McGarity: Outback Bowl loss won’t impact negotiations with Richt
Georgia’s loss to Michigan State in the Outback Bowl will have no impact on contract negotiations between UGA and football coach Mark Richt, which remain at least “three to four weeks” away from completion, according to Athletic Director Greg McGarity.
Georgia AD Greg McGarity said the Bulldogs' overtime loss to Michigan State did nothing to change his opinion on the direction of the football program under coach Mark Richt. (UGA photo)
“We plan to meet as soon as we can get together,” McGarity said Wednesday. “But I don’t see anything, certainly not a signed document, anytime soon. We’ll start the process of digging into the details of our extension and it will be determined in the near future.”
McGarity also urged fans upset over the Bulldogs’ 33-30, triple-overtime loss to the Spartans to keep the defeat in perspective.
“Blair Walsh kicks a 42-yard field goal and we’re sitting here feeling great about ourselves,” McGarity said. “But would we have solved our running game problem? No. Would that have solved them being able to go on an 85-yard drive with no timeouts? No. So, I mean, the dynamics haven’t changed. It’s not going to matter diddly-squat when we start lifting weights in three weeks. If anything it’ll add more incentive for next year.”
Georgia lost back-to-back games — including a loss to LSU in the SEC Championship game — to finish the 2011 season 10-4. Richt, 51, is 106-38 heading into his 12th year as the Bulldogs’ coach.
McGarity said there is no rush to complete a new deal with Richt, who has two years remaining on an employment agreement that pays him $2.81 million annually. Including bonuses and outside income from endorsements, Richt earns more than $3 million a year.
Richt is expected to receive an extension of at least three years, which would keep him as the Bulldogs’ coach through December of 2016. McGarity said he and Richt already agreed in principle when they met last month.
“This is an important recruiting time and I told Mark after the SEC Championship game that he could go to these high school kids and tell them he’s going to be their head coach,” McGarity said. “We felt it was very important to send out the message that we haven’t worked everything out but Mark’s going to be our coach. That was the immediate need, to go ahead and address the future of our program. But we didn’t get into any details or anything like that that’s kind of where we left it. He wants to be here and we want him to be here.”
Any renegotiation is unlikely to include a significant pay raise for Richt, however. Richt is sixth among SEC coaches in compensation but that ranks No. 11 nationally. Alabama’s Nick Saban ($4.8 million), LSU’s Les Miles ($3.75), Auburn’s Gene Chizik ($3.5), Arkansas’s Bobby Petrino ($3.1) and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier ($2.88) currently make more than Richt.
“Longevity is the first priority and then compensation would follow,” McGarity said.
McGarity said he has received about 50 emails in the wake of Georgia’s loss this past Monday. He said “about half” of those fans complained about coaching decisions made as the Bulldogs let a 16-0 at halftime lead slip away. Michigan State scored a touchdown with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 27-all and send it into overtime.
Walsh missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would have won the game in the first overtime, then had a 47-yard attempt blocked in the third OT.
“Any time you lose a game, especially one as gut-wrenching as that one was, people get frustrated and they vent in various ways,” McGarity said. “If the game was lopsided, if we had lost 42-0 or something, then there would be some concerns. But to point the finger at a player or a coach or offense or defense or special teams is a waste of time. That was a true team loss. There are plenty of second guessers out there, but there are so many what-ifs on either side it could have gone either way.”
What McGarity hasn’t heard is enough credit being given to the Spartans, who recorded back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time in school history.
“What I have not seen in one email is anyone giving any credit to the Michigan State team, and that’s very unfortunate because they made the plays they needed to win the game,” McGarity said. “The first thing you should do when you get beat is give the other team credit, because they’re working just as hard as you are. Kirk Cousins, look what he did in the last two minutes of the game with no timeouts. That was pretty impressive, as was the way they defended us in the second half. Unfortunately people never give the opponent any credit.”
McGarity said it’s important that Georgia fans rally behind the team, which he thinks has a chance to do some great things next season.
