McGarity: ‘We are working as hard as we can to turn this ship around’
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity wants to see “improvement in all areas” from the football program this year. And he’d like the public to see more displays of coach Mark Richt’s passion for his job.
Those were among McGarity’s comments in a conference call that was held Thursday to answer reporters’ questions about the state of the Georgia football program, which last week lost to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl to finish with its first losing record (6-7) in 14 years.
McGarity previously had answered the biggest question, saying Richt would return as coach. Here are highlights of what McGarity had to say Thursday:
Q: What did you think of Richt’s end-of-season news conference on Wednesday?
A: I think he started to show the passion he has for the job. Mark is not the type who is going to get out of his skin, so to speak, as far as the way he handles himself. But I know in conversations we have had all through the season and especially in the last two or three days, his passion has really come through. . . . I think that’s something Mark needs to do more of –- show his passion and express it in ways that perhaps he hasn’t done before. I encourage him to do that. And I thought he addressed a number of issues and basically stated what he wanted to do moving forward.
Q: What are your expectations for the football team next fall?
A: Improvement. Improvement in all areas. We want to see improvement in discipline; we want to see improvement in leadership; we want a passionate team. We want every member of our staff, regardless of what sport it is, to be passionate about being here. We want individuals that are invested in our program, that want to do everything it takes to get us to the next level.. . . We are stressing two focal points as an association in 2011. One of those is to have a sense of urgency in everything we do. And [the other is to] have a very high level of accountability [with] every employee we have. . . .
Q: Would you ever establish an ultimatum – a certain number of wins – that Richt or any coach would need to reach [to keep his or her job]?
A: No, across the board. In our first meeting we had with all of our coaches [after McGarity's hire as AD] back in September, that was one point that was made very clear. All our coaches know what is expected of them; they are expected to compete for championships, to be in the hunt. So I’m not here to put a figure on number of wins and everything. We just want to see improvement. We want to see a program that is headed in the right direction, all our programs. That’s the goal. That’s what we’re doing. And if we see shortcomings in certain areas that are outside the lines, then that’s our responsibility to do everything we can to take care of those and address them so that our coaches can focus on coaching, recruiting and watching the student-athletes graduate.
Q: Richt mentioned you had helped relieve him of some administrative duties. . . .
A: Every person has strengths and weaknesses, and I thought one of Mark’s weaknesses was that he was trying to do so much himself. He was the point person on so many issues, whether they be academics, discipline, things of that nature, to where it was so time-consuming . . . [and] almost impossible to focus really on the X’s and O’s of the game in every phase of the game. So as you analyze things, you look, you listen, sometimes you wonder, ‘Why is our head coach the point person there?’ …
Q: Was there a tipping point during the season when you decided in your mind you were not going to make a coaching change?
A: Yeah, I think the Monday after the Colorado game was probably the most telling day. I think that’s when things really started to jell, so to speak, as far as [Richt and McGarity] getting to know each other better to where we did not feel maybe afraid to just be brutally honest with each other. . . . Basically from that point forward, everybody was really upset and we wanted to change things and Mark was very proactive there. And as we continued to improve, I think the stats will show that leading up to the UCF game we were scoring close to 40 points a game for seven games in a row. Things were on the upswing. I mean, we had a tough, tough loss to Florida, and we had a difficult loss to Auburn. There is no question the effort was there. I know people don’t like to hear about ‘we were close,’ but we were not out of those games until the end of the game. And we just basically couldn’t close those close games. . . . And then we go against a UCF team that I think unfortunately people don’t give enough credit. Coach [George] O’Leary has done a phenomenal job down there. . . They played a great game, maybe their best game of the year, and we did not. And at the end of the day you’re going to lose games like that. But I think the tipping point was maybe how we responded after being 1-4.
Q: What is your reading on the pulse of Bulldog Nation? And what has been your response to people you’ve heard from this week, particularly those calling for change right now?
