Bill Connelly’s review of the Georgia-Colorado game is a must read, regardless of how you feel about the program right now.
As a summary of where things stand, his conclusion is spot on:
… Firing a coach is the most dangerous thing you can do as a college football program. Almost all of the dominant programs from the past decade are just 50-50 when it comes to home-run hires. Oklahoma got Bob Stoops because John Blake was terrible. Florida got Urban Meyer because the Ron Zook Experiment was a failure. Alabama threw money at Nick Saban to fix the problems Mike Shula could not. Jim Tressel won the title John Cooper couldn’t (though one would still have to call the Cooper era a success). The vultures are circling Richt, and if Georgia continues to lose this year, patience might not win out. Every losing coach can say that success is right around the corner, but for Georgia that seems true. If Aaron Murray matures, the backs stop fumbling when they sniff the end zone, and the defense continues to marinate in the new scheme, then things should turn around — with Richt or with somebody else.
Get The Picture 
The question is how “success” is defined. At best, I think it is possible for MR to get UGA back to 9-3 (or above average in the SEC). Is that success?
As I see it, his “loyalty” to his staff and his seniority-based depth charts are something that he has no desire to change. He seems to take pride in the very quality that has led to his demise.
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yes … that’s success!!!
richt has been roughly 10-2 until this year, spoiling brats like you!!
do NOT chase away the best coach we’ve ever had!! the best coach in the land!!
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If his best is 9-3, which is likely 2nd place in the East, and you define that as success, then you are part of the problem.
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We need to stay behind coach Richt. I’m as concerned as everyone right now, but this man loves Georgia and he is committed to taking this program all the way. We are so blessed to have him, and if nothing else, he deserves our support and the opportunity to right the ship. I’m tired of hearing the “Richt needs to go” talk. Sick of it, really.
Dawg nation needs to turn out this Saturday at Sanford in full force and show this team that we still support them.
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I’m tired of watching our program decline with no apparent sign that CMR cares. Sick of it, really. How do you know about his love and commitment?
How long should we give him to “right the ship”? 2 more years, 5 more years? Or, since he loves Georgia and is so committed, does he get a lifetime contract?
I’m not saying he needs to be fired, btw. But he doesn’t seem to be making much progress in improving things, and he actually doesn’t even seem to notice there’s much of a problem.
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Do you really believe Mark Richt does not care; that all the endless hours he and his staff have put in did not really mean anything?
Of all the bonehead arguments for changing coaches I have read lately, the idea that Richt doesn’t care is the ne plus ultra.
This guy’s whole life has been about winning football games, and you think suddenly he does not care about winning football games?
Puh Lease
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Rather than say he doesn’t care, I should have used the word passion. He appears to have lost his passion for coaching. And he certainly seems to have lost his ability to inspire passion in his players.
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Really?
Lost his passion?
Ask Aaron Murray, or Vance Cuff if Richt has lost his passion.
Can’t inspire passion?
Watch the replay of Josh Davis after the fumble.
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Yes, really. And I’ve watched plenty, thanks.
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Maybe he’s too Christian. 😉
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I don’t think Richt cares as much as Saban or Myer. CMR gets his $3M whether he wins or loses. If he really cared about winning, if it was the number one priority for him, he wouldn’t hold on so long to assistant coaches/friends who are not getting their jobs done.
He’s been more interested in the concept of creating a coaching staff that’s one big happy family-the Allman Bros. of the SEC- rather than the concept of a staff as group of professionals brought together to do a job. He broke one of the first rules of good management: never hire someone you would have personal difficulty firing. The irony is that it’s these friends who are going to get him fired.
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Couldn’t Vols fans have said the same thing about Phat Phil…Seminoles about Bowden?
So ask yourself these questions…if Richt is like Fulmer or Bowden, didn’t the Tennessee and FSU people wait too long?
Does Georgia want to risk that against the odds of a such a coach turning a slide around?
