Mark Richt celebrates 50th birthday today
Happy birthday, Mark Richt.
Georgia’s football coach, born Feb. 18, 1960, in Omaha, Neb., turns 50 today.
Well, that decade flew by. Richt was 40 when named Georgia’s coach on Dec. 26, 2000.
Mark Richt (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Remember the other candidates interviewed for the job? Then-NFL assistants Chan Gailey and Ray Sherman and then-Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower. If my math is correct, Gailey has had four jobs while Richt has been at Georgia.
This will be a year of milestones of sorts for Richt. The 2010 season will be his 10th as the Bulldogs’ coach. He already is the dean of SEC coaches in terms of longest tenure at his current school. Check out this AJC photo gallery of Richt through the years.
My friend Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald celebrates Richt’s 50th birthday with a blog post this morning that offers 50 Richt facts picked up from covering him over the past seven seasons. Some of my favorites from Marc’s list:
4. The guy is meticulous. He will spot a piece of trash on the floor on his way out of a room and throw it away.
5. True story. Once a few years back, he noticed and pointed out that I missed a belt loop on a pair of pants. Much appreciated.
6. Sarah Palin has nothing on Richt, who is a walking post it-note. He regularly writes his own notes on his hand as a reminder.
14. Among his odd jobs before he got into coaching: bartender and selling insurance.
44. He needs 111 more wins to tie Vince Dooley’s 201 career victories.
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On a different note, click here to read about a recent Richt hire, Scott Lakatos, being ranked as the nation’s best defensive backs coach hired in this off-season.
Please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
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245 comments Add your comment
Typical Gator Fan
February 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
I would rather have a coach win championships while being hooked on Ambien, recruit felons and wear jean shorts than have a coach that is a role model. God Bless.
The Ol ball coach
February 18th, 2010
12:49 pm
Happy B-day dude; I remember the year I turned 50. It was the year I hung a half a hudred on the Dogs in Cowtown.
Typical Dog Fan
February 18th, 2010
12:52 pm
Typical Gator Fan, I know, I know; you would rather have a guy who underachieves than wins consistently. You know the stat: the most 10 win seasons in the last decade. Just don’t mention the Vandy and Kentucky losses at home please.
The Buzz Kill
February 18th, 2010
12:53 pm
Who Cares, UGA Sucks!
johnny
February 18th, 2010
12:55 pm
True story…a few years ago a family friend worked in the UGA Sports Information Dept. He got me, my wife and two sons tickets to the Dawgs-Tech game between the hedges and “full behind-the-scenes access” just hours before the game. We walked past Coach Richt’s office, looking like lost tourists. He came out and talked with us for a few minutes. Then noticed the jersey my older son – a Tech fan – was wearing. Coach Richt looked him over real closely and in that distinct voice of his, asked in mock disbelief, “Reggie Ball???!!!” Then the Coach turned to my younger son, the Dawg fan who was wearing his David Greene jersey, and said, “that’s more like it!!!” After a slight pause we all laughed. Then we walked away smiling, while the coach went about preparing for the biggest game of the season just a couple of hours away. Unbelieveable moment and an enduring memory in our family! Happy Birthday, Coach. Thank you for making a magic moment for us!
Señora Weeb
February 18th, 2010
12:55 pm
Richt looks a lot old than 50. I guess it’s sitting by the phone every night wondering if the police will call to tell him to come down to the jail to bail out another one of his felon-athletes. That would age anyone.
how2fish
February 18th, 2010
1:10 pm
Typical Dog Fan forgot old miss at the swamp have we? And has CUM been released from rehab yet..
Boarder Patrol
February 18th, 2010
1:10 pm
Senora Weeb …..Oh those SCOTTER violations are real Bad! HOW ABOUT SHOWING YOUR GREEN CARD WEEB?????????????????
TUCK FECH
February 18th, 2010
1:12 pm
Buzz Kill…U must c are to camp out on the GEORGIA post all the time…How bout trying to fill your High School stadium, or actually winning a Bowl Game?
Gratefuldawghead
February 18th, 2010
1:13 pm
Happy Birthday and lets RUN the Ball to the SEC Championship!
GO DAWGS!
02 & 05 were off years in the SEC
February 18th, 2010
1:18 pm
Never seen so little done with so much in so long. What has he done!
Ga. beat a #22 Arkansas in 2002 to win the SEC. Arkansas finished the season UNRANKED. Ga beat LSU with Miles in his first season. Ga then showed their true colors by getting embarrassed by WV in the Sugar. What a joke.
