In this day and age of fairly instant gratification, this is a noteworthy set of facts:
In Mark Richt’s 14 seasons at Georgia, 12 other SEC teams have made more than four dozen coaching changes. Listed below are the 50 men who have coached at least one SEC game during Richt’s tenure. Special attention is given to Gary Pinkel, who has coached at Missouri for 14 seasons (three in the SEC) and Florida’s Jim McElwain, who was recently hired to lead the Gators.
Florida: Steve Spurrier (1990-2001), Ron Zook (2002-04), Charlie Strong (2004), Urban Meyer (2005-10), Will Muschamp (2011-14), D.J. Durkin (2014) Jim McElwain (2015) (7)
Texas A&M: R.C. Slocum (1989-2002), Dennis Franchione (2003-07), Gary Darnell (2007), Mike Sherman (2008-11), Tim DeRuyter (2011), Kevin Sumlin (2012-present) (6)
Arkansas: Houston Nutt (1998-2007), Reggie Herring (2007), Bobby Petrino (2008-11), John L. Smith (2012), Brent Bielema (2013-present) (5)
Tennessee: Phillip Fulmer (1992-2008), Lane Kiffin (2009), Derek Dooley (2010-12), Jim Chaney (2012), Butch Jones (2013-present) (5)
Vanderbilt: Woody Widenhofer (1997-2001), Bobby Johnson (2002-2009), Robbie Caldwell (2010), James Franklin (2011-13), Derek Mason (2014-present) (5)
Alabama: Dennis Franchione (2001-02), Mike Price (2003), Mike Shula (2003-06), Joe Kines (2006), Nick Saban (2007-present) (4)
Ole Miss: David Cutcliffe (1998-2004), Ed Orgeron (2005-07), Houston Nutt (2008-11), Hugh Freeze (2012-present) (4)
Kentucky: Guy Morriss (2001-02), Rich Brooks (2003-09), Joker Phillips (2010-12), Mark Stoops (2013-present) (4)
Auburn: Tommy Tuberville (1998-2007), Gene Chizik (2008-12), Gus Malzahn (2013- present) (3)
Mississippi State: Jackie Sherrill (1991-2003), Sylvester Croom (2004-08), Dan Mullen (2009-present) (3)
Missouri: Gary Pinkel (2001-present) (1)
LSU: Nick Saban (2000-04), Les Miles (2005-present) (2)
South Carolina: Lou Holtz (1999-2004), Steve Spurrier (2005-present) (2)
Talk about your ups and downs. And one in particular.
When it comes to installing a revolving door in the head coach’s office, however, the SEC’s grand-prize winner is Florida, which with the recent hire of Jim McElwain brings the number of men who have been the Gators’ head coach — including two interims to cover for coaches fired in-season — to seven.
It’s true that since 2001 Florida has won two national championships and had Urban Meyer on the sidelines for six years, but as a whole, the other eight seasons clearly have not been pretty.
And Jeremy Foley is considered to be one of the more astute ADs in the business (not to mention McGarity’s mentor).
Peaks and valleys ain’t the Georgia Way. Which isn’t to say it couldn’t happen. But a couple of things about that list are pretty clear. One, even at powerhouse programs, long-term coaching stability is more a myth than a reality. Two, constant turnover gets expensive after a while. You may be ready for that kind of approach to running a football program, but that’s not the relevant perspective here. Is B-M ready for it?
Get The Picture 
Some programs are not satisfied with mediocrity and are willing to take a chance. Unfortunately that approach costs money. But at least they must be given credit for trying to bring their respective programs to a higher level.
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I’m not arguing you’re wrong about that.
I just wonder if we’re prepared to see what comes of the folks in Athens trying it.
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Even the ones that are good at it get mixed results. FU got 2 SEC Championships and 2 BCS Nat Championships out of Meyer but, as was pointed out, look at the rest of the seasons/coaches they have had. UT fired a HC with a 75% lifetime winning percentage, have now been through 3 HCs (I don’t count the interim coaches) and still is a mess. It seems the teams with the least turnover (Mizzou, LSU, Bama, UGA) have been the most successful. I also disagree with NoAxe’s implication above that 9-3 regular seasons are mediocre. Tell that to Ole Miss, Misy State Vandy and UK which seem to top out with 8-9 wins once in a while and dance in the street when that happens. Even Ole Miss (9-3 this year) and Missy State (10-2 this year) hardly ever seem to reach those heights–those are the best records they have had in years. We at Georgia need to get serious about fixing the systemic problems at B-M and the President’s office before doing anything else about coaches IMHO.
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With respect, Axe, to equate changing coaches with not being satisfied with mediocrity seems spurious to me…in many, most of the coaching changes mediocrity was not the issue….winning at all was the issue.
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“systemic problems at B-M and the President’s office before doing anything else about coaches ” Mayor, the problem with your problem is that nobody in the UGA administration or the Board of Regents views their attitude(s) as a problem. While, as I have said before, I don’t have any problem taking a swing at either, I also realize the chances of a knockdown punch are slight, indeed.
In fact I would posit that the UGA administration and the Board of Regents view anybody who is not happy with the current state of affairs as a nut case spouting chatter that should be ignored.
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Except when that guy is either (1) President of the University; or (2) Governor of Georgia. We need one of those guys to wake up. I don’t see it with Nathan who is a Mercer alum. Maybe Jere or the next Gov.