Big programs may be 50/50 as the articles states, but what are the records of coaches remaining in their positions and successfully turning around a sliding program?
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If, if, if. If CMR could fix it, shouldn’t it be fixed by now?
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You think it’s reasonable to expect to fix a defense that’s been in steady decline for the past five seasons in five games?
Give Richt grief for staying with CWM too long – he deserves it – but to act like Grantham’s already failed for good seems a bit premature.
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I didn’t say Grantham failed…but you pointed out the problem. He keeps his friends around even in the face of overwhelming evidence that a change needs to be made. And I’m willing to put aside the defense for now. There’s plenty of other areas that need improvement.
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Criticizing a coach for not firing assistants after he fired three assistants is pretty silly.
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Not when he still has at least 4 still on the staff who aren’t getting the job done.
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And not when it took it him as long it did to finally fire the 3 assistants.
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Right. Because Bobo, Searels, Van Halanger, Ball, or McClendon threw the pass to AJ in the end zone that was an easy TD but was short, or threw the interception in the end zone, or missed the field goal, or fumbled the ball in the waning moments of the game, or missed a block or didn’t audible at the LOS to change a blocking scheme. I’m not saying that the coaches don’t share the blame and I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be accountable for the actions of the players on and off the field, but at some point guys got to start executing the freaking plays that are called.
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I’m not ready to say Gratham has failed but his salary would suggest a bit more progress is warranted.
I feel like Richt had last year to correct some problems and didn’t. This year was another chance to fix the same problems and we’ve gone backwards.
But even though I feel he’s doing a poor job this year I’m all for keeping him as our head coach. I feel confident should he soon see great success he will stick with us as hopefully we will with him during this down time.
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I think we’re stuck with CMR for at least the rest of this season and probably next season too – like it or not. But no one can deny the program is in serious trouble. What’s worse, the changes CMR has made haven’t stopped the program’s decline. CMR has begun to appear feeble in his attempts to turn things around. This ut game may be the most critical of his career. If he looses bad or foolishly (again), recruits will avoid and abandon CMR in droves.
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The salary thing is silly. You have to pay market rates and UGA did.
Are you saying that if CTG made $100k a year then you would be OK with everything? No you would be screaming that UGA cheaped out and didn’t get a “Real”DC. Leave that argument at home in the future please.
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The problems didn’t become glaring until basically now. I don’t know whether or not he can fix it, but I understand why this season’s futility caught him by surprise.
I know the popular theory is that we’ve been on some clear downward spiral for three years. But the struggles of last year and the 3 key losses of ’08 really seemed to come from defensive lapses more than anything. Which Richt tried to address in the offseason.
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I’m sorry, but 3 top 5 recruiting classes and 3 progressively worse seasons is inexcusable. Everyone focuses on the player mistakes, fumbles, missed blocks, sloppy passes, but doesn’t the coach drill the players, train them, and call their plays? Play calling lost the Arkansas game for us, that was the most obvious instance, but what about the other games. Our offensive play calling has been horrible! It’s like when a kid grows up to be a criminal and the parents blame the schools…it’s Richt’s fault. Bring in Gruden, Muschamp, or Kirby Smart and watch things change.
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Why do so many people just assume that Muschamp and Smart will be great head coaches? Plenty of highly regarded, successful coordinators fail in the head job.
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As an aside, can somebody explain to me what the fascination with Jon Gruden is? After his Super Bowl win, he coached Tampa Bay to as many losing seasons as winning ones and in the two seasons (out of six) they went on to the postseason, he got bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.
Add to that that he’s been out of the college ranks for two decades and has almost no ties to the area. I don’t get the big deal.
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Gruden will bring Jaws as the OC and Tirico as DC. It’d be a slam dunk!
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Yeah, I can explain it, he sorta looks like Lane Kiffin.
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He did a pretty outstanding job with Oakland, Senator.
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…and I would add that the bad seasons in Tampa were a result of poor moves by Rich McKay, their GM… who consequently was fired, and then came to Atlanta to screw the Falcons up.