A: It’s interesting. I don’t want to say it’s been 50-50, but it’s probably been pretty close to that as far as people supportive. You’ve got a certain faction of fans out there that aren’t just disappointed; if they don’t have change, they’re going to drop out of the program. I understand the frustration. I think everyone here is frustrated. But everybody in this building and anybody who is on our staff, they’re working hard to turn this thing around. And I know we can do it. . . . I wish I could turn a light switch on and change it overnight, but people are going to have to make decisions on, ‘Do they want to hang in there with us, or do they choose to do otherwise?’ The way I look at it is that people who support our program, it’s really supporting our [whole] program. I know they’re frustrated with football right now, but what is so important is that their contributions go into funding every sport that we sponsor. So in essence if we have some that are pulling out of the program … they’re basically pulling out of making a contribution that helps us in every facet of our operation. But I do understand the frustration, and the only thing we can do is to say we are working as hard as we can to turn this ship around. And after we get it going, then I think you’ll see a lot different reaction.
Q: How would you characterize your discussions with Richt in the past few days? Have you learned anything about him you didn’t know beforehand?
A: Even though you know the right things are happening, even though you know he is working extremely hard to turn this thing around, I think everybody wants to hear, ‘Hey, I am passionate about this work; I am doing everything I can to turn this thing around.’ Bottom line is, I think the conversations we have had have been very reassuring that he has the ability [to] maybe go back to the way he might have been doing some things earlier in his career. He admitted he is really looking forward to studying the game. When you’re so concerned and so ingrained in all these other things that are outside the system, something has to lag behind; something basically has to be moved to the corner of the desk. I think what we’re seeing now is that we’re kind of clearing the deck so Mark can get back to doing the thing he really enjoys doing, and that’s doing what he talked about [Wednesday] as far as studying the game and getting back into all phases of the game. I think that’s the healthy part about it. I know he’s passionate about it. We’ve just got to get to where we are expressing that more frequently.
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388 comments Add your comment
Edward John Smith
January 7th, 2011
1:53 pm
Greg McGarity: “We are working as hard as we can to turn this ship around.”
…weren’t those the same words spoken by Edward John Smith, the Captain of the RMS Titanic in avoiding the iceberg? Just saying.
FREE LAPTOP DAY!!!!
January 7th, 2011
1:58 pm
So apparently tomorrow is going to be “Cam Newton Day” in Alabama…Does that mean everyone will get a free laptop?….Maybe $180,000 will just magically appear in everyones’ bank accounts and they won’t know who or why it was given
big root
January 7th, 2011
2:00 pm
McGarity you need to step in and let Coach Richt no you’re behind UGA not Mike Bobo ang Todd Gran tham need to make changes he bring in coaches from Vandi & Uconn get real
big root
January 7th, 2011
2:04 pm
Call Atlanta give VanGorda the job
Wrecker
January 7th, 2011
2:12 pm
Gulpppp Gulppppp…SS UGA sinking slowly beneath the sea..Hahahahahahahha
RiffRaff
January 7th, 2011
2:18 pm
“At Florida he will learn character, honor.” …..Really??? Just like Scam Newton??? Gatormeat, you might want to think before you type.
Pacesetter
January 7th, 2011
2:58 pm
Both Joseph and swamprat have it right. Richt cannot eastblish a dominant team. By dominant I mean beat Florida…regularly. CMR has not recruited well, kept a desciplined team (less penalties doesnt translate to more disciplined), kept players OUT OF JAIL or proven an ability to be consistently on top of the SEC East,…much less the SEC! Sorry…he has to go!
Dawg Run in 2011
January 7th, 2011
3:06 pm
The Dawgs will be 100% improved in 2011—better O and D with a lot of top, experienced talent coming back. Losing green is no big deal—he didn’t get the ball much anyway. Florida and Usc will not have much, so this is Ga’s time to take over. Ga goes 10-2 and plays bama for the SEC title–book it.
pikedawg
January 7th, 2011
3:15 pm
all this crap about “showing passion” is a bunch of bull. Did Tom Landry show passion? Did Bear Bryant? Ray Goff showed all kinds of passion on the sidelines…and couldn’t coach his way out of a paper sack.
