UGA president predicts extended tenure for football coach Mark Richt
ATHENS – University of Georgia President Michael Adams isn’t generally known for his sense of humor. But he can provide an unexpected “zinger” on a moments notice.
Asked at his monthly cabinet meeting on Thursday about the contract status of head football Mark Richt, Adams said, “If we win Saturday he’ll be back and if we lose we’re going to fire him.”
He was joking, of course.
Richt has 2 ½ years remaining on a contract that pays him close to $3 million annually. There were questions about his long-term future as the Bulldogs’ coach when the team followed last year’s 6-7 record with an 0-2 start this season.
But Georgia has since won 10 games a row and clinched the SEC Eastern Division Championship. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs (10-2, 7-1 SEC) play No. 1-ranked LSU (12-0, 8-0) in the SEC Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Now that he has led the Bulldogs to their fourth SEC Championship game and seventh season of 10 or more wins in 11 seasons as Georgia’s coach, a contract extension for Richt seems imminent and in the very near future. The contact period for recruiting began on this week and UGA administrators aren’t likely to send Richt out on the road with a contract of fewer than four or five years.
Adams said he’s now hearing from fans who want UGA to hurry up and extend Richt as soon as possible.
“I get amused at this sometimes, frankly,” Adams said. “I actually have had suggestions from some of the same people over the last four months that, after the 0-2 start, were asking the AD and me to terminate him, who are now upset that we haven’t renewed the contract.
“So you don’t respond to these things emotionally through the season. You try and get a couple or three weeks away from a season. Give us a little time to review the whole process, but I would be surprised if Mark Richt weren’t the coach here next year. We’ll just wait and see what the AD decides to do.”
Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity, who will ultimately make the call on the matter, maintained his stance Thursday that he would not address Richt’s contract status until after Saturday’s SEC Championship.
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381 comments Add your comment
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
9:47 pm
@Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
If I was CMR, I’d go to NC.
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
9:48 pm
Beamer’s gonna retire eventually. 10 wins is easy in the ACC.
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
9:48 pm
When you think about it CHDawg has a point. Even in a down SEC East, the games are tough. Every game is a rivalry, and the West teams we played, AU, MSU, have the potential on any given day. Richt has done a good job since the debacle at the dome one. USC loss was tough to swallow but we showed up to play.
CHDawg
December 1st, 2011
9:50 pm
DawginaTruck, I thought it was a great illustration for Malcome and us. He was frustrated over not playing and I think he left the team to quit, and then, after changing his mind, a few weeks later he starts against GT! Great life lesson on not quitting. He is from Atlanta, and he starts at Grant Field in front of his friends and family. I think he made a statement when CMB gave him the ball 9 times in a row at the end of the game with the whole GT team in the box. Not that he is necessarily number one, but I think they see how strong he is. I think he needs another year in the weight room before he really starts to dominate. He has great body lean, a little like Lattimore. You see him hit the pile and he gets two or three more yards than it seems he should.
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
9:54 pm
Well, we must are making progress. Things are looking up when the rants have morphed to……..well yea, ok, But we arent winning a national championship right now are we.
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
9:56 pm
Georgia has a pretty good team this year, but when you open with two losses, then you have to understand that pretty good is as good as it gets. Good enough is good enough. That’s why we invented the word “mediocre”.
CHDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:00 pm
Weak schedule for Auburn? They beat six ranked teams in ‘10, including several top ten teams. That is just silly.
Bad Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:05 pm
No Smitty you stand up and demand UGA win championships if not then Tech could always use more fans. Raise your standards from 10 wins a year to 12 wins a year. 10 wins is what average teams aim for (see Georgia Tech’s goals for this year). Again look at the schedule and you will see the 10 wins are meaningless. Last two games will determine this season for UGA.