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One of the big arguments for getting rid of Richt (not saying you are in this group Reptillicide) is that he could only win with Donnan’s players. Absolutely ridiculous…but can’t the same be said about Gruden winning with Dungy’s players. Gruden is a tool. Honestly, if people in the NFL thought he was such a great coach, he would be coaching and not working for ESPN.
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Actually, Gruden had a good bit of say over personnel.
And don’t forget it cost TB four draft picks to get him from Al Davis in the first place.
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You’re right, but Gruden didn’t have a choice in leaving Oakland, that was Al Davis’ deal. Gruden inherited a good team in Tampa Bay, but only for a year. After that, the mistakes that McKay made set in.
FTR – I’m on the “give Richt a chance” bandwagon, not the “fire him now” bandwagon. I’m just opining on a hypothetical situation that I hope doesn’t happen.
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McKay screwed up the Falcons? lol. When exactly have the Falcons not been screwed up?
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You could have said the same thing about Pete Carroll. He failed in the NFL. Then he proceeded to return USC to glory. Who knows how anyone will do? If it was known there would be nothing to talk about and no hard decisions to make.
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I thought we lost to Arkansas because we could not stop them when we had to….on defense.
Always glad to learn something new.
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Gruden’s so wonderful that everyone is begging him to be their next coach. Muschamp, though he may be a great one, has never been a head coach. Smart, though he may also one day turn out to be a great head coach, may not even be the DC at Alabama in reality. You really want to hitch your wagon to one of those guys?
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And I’ll debuting at the Vandy game and I vow to never sleep (entirely) through the game. I hope that helps. That is all for now. Thank You.
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I am not saying your debut won’t be welcome, but how do we know you are any better than Russ?
You have no game experience, all you have is a bloodline….talk to Mike Bobo about that.
Just saying, I think we need a proven mascot.
One thing about Russ, he knows a bad game when he sees one and goes to sleep.
But, you know what, it is time to make a change, clearly Russ can’t get it done.
The team has been slipping the whole time he’s been there.
His strength and conditioning program is terrible.
(Can’t go a whole game without taking a nap.)
I don’t know what to do, so let’s fire somebody, that always makes it better.
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+1
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Jones,
You need to spend some time in the arena.
It’s a whole different world in there.
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Is this a call for Col. Reb?
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You still have a lot to learn:
1. You are not Uga yet.
2. Your new name Uga VIII carries important responsibilities. Learn to spell it correctly.
3. Don’t bite the kids.
4. Do not listen to Coach Richt’s pregame pep talk. It is very calming. Listen to Coach Grantham instead.
5. Always be aware of the camera and turn just the right way to show ’em who’s boss.
6. Stay off the ice. You never know when that camera will show up.
And stay off Charles’ computer. You will ruin it for all of us.
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The important question is: what are the odds Richt is capable of being the coach he was, and that given time he’ll get things where they were?
Even after last season, I think most of us would have put the odds above 90% (after all, why shouldn’t he be as capable in year 10 as 2?)
As demoralizing as this season has been, where do we put that now? Personally, I’m at about 80%, but I get the sense that a lot of folks think it’s about 50-50. Whatever it is, what are the odds that the next coach turns it around? A glance around football for the last 10 years (and UGA’s own choices in the last 20) suggests something less than 50%.
As long as the odds are lower on a new hire than they are with Richt, we should give him the time. That is *not* because we owe it to him, but because it’s the smart thing to do.
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oh, so we don’t “owe” richt anything!? seriously!?
what a hard-ass you are
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I’m genuinely unsure what that means.
I do happen to think that we ought to give Richt more time even than a dispassionate analysis would suggest. I was a student from 2000-2003 and have a soft spot. However, I’m not making the case to people like myself.
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Until about a month ago the man’s teams had won right at 78 percent of their games. Do you have any inkling how hard that it is to do?
And you hint that we don’t owe him anything … not even one year?
