Richt: ‘We’ve got to look within, starting with me, as to the things that have kept us’ from success
For a complete roundup of the AJC’s coverage of Georgia’s loss to Mississippi State, please click here.
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Partial transcript of Mark Richt’s news conference following Saturday night’s 24-12 loss to Mississippi State:
Opening comments: “We’re definitely in a position that I’ve never been in as a player or a coach. . . . It’s certainly not a good place to be, but we are where we are. We’ve got to stay together, and I’ve seen no signs of change in my mindset that we’re a close-knit family. But we’ve also got to look within, starting with me, as to the things that have kept us from having the success that we want. That’s what we’re going to do.” (Later, asked for specifics, Richt said: “I’m not going to say anything right now, because I’m not sure. I need time to watch and reflect.”)
“I want to congratulate Coach Mullen and Mississippi State on the great job they did. They came out ready to play. They played hard, and they did what they had to do to win the game. Their fans did a wonderful job of supporting them.”
On Georgia’s lack of scoring: “We had a turnover inside the red zone and a penalty on a touchdown that got called back, so that’s at least one touchdown and possibly two touchdowns right there that got taken away.”
On where the team is: “If you go by watching film down by down, you’d say we’re not as far off as some people might think, but if you look at the record, then we are pretty far off of where we want to be.”
On Mississippi State’s defense: “They were blitzing a lot and out-numbering the running game and trying to pressure the quarterback. They were blitzing the quarterback a lot because he was a freshman, but they blitz a lot anyway, period. My guess is that there were a higher percentage than most of their games. At times we just called running plays blindly. We were going to run the play no matter what, and there were times where we had success and times where we got hit in the mouth.”
On being 0-3 in the SEC: “I never would’ve predicted it, but that’s where we’re at.”
On Mississippi State’s opening touchdown: “You’d like to get a stop and get points on the board yourself. It’s a 60-minute football game, though, so it wasn’t the difference in the ballgame. It was good for Mississippi State to build momentum, but we didn’t feel like that had a tremendous effect on the football game.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
727 comments Add your comment
Frustrated
September 26th, 2010
11:45 am
Man up Bobo and just resign!!!!!
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:45 am
Now this is football coach. He turned programs around and won at every NCAA level——Richt, not so much.
Meyer became the sixth fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 100 career wins. He improved to 100-18 at Florida, Utah and Bowling Green, hitting the century mark faster than anyone except Gil Dobie (108 games), George Woodruff (109), Bud Wilkinson (111), Fielding Yost (114) and Knute Rockne (117).
Richt's Butt Cut
September 26th, 2010
11:46 am
Change (of some kind) is probably needed, but hiring Kirby Smart is NOT the answer! He is nothing without Saban.
Jerry Glanville
September 26th, 2010
11:46 am
I wouldn’t step foot in that dog and pony show! Forget it!!!
Monvol
September 26th, 2010
11:46 am
Congratulations Dawgs you are in the same situation the Vols were in 2 years ago.
Truthiness
September 26th, 2010
11:46 am
We need to accept at some point that we fans did a pretty poor job of assessing what this team was capable of doing and how these players would perform. I can’t believe that every SEC team we play has a better coaching staff across the board. UGA has had too good a program for too long for that to be the case. There’s some truth in CMR’s comments that we haven’t been that far from winnning all the games we’ve lost. Each game might have been an ugly win, but the possibilities were there. Would winning ugly lead to the cries to fire Richt? I doubt it. We’d all be saying it just points out that UGA’s destined to win! There clearly are issues gnawing around the edges of this program. The worst is the lack of player accountability for these arrests–and that points to a lack of leadership among the players, especially the seniors, who should take charge of player behavior and assist the coaches in keeping the idiots in line, or running them off the team. The program’s in a lifeboat right now, and just surviving this season is the best that can happen. But if you really want to see things go from bad to worse, throw the captain and the rowers overboard. Let’s hold things together and try to get a clear perspective on the way ahead next year. And we ought to start by accepting that UGA’s a long way from a NC any time soon, no matter who gets fired.
Outsider
September 26th, 2010
11:47 am
Randy M: Post 1980, please cite for me your evidence of “generations of winning tradition” without citing a team coached by Mark Richt. Bet ya’ can’t do it.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:48 am
Its been allmost 30 years I have been waiting.To me a good season is a NATIONAL CHAMP anything less is garbage.Its fans like you always making excuses you remind me of florida flans when they lose.Get rid of BOBO problem solved I wouldnt let him stay at Qb coach get him out of the state of georgia all togthier.BOBO is a proven loser if you cant remember the late 90s.
savannadawg
September 26th, 2010
11:51 am
Hey! does anyone think that “Hey I’m a man, I’m 40ty” would leave his almamatter for UGA. After all he is apretty good coach. His team is reacking havoc this year. Very under the radar. And look at what he had to replace.
