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
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
July 12th, 2012
12:24 am
Then, of course there are his only 69 remaining standing signed scholarship recruits of the 107 he signed to play football here 2012.
Icedawg
July 12th, 2012
12:25 am
The UGA head coach is always under pressure. Whar’s really new?
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
July 12th, 2012
12:31 am
How is Mark Richt going to have a strong year and be on an upward trail when he hasn’t beat a team who has made it to the AP Poll Top 10 after Auburn # 9 way back in 2006, when this season, he faces 1 team only who made any top 25 poll and 11 opponents who average 4.8 wins ?
And, doesn’t that also ignore the off-field issues of BAD PRESS ?
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
July 12th, 2012
12:38 am
Flat Tire we ain’t gonna beat any team making the top 10 again this season – there isn’t even one remotely on the entire schedule.
RHall55 we ain’t gonna have a poor results season against the top teams sometime in the next 4 years because of his pitiful roster management – it will be 2013, and you can Mark my Words.
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
July 12th, 2012
12:44 am
How Mark Richt thought he could go into 2012 with only 14 signed scholarship recruits counting toward this 2012 recruiting class 1 of whom is already gone when he told us all 14 were in here at UGA is beyond understanding, facing a 14-game season.
___________________________________________________________
a self-imposed NCAA Probation of 15 Scholarship Recruits LOST for 2012
___________________________________________________________
boykin
July 12th, 2012
2:07 am
Goldencod: Pawl the new sheriff in Athens? Just spit out my honey nut Cherrios with that one bro!
SEC Football Daily: July 12th | Saturday Down South
July 12th, 2012
5:23 am
[...] Should Mark Richt be on the hot seat in 2012? It would be unprecedented for a coach who took his team to the SEC Championship game last year to be gone the next no matter how bad the record is. There is just too much talent for Richt not to win games this year. This year could be very different, as Georgia has likely the best defense in the SEC and maybe the country. I look for Georgia to be the East member representing in Atlanta come December. There’s a long way to get to that point, but the players are in uniform to get it done. [AJC] [...]
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
6:26 am
I WILL TAKE CMR OVER ANY COACH YOU GOT OUT THERE, SIMPLE HE IS A VERY GOOD COACH . I’M TIRED OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT MY COACH THIS IS NOT GEORGIA PEOPLE BAD TALKING CMR. SO GET YOUR TEAM AND LEAVE MY ALONE.
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
6:27 am
YOU TELL ME WHO IN THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO RUN YOUR TEAM.
Resident Georgia Fan
July 12th, 2012
7:23 am
Richt and the Dawgs will have a season long remembered for its excellence!
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
7:39 am
Auburn, FSU and Ohio State all three had trouble with player this week in jail etc. So I reckon that they are bad coaches NO NO it happens with young kids that life
Pinsin Laine
July 12th, 2012
7:42 am
A few comments about UGA:
1. Four different SEC teams have won the last six BCS championships.
2. UGA was not one of those teams.
3. During that period, UGA did not win the SEC championship.
4. Red panties.
In other words, UGA has sunk into total irrelevancy both regionally and nationally.
So why is UGA paying Mark Richt millions of dollars a year?
AAAAA Athens Bail Bonds R Us
July 12th, 2012
7:46 am
Any more UGA players arrested this week?
Ray
July 12th, 2012
8:12 am
Telling you right now the best we can hope for this year is 9-3 while the worse is 6-6
We’re losing to South Carolina, Missouri, and even Auburn this year bank on it.
I’d even add trap games are Florida(as usual) and Vandy with Tennessee a big ? mark to me.
FIRE MARK RICHT!
FIRE AARON MURRAY! (Lol I know he can’t be fired)
FIRE COACH BOOBOO!
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
8:29 am
WHO DO WANT TO HIRE RAY TELL ME WHO. PINSIN LAINE YOU ARE NOT A DAWG FAN SO GET A LIFE
Barbie Doolies
July 12th, 2012
9:20 am
Mark Richt is a handsome man…..so lay off!
Vesaversa
July 12th, 2012
9:38 am
Richt is a terrible leader when it come to disciplined his players before they get in trouble with the law . Crowell is not the first top rank draft player that Richt have turn his back on there have been many . If GA doesn’t improve this year that new contract could be all for not .
Richt’s long tenure filled with ups & downs – ESPN (blog) | Danta Report
July 12th, 2012
9:40 am
[...] win the SEC East?The Independent Florida AlligatorFor Whom the Cowbell Tolls -FS South -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 22 news [...]
DawgFan
July 12th, 2012
10:03 am
Again, yes a total waste of space. Richt is the best coach in college football right. Miles and Saban are doing it illegally.
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
10:29 am
Vesaversa, these are young men , i’m sure Crowell was doing the right thing being out at 02:30 in the morning , OH forgive me CMR should have been with him to kept him out of trouble , GET A LIFE CMR I WILL TAKE ANYDAY. GO DAWGS
Ray
July 12th, 2012
10:39 am
s
Ray
July 12th, 2012
10:41 am
@ Gomdawg
I’d hire TCU’s coach or even upgrade Todd G. to the position Richt is too damn nice.