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Tick, I think Rick is on your side. I think he just trying to find a way to justify that stance, which admittedly could be difficult right now.
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Indeed I am. The tide is turning against CMR. It’s premature in my opinion, but consequently the most effective defense going forward will not be one which suggests that we stick with Richt out of loyalty.
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I think it needs to be said too that Richt stuck with us when times were good and he could’ve bolted for Miami or FSU. I feel like we owe it to him to try and fix things (which he is obviously trying to do with the defensive staff overhaul).
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I’m sorry but that’s ridiculous. The University of Georgia is not a charity case. He didn’t do us a favor by sticking around. He stuck around because he has a damn good job with tons of resources, great alumni and fan support, and a very healthy salary.
We pay him to win games, run a clean program, and represent the university well. Lately he is struggling with a couple of those.
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Funny, but I thought he was being well compensated to win football games and run a clean program. I wasn’t aware that we “owed” him anymore than that.
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@Tick
^^^See Above^^^
That’s who I’m talking to.
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Then explain to me how we “owe” him anything. I am not here screaming for his head on a platter, btw. I just don’t get the “he’s earned it” or “we owe him” arguments.
Since the 2005 SEC Championship game, we are 20-15 in conference games. Is that acceptable to you?
This is not a one year problem. That’s the issue that many people are failing to see. The downward trend started a while ago. This is simply the year that the bottom fell out.
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Sorry. Just went back and read your original post in this thread. I think you and I are in agreement in a way, in that the “we owe it to him” argument holds no water.
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20-15 is not acceptable to me, but that is not Richt’s long term average. It’s important to remember that human beings are pattern-seeking creatures. What looks like a “downward trend” now could be in large part statistical noise. Each year of poor performance makes that less likely, of course, but we’re still quite a bit short from being able to confirm that Richt has lost his touch. To confirm that Richt is actually a worse coach relative to his peers than he was in 2002 on even a 50% confidence level would take more than even 2011 (assuming we don’t see consecutive 4-8 years or something similarly terrible).
If you are wondering why Saban and Meyer haven’t had similar down cycles, Meyer hasn’t had as much time, and Saban *has* had such periods.
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Long term average? I’m talking about a 5 year stretch in a 10 year career. Quite a bit more than a blip on the radar at this point.
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Your 5 year average includes a #2 finish in the nation. While the SEC record is nothing to smile at, it’s hard to say that fits your narrative of a terrible and continuous slide of the program.
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Alright, I actually did the math. With a long term winning% of .750, you should endure a 20-15 stretch once every 5.55 years.
So yea, potentially a blip on the proverbial radar.
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Your math is too flawed for me to even bother arguing about it.
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Richt will not be fired this year even if we lose every game (except Idaho St.). Next year he will be canned if things don’t improve. McGarity will give him at least another year.
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There’s no way he’d survive going 2-10. That’s an altogether different animal from 5-7 or even 4-8, both of which I think would be barely enough to get him one more year…I think.
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Guess whose record this is (from “Sports and Grits”)
5-4-1
7-2-2
8-1-2
11-0
10-1
9-2
10-1
9-1-1
11-0
8-2-1
8-3
6-5
6-5-1
11-1
10-2
11-1
11-1
11-1
9-3
11-1
11-1
12-0
10-2
9-2-1
8-4
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It’s definitely not CMR’s record, and never will be.
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Bear Bryant
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Bear Bryant’s. I was looking up Doug Dickey’s record at Tennessee yesterday, and long story short: In the late ’60s it looked as if UGA and UT were the dominant programs in the SEC, having won the last four SEC titles between the two (though Georgia did have to share the ’66 title with Alabama). Then Dickey went to Florida and Dooley had his relative slip in the early ’70s, while Bryant enjoyed the most dominant decade in SEC history.
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That was supposed to be a reply to the record question.
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Yup, got that.
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Bama shoulda fired him, the program was slipping, everybody could see it, the offensive coordinator could not call plays, the DC did not have a clue.
