategical mistake. Those things can’t happen anymore. If Richt is going to take the leap to National Championship contender, his judgment has to get better in key moments.
Dawglasville
July 11th, 2012
4:29 pm
GTBob – OK. Let’s get straight to the point. Why would any adult spend so much of his time annoying people? You’ve got your coach, your team, your school, go enjoy it. You are a smart guy. Why spend so much time on this childish activity?
Al
July 11th, 2012
4:30 pm
Then be prepared to be disappointed.
As far as Murray, what has he done? His numbers are inflated, who has he beaten that is worth a damn?
He is a decent qb but certainly not great.
joe
July 11th, 2012
4:32 pm
Winner of UT/UG wins the east. Write that down with invisible ink…
Pitbull
July 11th, 2012
4:39 pm
Mark Richt is the best coach in the SEC and UGA is lucky to have him.
Mark Richt has graduated 222 players in 11 years which is pretty much an entire recruiting class each year and won 106 games during that same period of time which makes it one of the highest, if not THE highest winning percentage program in the SEC over that 11 year period.
Mark has not won a NC yet, but we have been in the SECCG 5 times since he came to Athens and won it twice. We never went to the SECCG before he got here.
CMR’s bowl record is 7-4.
He has run a clean winning program, have never embarrassed us, and we have never been placed on probation during his tenure.
I remember his first year as the UGA head coach when he made the statement that he would rather lose a game than cheat. That puts him way ahead of most other football coaches.
Oh and lets never forget that the reason Tech folks hate him is that he is 10-1 against Tech.
If UGA ever fires him then the fans will deserve the dismal and frustrating future that they will get.
DocDawg
July 11th, 2012
4:41 pm
I’ve been calling for a change for 5 years. The new contract is obviously the “measured mile” by the AD. Getting blown out in an SEC championship game is unacceptable. Not getting there in the first place is grounds for immediate dismissal. This is “the last chance”.
Music City Dawg
July 11th, 2012
4:54 pm
I don’t find Travis Haney to be the sharpest football journalist. After all, he blogs and texts about baseball on football websites. And he is a HUGE Gamecock homer. I always find it interesting that the “hotseat” issue gets rev’d up when lots of recruiting discussion is going on – perhaps it is designed to steer recruits away from UGA?!!
Since Vince
July 11th, 2012
4:55 pm
If Howdy Doody has a pair he will fire Richt when UGA loses for the third straight time to South Carolina!
UGA alum here, class of 71 & 73 and generations of family Dogs
July 11th, 2012
4:57 pm
Said succinctly ……………..UGA needs to NOT REPEAT last year with a very nice run to the SEC CG, only to get blown away after an awesome first half and then descend further into the ranks of the Outback Bowl losing with inside of 2 minutes and end up #14-17th. No Way. Fine last year BUT NOT THIS YEAR.
To SHOW IMPROVEMENT ……………UGA needs to really dominate on D all the way to the SEC CG ( no worse than 10-1) and have a fighting chance of winning it and being 11-1. If we lose CG fine, then we STILL ATTEND A HIGH QUALITY BOWL and if we WIN THE SEC CG, then we have a shot at other things.
Pulling off some 9-3 thang will not do it. Chic Fil A invite will not do it. Cap One invite may not do it. UGA is hungy ( the $$ alumni are) to win a major bowl and the SEC CG.
If not, we may need to re tool our entire staff. Folks, this is big business and McGarity ALSO will be under the gun soon with a new incoming UGA pres.
Dawglasville
July 11th, 2012
5:06 pm
Pitbull – Ditto. You can add that he has a winning record over everyone in the SEC except for LSU, and of course, UF. Again, his blemish is no national title.
CMR OMG
July 11th, 2012
5:10 pm
OMG! You must hate the CAMPUS POLICE,VINCE DOOLEY and the DAWG FANS! You have lost precious talent because of their ATTITUDES. NOTHING you can say to a family when you go into homes to recruit talent. Just tell the truth,”First they must understand stand their CHILD will be called a “THUG”.
Continue praying Coach RICHT!
Gator Man
July 11th, 2012
5:13 pm
Gator Bait!