Breeno
December 1st, 2011
10:06 pm
Last I checked Richt was 3-3 against LSU and 3-1 against Bama. It was not that long ago that LSU wanted to run off Miles.
dawgster
December 1st, 2011
10:07 pm
@Mobile Dawg..Amazing that a supposedly true dawg fan would say the negative things you say..Let me be clear on something up front..I am a former player from the early 70’s, and I can promise you Coach Richt has been a blessing to this program..I don’t really care what you or the negative bloggers want to say…If you can’t see this program improving and can’t be excited about what these guys did this year despite the adversity from injuries and young players still finding their way, then you obvisously know very little about the game….Regardless of what happens Sat night, this dawg team has a lot to look forward to…If you want the top notch recruits to look at our program then you have to commit to your coaches….I’ve read way too many of your posts, and yes you got me fired up…It takes alot nowadays to do that…My suggestion to you is find another team to support…I can promise you the day that Coach Richt is not at UGA, other schools will be flocking for his services…Am I saying he is perfect or that there hasn’t been mistakes…no…but check his record compared to alot of other coaches over a 10 year period..No we don’t have BCS championship yet, had we had some things fall the right way we could have easily won it in 2007, but hey we didn’t….You have to be good and things have to break for you just right and also have a little luck…But go ahead and keep spouting off about Coach Richt not deserving a extensiion or that we should wait…Yea that sounds like a great idea when we see another team grabbing him…But knowing Coach Richt and how he feels about UGA, he wants to be here, if we want him here…I apologize for jumping on you, but I worked to hard the years at UGA and have been behind this team good times and bad times to ignore posts such as yours….But the bottomline is you can voice your opinion, you have that right, but myself and I suspect many, many others don’t agree with you…
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:08 pm
New rumor, no tailbacks on the field Saturday, we’re going to a split backfield with Figgins and Ogletree, shoring up the pass blocking, and changing the running game.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 1st, 2011
10:10 pm
Last time I checked
Alabama won a national title in 2009 and will be playing for another this year
LSU has won 2 national titles the past 10 years and will be playing for its third this year
UGA hasnt even played in the NC game in 30
But that was the last time I checked
dawgster
December 1st, 2011
10:13 pm
And to answer a question posed by another blogger about the georgia side tickets…Per the athletic office georgia was alotted 16000 tickets and they had 43,000 requests, In 2005, that request was 30,000..Not sure what the blogger was trying to say, but the dawg fans will be there, and there are many others that may not be able to secure tickets, but not due them not wanting them…go dawgs
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:13 pm
There ya go. Good boy.
Breeno
December 1st, 2011
10:15 pm
The last time I checked Saban did not vouch for the dawgs in 2002 and 2007
STEPHEN A. SMITH DAWG: Hunkerdown !!
December 1st, 2011
10:16 pm
I’m not trying to offend the delusional part of the spirited UG fanbase, but the Dawgs didn’t do anything special by going 10-0 after an 0-2 start. The Dawgs merely did what they were supposed to do after a rough start. However it still was disappointing to see UG lose to the only highly ranked opponents on the schedule. UG was simply better than the ten mediocre teams they beat during the win streak and you would have to be somewhat delusional to go overboard in celebration of those wins. Toothless UF, Terrible Tennessee, and Awful Auburn were big wins in the SEC standings but each were putrid this year by their own high standards.