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:52 am
From SI.com
The troubles continue for Georgia, which has lost three games in a row for the first time since 1990 and starts 0-3 in the SEC for the first time since 1993
Mistakes were the only constant for Georgia, which was penalized nine times for 63 yards, with several coming at crucial moments.
Mental errors and turns overs are all on the coaches———-don’t play’em if they do them.
But, that’s don’t St Richt does.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:54 am
Im out of here GO DAWGS WIN WON FOR PRIDE NEXT WEEK ILL BE WATCHING AND PULLING FOR YA KEEP YA HEADS UP.ONE MORE THING FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEE BOBO KNOW
Gatorfan15
September 26th, 2010
11:55 am
I am a Gator, and even I feel sorry for the Dawgs…
ryan
September 26th, 2010
11:57 am
No one can compete with Bama or Florida rich get richer e untill Saban or Meyer go so were else we all screwed .
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:57 am
I LOVE GATOR MEAT
eddie long
September 26th, 2010
11:57 am
me and coach richt know how jesus felt…
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:59 am
Finally Florida looked good so lets talk.They will start taking there lumps in the next weeks coming up.Gator Hater GO DAWGS
savannadawg
September 26th, 2010
12:00 pm
Who’s runnning this dawg and dawg show?????????
The Truth HURTS
September 26th, 2010
12:00 pm
Coaching and running a good, sound system = winning. Look at Georgia Southern. They did away with the option! NO playoffs,failure, losing. Fire Coach, Bring in new Coach, Jeff Montken. Return option, defense, fire and motivation from coach. 7-13 loss vs Navy just beat the #11 team in FBS. GA Southern back in the top 25 winning–GOOD SYSTEM AND GOOD COACHES = WINNING!!!!
Hunker Down
September 26th, 2010
12:02 pm
Can’t seem to make the plays when we need to and miss AJ as I am sure defenses are a bit more blitz happy without him.
Ed
September 26th, 2010
12:05 pm
Richt is done. Hopefully he will resign at the end of the year.
I don’t necessarily agree with those who are clamoring for a high-profile assistant like Smart of Muschamp rather than a proven head coach. Dave Wannstedt and Charlie Weis were once high-profile assistants, too.
But if we go that route, I say go with Muschamp. He has fire, which this team has lacked for years.
If I’m Muschamp, I might not take the job. Austin, TX isn’t a bad place to live if you have money, and he would be taking over a well-oiled machine (Saturday’s result notwithstanding). Georgia has been mostly mediocre for 25 years now. It might just be part of the culture of the program.
ryan
September 26th, 2010
12:05 pm
Ealey i do don’t why he was 4 star recruit this guy is a joke Durham was the only guy that played hared .
suwaneedawg
September 26th, 2010
12:06 pm
If we are going to start talking about replacing Richt, and I think it is t early to do so, then the first guy you look at is the coach of Boise State. Perterson should be number one on the radar and then go down from there.
Gatorfan15
September 26th, 2010
12:08 pm
Take one look at Michigans growing pains under RichRod and simmer down… For crying out loud you have a new defensive scheme/coordinator and a freshman QB. You were blessed with Greene and Stafford, and a good but not great freshman QB takes time to develop…
Like TN shouldn’t have gotten rid of Fulmer, Georgia would be stupid to get rid of Richt… Unless Richt resigns, I guarantee he will be back next year.
Perhaps if you beat Florida it might take some sting out of this season, but it ain’t gonna happen…
Trey Burton is the true freshman version of Tebow…
stendek
September 26th, 2010
12:09 pm
Another arrest Mark Wretch. Thanks for recruiting such highly moral Christian young men. Love all those four and five star players. Higher the star rank the lower the heart! Vanderbilt Commodores send condolences for being at ground level of Southeastern Conference. Not peeved at all for forcing them out of spot they have held for decades. True Chriustian attitude Tennessee guys! Thanks. As for last place. Sorry. Bulldogs are going to be here for quite some time. Mark Wrecth can fire Mike Dodo immediately or he should be fired himself! Then what? Anyone watch that travesty against Mississippi State? Waterboys could do just as well as coaches! Washedup Early? Revoke his scholarship! At very least sit his sorry a$$ on bench until it collects enough splinters to build cabinet! Loafing players? Bench em! Arrests? Boot em off team! That is what a TRUE Christan man would do. Still nauseated! Bulldogs have sunk into quagmire beneath quagmire. Worse than sad! STENDEK
DAWGMAN
September 26th, 2010
12:10 pm
Coach, when you took the job you knew it would come down to W-L. It has come down to W-L. Forget the arrests. Forget everything else. It’s about the W-L. Please leave.