Game Changer
July 11th, 2012
5:13 pm
Richt will leave the program after the 2013 season. Richt will cash out the longevity bonus of 2.4M and some amount added between 1 and 2.4M. Richt is done after 2013 season.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
July 11th, 2012
5:13 pm
One thing we all can agree on is that without us the AJC is in big trouble. We run this show and with humor! You need humor since 99% of the so called sport journalist never played a down of anything in their life but they could spell. Mark must have big friends in the UGA admin otherwise he would already be gone or the UGA folks don’t wish to spend the money to see him gone. Vangorder and Neil Calloway provided the discipline needed for your great years but that is over. You’re much better off with a contact that has no buyout for when you’re paying a guy 3 million a year to win that should be all you need. The amount paid these guys these days is just amazing but to be tied down for a 6-8 million buyout is just crazy. I thought it was crazy when Nick proctected himself from Bama folks getting involved in his business with a clause that stated he can be gone by nightime if he wants and nobody gets stuck with a huge bill. Your AD should have followed the bouncing ball with Richt. Heck raise his pay by 1/2 mill and remove the buyout and extend the deal if that makes it sound better. If he fails then fire him and he gets the rest of his 4 1/2 mill. Really how many millions can a country boy spend. Nick is working between 23-26 million in his piggy bank as of today and he has turned down the pros and two big college problems in the past 6 months because he finally got happy with himself at 61 and there is really no big thing over the hill anymore. Sometime you just needed to get lucky and Alabama did with Nick Saban. With the past record of the BOT I wouldn’t be surprised if Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans don’t take Nick’s spot once he retires if their past hires are an indication of the future.
Grantland Rice
July 11th, 2012
5:16 pm
“Terry Bowden resigned at Auburn midway through the 1998 season after winning the SEC West in 1997″
MB, do you think we’ll ever know what REALLY happened on the Plains?
Techies, GT, GoldenRod
July 11th, 2012
5:32 pm
How is Tech’s 2nd Probation this Century going?
gtfanfrom1951
July 11th, 2012
5:42 pm
UGA will lose 4 to 6 games this year! Vandy is better so is Auburn, Fla., South Carolina, then having to play Mizzu up there with half of the defense not playing. There no way CMR is not on hot seat by then end of the season. Next year UGA will be lucky to win 6 games!
BerniesDawg
July 11th, 2012
5:44 pm
Ok, so, I am reel smart. I graduated from U-G-A. Now, here’s how simple this thang is ya’ll.
1 We lost 4 of 6 olineman to NFL and are left with guys right @30 starts combined
+1 We lost our top 2 running backs for 2nd straight yr, the 5 guys left have 2 td’s combined
+1 We lost our All American Punter, and new punter has 0 games experience
+1 We lost our All American Kicker, and new kicker has 0 games experience
____
14-0
Get the math? No? Ok, let me break it down for ya’ll, BerniesDawg style.
Losing all that experience doesn’t hurt at all, it actually makes us BETTER because we have more guys playing their TRUE position.
See what a genius I am.
Fan
July 11th, 2012
5:47 pm
Can we give it a rest? Pressure, no pressure, gaining players, losing players, good grief. Bradley, can you talk about anything else?
FoulBall
July 11th, 2012
5:49 pm
BerniesDawg, I think you’ve been eating some of Rambo’s magic brownies. That’s got to be the stupidest (not stupendous) things I’ve ever read, and I can’t believe you’re a UGA grad.
The Ghost of Willie
July 11th, 2012
5:50 pm
Not sold on Todd Grantham either. Couldnt stop Boise,SC, LSU nor Mich State. Equals 4 losses. Wake up sheeple!
BerniesDawg
July 11th, 2012
5:57 pm
I believe the suspensions will make the team MUCH BETTER. No? Let me explain.
Ok, we don’t really play a ranked team until the South Carolina game.
That allows us to:
1- Rest our starters for the first several games (many are suspended)
2- Give other guys a lot of reps and gain invaluable experience, also preventing injuries to starters
3- Creating more depth when the South Carolina & Florida games and the tough part of the schedule actually does roll around, we will be fresher, and deeper, and can rotate guys in to play hard for 4 quarters.