Typical Gator Fan
February 18th, 2010
1:19 pm
I think Janoris Jenkins, Kenneth Tookes, Ronnie Wilson, Marcus Thomas, Jamar Hornsby and Gary Brown were unjustly accussed. At least that’s what Huntley Johnson told me. God Bless.
how2fish
February 18th, 2010
1:19 pm
Señora Weeb the entire Gator Nation stays glued to the TV,web etc trying to find out where your coach is?? Tough trying to keep up with 80+ 18-21 year olds…shouldn’t be as tough to keep up with 1 grown man..sadly that is not the case….
champdawg
February 18th, 2010
1:27 pm
Happy Birthday Coach!!!!You are a great coach but more than that ,you are a great man and example for the kids you coach. Thanks for being a Dawg……
savannahdawg
February 18th, 2010
1:30 pm
Happy Birthday Coach!!!
Dawg In Florida
February 18th, 2010
1:37 pm
I love how Gator fans love to disect the history of the series to negate the overall record. Keep doin’ that, just remember…at the end of the day you are still a Gator, and that is something you will never recover from.
Go Dawgs!
Win or Lose….it’s always better to be a GEORGIA BULLDOG!
BULLDOG MAN
February 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
HAPPY B-DAY COACH! ITS TIME FOR THE “GOOD GUYS” TO WIN THE BIG ONE!! GO DAWGS!!!
Happy 50th Birthday Mark Richt!
February 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
[...] Mark Richt Celebrates 50th Birthday Today – AJC.com [...]
UGA 2010
February 18th, 2010
1:45 pm
The Dawgs are really lucky to have such a coach! Happy birthday Coach Mark Richt, keep up the good work!! Cant wait till the dawgs start back!!!
Dawg in Breman
February 18th, 2010
2:11 pm
Happy Birthday Coach Richt! I have some good news on your birthday :
http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/slideshows/808/slideshow_80843/display_image.jpg
Calhoundawg
February 18th, 2010
2:13 pm
Calhoun, GA says “Happy Birthday, Coach Richt!” We’re so proud to have you as our head coach. I hope you’re still here when you turn 75. God Bless!
Pago Flyer
February 18th, 2010
2:13 pm
Can we just beat FL/UT/UK this year?!
Typical Gator Fan
February 18th, 2010
2:15 pm
I wish I knew what the two holes above my mouth were so my teeth wouldn’t be so dry all the time. God Bless.
Snoop Dawg
February 18th, 2010
2:16 pm
Happy Birthday, Marlboro Man…
kenya
February 18th, 2010
2:19 pm
Happy birth day coach, may you be blessed. Have a great season this year and God bless your team, we are behind you coach., UGA DOWG FOR LIFE
Happy B-Day Coach!
February 18th, 2010
2:21 pm
I hope to wish you many more as the Bulldawgs head coach!
UGA Marketing
February 18th, 2010
2:31 pm
Happy Birthday Richt from a Bama fan.
Here’s an interesting fact: Coach Richt has won 0 NCs while head coach. Meanwhile, Nick Saban is getting fitted for NC #2 and his first while creating the new Bama juggernaut. Expect several more in coming years.
29 years and counting Dawg fans since your last NC!! Even the Techies have won a NC since your last one!
Troof
February 18th, 2010
2:34 pm
@Dawg in Brennan
LOL!! Why rub it in on Richt’s birthday like that!!!
JB
February 18th, 2010
2:46 pm
UGA Marketing…………………I’ll still take Richt. Congrats on your success at Bama with Saban. He is probably a better coach, but nowhere near a better man. good luck to you.
UGA Marketing
February 18th, 2010
2:53 pm
I believe Alec Baldwin’s character in ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ put it best when he said: ‘Nice guy? Go home and play with your kids!’
There is only 1 thing that counts in coaching! Get the crystal football!
A – Always
B – Bring back
C – Crystal Footballs
And JB, don’t make assumptions about a man’s character based on what you see in public, be it good or bad.
17 of 20
February 18th, 2010
2:57 pm
I hope the Georgia coach can stay at and coach Georgia for another 20 years.
dawgrific
February 18th, 2010
2:59 pm
I wouldn’t expect classless people to understand why integrity, honesty and respect all still mean something today. Go and take your negativity and cluelessness back to articles about your own teams. By the way, is PJ still a classless and grumpy db? Will PJ ever win a bowl game? Is Urban still putting his family first, oops, I meant, is he still sending out 1,000,000+ texts to recruits a year, since that is technically still “legal?” Is nick still making his assistants make appointments to speak with him, and still practicing (unsuccessfully by the way) how to smile so as to not come across as forever miserable, even when he wins? What is worse, by the way, a celebration (player-led and misunderstanding their coaches orders) while the game is still in doubt, or calling timeout to clearly rub the other student-athletes noses into a loss. What is worse, a “maybe late hit” or a blatant eye-gouge that basically goes unpunished by the classless head coach? By the way, nice running up the score by nuck in the FNC game. I’ll take the real deal, classy, honest and faithful, any day of the week.
Thanks CMR and Go Dawgs!