“We go from 6-7 to 10-4 and we’re looking forward to 2012,” McGarity said. “We’ve got a lot of kids coming back, a great nucleus and a great group of leaders. There’s a segment of our fans that want to play the blame game. But when you have a loss like that, everybody shares in it. I’m sure everybody on that field felt like they if they could have done something differently, coaches and players, we might not have lost the game. But that’s just part of the deal.
“What is important is for people to know that Mark Richt is our football coach, and he and his staff and these players spend so much time in an effort to bring championship football to Georgia. . . . The more negative people become, the more it distracts you from being successful.”
NOTES: Georgia’s annual G-Day spring football game has been set for April 14. No other spring practice dates have been set. . . . Junior noseguard John Jenkins sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder late in the Outback Bowl. However, the injury is not expected to require surgery and he will be available for spring practice. . . . Freshman wide receiver Chris Conley will undergo wrist surgery this month. . . .Redshirt freshman tailback Ken Malcome suffered a concussion early in the fourth quarter against Michigan State and did not play the rest of the game.
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962 comments Add your comment
Lowcountry Bulldawg
January 5th, 2012
11:02 am
Also note you rang the praises of Richt leading this team to victories over UF,UF and Auburn. They where a combined 7-17 in conference. Also you mention a victory over Tech. We own Tech so that really cannot be consider much of a big deal. You are beginning to have a strong odor of Kool Aid coming from you with posts like those.
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:02 am
Jeff
January 5th, 2012
10:16 am
Tampa DOG…..maybe we can send Diva BOY Crowell to bama or LSU….DO YOU THINK FOR A SECOND LES OR NICK WOULD PUT UP WITH HIS CRAP????
————————–
Did you notice how little he played the last two games? And yes, they would put up with it. Trent Richardson is no saint and lets not even go into ALL the crap Les has let go on his team this year. Fact is, if the guy could help one of those two win games, they stay on the team.
Charlie Hayes
January 5th, 2012
11:03 am
No wonder Ealey wanted out. I thought he was a problem, however now I can see that the offense wasnt going to get any better so he packed his bags. Good for him. Everyone wanted to know why Caleb King wasnt better than advertised. Now everyone wants to blame Crowell. Do you see a trend? Might I remind everyone that Samuels was also a 5-star RB out of Cass HS. Samuel isnt cutting it either. Next year UGA will have three 5-star RB’s (Samuel, Crowell and Marshall) along with 4-star and 5-star OL to block. I bet you that the offense will still have the same problems that they have faced in 2011. Wake up and smell the coffee that Bobo has got to go if UGA will ever be a SEC title holder again. Forget about a National Championship contender. After 2012 the schedule gets very tough. Then they can start blaming the tough schedule again for not winning….Same story just another year! Come’ on Man!
ARdawg
January 5th, 2012
11:04 am
As long as Richt is re-signed and/or extended, Bobo goes nowhere and he shouldn’t. The offense we have and the play calling we see is Richt, not Bobo. Firing or demoting Bobo is only cutting an appendage of the beast. In this case Richt.
Instead of the free money Richt is going to receive as a result of these “negoiations” his salary should be scaled back and at least half of that 3.6 mil strictly performance based.
If you think Mcgarity is going to do anything less than 3 year extension and 3.6, you are fooling yourself. Richt is a lock
dbc
January 5th, 2012
11:05 am
Richt has been mocked and derided by football writers from across the land for his lame coaching decisions vs. Mich. St. These are people with zero vested interest in UGA football. Here are a few choice quotes:
“If you play for field goals, you’re asking for problems.”
“Coffee’s for closers only.”
“Tackles for loss: Michigan State 17, Georgia 6. The Spartan lines were terrific. The Georgia lines were awful.”
“You might have cost your team a victory with your conservative play-calling in the first overtime, Coach Richt. What was Georgia thinking when it put the brakes on the offense, and got content with a 42-yard field goal attempt when the game was tied? Awful decision from Richt, who should have at least tried to get his kicker a little closer to the uprights.”
“Richt will be in trouble again at this time next year if he doesn’t win an SEC championship. Has anyone taken notice of the fact that his Dawgs built a 10-win season against average competition, and dropped all four of its toughest games?”