And in them days, with Bama, 6-5 was functionally equal to starting 1-4 now.
Course Bryant did not really care about coming back from 6-5.
He knew he was washed up.
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Well, after the back-to-back 6-5 seasons, Bryant suddenly got to introduce a new race of players to the SEC and he changed his offensive scheme to the wishbone.
I am pretty sure that Richt will be unable to replicate Bryant’s first act.
As far as the radical shift in philosophy that Bryant made, we will see if Richt is able to do that. I don’t know what sort of seismic shift we could consider “Richt’s transition to the wishbone.” I thought that it would be removing Martinez, but that looks like wishful thinking.
The point that you unintentionally make in your sarcasm is that Bryant did realize that he was washed up. He saw that if he continued to let the program continue the way that it was going that he would soon be fired.
Just like Bear had to acknowledge, the UGA program as it currently sits is teetering on total failure. It will be up to Coach Richt to make the monumental changes to the program that Coach Bryant in order to remain the coach.
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“Rammer Jammer” to you, sir.
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There is a culture problem at Georgia that we had at Alabama. It starts with discipline. Too many arrests. Too many off the field issues. Alabama turned a head to it for years. I was the last Bama fan on the Shula bandwagon saying that we should give him one more year. However, when players countinually get into trouble there is a problem. The lack of discipline also shows on the field. Look at all the penalties. Is Richt the answer? I don’t know. Bama has had more than its share of coaching turnover. A coaching change is can go either way. The change, as many Bama fans will tell you, more often than not, will result in disaster. As you guys may recall, we had tried to give the Bama job to Rich Rod. He turned it down. Somehow, some way, after umteen times, we finally got it right. If Richt isn’t the answer, then the Georgia administration better make sure that his replacement will be better. Smart will be a great HC eventually, but do you really want to turn a top caliber program over to someone as his first HC job? Georgia needs a proven winner. Someone with conference championships on his resume. Who out there right now fits the bill?
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Plus, signing an entire extra class within a four year span helps too…
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Mark Richt?
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Exactly.
Is there a coach out there right now that has the resume that Richt does?
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Not one that isn’t named Brown/Stoops/Saban/Meyer.
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Or Tressel/Miles/Spurrier/Fulmer/Carroll/Paterno
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LOL. Les Miles. Good one.
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He’s got more nattys than CMR. Just sayin’…
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Dude, I understand your frustration and appreciate your civil input, but if you want credibility on the issue, don’t use Les Miles as an example of somebody we could get that is better than Mark Richt. Larry Coker has more nattys than Mark Richt.
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I NEVER suggested we should hire Les Miles. I NEVER said Les Miles is a better coach than CMR. I pointed out that he has a similar resume. Seriously, lay off the cyber stalking and hair trigger attacks.
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I was answering a question, not engaging in a “cyber game”. The question pertained to coaches with similar resumes to CMR, not suggestions for his replacement.
The term “Natty”, which you so childishly attempted to denigrate me with, was coined by the great bulldog Marcus Howard. (at least he was the first person I ever saw it attributed to)
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The above is directed at Scorpio…don’t know why it posted like it did.
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Objective Bama Fan – “Georgia needs a proven winner. Someone with conference championships on his resume. Who out there right now fits the bill?”
And later – “Exactly. Is there a coach out there right now that has the resume that Richt does?
carolinadawg – “…Les Miles…”
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Yawn.
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Go Puff
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Puff – Once again, I never suggested Les Miles as a replacement for CMR. I was reponding to a question, and did not place my answer within the context of the previous post. I barely skimmed the previous post. Thanks so much for your assistance. Have a great day!
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So, the object of your cyber game is to name every coach that has won a “natty” which I assume to mean a national championship?
What relevance does that list have to the discussion of replacing Mark Richt?
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Sarcasm? That’s how I read it. If it wasn’t, then nevermind.
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Over the past 4.5 years? Yes, there are lots of coaches with Richt’s record (or better).