JB
February 18th, 2010
2:59 pm
All I heard was Saban say in Miami in front of the world that he was not interested in coaching Bama and looked forward to preparing the Dolphins for the next year. 4 million reasons later, he accepts the job he was not interested in or pursuing ( and he wasn’t pursuing it). In our neck of the woods, he’d be called a liar. good for him. Good for Bama. Good for the SEC. Ask the LSU fans and the Dolphin fans about him. I believe he was UNDER contract at both places. Maybe I’m just making an assumption.
dawgrific
February 18th, 2010
3:00 pm
I should have said 3 timeouts to “rub-it-in,” and not “a timeout.”
CMR
February 18th, 2010
3:04 pm
I take back what I said. I would love a shot at a top 15 preseason ranking this year, since that’s all that matters to the dawgnation.
dawgrific
February 18th, 2010
3:07 pm
I just don’t see how bama, mired in mediocrity for about 20 years, can get all high and mighty after 1 fortunate season. I had always heard bad things about their fan base, but the short memories and lack of knowing how to win, have sunk much lower than I ever expected. CMR has done fine against your arrogant and social-misfit coach, but we just haven’t gotten lucky enough to have a cream-puff schedule and a pretty good team put together in 1 season. You all and I certainly know that the vols beat you, botched FGs or not, and that Texas would have won if they hadn’t had to play a true frosh with zero real game experience in the FNC game. Grow up, take some class lessons, and be happy that things fell right for you last year. We could have easily had 2 MNCs (’02 and ‘07) if we had been so lucky, as many of this decades MNCs have been.
dawgrific
February 18th, 2010
3:11 pm
I swear that this is true, I would NEVER want to trade CMR for the 2 db’s coaching in gainesville and tuscaloosa, NEVER! Now, if we had a number of mediocre seasons in a row (which have been VERY RARE in CMR’s tenure), I might want a change, but NOT TO CRYER OR SATAN.
RICHARD
February 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave In Tampa
February 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
God Bless you Coach Richt. Here’s to many more. Thanks for being not only a Godsend to UGA football, but a class act. Dawg Nation is proud to have you as their coach! Happy Birthday
RxDawg
February 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
Happy birthday coach. Here’s to another great 10 years.
BadDog
February 18th, 2010
3:21 pm
It took Dooley 16 years as HC at UGA to win a NC. Come on Richt see if you can beat that record! Happy Birthday CMR!
Urban Meyer
February 18th, 2010
3:23 pm
Happy Birthday Coach Richt. I pray that I make it to 50 years old. But the truth is I will be dead before I get to 50. I have way to many health problems.
dan
February 18th, 2010
3:25 pm
Gator fans, how about this for some facts:
You’re losing a Heisman trophy winner, Dan Mullin 2 years ago, Charlie Strong, almost your entire defense to the NFL draft, a recruiting coordinator, and a Head Coach who is taking a hiatus from football: and you guys think you won’t miss a beat next season? Do ya’ll really think you’ll go 11-1 next year?
Talk as much trash as you want. To the victor goes the spoils. But when Florida goes 8-4 next season and loses to UGA or South Carolina, ya’ll are going to shut up right?
JB
February 18th, 2010
3:27 pm
Stalling was a better coach than Bear IMO. You really can’t tell how the Bear would do today with the 85 player rule and the class room requirements (although that’s still a wink and a nod).
Bear would have 3 sets of offensive linemen and 15 running backs and the depth was so much better at Bama than most. Your are right, After Stalling’s, they went into a funk for 15 years or so. I know Aoburn wore them out 5-6 years in a row. they do need to show a litthe class. that said, i’m glad they are SEC and proud of their NC for the SEC.
Brandon Spikes
February 18th, 2010
3:27 pm
happy birthday tan boy. thanks for all the W’s.
Ga running backs
February 18th, 2010
3:33 pm
Thanks Brandon for not gouging my eyes OUT all the way. I thought it was also classy that you took yourself out for whole game rather than a half like your win at any cost head coach wanted you to. And i know you wanted to do it to Bama backs in the SEC title game, you just couldn’t catch them.
just sayin
February 18th, 2010
3:45 pm
dan, just remember this; we wont be as bad as when Ron Zook was the HC and that wasn’t too good for the Head Man with a tan.
H Dawg
February 18th, 2010
3:46 pm
For those of you that dislike UGA,CMR and the Dawgs,
we sure are on your minds !!
HAPPY B-DAY Mark
SIC’EM COACH !!!!!!
jake
February 18th, 2010
3:53 pm
What’s a kiffen?
Gator Nation
February 18th, 2010
3:54 pm
To the person who labeled himself “Typical Gator Fan” and posted at 12:13….it’s not like we have to read and listen to many of you calling Meyer “Urban Crier” and “Urban Liar” or being called a “scumbag” or “jerk” or even to the point of suggesting that he’s “gay” for Tim Tebow. Go look in the mirror my friend, because “spray on tan” and “too nice of a guy” sounds like a compliment compared to what you guys say about OUR coach!