SatillaDawg
September 26th, 2010
12:11 pm
After a good night’s sleep, I still feel the same.
Richt and crew must go.
This team is inept and nowhere near Georgia Bulldog standards.
Thirty years, folks. Thirty years since a National Championship.
And now we’re cellar dwellers in the SEC, where we will remain from what I’ve seen.
A-J Greene? Forget it. He should’ve been kicked off the team for greed beyond stupidity. But even he can’t save this hapless bunch.
The only thing I like about this team is our young quarterback. And Durham.
At least they show some heart.
It’s time for change, folks.
Thanks for all you’ve done CMR, but time – and the SEC – has passed you by.
Please do the right thing and resign, so we can start rebuilding as soon as possible.
And if they don’t go, Greg….FIRE them!
I’ve had it. No more $$$ from this alum until there’s a housecleaning.
What a pitiful game that was…
Ed
September 26th, 2010
12:12 pm
Those who say that no one can compete with Meyer and Saban – Bobby Petrino competed pretty good with both the past two seasons. LSU is in their usual form, and Auburn is on the rise. Georgia is clearly in the second tier of the conference, and that would be the case even if Meyer and Saban were in the Pac 10.
Georgia under Richt has lost 7 out of 9 SEC games. Since the start of the ‘06 season, Georgia under Richt has dropped a total of FIVE GAMES to Kentucky, Vandy and S. Carolina, the supposed doormats in the SEC East. That’s unbelievable. The program is in full retreat under Richt.
Common Sense
September 26th, 2010
12:12 pm
Mr. Richt, go preach the Gospel somewhere else because you sure aren’t leading your players how to be good citizens, less good football players.
10 arrests.
Unreal.
NO leadership in Athens. NONE.
Jborodawg
September 26th, 2010
12:14 pm
…and this blind insistence on going to a 3-4, when we don’t have the players for it. Maybe Granthan (and CMR) should have waited a year or two when we’ve recruited the players that fit the system. I’ve never seen a Dawgs D, over a three game period, be so out of position so frequently; thus giving up the “big play”.
I know what the problem is: It’s Russ; he’s interim. We need a full time Uga.
Ok, I’m gonna stick with the Dawgs and cheer em on no matter what.
Go Dawgs! Kick some Colorado Buff butt!
Keith
September 26th, 2010
12:14 pm
A great coach surrounds himself with great assistants. We have a new defense coord. that must proove himself. He needs time to get the recurits he picks on defense. Now Bobo was a quarterback. just because you were a college quarterback does not make you a offensive coord. Lets get a new offensive coord. and give them time to recurit. Lets keeps the talent in Ga. Quit letting the talent go out of state.
MikeP
September 26th, 2010
12:14 pm
And now another arrest. Arrest #10, for those who are counting. With 85 scholarship players, that means 12% of UGA’s team has been put in jail this year.
Good thing the general population isn’t like the Dawg players, there wouldn’t nearly enough jails…
ryan
September 26th, 2010
12:16 pm
Its like these players belong to a street gang
eddie long
September 26th, 2010
12:21 pm
let he who has never dropped a football cast the first stone…
Zeb
September 26th, 2010
12:22 pm
Like some have said…….Richt didn’t just turn stupid. It may just be that his heart’s not in it anymore. It happens to everyone…..not just football coaches. Somewhere out there is a young offensive guy that’s innovative, intelligent, and has a ton of imagination. Personally, I’m not done with Richt…..but I am done with Bobo. A monkey could call a running play straight up the middle 3 times for no gain. Maybe we should call Zoo Atlanta.
ryan
September 26th, 2010
12:25 pm
I am out of here i am done with college football its either going Boise State or Bama or Bama vs Ohio State those are my picks see yea .
jack bull
September 26th, 2010
12:29 pm
someone’s got to be held accountable, period!!! a few things to consider when figuring out who…
1)defensively-can’t stop the zone read play(and we still play a bunch of teams that do the same thing), plus, rushing 4 guys all night(we had that last year), ain’t gonna cut it,, i’m thinking we should’ve hired Manny Diaz..
2)a QB who leads us 6 pts a half(sometimes a game) ain’t gonna cut it..
3)no RB’s who can break more than a 7 yd run consistently(if that),,ain’t gonna cut it..