We keep saying Bama and LSU are doing it illegally, but until those headlines start appearing we won’t know.
Until thing Mark Richt has gone completely soft in the SEC you can’t be soft not until you win the Big Prize cause being Nice don’t cut in the SEC and guess what Mark Richt looks like too much of a nice guy.
Al
July 12th, 2012
11:18 am
Miles & Saban are winning illegally? Richt the best college football coach?
Somethings just make you go Hmmmmm
Dobby Bodd
July 12th, 2012
11:52 am
“Richt the best college football coach” ? LMAO
gomdawg
July 12th, 2012
12:01 pm
He’s to nice why do you think so many of these players have left the school for being to nice I don’t think so. CMR IS A GREAT COACH SO IF YOU DON’T LIKE HIM GO GET YOU ANOTHER TEAM
Andy
July 12th, 2012
12:15 pm
Why are the expectations at UGA so high when it has been a run of the mill mediocre SEC team for decades? Every time UGA plays a national caliber team they get their asses smoked and embarrassed.
Resident Georgia Fan
July 12th, 2012
12:18 pm
Richt and the Dawgs will stun the nation!
'94 UGA Alumnus
July 12th, 2012
12:51 pm
That 10 game winning streak and the 1st half performance against LSU seem like forever ago. Since then everything has been downhill and we’re picking up pace.
Homepage | MrSEC
July 12th, 2012
1:10 pm
[...] This writer doesn’t think Mark Richt is on the hot seat any [...]
Ray
July 12th, 2012
1:23 pm
Can’t get another team I like UGA and not only that I can’t get out of this town if I wanted to.
Look at what Jimbo Fisher is doing down at FSU he’s giving Greg Reid a chance before he goes after any sort of punishment at all.
What did we do to Crowell just drop kick him to the side of the road.
Still as we currently stand Athens, GA Bulldogs going nowhere until Mark Richt and Mike Bobo are out of the picture.
BIG UGLIES
July 12th, 2012
1:29 pm
69 SHIP PLAYERS!!! What else do you need to know about CMR???????
DaveDawg96
July 12th, 2012
1:45 pm
If we have a sub-par season with these players and this schedule, heck ya he should be on the hot seat. So if that’s considered pressure to win, then I fully agree with the ESPN guy. I bet McGarity does too.
DawgFaceBlues
July 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
Let the Big Dawg Eat!
LHarding Dawg
July 12th, 2012
1:55 pm
It’s a stupid article about a stupid subject. But in July, most articles are stupid.
Spike 80DF
July 12th, 2012
2:08 pm
@North Campus Trash
shouldn’t your name be North Avenue Trash?
Spike 80DF
July 12th, 2012
2:12 pm
it’s frustrating to know that our 1st teams are competitive with any team in the country but our coaching is 2nd rate at best (with the exception of CTG) and now our depth is weak due to poor signing and roster management.
anyone expecting big things in 2012 should go ahead and lower your expectations or else get ready for disappointment…..
DawgFan
July 12th, 2012
2:14 pm
Even Saban’s daughter plays dirty…how ashamed I would be…..
http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-georgia-sports/2012/07/12/suit-accuses-sabans-daughter-of-beating-sorority-sister/
ugab
July 12th, 2012
3:41 pm
From a true Uga fan.. CMR should have a job at Uga.. CMR should not be the head coach at Uga. QB coach is a good job for CMR..Uga needs a Head Coach… CMR is a good man with great morrals. The dawgs have no OL.. The dawgs have suspended players. The dawgs have no kicking game that has proven itself. It is going to be a rebuild year for Uga.. CMR never puts a total team together…
Nothing Could Be Finer
July 12th, 2012
3:41 pm
woof
Atlanta 2012
July 12th, 2012
5:07 pm
“Let the big dog eat” on all the little cupcakes on his 2012 schedule, then he will be nice and fat come December in the Dome so he will make a real good snack for the LSU TIGER.
Skokie Dog
July 12th, 2012
5:52 pm
Maybe the question here should be “how much is it worth to pay Coach Richt for each victory?” Even if the Dogs win ten games again this year, that’s $300,000 per victory. If they only win eight, that’s $375,000 per win. Even if they win twelve, Richt will collect $250,000 per victory. That’s a lot of cash for each win, but I realize that it’s all about the money. I’m glad that he knows what the hell he’s doing.
UGA R U kidding?
July 12th, 2012
6:07 pm
Lose two games and there will, once again, be trouble in the trailer parks.
Dub
July 12th, 2012
8:02 pm
>>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.<<
No, it wasn't. UGA still didn't have a quality win, going 0-4 on the season against ranked opponents. (0-9 for the past 2 years, 2-14 since the 2007 season.) Getting humiliated by a patty-cake BSU squad, punked by SC at home, blown out by LSU, and choking away yet another bowl game IS NOT a sign that the program is turning around. It's a sign that the SEC East is suffering from an almost unprecedented level of weakness.
