Richt: ‘I’m coaching my tail off’
With Georgia on its first four-game losing streak in 20 years, Mark Richt was asked by a reporter Wednesday night if he feels like he is coaching for his job.
“You always are,” Richt replied. “I think you always are. I can tell you I’m coaching my tail off, though.”
Richt also was asked if the speculation about his job security is fair, given his 10-year record.
“I’m not going to get into all that,” he said, adding that he will focus on things he can control.
A few other notes:
- As of Thursday morning, Georgia had 142 tickets still for sale from the 400 that Tennessee returned from its allotment for Saturday’s game. If the remaining tickets are sold, the game will be the Bulldogs’ 60th consecutive sellout at Sanford Stadium -– every game since Richt became coach.
- Also as of Thursday morning, Georgia had 467 tickets available for the Oct. 16 game against Vanderbilt and 755 for the Nov. 6 game against Idaho State. Those are from the 1,200 tickets returned by Vanderbilt and the 2,000 returned by Idaho State.
- If you missed it, Richt said Marlon Brown is definitely out for Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury and Kris Durham’s chances of playing are 50-50 because of the pinched nerve in his neck that kept him out of last week’s game.
(Andy Johnston contributed to this blog.)
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248 comments Add your comment
SadDawg
October 7th, 2010
11:35 am
Sure, Joey, but we’re not scoring enough points to win games. The only time we consistantly move the ball is when we get down 2 scores. Bobo/Richt then put Murray in the shotgun, and we go up and down the field. We catch up or get ahead (vs. Colorado) and he goes back to the predictable stuff in the I.
Here's a theory for you...
October 7th, 2010
11:36 am
Here’s another theory for you. The Spread offenses have fundamentally changed the game much as Miami’s West Coast offenses did in the 80’s and the evil genius’ Fun & Gun did in the 90’s. Let’s not forget that Brian VanGorder’s superior D got lit up in the Sugar Bowl seeing WV’s spread for the first time. It took an entire half for him to figure out any way to slow it down.
The spread puts maximum pressure on the edges of your D. That’s why the 3-4 works and the base 4-3 read/react that Willie ran didn’t. Willie’s D was getting blown up week in/week out because the scheme didn’t allow for enough pressure to disrupt the pocket. The 3-4 we have now is designed to hide where the pressure comes from and make the QB uncomfortable. It’s not working right now because the system is new to the players, and we don’t have that huge guy up front to prevent the QB from stepping up away from the outside rush. That’s why the D gives up huge plays. Errors in execution caused by unfamiliarity with assignments. The huge running yards are also a direct result of no inside presence large enough to stop it. Recruiting should improve this.
The offense is not a mess because Bobo is an idiot. The SC game was called way too conservatively in hindsight only because Aaron Murray isn’t throwing 3 picks a game like a typical freshman. We didn’t know that at the time. I would rather err on protecting the kid from imploding and rely on the running game. The O line has been a huge bust for two years. If your looking for an overall underachievement, that’s it. Our entire philosophy to start the season was run the ball, protect the kid from himself, and let the D learn on the job. Realistically, at this point I figured us to be 3-2. I hoped for 4-1, but nobody realistically should have thought 5-0. Both Miss. St. and Colorado losses are laid at the feet of the O’s inability to run the ball and eat clock.
1-4 is horrible, and unacceptable, and unthinkable, etc. My point is this team was always going to live and die on our O line and the backs. The rest of the team is about where I figured it would be. This is a fixable problem being made worse by all the handwringing and blame tossing. They will either figure it out, or they will be gone. Let ‘em play and see what happens.