4)an OC who can’t understand the play action isn’t working against LB’s blitzing all night…
5)nobody figuring out yet that Brandon Boykin is our best option at RB, he’s a playmaker that could be similar to Reggie Bush,,he’s got to touch the ball more than just on kickoffs..
6)an OL that just ain’t gonna cut it…
7)DB’s that still look into the back-field while guys are running 5 yds behind them wide open..(had this last year also)
8)a HC that hasn’t seen/realized any of this yet..
BUT, we do have a serious kick-azz recruiting class in the works..something to consider, also…
Yuck
September 26th, 2010
12:29 pm
@ Common Sense
At what point do you believe in personal responsibility. How is it Richt’s fault that a kid goes out and gets a DUI?
PercyHarvin1
September 26th, 2010
12:35 pm
UF vs. UGa not even a rivalry anymore. I honestly feel compassion for a once proud SEC program that has now fallen on hard times. Personnel decisions need to be made. McGarrity should clean house and start anew. Sometimes a forest fire is the best thing to happen to a forest.
Downed Dawg
September 26th, 2010
12:38 pm
While he’s looking within I’m going to LOOK for a brown bag to cover my head for the next game!
SLim
September 26th, 2010
12:38 pm
Please keep CMR….it makes some of us happy!!!
svannahdawg
September 26th, 2010
12:38 pm
Sorry coach………..tired of hearing what we have to do. Gotta do this, gotta do that……….you seem to know what you have to do. Stop talking and do it! I would just assume you had no more press conferences, take your team and find out once and for all who really wants to play! Bench em, run them till they puke their guts out, I don’t care. Stop talking and get it done!!!
PercyHarvin1
September 26th, 2010
12:39 pm
Georgia being back and competitive is a good thing for the SEC. We need you back Dawgs! Tennessee has started the long road to comeback, and I believe UGa will tread that tough road also. Look at Michigan, they’ve had some adjustment pains over the past couple of years. The talent at UGa is too good – they have underperformed and underdeveloped their players for years. This needs to change. Hopefully McGarrity can institute the UF Jeremy Foley model and get UGa back on the road to winning. This coming from a die Hard Gator all the way.
dmr
September 26th, 2010
12:41 pm
Mark Richt says if you “watch film down by down we’re not that far…” I don’t know what film he’s watching. There’s one problem right there. And you gotta love that Bobo finally took some blame for the offense. If you have watched the last two games, Murray isn’t the problem…in fact, other than Durham, he may be the only answer.
Aaron11
September 26th, 2010
12:43 pm
Love Coach Richt but change needed Personal top 5 for job: Will, Chris Petersen, Kirby, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Stoops. Go Dogs
christian
September 26th, 2010
12:45 pm
Bobby Bowden said it best. He is to nice!!!!!!! It’s about winning ball games. Every other coach cares about his players too and turns boys into men! But what is important is winning ball games, not making the players perfect human beings. In fact I would prefer some football players that are mean and don’t take crap from anybody and act like they rule the world. That does well on the football field!
godawgs
September 26th, 2010
12:45 pm
Richt Sucks
Huntington Beach, Dawg
September 26th, 2010
12:47 pm
I agree with Steely Dan regarding my ex and UGA when then they said: “I did not think the girl could be so cruel and I’m never going back to my old school”
SentientDawg
September 26th, 2010
12:48 pm
There is no leadership — none in the coaching staff, and none with the players. Georgia has lost its swagger (apparently some time ago), and won’t improve until some things change. The offense is erratic, with poor play calling, poor blocking, and poor decisions. The D is doing what it can, but with so many “3 and outs” by the offense, they can’t carry the load. I feel sad for the team. The “what-if” crowd, and the “fire Richt, fire Bobo, fire Searles, fire Grantham, fire the water-girl” crowd will grow more vociferous. They will want a miracle with a “second coming of a Saban-like” HC, in the form of Muschamp, Smart, or Petersen, who will swoop in and hand out super-doggy treats. There are 8 games left — two thirds of a season — and the white towels are unfurling already. Dawgs — fans and players — are you going to fight, or slink under the porch for the rest of this season?
Coffee Bluff DAWG
September 26th, 2010
12:54 pm
After the game my wife remarked, “I just wasted the last 3 hours watching 2 mediocre FB teams.”
Hard to argue with that.
Darryl C.
September 26th, 2010
12:58 pm
I feel that the CMR should seriously consider changing his OC to a man named Mike Leach. I promise you the day such an annoucement is made The Bullddog Nation would recieve several commits from skilled players around the nation. Players with speed and hands.