But the argument UGA fans are having re. Richt shouldn’t be so much about the past, but rather about the future. What’s the future with Mark Richt? The argument against firing Richt is that we might not hire a good coach. But using that logic, no coach should ever be fired. There’s always a chance of a bad hire. Besides, how good a coach will Richt be going forward?
If we do insist on looking at the past, consider this: on Tuesday Richt said in his teleconference that he forgot to tell Bobo that if necessary he was going to go for it on 4th down during an offensive series when UGA had the ball inside the Colorado 5 yrd. line. Because Bobo didn’t know this, he made his play calls thinking he only had 3 plays to get in the endzone. This is just a very basic mistake and part of a trend of such mistakes over the last few years with Richt.
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Fulmer’s got a MNC to top that….
Just saying, perhaps there comes a point.
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So when exactly will we stop using the “Well Richt can have a winner in the next few years!” excuse?
When he hasn’t won a title in 10 years? 15?
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There are statistical methods for answering questions like “how many years should an excellent coach go without a championship?”.
15 is probably too long, unless you are seeing lots of 2007-type years (good enough to win, but didn’t). 10 sounds plausible, but I’m too lazy to do the actual calculation. It would all depend on the records each year, though. If you get five years of 7-5, it’s probably alright to go ahead and pull the trigger.
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If you look at the stats of this team with a new DC, a new QB, the injuries, the suspensions, the schedule (3 of last 4 on the road with the previous factors in play), and players lost since spring practice, the sum total of the off the field distractions, I’d say that might make for a 1-4 season so far.
The D scheme is the one you want now based on the spread and pistol formations. Look at the teams using it. Florida is a 5-2, but watch their speed on the D side and how they use it to get back in a play. Players are learning it and the coaches (3 new ones) are on the learning curve too. I hold my rounds before I crank them out.
The offense. I see issues with the assistants. McClendon is not a RB coach. Put Ball back there again. Lilly is not a TE coach…FSU never employed a TE in their schemes as the Dawgs have. The line blocking for various reasons has not set itself. The change in practice Monday should help that. I think too many DC have read and studied our sets, personnel usage, and tendencies…they have them down. That with a young, inexperienced QB who is growing is a big part of any offensive. Again CMR made the comment about Murray holding the ball too long. Holding the ball is timing not pass protection failure. It can happen when he has all day. Murrays numbers in the QB D1 stats are good. He does a good job of not giving up the ball. He will become a very savvy QB in time. He can get the ball out and down with speed and accuracy. I’m more impressed with him than any QB UGA has had in a while.
I think Bobo needs better sets or plays to take advantage of his personnel, plus I’d like to see the O line not give away pass and running plays. I like the spread, and Murray is built (physically and mentally for it) for the spread or a hybrid.
CMR is not Bear Bryant, but many are not. I like what Coach Dooley said about coaches and Richt. In ten years Bryant had a winning percentage of about 81%. CMR is not far behind for the same. Bryant was not limited by scholarships in those days either. Times, players, and everything is different.
Watch the plays, the sets, the personnel, and “see” if this team is growing and getting better based upon the above stated factors. D1 stats show they should be better than their record. In all sports a team can get snakebit and a few too many breakdowns at the wrong position on the field and at the wrong time in the game.
My complain rests with Bobo and McClendon, and not so much with Richt. Everyone raised hell with CMR to give up play calling and let Bobo do it.
I think Georgia would be very successful if they stayed with the 3-4, get the right roster of players on that side of the ball, and go to the spread on the other side. Can Bobo change to that.
And speaking of Bryant…did you know that GaTech and Johnson use the same number system that Bryant used…a lot of teams do. Bryant could not swim, but he could walk on water.
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I hate this losing streak as much as anyone; but we haven’t been blown out this year….yet! the past few years have been a disaster getting creamed by UF, AL, and UT. Even though we’ve lost 4 games this year, we’re only a couple plays each game from winning them all. Yes, the execution is on the coaches and players to focus and know how to win a game. CMR has done it before and deserves a chance to fix it. We still have some big games to play this year and can get the ship back on track.