AlwaysAVol
October 7th, 2010
11:37 am
JB, BamaInAtlanta, agreed, very good post. In college football, especially in the South, there is the tendency to want it all, all the time. We forget that talent and wins are as cyclic as the tides (no pun intended). In the case of my beloved Vols, former Coach Fulmer was pretty much unceremoniously bounced, probably at the direction of a powerful contributer rather than an astute AD. Someone earlier posted about how Fulmer slid into the job when Majors was having heart problems. Once Fulmer got in, he surrounded himself with a good staff who carried him many years, Chavis and Cutcliffe. Once they left, the “Dean” was exposed as having had become complacent and really kind of losing “the fire in his belly” (and certainly no pun intended there). We went through a bad year with the Bozo Show, but I feel like we have a wonderful future in our current coach, Coach Dooley. I love the passion of the SEC and their teams and I think the one positive that comes out of this is we as a conference are beginning to take one another to task to act with respect, dignity, and class so historically associated with Southern charm. It isn’t anything that happens overnight, but I think we will see our young men again become not only the cream of the crop as athletes, but also in character. The first ones who quickly come to mind (and forgive my prejudice), the Mannings, Eric Berry, Sam Bradford. Athletes who lead by example and who, unlike Charles Barkley, respect the fact that they ARE role models. I also like seeing the comradery of the schools where the games are again becoming rivalries instead of thug fueled hate matches. Mark Richt is a good man, that is beyond question, but as Bama said, UGA has a proud tradition and a new AD who has some choides to make as he takes the helm of the ship. Best of luck to UGA on Saturday, but GBO!!!!!!
RxDawg
October 7th, 2010
11:39 am
A 1-4 team will unfortunetly have a difficult time selling tickets. Especialy with the way the administration has been pushing the fans away with tailgating areas, parking limits, outragous parking fees, etc. With TV availability, it’s way to easy on the walet and the body to stay home and watch. If the team doesn’t win, the crowd will go down but I think the logistics involved with UGA and Sanford Stadium makes us even that much more susceptible to it.
SadDawg
October 7th, 2010
11:40 am
Who gives a rat’s ass if their coach has “fire”?
I just want a coach wo can out-coach the one on the other sideline. That’s all.
If the head coach can’t do that, he’d better have some assistants who can do it for him.
COACH MARK RICHT
October 7th, 2010
11:40 am
Georgia State is a better team than the BULLPUPPYS im going to work there cya later Gator Haters
HeHateGator
October 7th, 2010
11:41 am
Joey what about all those great recruiting classes? Where are the players?
gdawginkalamazoo
October 7th, 2010
11:46 am
We are not that far off people. Unless we lose this weekend. Then we are screwed.
If it affects recruiting then fine. Let’s get some bust a$$ guys in here who want to make a difference. Not some prima donna’s who want to coast into a program. Give me a three star who is fighting for playing time.
I hate to tell you guys that CMR will be coach next year. Grantham will have a few of his players in place and the kids will have a year of the 3-4 under there belts. Besides AJ may even be back next year if the NLF goes on strike.
Troll
October 7th, 2010
11:55 am
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to post as a troll. Now I now; it feels stupid. No great, exhilarating high at all. I feel that I’ve cheapened the whole experience. I won’t do this again.
Georgia beats Tennessee by 14.
Delbert D.
Delbert D.
October 7th, 2010
11:56 am
Yep, that was me.
Paul in RDU
October 7th, 2010
11:56 am
Joey – Since you seem to have been posting the same thing about Richt over a number of days on a number of blogs (under a number of names), can you please get his record as HC correct. Richt’s record as HC at UGA is 91-31 not 90-27. You need to add the 2010 results (currently 1-4). Please update your Word file for your cut and paste.
No matter whether Richt finishes 2010 with a 100-31 record or a 91-38 I think he has earned another year.
38 Yardline Dawg
October 7th, 2010
11:58 am
Then coach your tail off harder, Richt. Sit players on the bench for personal fouls. Running backs should have to carry a football everywhere they go all week to drive home the idea of not letting go of the ball. Missing tackles equals lots of extra running. These techniques worked when I played high school football, and I bet they’d help now.
Darrah
October 7th, 2010
11:58 am
One would think that with all the cheating, recruiting of thug wannabes and morons, and a saintly coach who’s making $4 million a year, that the dawgturds could manage something better. So let’s summarize the current situation:
0 SEC wins
1 AD forced to resign in shame and 1 pair of red panties
1 win overall
4 losses
0-3 SEC record
10 arrests
But there is one bit of good news – you have a lock on the Fulmer/Richt Cup! :-)
Hit A Single
October 7th, 2010
12:11 pm
Most people that want coaches fired are spoiled brats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hit A Blooper
October 7th, 2010
12:16 pm
Most people that want to keep incompetent coaches are incompetent themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hanna Banana
October 7th, 2010
12:19 pm
In the 1986 Jan Kemp trial, O. Hale Almand Jr., a lawyer for UGA, offered a justification for the favorable treatment accorded the athletes, citing a hypothetical player. “We may not make a university student out of him,” he told the jury, “but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbageman when he gets through with his athletic career.”