James K Polk
January 7th, 2011
3:31 pm
Showing passion does not mean going crazy on the sidelines. Showing passion means doing whatever it takes to win, and actually caring if you win or lose. Bear and Landry had passion in spades. There has never been any question that they both wanted to win. It was there number 1 priority. Is Richt’s number 1 priority to win championships? I don’t think winning is even in his top 10. He doesn’t really care because winning isn’t that important to him. The Bear and Landry would whip their players’ butt if they were doing wrong. Rich wouldn’t dare do anything like that. He doesn’t have the onions it takes to win a title. Period.
wildbill
January 7th, 2011
3:32 pm
Boise State will eat us up and spit us out. And the refrain will be, “play it again Sam, and make it a double.”
lowcountrydawg
January 7th, 2011
3:52 pm
What I want to see is some discipline in this program again… I haven’t seen us have the discipline to show up for a single big game since Auburn blackout. The “injury bug” is an excuse for our program not having the discipline to enforce an adequate strength and conditioning program, which also explains us getting manhandled up-front and our inability to run the ball since 2007. We’ve wasted first round draft talent in Stafford, Moreno, Sturdivant, and Green by running the most predictable and penalty ridden offense in college football, and on a similar note, when did Georgia ditch a defensively dominant mind-set that worked for decades for a “Big 12-esque, let’s see if we can score more than you while you make pee-wee players out of our defense” scheme. Finally and probably most evident of the complete lack of discipline in the UGA football program is the extravagant number of off-the-field arrests during the last three years. Either the players don’t have the discipline to stay out of trouble, or they don’t fear the consequences.
I’ve been a fan of CMR since he was hired, but after this season it is obvious that our surrounding competition is either improving or making the changes necessary to succeed and the Dawgs are going in the wrong direction. I want to say let’s give it one more shot to let the Grantham defense take and allow our offense to gain experience, but the hole is only getting deeper, and my confidence that change will come is dwindling.
dawgfan
January 7th, 2011
3:54 pm
Hey, we did have our signature win for 2010 – UK!!
tech buzz
January 7th, 2011
9:11 pm
Ga will be lucky to win 7 games in 2011—it will be more of the same mediocrity in athens. Tech will be back big—winning another ACC title—mark it down.
Dunwoody DAWG
January 7th, 2011
10:21 pm
How do the techies find a reason to talk crap? We know we suck – but guess what, you suck worse!
How does 2-8 sound since 2000? That’s right nerds, as fall as we have fallen – we have still beaten you geeks 8 out of the last 10..
SouthGADawg
January 8th, 2011
7:42 am
I could buy into this supportive talk by McGarity if I could think of one major college football program that EVER turned their ship around once it had been sailing this direction for several years without a coaching change.
Main Line B
January 8th, 2011
8:09 am
Maybe Ga needs to hire back Martinez at DC. The 2010 Ga D was worse than ever. They are paying grantham $750,000 for that? Funny stuff.
ugab
January 8th, 2011
8:58 am
Dawg fans have to wait till the end of next season to see change in out football program. We have been promised change the last few years. It is not just this year. MR kept Martinez way to long. He is set on waisting UGA’s funds on his beliefs.
stendek
January 8th, 2011
12:31 pm
The present UGA athletic director is a clueless lying sack of shet. That said…
I must respond to misguided apologists. Losses are part of sports. They happen. I have been sports enthusiast/reporter for half a century. Please bear with me. Mark Richt can no longer motivate players. This has never been more evident than over the last two seasons. The true downward spiral began prior to Oklahoma State disaster. Opponent disrespected Bulldogs by stating victory by outrageous margin. Any decent head coach would have been able to motivate team out of its head. Unmotivated Bulldogs of MR embarrassed themselves in Oklahoma. That embarrassment has stretched over the last two seasons at least. Know when Bulldogs actually played like Bulldogs all of us know and love? Think about it. Against Hawaii. Seems like centuries ago. If MR wants to be another Billy Graham I wish him nothing but the best. I want a Bear Bryant at Bulldog football helm not an evangelist. Bulldogs now win close against untalented teams but get blown out by upper echelon squads. Okay for a technical school or junior college but not for a proud institution like the one in Athens. There is no optimism in Bulldog Nation any more. Fans, whether they admit it or not, do not EXPECT the Bulldogs to win. I certainly do not. Tennessee Tech. Probably. Vandy. Maybe. Any upper tier SEC team. Forget it. This should be unacceptable to those in charge in Athens. It is not. That is what frustrates me more than anything else. Stick with the status quo. For more defeats like ones to Colorado and (insert team here). Truly sad. STENDEK
Dawg Tired
January 8th, 2011
1:53 pm
Some on here see the glass as half full and other see it as half empty. One thing is certain: it ain’t full.