In other words there is still much work to do and two games against respectable competition remain. Richt has a chance to compete and go 2-2 in big games this year. I can’t wait to see how the Dawgs will respond against a superior opponent in LSU. UG is 0-2 this year versus highly ranked opponents. Will LSU make it 0-3 and if we lose how will UG fare in a bowl game this year. Another bowl loss to an inferior opponent will cause another offseason of improvement urgency. Truly because of the false expectations created by ten victories over mediocre opponents UG will be regarded as good as its last game. I wish Richt the best, but before he is over-extended let’s let the season play out and see how the Dawgs finish. Remember my delusional friends, The University of Georgia’s commitment to achievement and over all success in sports is bigger than the personal desires of any single individual within or outside the program even CMR. If he can meet UG expectations and get the job done good, get the extension done, and if he can’t the University is charged to find someone else and give them an opportunity to meet expectations. We see this at Penn St., Texas A&M, Arizona State, Illinois, UCLA, Ole Miss, UAB, and FAU. It’s no different at UG. Good Luck CMR and Go Dawgs !!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 1st, 2011
10:18 pm
What gets me is people want a contract extension
And what teams have we beat that were good this year coming off 4 down years
We should be talking contract extension after next season is in the books and we have something to measure by
10 wins against the worst FL and Tenn teams Ive seen in 30 yrs, be it both teams being downing in the same year as well as Aub being down and a lousy Miss ST and Ole Miss program should not render a contract extension
Could you people tell me where you work. I want to put my resume in so I can sit on my rear, show no production and draw a paycheck and keep that job for years to come
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:20 pm
I respect your opinion dawgster, but I don’t think I’ve been negative. I think you’re extremely opinionated toward your feelings, cause, but that doesn’t make you right. I’m simply stating that I don’t believe Mark Richt has done what’s best for the UGA Football program over the last few years and one year with 10 wins over suspect teams doesn’t deserve an extension.
Defending myself, I’ve stated many times I think Richt along with McGarity (teamwork) are moving in the right direction. I state both the positive and the negative. For the record, I’ve called Richt out, but never “stated” he should be fired. Inversly proportional to your feelings I get extremly agitated when I see the blind support for Mark Richt when the “absolute” facts point out that this program under Richts “lack of leadership” sank to the lows we saw last year. That wasn’t a cycle, that was poor management. You’re welcome to disagree, no problem, no offense taken. And thanks for being a Dawg, it’s been great over the years, win or lose. We’re all passionate, sometimes we just don’t agree.
dawgster
December 1st, 2011
10:20 pm
Whats your point Flat Tire”…How many teams around the nation have played for a National Championship either…Still some very, very good programs out there that havent…And yes Bama and LSU have fine programs a notch above others right now, no one will deny that…So what would you have us do quit trying or give up…As I said, sometimes the breaks have to fall your way, plus you have to be good….It seems that many believe you are not successful if you don’t play for a National Championship..tell that to these players that work there tail off all year preparing for the football season…Tell this to this years dawg team that haven’t been successful…No we won’t be playing for the BCS title this year, but if you can’t be proud of this team, then you are not a fan….go dawgs
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:26 pm
So you are saying that Richt sat on his rear all year?
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:26 pm
flat tire …if you don’t like the dawgs get off the site ….a hole
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:28 pm
mobile dwg… same to you
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:28 pm
be positive or get off
Pete
December 1st, 2011
10:30 pm
even if they had had a bad season, they should still extend his contract. He;s a good coach and an even better person.
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:30 pm
mobile thanks for post
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:31 pm
Why do we have to beat the same dead horse over and over? I don’t know why people keep throwing up MNC’s. We’ve had a couple of chances, maybe three under Richt where we were, or could have been in position but we lost a game we should have won, luck went against us, we had injuries, etc. The bottom line is beginning in 2006 IMO this team started to disintegrate. Even though we had decent records in 07, 08, we still showed signs of a team with no leadership, no discipline, no defense. Why not hold Mark Richt accountable? It’s like some of you have an agenda.
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:31 pm
stepen a smith get off too
Dawgfaninjackson
December 1st, 2011
10:32 pm
A friend sent me an article, the excerpt follows”Here are the names of the individuals that BWI has been told are at the top of the list to be interviewed.
That list includes: Chris Peterson [Boise State], David Shaw [Stanford], Tim Murphy [Harvard], Darren Perry, Gary Patterson [TCU], James Franklin [Vanderbilt], Mike London [Virginia], Pat Fitzgerald [Northwestern] and possibly Mark Richt [Georgia] and Dan Mullen [Mississippi State].