That trial exposed UGA for the football factory that it was, and exposed Vince Dooley as a fraud and a sleazebag. It also derailed Dooley’s plans for a political career. That’s why we see the decrepit old fraud doing TV commercials even now.
Mark Richt is just the latest in a line of sleazy UGA coaches who coddle athletes and discard them after four years of football. He recruits illiterate morons he knows aren’t smart enough for college, but he doesn’t care, as long as they help him line his pockets with millions of dollars each year.
Suntanned Saint Mark isn’t all he appears to be, is he?
jtdawg
October 7th, 2010
12:19 pm
“…The same thing is happening to Georgia. They turned on their coach, sabotaged his recruiting by wanting him fired, and now his team is horrible…”
Funny, I thought the team was horrible BEFORE we started turning on our coach?
What a joke – now it’s the fans fault the man making 3 Mill per of taxpayer money doesn’t have the program where it needs to be.
gomdawg
October 7th, 2010
12:20 pm
LEAVE OUR COACH ONLY IS NOT GOING NO WHERE. STUPID
Coachin' Em Down
October 7th, 2010
12:22 pm
DawginLex
October 7th, 2010
11:23 am
Good dawg trainer. Since richt is 6-3 against the vols and about to go 7-3, we will accept the results as well.
We know where you stand.
——————————
Richt is 5-4 vs. Tenn with losses in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009. 4 of the last 6 games vs. TN have been defeats.
Coachdawg 2000
October 7th, 2010
12:24 pm
I agree with BamaDawg. Too many guys on here have either never played the game much less coached it. Saturday does not tell the entire story. It is the result of the process not the process. YALL DO NOT KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU THINK THAT YOU DO! I am sure guys like Crowell look at the drivel most of you bandwagon riding, gas-station “alumni” are killing our program by running your mouth about how awful all of OUR guys (players,coaches,administrators) are. I hope that you all pick a new team and do renew you season tickets. Maybe our fanbase won’t be such an embarrassment. I am never ashamed to be an ACTUAL ALUMNUS of UGA or a Dawgs fan because of the way the team performs. I have been embarrassed the last 4 weeks with all of the venom spewing from some of you.
Dirty Dawg
October 7th, 2010
12:25 pm
No question that we can, and certainly should, beat Tennessee…just as we could have and should have beaten every team we’ve played this year…IF, that is, we stop beating ourselves. Every game has turned on a mistake or two that made the difference. Let’s hope that coaching your tail off will translate into ifs and buts becoming candy and nuts…then we’ll all have a Merry Christmas.
MURPHY(not to be confused with poster under MURPH)
October 7th, 2010
12:26 pm
He is coaching his a.. off? Didnt know he had any left after last weeks debacle.
jtdawg
October 7th, 2010
12:26 pm
Hannah Banana
Don’t break your overly moral arm trying to lift yourself to heaven while p##ing on our backs and telling us it’s raining down here in lowly Humanland.
Very embarrasing yes. Calling a good, upstanding man ’sleazy’ is downright snotty.
Funny, I wonder what “upstanding model of a Football program” you support? Betcha there’s just as much “slime” on the underside of your rock as any ohter, so why show so much contempt here? Jealousy I guess…. or maybe a lack of a real life….
59bulldawg
October 7th, 2010
12:27 pm
You know I fully understand the potential train wreck we could have on our hands by getting rid of Richt. But for me it’s not just the losses. It’s the fact that the program seems to be in disarray and has been that way for some time with all the annual arrests. And now it’s being noticed by recruits too. We’re rapidly approaching the point where failures (i.e. lack of player development and discipline leading to losses leading to top recruits snubbing us because of lack of player development and discipline leading to losses) in the program could become self-perpetuating. Neither a continued downward spiral nor having to raze what Richt has created and begin anew are great options. But the status quo as to how the program is currently operating is unacceptable. As far as who is out there who might replace Richt and get the job done, I wouldn’t care to speculate. I honestly don’t know! But I don’t think we should allow the fear of failure in finding a better coaching fit dissuade us from the possibility of making a head coaching change.