NoAxeToGrind
July 12th, 2012
8:48 pm
Georgia may be good this season, but only because of the weak schedule, not because of the coaching or anything else. 2013 may be a different story.
A-Ville Ranger
July 12th, 2012
11:28 pm
If UGA has a bad year it will be hard for Richt to survive it. If not this season, when ? We lose most of our defense. If he can’t compete with the best with this defense and a top QB he probably never will.
I hope he has the top 5 season he should with a ridiculously easy schedule and top talent. If he doesn’t though I think we should find somebody who can use the great resources at UGA to to compete with the best year in year out.
MARK RICHT CANNOT BEAT THE TOP TEAMS
July 13th, 2012
5:36 am
“Aaron Murray has never beat an 11 win team.”
______________________________________
Huh ? He hasn’t beat a team who won 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, or even 9. In the season just ended there were 27 teams who had 10-Win Season, and we had the most losses with 4; and, there were 36 teams who had 9-Win Season beating none of those. He gets the heebie-jeebies, and happy feet, against every top team while watching the other QB out-perform him 11 times in 27 games to-date, several of whom were horrible teams, too.
68 Down to 68 signed scholarship recruits on-campus today with Fall Practice a month and change away. This reflects the 2 of the signed scholarship recruits from 2012 class when Mark Richt told us all were qualified : both John Atkins and Leonard Floyd have flunked-out before they even got here. Status of Dream Team ? Lost 7 of them, flunked-out or felonies : 7 gone Dream Team. Self-Imposed NCAA Probation of 16 LOST SCHOLARSHIP RECRUITS 2012. (Would be 17 if not for Jarvis Jones transfer-in, after we whiffed signing him out of Columbus High School.)
Jarvis Jones is the most celebrated Georgia Bulldogs’ Linebacker in the proud # 11 all-time win program 120-year history. He’s gone after 2012 with the rest of the Defense. We have no one on SEC Coaches 1st team offense; not 1. Our special teams all graduated and we stand pat with no special teams’ coach. We play cupcake-city schedule, especially at home 2012, and for the entire season face only 1 team who made any top 25 poll, game 6. Be prepared now for homer-crowd to post daily how great we’re doing for 5 games, then play our 1-game season against what should be about the # 19 South Carolina team we’ve lost to twice in a row, and then finish out our schedule of 11 games against opponents who average 4.8 wins.
That is when the season starts. Alabama or LSU, then another lack-luster opponent for Mark Richt in his bowl games 7-4 when he has yet to play anything other than a lack-luster opponent in all 11 bowl games. I still say 13-1. Start # 6; play no one. Beat no one. 7 seasons ago we last beat a team who made the AP Poll Top 10 and lost to 2-win Vandie that season whose 2 wins were over 0-12 Duke and 1-11 Temple.
We SUCK.
Snake Plisskin
July 13th, 2012
8:52 am
From SB Nation…”The old saying is that college football teams take on the personality of their coaches, and nowhere is that more true than at Alabama. Saban’s brutally professional, clinically detail-oriented, obsessively driven approach has created a program where sloppiness and shoddy preparation–from offseason workouts to gameday routines to play execution–isn’t so much “not tolerated” as nonexistent. It’s not a particularly personable philosophy, which is one reason Saban has arguably become the SEC’s most hated villain. But as the 2011 season grinds into motion, it’s also what’s made him the nation’s single most successful active college football coach.”
What they say about CMR…
“Mark Richt Finally Stops Losing Control Of Something”
“Mark Richt, football coach who gets blamed for his lack of grippage on this, that and the other thing, has finally encircled something with his dominion and maintained ascendancy over a situation. Even though it’s just one situation, it’s still one thing we cannot possibly blame Mark Richt for, unless if this linebacker ends up getting arrested for resisting a resisting arrest arrest, which sounds plausible in Athens, and Mark Richt has lost control of plausibility.”
LSU with Miles plays loosie goosie…Peterson at Boise, play with confidence…take a look at the other successful programs and they have a “brand”…UGA’s Mark Richt is know for his charataible and missionary work(s), oh yea and he’s know for being in contention for the Fulmer Cup year after year…
He should be on a short lease…
Joey
July 13th, 2012
11:37 am
I’ve seen posts on here blaming, Bobo, Murray, and special teams for UGA’s woes vs good teams.
That is total bs. There’s a common denominator:
Bobo is running Mark Richt’s offense
Murray is Mark Richt’s choice of QB
Whoever it is that coaches STs is who Mark Richt put in charge
The “buck” stops with Mark Richt.
Pitbull
July 18th, 2012
12:00 pm
Well if Haney says it then it must be true, right Mark?
zbulldawg
July 18th, 2012
1:52 pm
IT’S the SEC !! NO matter who the coach is . YOU WIN or It’s the end !! Saban ,Miles , Stevie You have a couple of years back to back where your not fighting for a SEC championship YOUR gonna be on the HOT seat !! Really it’s a game to game situation. They call it competing THAT’s why we are who we are. TWO bad recriuting years & your doomed PERIOD So about getting off Richt’s A – - I’m glad he’s a christian WE need more leaders like him !!! LET THE BIG DAWG EAT