“Georgia deserved to lose this game. Mark Richt’s decision in the first OT to move the ball to the middle of the field and trust his kicker Blair Walsh – who had missed 12 field goals coming in – was WAY too conservative (and there are other ways to describe it) for regular season games, much less bowl games. Calls like that will get Richt back on the hot seat very quickly.”
“This is the kind if loss that can really hurt Georgia. I’m a very big believer in off-season momentum, and tossing away a 16-point lead as your coach made decisions that clearly indicated that he lacked confidence in the offense won’t sit well.”
“Not even going to address the first overtime “surrender” coaching decision. No doubt, everyone and their mother is going to roast Richt, and given PK Blair Walsh’s struggles this season, it’s hard to blame them. But I’ll avoid piling on, other than to say, poor coaching.”
Georgia QB Aaron Murray is a specimen. A bona fide NFL quarterback talent – and with Georgia’s 2012 schedule, he’d be crazy to come out early. That said, I have little confidence in his ability to pull out the victory against the best opponents. What I’m unsure of at this time is whether that has more to do with his ability/maturity, or his coaching?”
“Quick question for Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo – after watching what Boykin did against Boise State in the opening game, and against MSU in the closer, where was he for the rest of the season?”
“Why oh why Georgia? When will teams learn that settling for a long field goal for a win isn’t the best call? Try to run the same stuff that was working to at least get into better field position. Instead, Georgia sat on it after the pick and it cost them as the FG attempt sailed just right. It cost the Bulldogs the game.”
“What was Mark Richt thinking in the first overtime? By settling for a FG, Richt was indirectly telling his team that he did not have enough confidence in his offense to score a TD to end the game. With the way his offense was playing, he owed it to his team to win it with a TD.”
These are just a handful of quotes from various writers. Obviously McGarity has his head somewhere else. He’s in denial just like Richt. Could there be something in the air at Butts-Mehre that causes this type of delusional behavior?
Lowcountry Bulldawg
January 5th, 2012
11:06 am
Flat—
I actually agree. McGarity really should not have even brought up Walsh in the interview specifically.
Joey
January 5th, 2012
11:06 am
This is the logic?
Long time, $3M a year coach lets football program slide to 14-12 in ‘09 and ‘10.
He has a fluke 10 game stretch of bad teams, and wins them all as the favorite, sandwiched by 4 losses, (2 badly) to three favorites, and 1 underdog, to finish 10-4, (72%), probably falls out of rankings.
Has only beaten 1 ranked team in 3 full seasons.
And thus is deemed worthy of a contract extension and raise.
Where else in the USA with such average results, would an employee get rewarded like this?
DawginLex
January 5th, 2012
11:07 am
flat tire
Grow a set son. McGarity didn;t throw Walsh under the bus and called it a team loss. Quit crying
A person SMART enough to know......
January 5th, 2012
11:08 am
All the Blame should be placed where it belongs.
It is ALL Russ the Temporary Mascots FAULT.
The DAWGS haven’t beat a quality team since he started roaming the Dawg House on the sidelines.
duronimo
January 5th, 2012
11:08 am
The response to fear is self preservation. Going ultra-conservative in the second half by avoiding the risky aggressive plays you used to get the lead, is a fear based response. Running three times into the line, because Murray might make a mistake, is a fear based response. Go back and see how many games we lose or make close trying to preserve what we have instead of continuing to be aggressive. Sure it’s not what we could be (with our athletes) but it’s safe and it pays the bills. That’s what fear does and McGarity has become infected.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 5th, 2012
11:12 am
Low Country
Sorry for the multiple posts; Im just hoping Chip Towers see’s it since this blog article is having heavy traffic
Im just disgusted that our AD would bring up Walsh’s name on his last game that now Walsh has to live with this
Walsh was a great kicker for us unfortunatly Richt has no clue how to help the kid and the kid suffers
By the way Kevin Butler said that Walsh made almost every kick on the left hash mark, You would think our coach would know that and had Murray down the ball on the left hash mark instead of the middle.