Ya’ll agree with BerniesDawg?
hotdawg
July 11th, 2012
5:57 pm
Since when has a coach who’s gone 10-2 in the previous regular season been declared “on the hotseat?’
Since when has a coach with recent record of 3-0 or 4-0 against Auburn and a 2-1 record against Alabama (winners of the last 3 national championships) been declared “on the hotseat?”
Since when has a coach who JUST SIGNED a new long-term contract been delcared “on the hotseat?”
THE STUFF THE AJC STAFF CONSTANTLY STIRS UP LEAVES THEM WITHOUT CREDIBILITY!
Mark Richt is one of the GREAT coaches in all of college football. He has a proven record of a proven record of success in the toughest league (SEC) in college football and many forecasters think his chances of winning the SEC East are as good as any for 2012.
“Under fire?” “On the hotseat?” It’s a ridiculous thing. Find some news AJC reporters. Get a life!
SECGRAD
July 11th, 2012
6:00 pm
I agree with the Ghetto Yechster’s remark about CMR underproducing with his talent. The Ghetto Yech team has Ten (10) losses in eleven (11) games versus UGA. Everyone knows UGA should never have lost that one game damn it!
BMRUP
July 11th, 2012
6:01 pm
+1 Mark Bradley.
Best article I’ve read on my dogs all year.
I appreaciate a little Larry Munson pre season fear & trepidation.
Opens up the eyes!
Z Dawg
July 11th, 2012
6:05 pm
Coach Richt, thanks for not being a cry baby like the head chiken across the river. The. nerds at GT have nothing going on and that explains why they always stay on Georgia blogs. With Bulldog Nation, Coach Richt will always be a winner.
DogTurnover
July 11th, 2012
6:10 pm
Aaron Murray threw 8 interceptions in 2010, and increased it by 75% to 14 interceptions in 2011. To finish with the all time NCAA interception recrd, Murray just needs to stay on pace with his +6 int per season pace. If he throws 20 intercpetions in 2012, and 26 in 2013,
Aaron Murray will finish his career #1
in MOST INTERCEPTIONS
IN NCAA HISTORY
Ghost
July 11th, 2012
6:11 pm
Gtfan from 1951, I will take that bet, What are you willing to put up? Half the defense not playing at Mizzou? Georgia beat Auburn by 6 tds last year, and Vandy was in the game only because Walsh missed 3 field goals, South Carolina has never beaten Georgia 3 times in a row. Now if you said Vandy,Auburn are much better than tech then that makes sense. LOL at any Tech fan wanting to trash a program that has dominated them for 55 years. It must really sting to have only beaten UGA 15 times over the past 55 years.Typical techie all mouth.
DogTurnover
July 11th, 2012
6:14 pm
Murray’s #11 is an apt choice.
Murray has averaged 11 interceptions per season so far.
Murray will be 0-11 against teams that finish top 25 after this season.
Murray is 5′ 11”, and he weights 211.
Murray has never won 11 games in a season at UGA.
Murray has never beat an 11 win team.
Murray has 11 losses in 2 seasons.
Ted Striker
July 11th, 2012
6:15 pm
Richt is a good coach, represents UGA well, is fair with his players. Not soft, not a bully. I hope he coaches at UGA for a very long long time.
I used to care more about wins/losses than now; I grew up.
Realized college football isn’t life or death. Realized it’s a game and the players who play the game in the arena are far more important than the scoreboard. Realized the most important thing is for people to come out at the end of the day healthy.
Love football. However lose someone you love to cancer, attend a funeral instead of a game and you’ll realize a game is just a game and it’s a blessing to enjoy.
Perspective is important.
DogTurnover
July 11th, 2012
6:17 pm
A-A-R-O-N M-U-R-R-A-Y–
11 letters.
Joe Cox
July 11th, 2012
6:18 pm
Aaron Murray is a bust! Play Hutson!
bawbie
July 11th, 2012
6:20 pm
Fire Perno, Bobo and then Richt. Fire that Fox clown while you are at it!