BWI has been told, Peterson, Shaw, Perry and Murphy have serious interest in the job and appear to want to be interviewed. At this time it is not known what Penn State’s interest level is for Richt, Patterson. Franklin, London and Mullen.
BWI has been told Richt first got in contact with Penn State 10 days to two weeks ago, but BWI does not know where those talks stand.”
You CMR detractors may get your wish. Then please tell me your short list of coaches that are better than CMR and will come to UGA? It’s speculation, I know, just curious.
I’ll be at the game Saturday cheering for the Dawgs!!!
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:32 pm
Enter your comments here
Smitty
December 1st, 2011
10:33 pm
Agenda is positive….you got a problem with that…
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
10:33 pm
Only Happy Talk allowed on this site!
Tee Hee Hee!
All Saints
December 1st, 2011
10:33 pm
This is a reminder that we’ll be having our regular tribute and moment of silence on Saturday for Saint Jan Kemp, the courageous martyr who exposed UGA and Vince Dooley’s “remedial studies” fraud, a shameful scam that Mark Richt carries on today, almost thirty years later.
Please approach this special moment with awe and reverence as we honor her sacred name.
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:34 pm
Ouch ! !
Buckhead Bulldog
December 1st, 2011
10:34 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville – Did you happen to notice CMR’s demeanor during the last few years that Damon and Adams were in RIcht’s business? I thought he looked depressed on the sidelines and was just not happy and into the job. I think McGarity is the right person to invigorate CMR, again. Get CMR down in the trenches with the players where he is an exceptional coach. I think McGarity is letting Richt do his thing now, and it seems to me that the UGA program is starting to shine again. The players really seem to be playing like a team.
Sic’ ‘ em DOGS!
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:35 pm
How was Richt not held accountable? He IS the coach. His job is/has/was on the line. A college football coach is “held Accountable” perhaps more than any other profession I can think of.
Breeno
December 1st, 2011
10:35 pm
Auburn down after winning the NC? I think they are proof that it is not just coaching. Often one or two players and a few breaks have to go your way.
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
10:36 pm
Georgia has already waited too long to hire a coach this year. You better hope Richt stays. Even Leach has already been hired.
Dr. Phil
December 1st, 2011
10:36 pm
Adams brought his friend Harrick to UGA and admitted Tony Cole with his presidential wavier. He winked at some of Harrick’s shady activities as long as Harrick won basketball games.. When the Adams-built house of cards crashed, Adams hung his old friend out to dry and pulled the team from the SEC tournament to cover his own butt. Adams is a snake who will cut Richt’s throat if it is politically expedient. Mike is probably planning another junket for his supporters in the Georgia Legislature for what is sure to be a pretty good bowl game.. His pals lost interest over the past couple of years, and so did Mike.
dawgster
December 1st, 2011
10:36 pm
@Mobile Dawg….last year is over, period…we can’t change it, but we can move on…Who do you want as the savior of the program that will come in here and win 12 games every year…I don’t think anyone out there can satisfy that….Alot of problems that you mention have been addressed…Thats what good leaders do…Our program has had some issues just as many have…Heck the gator program is one of the best around and you can see the problems they are having..Anyone that wants to bash them, thats fine, but I can assure they will get it together…I just don’t know what else you want out of Coach Richt…There’s not a coach out there that has anymore respect in the coaching ranks than Coach Richt…..Perfect, no…but who better to represent UGA….10-1 record against probably our most hated rivalry, Tech…Ask Tech how they feel about that…No we haven’t done as well against the gators, but the truth is not alot of teams have faired that well against them over the past few years…The problem with most of you is only a National Championship will do…Well it will happen, when I can’t say…I can say this however…We had some very fine coaches here over the years and yet Coach Dooley and Coach Erk delivered one National Championship, we were close a few times but only one…I don’t think winning the NC is all its about…Is that the goal…Sure it is…but does that mean you don’t have a successful program, if you don’t win a NC…I don’t know maybe we should ask Frank Beamer at VT, just to name one….go dawgs…again can’t agree with you, but I respect your feelings as a dawg fan…go dawgs
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
10:37 pm
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:35 pm
How was Richt not held accountable? He IS the coach. His job is/has/was on the line. A college football coach is “held Accountable” perhaps more than any other profession I can think of.