Don
January 8th, 2011
3:02 pm
He will never be able to get a team up for a Game and thats the bottom line folks
eriecliper
January 8th, 2011
7:41 pm
I keep hearing this same old tired rhetoric about Mark Richt is too nice a guy and he can’t turn the team around because the players don’t fear him? Have you people ever played organized football? The players are not supposed to “fear” their coaches but, rather be inspired by them. This works the same way as a good/or bad boss at work. Yeah, a bad boss or coach can get results for awhile, he make even get people to give 90%, but he will never get 100% or the , so called, 110%. That extra effort comes from inner desire and drive. That desire, comes from within, and does not respond to demand but, it can be inspired. This inner drive makes great players of average players. Yes, the coaches do need to be disciplinarians, firm in their manner and ridged in policy, but never a tyrant.
Mark Richt caught tremendous flack this year for our beloved Dawgs poor performance. As the ultimate man in charge it does fall squarely on his shoulders and the always accepted the responsibility without complaint or hesitation. But there are some things that are somewhat out of the coach’s control. Great football teams have great coaching and great talent. There is one additional thing that is essential for a great team and that is team leadership, leadership on the field. Coaches can guide, direct, and inspire at practice, before the game, during halftime, and occasionally during a timeout. But great teams have field generals, leading the way on the field, pushing, cajoling and inspiring the team to its best effort. I saw none of this during this season. Our freshman quarterback stepped up, as best he could but, he was handicapped by his youth and inexperience. This was the job of the seniors and it didn’t get done. Regretfully, I haven’t really seen this field leadership since David Green and David Pollock.
Neal Perry
January 9th, 2011
6:02 am
It is not only a lack of emotion shown by CMR, it is also the players knowing there is no accountability for their poor play or even much for their off field transgressions. I like how the new DC gets after his guys. If he gets a few new pieces to the puzzle, they will be much improved this year. CMR is not able to motivate these guys anymore for whatever reason. If he shows some fire out there and lets them know what is expected of them, on and off the field, you will see a different team this year. I think that the AD we have now has let him know that in no uncertain terms in thier meetings from the way he talks. CMR can still coach, but can he still motivate these guys, is the question. As for the OC, he needs to be taught also, and if CMR puts more in the the offensive side of the game, the Dogs can be a pretty fair football team.
bobo
January 9th, 2011
9:01 am
Fla just hired charlie weis to run their offense and uga is still stuck with bobo. enough said–end of story. More 7 loss seasons to continue.
Snoop Dawg
January 9th, 2011
10:25 am
McGarrity is losing altitude like a lead balloon. He’s proving himself to be a joke with laughable attempts to spin what is obvious to the entire country.
It’s too bad that the UGA Board of Regents hired McGarrity on because of his UGA mafia ties rather than doing a nationwide talent search for a proven ATHLETIC DIRECTOR INSTEAD OF THE DEPUTY.
Ah, this is the ugly reality. When Richt finally gets fired (and he will), we will handicap ourselves once again by making a political selection to replace him instead of a professional nationwide search. We will probably wind up with that UGA mafia bubba Kirby Smart who has absolutly no experience as a head coach and understands how politics works at UGA to the detriment of a quality program that competes for championships. Perhaps we all should just get used to the fact that UGA football will never be a real contender for the NC unless it’s a fluke and that we have been thinking about how we would like it to be instead of the way it is.
gman0228
January 9th, 2011
11:05 am
It seems that about the middle of November a meeting was called with all of the recruiting coaches. What transpired there was one good butt chewing from the head coach and ad. It seems they are not happy about some of the Gwinnett boys going up North to play.
Two of the boys played on the 5-A Championship team, and Coach Richt was not happy that the players had never been talked to.