Joey
January 5th, 2012
11:14 am
dbc (11:05),
Yeah, but . . . . . . . . . we won 10 games. (sarcasm)
Twooten
January 5th, 2012
11:15 am
what, exactly, kind of offense does georgia run???
i watch it, and cant ‘label’ it?
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 5th, 2012
11:16 am
DawginLex
Grow a brain son
I think you were one of the many slamming me all year about calling this coaching staff out for its inability to coach
Again Walsh’s name shouldnt have been brought up in the conversation
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:16 am
Flat Tire, I wouldn’t be too uppity to throw in USC, OSU and AU considering USC and OSU have been busted for violations (and believe me, if they even tried to delve into the Maurice Clarette stuff at OSU, the death penalty would be right around the corner), and AU just never got caught.
Now, as for Texas, you and every other Richt basher on here needs to never mention them or Mack Brown because he may not have ever seen the national title game had he been coach at UGA with the years he had leading up to the national title. No conference titles, and constantly losing to their rivals, 18 losses in his first 6 years, 3-3 in bowls with all six being the cotton or holiday bowl, and until year 7, no real sign of changes. What happened in year 7? The rise of Vince Young. What happened for Urban? The rise of Tim Tebow. Chizik? Cam Newton. Pete Carroll? Reggie Bush. Tressel? Maurice Clarette. Of that group you mentioned, the only teams whose coaches aren’t one player wonders are Saban and Miles and Saban has to get a lot of credit for helping LSU become the juggernaut it is today.
Twooten
January 5th, 2012
11:16 am
Greg McGarity… is no Jeremy Foley.
More milk toast in Athens….
Dawglasville
January 5th, 2012
11:17 am
Trolls comes in many forms. There is the, “I’m better than you and let me tell you why,” troll. There is the, “Since you’re down I’m going to go ahead and give you a good kick,” troll. And my favorite, “I’m so witty with my demeaning remark,” troll. Is this really how you want to represent yourselves?
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:17 am
Flat Tire “By the way Kevin Butler said that Walsh made almost every kick on the left hash mark, You would think our coach would know that and had Murray down the ball on the left hash mark instead of the middle.”
I guess he shouldn’t have had him go out there for extra points then huh?
Twooten
January 5th, 2012
11:18 am
The entire Georgia athletic program (major sports) is mediocre. Football, Basketball, Baseball. All that money and resources being spent….and this is what you get.
Sigh.
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:18 am
A person SMART enough to know……
January 5th, 2012
11:08 am
All the Blame should be placed where it belongs.
It is ALL Russ the Temporary Mascots FAULT.
The DAWGS haven’t beat a quality team since he started roaming the Dawg House on the sidelines.
————————–
Funniest post on here today by far
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:19 am
seriously….when was uga’s last big win over a ranked team…honestly don’t remember…and you all have noticed true dawgfan hasn’t posted in the last few minutes…rumor has it the boss went into the restroom and it was a mess…and old TDF was the last one to initial the bathroom checked box…
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
January 5th, 2012
11:22 am
UGA football = Big Hat and no Cattle…
True Dawg fan…you sir are just pitiful and I know without a doubt you never played a down of football at any level!
For you not so bright folks that don’t understand that 85 is the max you can have on scholly !!!!!!! 25 is the max number you can sign for the new year but if you were short schollys from the prior and then you can sign more to fill those voids provided those players can enroll in Jan!!!!!!!!!!! Get it. Early Entry to back count. Nick Saban doesn’t cheat and doesn’t have to cheat for he is the Man in recruiting. Now you come with your lttle girl trash talk but this is the fact. UGA got beat by a MSU team that Bama beat the living sheet out of just last year and we called off the Dogs(LOL) early because the HC is a great friend of Nick’s. You doggie fans need to take a big doze of STFU until you actually do something other than run you big Mouth. DAWGLEX….suck it sport…you have a bad case of inferiority complex.
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:24 am
wet willie is bringin tha pain!!!