gomdawg
October 7th, 2010
12:27 pm
Coachdawg 2000 well said
The Temporary Mascot formerly known as Russ
October 7th, 2010
12:27 pm
“Coaching his tail off?” Well, he almost painted mine off. I heard the new, inbred, white a$$ed mascot hasn’t decided if he’s going to report. He’s citing some on and off field troubles with the team and said he prefers a disciplined program with a shot at a championship. Then, he walked into a piece of furniture and fell down.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 7th, 2010
12:31 pm
Coach,
IC never mentioned anything about the fans. He mentioned exactly the truth that is taking place in Athens. You can call it what you like, but the truth is very simple. CMR has been on a down cycle for 3 years now. It again goes back to Oct 2007 in Knoxville. If you do not like the opinions expressed on this blog I suggest you elect to read something else, I heard http://www.IcoachedfootballsoIcanexpressmyopinion.com website is full of likeminded people such as yourself.
MURPHY
October 7th, 2010
12:32 pm
the temp russ,
good stuff.
gadawgfan0711
October 7th, 2010
12:33 pm
DawgGoneFishing–Well said, i agree 100%. Richt will get the ship righted, real dawg fans don’t bail out, they hunker down. Support our team and watch it turn around. It is never as bad as it seems. Richt didn’t forgot how to coach. Win or Lose, i will always support the dawgs.
F.A. Grantham
October 7th, 2010
12:35 pm
Sister Christian maybe coaching his tail off,but I am eating my butt off!!! Does this make me look fat? Bet y’all didn’t know in addition to being the most overpaid DC in history and I also trying out for the competitive eating tour once the Dream Team is gone. GATA INDEED!!!!!
Mike Bobo
October 7th, 2010
12:37 pm
I like dem french fried potaters…..
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The Temporary Mascot formerly known as Russ
October 7th, 2010
12:38 pm
I was wondering . . . how come there is no one on here named SlawDawg? That would seem to be a pretty good handle for somebody – especially somebody that likes slaw dogs. When I went to the Varsity with some of the running backs they taught me how to create a diversion and then reach around the glass and get free slaw dogs. My arms are too short to make the grab so I am the one that creates the diversion. Peeing on the floor works really well. When the new, white a$$ed, inbred mascot gets here peeing on the floor will be commonplace.
MURPHY
October 7th, 2010
12:38 pm
Coach,
You can be a little high and mighty at times on this blog.It really doesnt matter if you played or coached. If you are alumni or a Dawg football program supporter you are intitled to any opinion you want to express. I as you dont agree with some,and some are down right stupid.I happened to play and am a coach on the High School level at this time but I dont know the answers to this debacle we are going through and im certainly not going to chastise those that know less than me. You do no what you are saying or it seems that way most of the time but chill out on the bloggers you know have no since of how football works. I tend to agree with post by Lowcountry Bulldawg(12:31)
tardawg
October 7th, 2010
12:39 pm
let’s see Vince Dooley had a couple years 5-6 and 6-6 and some 7-4’s, then donlan bless his heart is canned cause he didn’t beat UF and GT enough but had a excellent record, I guess if the BIG boosters want you gone you will be if not MR will be there next year. If recruting is the problem then maybe Gardner needs to go or step down as Head of recruting.
38 Yardline Dawg
October 7th, 2010
12:40 pm
BTW, thanks to Richt for leading us to a new Top 10 list (aka the Bottom 10 on ESPN):
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10101006
Coachdawg 2000, I have played football at a state playoff level in GA, and I can tell you, UGA is loosing games due to lack of discipline and mental toughness, not talent…and that’s what bother me. If you’re a coach, who is responsible for instilling discipline and mental toughness on your team?
59bulldawg
October 7th, 2010
12:41 pm
If you can’t dazzle em with brilliance, baffle em with BS. In other words if you can’t make a sound point, resort to name calling. Very weak!
Mike Bobo
October 7th, 2010
12:43 pm
I like dem biscuits wit mustard on dem…….
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
bald dawg
October 7th, 2010
12:44 pm
besides the blow outs in big games, the way we have struggled to win or even sometimes lose the winable games over the years is very telling about our program over the last 3 or 4 years. that is one big reason why we have lost the respect of opponets and the media. look at how close vandy has played us the last 4 or 5 years.. they should not have even been ballgames. we were winning but doing it UGLY . now we are not even winning. Richt needs to change what we have been doing the last 5 years or we need to change him. I HHOPE he can get the chance to turn it aroud next year.