That’s true… At most schools.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 1st, 2011
10:37 pm
If you people learned how to read you would see my point
Again
People come on here saying Richt deserves a contract extension. No he doesnt. He has 2 yrs left on the one he has now
Richt isnt going to another UGA level school. No one has called his name, nor is he going anywhere that has the resource UGA has. Only USC, Texas, FL, Ohio St, Notre Dame, have the resources like UGA does. You would have to be a complete idiot to leave for something less
This was an easy schedule that has yet to prove how good we really are until Sat and until the bowl game
I’ll be the first to say if we keep it within 10 against LSUwin or lose and win our bowl game. Then I will say yes we are heading in the right direction and things are looking good. And if we do what we should do next year with our talent i.e win 11 games and beat FL, AGAIN. Then I will say lets give Richt an extension
But please give me a break, these last 10 games have been against lousy teams and people are demanding a contract extension. Boy lets hope we dont get beat like Arkansas did and lose our bowl game. Reality will set in.
Bad Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:38 pm
Almost does not count. You can go on for days talking about what you almost did. If you do not do it then it does not count. I demand a championship, I hope all other dawg fans will do the same. I post not out of hatred or negativity but out of the love for UGA football. Will you other fans stand up and do the same? I would love for Richt to bring that crystall football back to Athens but is he the man for the job or is he the man that wins 10 games per year? Try not to be so emotional either.
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
10:39 pm
Nobody wins the NC every year, but UGA hasn’t even competed for one since 1981.
AltamahaDawg
December 1st, 2011
10:42 pm
10 games against lousy teams, that you spend the summer telling us how we would lose to.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 1st, 2011
10:43 pm
Mark Richt in contact with Penn St
BLAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
If he is that stupid to take that job I will have lost total respect for him. That program will be a recruiting nightmare for at least a decade
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
December 1st, 2011
10:45 pm
AltamahaDope
You better do your homework
I said UGA should go 11-1 this season there stupid, due to its easy schedule
North ave. faithful
December 1st, 2011
10:47 pm
Great posts there dawgster, sometimes i wonder what some of these guys kids go through. their expectations are incredible.
Not Impressed
December 1st, 2011
10:47 pm
@AltamahaDawg
Man, that’s weak. Nobody ever said UGA wasn’t favored in any one of those games. Even Larry Munson wouldn’t try to pull that off. He knew a cream-puff when he saw one.
Mutt Patrol
December 1st, 2011
10:49 pm
Enough of all this talk.
Georgia 7
LSU 52
And the world will be back in order when all of Georgia’s fans go back to their trailor parks.
Mobile Dawg
December 1st, 2011
10:49 pm
dawgster, when you’re posting to me about MNC’s you’re barking up the wrong tree, pardon the pun. There are a lot of posters who use the MNC as a measuring stick. I’ve never said that, all I want is consistency, win or lose, a good effort. With good coaching, good preparation, good recruiting you should win your share. Dawgs shouldn’t be blown out of games regularly to our top opponents, i.e. bama, uf, ut, when these games were truly significant.
I don’t make the decison on hiring and firing, I’ve never suggested Richt be fired. I have offered my opinion to others as to who might be a candidate to replace him should that have become necessary. Richt has earned, which is good, the right to come back another year. I just don’t think he’s “earned” the extension yet. Another poster pointed out the Mike Shula debacle, I just say give it another year. Just fyi, I think McGarity gives the extension, just don’t agree with it, at this point. Agree, let’s move on.
Waddaya think about Crowell and the rumors?