DawginLex
January 5th, 2012
11:25 am
Let’s make his comments read like this:
“I am going to totally and completely blame this loss on Coach Richt and his staff. Coach Richt has changed and done everything I asked him to do but despite my brilliance, we still lost. The kicker missing the kick was the fault of Coach Richt for putting him out there to end his senior year being able to remember that he won the game for us. Shame on Coach Richt for putting his players in a position to do great things.”
Happy now flat tire?
Reality Gator
January 5th, 2012
11:27 am
Tampa Dog:
We have 3 Nat in 12 years and you have how many?
Listen to this guy, and this is why UGA has not won NAT since Jimmy Carter was in office.
We go from 6-7 to 10-4 and we’re looking forward to 2012: Hey reality check you lost to every team with a wining record, you get beat by 32 in the SEC Nat game, wow, talking about a loser mentality.
Mark R. please stay at UGA because there is not a school in the state of Flordia incl high school you would be offered a job, 11 years and never even played for Nat, wow”””’
DawginLex
January 5th, 2012
11:28 am
Wet willie go suck on a tailpipe with the engine running
Joey
January 5th, 2012
11:29 am
“…All that is missing is an OC that will get in their face like CTG does to the defense.”
**************************************
Cut Richt some slack, Flat Tire, he’s been studying.
That, cutting edge football we saw Saturday doesn’t just come out of thin air . . .
NCAA SUCKS
January 5th, 2012
11:30 am
Defense will be fine, future looks bright.
Offensive line will be spotty, again.
RB position will be better, flashy at times, but still not great or deep enough.
WR core look good but shallow.
Punting will be slightly worse.
Kicking will be slightly better.
QB play will be the same, which translates into making too many bad decisions, pick 6’s, fumbles trying to make a play rather than throwing the ball away for another chance.
10 wins is the ceiling with Murray at QB. He has only won against teams less than average, outside the top 25. Everyone that saw the G-Day game with Murray & Mettenburger saw that Murray was the 2nd best QB.
Play Hudson Mason before he transfers.
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:30 am
now dawginlex, that was uncalled for…
DawginLex
January 5th, 2012
11:32 am
evil you and wet willie need to go get a room and do some bama boy humping with a picture of nick saban taped to the wall behind the headboard
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:34 am
Wet Willie “Nick Saban doesn’t cheat and doesn’t have to cheat for he is the Man in recruiting”
Yeah, and the unemployed football player with two kids from a low income family can afford the 2011 Yukon with an extra $10k tied up in rims .. who was that? That would be Trent Richardson.
duronimo
January 5th, 2012
11:34 am
I heard a coach recently say that he teaches his players to play the game, not the opponent. What he means is that you utilize your weapons and make the other team react. The problem at Georgia is that we do not use our 4-5 star athletes for an entire game in such an attack mode. Too many times we end up responding to the other side or a situation. We go conservative out of fear of what might happen. When you are running up the middle 3 times in a row with a 150lb back it doesn’t matter how many 5 star recruits you have. Our recruiting advantage is nullified by our coaches. Our great athletes do win games for us but by making individual plays. They perform outside the realm of the schemes in place or the coaching. Go back and remove these individual 4-5 star plays that the coaching has little to do with and you’ll see how good the coaching at Georgia really is. Take away Boykin from the MState game and check the score?
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:35 am
in the world of troll recognition, how would a poster like true dawg fan be categorized?…would he be considered a troll at all??? just thinkin out loud…
True Dawg Fan
January 5th, 2012
11:35 am
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 5th, 2012
11:16 am
DawginLex
Grow a brain son
I think you were one of the many slamming me all year about calling this coaching staff out for its inability to coach
Again Walsh’s name shouldnt have been brought up in the conversation
R u really this dumb????? Its clear that McGarity says if he made it then it still wouldnt solve the other issues facing us, that are actually important like fixing the running game.
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:36 am
now dawginlex, watch your blood pressure…you know you lose your mind on here from time to time…
ARdawg
January 5th, 2012
11:37 am
Wet Willie
1-11
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:37 am
Reality Gator
January 5th, 2012
11:27 am
Tampa Dog:
We have 3 Nat in 12 years and you have how many?