The Temporary Mascot formerly known as Russ
October 7th, 2010
12:44 pm
President Adams called me this morning and said things aren’t working well with the new, white a$$ed, inbred mascot and he asked me if I can stay around for a few more games. I am holding out right now. I think I can get a diploma out of him. I could be the first Temporary Mascot with a degree from the university.
Coachdawg 2000
October 7th, 2010
12:45 pm
Lowcountry-
If you don’t think that seeing all of these people out for blood would make a recruit think the program/coaching is in trouble then you are short-sighted. I don’t like the fact that so many think that they have the answers BUT ONLY AFTER THE FACT! After Arkansas “why didn’t we run the ball, instead of running verticals?”,after Missy State “why didn’t throw it more?”, after Colorado ” why did we get so conservative”. It always is awesome how little credit you give to the opponent and how little you consider execution. If you can’t get over the fact that you don’t know what you are talking about then you can go to
http://www.iboughta georgiahatattheqtsoiknowfootballbetterthananactualorg. Ivnever said that you shouldn’t be able to voice an opinion I just don’t respect it when you speak from your backside!
59bulldawg
October 7th, 2010
12:49 pm
I don’t think Crowell referenced Georgia bloggers . . . just the discipline problems and the losses . . . in his announcing that Bama was now in the lead.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 7th, 2010
12:51 pm
Hindsight is 20/20, but with the advent of the internet you have to expect plenty of armchairs QB’s to come out of the woodwork. If that is bothering you that must tell me that the team you are coaching is under performing and you must be able to relate to the heat that CMR is taking right now.
Also, you butchered the link so your point is lost in the fact that you tried to upstage me but failed miserably. Your welcome to try again some other time, but now go to the back of the line….
Delbert D.
October 7th, 2010
12:51 pm
Coachdawg 2000 – “Too many guys on here have either never played the game much less coached it.”
What’s your estimate of the percentage of fan base that have played or coached? Furthermore, why is it relevant?
Coachdawg 2000
October 7th, 2010
12:51 pm
Murphy-
OI just hate it when people judge what is occurring sunday-friday solely by results on Satuday. The fact kis none of know that. So all that I am saying is to stand behind the team and let the season play out then allow McGarrity to sort out any changes that need to be made. I am sick of hearing “I’m not going to pay for tickets anymore,blah,blah….”. If you are a high school coach and you think that these people criticizing unjustly is acceptable then you must coach at a girls school.
Coachdawg 2000
October 7th, 2010
12:55 pm
DelbertD-
You don’t have to have played but all of this the playcalling is awful is ill-informed. You don’t know what the thinking is.@Colorado we were trying to run clock and then kick the game winning fieldgoal. How is that a bad call?
Blackberry Cobbler
October 7th, 2010
12:57 pm
I would agree that McGarity should and will give CMR a chance to detail his plans for how the problems will be corrected aand the program turned around.
The fact is that CMR has no answers and doesn’t have a clue what to do. If he did, this problem wouldn’t have escalated to this point and we would have turned it around by now.
We’re only delaying the inevitable.
MURPHY
October 7th, 2010
1:00 pm
Coach,
I agree the assesmant should be made at the end of the year.I will always support the Dawgs. I strggled with them through Goff and Donnan.My support of this program has never been in question. I can say this to your remark on me coaching a girls school-IM GLAD MY KIDS DONT PLAY FOR YOU!
The Temporary Mascot formerly known as Russ
October 7th, 2010
1:00 pm
I heard that they will not be putting a photo of Uga VIII on the 2011 UGA wall calendar because odds are he’ll drop dead before the year is out. I was hoping to be on that calendar. I would be PROUD to be on that calendar. Only thing is, I don’t have a pure white a$$ and am not an inbred fool of a dog. Just wait until ESPN tries to interview this guy and he loses control of his bladder . . . or worse. Team him up with Coach Grantham and we will have the seediest looking sideline in college football. Pass the doughnuts.
tardawg
October 7th, 2010
1:02 pm
So who ever is calling to fire CMR, who do you have in mind to replace him with surely you thought that far ahead?
tardawg
October 7th, 2010
1:05 pm
So for those calling to fire CMR, who do you replace him with, have you thought that far ahead?