It WILL get turned around. Recruiting coaches have been seen more often and seem to be alittle afraid for their jobs.
Joseph
January 9th, 2011
12:33 pm
Heard this one?
Richt to LSU
WOW!
Miles to Michigan, Richt to LSU.
wildbill
January 9th, 2011
1:41 pm
Greg, you are “whizzing” in the wind. We all know the outcome of that, no matter what the ‘wishes and wants’ are………
Devil's Advocate
January 9th, 2011
1:46 pm
About recruiting, and its failures. We all know some coaches here and there. For years, I have heard stories about UGA recruiting, or the lack thereof. Lots of holes there. I have even heard the word “corrupt” and how “biased” the recruiters are and have been. There are a lot of schools that the recruiters have never laid foot upon, and the recruiters have been relying on a few ‘good ole boy’ coaches to feed them fodder. I would say, clean house ASAP.
patrick
January 9th, 2011
7:59 pm
rocketfuel
January 6th, 2011
4:36 pm
Sorry Greg,it’s not going to change with CMR at the helm.Should have cleaned house and started over.I hope Greg had a conversation with Garner,seems he has gotten fat and happy and recruiting ain’t what it used to be.,I hope I am proven wrong in 2011 and I have to eat my words.
======================
hey dummy, UGAs recruiting class is ranked 8th so far this year……jesus….get a clue
patrick
January 9th, 2011
8:05 pm
Devil’s Advocate
January 9th, 2011
1:46 pm
About recruiting, and its failures.
=============================
are you stupid….or just clueless?
.
UGA’s number 8 this year
.
number 12 last year.
.
number 6 the year before last.
.
number 5 the year before that.
.
How is being ranked 8th this year a recruiting failure?……moron
.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/columns/story?columnist=luginbill_tom&id=3233826
HanDAWG
January 10th, 2011
1:27 am
Sick of fans forgetting how good we were as recently as 2008. He had us at #2 4 years ago and #10 3 years ago. We struggled 2 seasons ago and the wheels fell of this season for obvious reasons. Bowl was pathetic, granted. But each of Richt’s 4 total down years at UGA over 10 have featured first-year starting QBs (Greene, JT III/Stafford, Cox, Murray). In each of the other 6 seasons, Richt and UGA excelled. If you have studied college football history, you will surely realize ALL long-tenured head football coaches have had downturns. He has still won 9.6 per year over 10.
Ed F
January 10th, 2011
11:45 am
Head over to Starksville and Get Dan. He will take this team to the Dome Next YEAR!!!!!!
Think about it.
With UGA’s talent Dan can get it done. He had lessser Talent and he Took Miss St way farther than anyone thought they could go This Season.
Justin
January 10th, 2011
11:46 am
Richt rumored to be #1 choice for Stanford job. With McGarity failing to extend Riocht’s contract in the off-season, Richt will be gone by mid-Feb.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/565071-stanford-football-brady-hoke-and-10-guys-who-could-replace-jim-harbaugh#page/7
Bleacher report calling Richt the #1 choice.
Justin
January 10th, 2011
11:53 am
others are saying Richt will take the Michigan job, as they are in need of somone with ethics.
Justin
January 10th, 2011
11:56 am
Here’s the link to the Richt to Michigan line:
http://umgoblue.com/talk/Mark-Richt-to-be-the-next-coach-m156807.aspx
tell me again
January 10th, 2011
4:22 pm
Just heard Fran Tarkenton’s SCATHING analysis of Mark Richt and the UGA football program – if you haven’t heard it you need to go to Dawgrant.com and que it up – see what you think. Ouch. Coming from a devoted dawg fan like Fran this is eye opening. After listening to him I think Richt has one more year to prove he can still lead the program – another mediocre campaign and he could be gone. Wow……….
gilbert the dawg fan
January 12th, 2011
8:22 am
As a Dawg, I, too, hope for improvement and competing for championships. Personally I want to see Coach interact with players when they come off the field…a word of encouragement, a piece of advice…something…anything but just standing there like he’s watching a soap opera. Hey, even if he could speak into his headset every now and then to make it seem like he’s connected. And, yes, this team was snakebit but they did show some grit. Go Dawgs.