————————-
Dude, I hear ya. And believe me, I am an SEC fan too and cheered for the Gators (no matter what my friends thought of me) in the last two like they were my own. But again, what is the state of the program now? What does the Gator nation have to hang their hopes on for 2012? That’s the questions I am asking.
True Dawg Fan
January 5th, 2012
11:37 am
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:35 am
in the world of troll recognition, how would a poster like true dawg fan be categorized?…would he be considered a troll at all??? just thinkin out loud…
no trolls are the people like you that have no ties to UGA and come on here and spew garbage. where as I come in here as a fan and let all the trolls have it. Clear enough for you little boy?
DawginLex
January 5th, 2012
11:38 am
Take away Boykin from the MState game and check the score?
************************
Take away kirk Cousins from MSU and we win 30-0
Works both ways sport
A person SMART enough to know......
January 5th, 2012
11:38 am
DiLex you know no self respecting Bama fan would have sex without a picture of BEAR on the Wall.
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:38 am
hey truedawgfan, hope you learned your lesson…you cannot pencil-whip bathroom inspection checksheets…you are better than that…
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:39 am
duronimo “Take away Boykin from the MState game and check the score?” Very very true, but for all the Murray bashers, take him out of the game and UGA loses by three TDs
flo-ri-duh
January 5th, 2012
11:39 am
Dawgs run up the middle because the OL was to big and slow to pull. They had two more plays to get closer but depended on a guy that had missed 13 field goals to win the game. They should have gone for a TD and settled for a field goal but Murray almost threw an interception a few plays before and Richt did not want to risk him throwing ANOTHER pick.
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:39 am
A person SMART enough to know……
January 5th, 2012
11:38 am
DiLex you know no self respecting Bama fan would have sex without a picture of BEAR on the Wall.
————————
Dude, you’re on a freaking roll!
A person SMART enough to know......
January 5th, 2012
11:41 am
EVIL EMPIRE True TOOL Fan is a UGa grad Manga Pants Load you can’t talk to him like that or call him a Troll.
TampaDawg
January 5th, 2012
11:41 am
Keith Marshall plays in the All-American game tonight .. should be fun to watch.
evil empire
January 5th, 2012
11:41 am
tampadawg, i bet you find robin williams funny too…
gdawginkalamazoo
January 5th, 2012
11:44 am
Hey McGarity, How about putting a little extra in there so that Coach Richt can write me one of his famous checks to cover all the lunches that I have to buy all my Spartan friends after that lay down loss on Monday? That would be nice because I don’t bet with Happy Meals.
True Dawg Fan
January 5th, 2012
11:44 am
Wet Willie…keep on smiling
January 5th, 2012
11:22 am
UGA football = Big Hat and no Cattle…
True Dawg fan…you sir are just pitiful and I know without a doubt you never played a down of football at any level!
Wow u must have never watched a down of football at any level. (I actually played throughout my childhood all the way to Varsity in HS, but thanks for your concern)
You clearly have never taken a basic math class either. yes 85 is the end all be all max schollies. But Bama only has 18 openings for this coming season (Not counting Juniors, and already including those that count for the prior year (although it would heavily surprise me if they had any left from last year) ) So when Saban comes out and says he is signing 30 period, when only 18 spots are open he is either going to pray that 12 go early (nd then yall will be in big trouble), or he will have to some combo of grey shirting or cutting players. The medical redshirt crap has been blocked so now his only option is to start cutting scholly players to make room.
Might not be cheating, but finding loopholes so you can crush 5-10 kids dreams every year isnt anything to be proud of. It will be closed down sooner rather than later as almost all of the coaches will bring out the torches and pitch forks if he is allowed to continue this practice.
Joey
January 5th, 2012
11:44 am
TampaDawg, Regarding your “one player wonder” coaches list (11:16), Matt Stafford just became only the 5th QB in NFL history to pass for more than 5,000 yards in one season, with 40+ TDs.
Wouldn’t you say that Mark Richt wasted ‘07 and ‘08, when he had Stafford, not to mention Knowshon Moreno, MoMass, AJ (’08), and failed to even win the East, much less a BCS Title?
At least those other coaches took their superstars and won the Big Game.