USC will have at least 3 conference losses; and what if LSU beats UF this week? Well, the Dawgs could still have a chance at the SEC East with tie-breakers. I know it’s a long shot; but it’s still possible. So, if you’re a true fan; you’ll stay behind the team and worry about coaching changes this winter. CMR and the team need the support of the Bulldawg Nation. Go Dawgs!!!!
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WOW!
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Wow, indeed. Somebody needs to take the kool-aid away from him, or perhaps the crack pipe.
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…because if there’s one thing we don’t need right now, it’s optimism. Crazy bastard!
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You apparently don’t know the difference between being optimistic and delusional.
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My point is that there are not a lot of coaches out there right now that have really good resumes and would be willing to leave where there are currently. Chris Peterson of Boise State, the Stanford coach, who else? There’s not many.
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Les Miles.
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And Les Miles, and hey, he won a Natty.
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Hey! I resent you guys talking about me like you have! it’s insulting. I am 5-0 this season and I won a NATTY! (I just get no respect).
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Seriously, lay off the cyber stalking and hair trigger attacks.
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Basically, he says there are two ways to play like a bad team.
There is the play focused, hard and smart but don’t have much talent way or the Georgia way.
You know I have always had a problem when people say Georgia is dogging it.
Where did they get that, anyway?
All the dogs I know are not sluggish, soft, and stupid.
P!sses me off.
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Russ, they are just jealous at the size of your natties.
Now go bite a wideout.
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For perspective, let’s review the record of the man who was the greatest Bulldog Coach ever-Vince Dooley:
1964 7-3-1
1965 6-4
1966 10-1
1967 7-4
1968 8-2-1
1969 5-5-1
1970 5-5
1971 11-1
1972 7-4
1973 7-4-1
1974 6-6
1975 9-3
1976 10-2
1977 5-6
1978 9-2-1
1979 6-5
1980 12-0
1981 10-2
1982 11-1
1983 10-1-1
1984 7-4-1
1985 7-3-2
1986 8-4
1987 9-3
1988 9-3
Out of 25 years, Coach Dooley won at least 9 games 11 times–less than half. There were 6 years in which Coach Dooley won 6 games or less–approx 25% of his coaching tenure. Coach Dooley’s best years were primarily tied to one player–Hershel Walker. Can we conclude from the resume of a Hall of Fame Coach that there will be some years where your team will simply not be that good, and that one can expect to field a .500 team about one year out of four. Coach Richt started strong and has had great years up till now. the fans screamed after an 8-5 year last year, but looking at Coach Doley’s record and comparing that to Coach Richt’s record to date, we can conclude that Coach Richt is ahead of the curve and that we, the fans, and the sportswriters and others, should not expect to dominate every year and that we should learn to be patient during the cycle when hit with a downturn. I don’t believe that Coach Richt has forgotten how to coach or forgotten how to run a program. Many will say that we are entitled to success every year because Coach Richt, like alot of others in his profession, is paid alot of money. While it is true that the economies of scale are larger now than in Coach Dooley’s era, that doesn’t change the frequency of the cycle of football success. It comes and goes, no matter how much money is involved. Besides, Coach Dooley was paid well, comparatively speaking, during his era. Let us then be patient and supportive during this time of difficulty and realize that our players are trying hard. Let us heartily cheer our Dawgs this Saturday and let them know we are behind them, in good times and in bad.
William C. McCalley
Moultrie, Georgia
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I find myself waffling between this mindset and that of the doomiest and gloomiest after the Colorado loss. I take heart in the look on Richt’s face during the MSU game (I’ve never seen him look so pissed during a game) and the fact that he has done something this week that he has never done before (full 11 on 11 with 1’s vs. 1’s on a Monday). It is obvious he recognizes that there are problems. Whether he will make the right diagnoses remains to be seen, but it’s probably unfair to assume he can’t given his record to date.
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