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how Bobo leaving could be a good thing for the Ga program. First, I like Bobo and I hate to see him go. I never disparaged him like some on this blog post (Now, CTG was a different matter). With Bobo leaving, this takes Richt out of his comfort zone. I think that has been the problem for Richt for the past 6-8 years. He’s gotten too comfortable. I hope he hires someone solid from the outside. That doesn’t necessarily mean a spread, no huddle guy. I could mean an experienced guy like a Roper or Sanders. Like Pruitt has done on defense, we need someone to break up the status quo on offense. Richt didn’t forget how to coach. He cares about this program and wants to win. He’s not as cold blooded as Saban is, but I think he’s more cold-blooded than some think on this blog. All college football coaches are to some degree. This could be what the whole program needs – a shot of new blood.
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If Richt brings in a guy from the outside what happens to the current assistants? Will Richt fire them even though they have coached the most successful offenses in the history of the program just to land a big name? I don’t think so, he made Bobo he’ll make another offensive coordinator that reflects his pro style offense.
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Not that I disagree Bobo leaving could be a good thing for the program long-term, but he coached the most successful string of offenses our program has ever seen, set multiple scoring records, and developed immense quarterback talent. To me, the status quo on offense was fine.
The status quo on defense, on the other hand…let’s just say I’m glad Pruitt seems to be shaking things up.
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I think Bobo was a fine coach, with a specialty for nurturing QBs. But when you say “immense QB talent” I counter that there will likely be one 5-year NFL starter from his 14 years at UGa.
The Dawgs offense only goes with a premier tailback and none of the QBs since 2001 has acted as a prime force for a full season.
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Agreed with putting him out his comfort zone being a good thing. I don’t care if it is spread, no huddle, or pro style. If it is hurry up, UGA can’t expect Saban Bama defenses at their best. The defense doesn’t get to rest and has to defend more possessions under the pace. We’ll see what Richt is willing to do, if he has the fire, and if B-M will spend the resources with the changes.
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Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Georgia lately, has it?
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keeping drives alive with a lead has been, look at the 3 and out with Ark, this year. He didn’t have to get point but some time off the clock and winning field position would be nice. UGA fans expect the defense to play 30 minutes but defense to play 60.
On the big stage, WLOCP points were a problem, 1 TD until the game was out of hand. No adjustments for the center going out, continually running it up the middle.
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Otto, you oughtogo where the sun shines brighter for cherry pickin’ bad news. The Senator asked you a question. Try answering it.
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Mediocrity is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it. How has making changes worked out for Tennessee? Maybe that’ll change under Butch Jones, we don’t know yet, but it certainly shows you can’t turn a program on a dime, no matter what coaching talent you have. If you’re a UT fan, you have to wonder if you’d rather have held on to Phil Fulmer, at least a little longer. I certainly don’t think I’m ready to see us upend what Mark Richt has built back from the relative mediocrity (down years?) of the Goff/Donnan era. If Mark Richt were truly stagnant in his approach, perhaps I’d feel it’s worth the risk, but for now I definitely don’t think it’s worth potentially wandering through the wilderness for 5-10 years again.
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The BM crowd and the Georgia fan base are much more satisfied with being “almost” champions than they are willing to take the risk of trying a new coach. As long as the fans continue to send in the checks after the mediocre seasons, the BM crowd will, justifiably, feel like the program is doing what the fans want.
I imagine if Richt did not project such a “good man” image he would have been fired after the ’10 season. The church going, coach loving crowd are willing to overlook a lot of shortcomings in Richt because he is such a “good man”.
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Well, by your definition.. what is mediocre? in particular, where in UGA’s recent on the field history has this “mediocrity” sustained enough to warrant change at the head coaching position? In 2012 we got to the SEC championship game and within one play of winning it and going to the MNC. That year we had two losses and one of those was in that championship game. That was two years ago, and we haven’t been playing with full deck since. To say injuries hurt us last year is an understatement, and there was a lot of rebuilding to go through for us this year. The offense was a pleasant surprise, and the defense, while improved, is not stacked as it should be yet. Not making excuses but did anyone really expect us to make a run at a national title this year? I’m not defending Richt as much as I’m trying to understand what you consider mediocre? There is one defense of Richt I will make. You can’t say he’s been stagnant and unwilling to take a hard look at what he’s doing and make changes. Those may not have always worked out, but I don’t think mediocre is where this program is at, and I’m not convinced there is a compelling reason to make a head coaching change, and that has little to do with whether I like Mark Richt as a person.
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I consider mediocre continually losing games we should easily win and never winning anything of consequence. The SEC East was as weak this season as it has ever been and probably will be for a long time and we couldn’t manage to win the East with the best offense, points production wise, in Georgia history. We lost to the worst Florida team in 30 years, we lost to a 6-6 SC team, we lost to tech because they outplayed us on our field. If not for our bed crapping, Florida and SC would not have been bowl eligible this season. I consider mediocre winning 8-10 games a season with teams that are loaded with talent that many of our opponents only dream of having. I consider mediocre a fan base that is perfectly happy with those 8-10 win seasons, followed by a bowl loss to a less talented team of late. I consider mediocre the fact that “wait til next year” and “if only” have become the battle cry of the Bulldog nation. You can point to 2012 and one play and 5 yards, etc. I can point to any number of bonehead calls and plays and games where the team didn’t show up ready to play where we lost to teams we had no business even being in a close game with. If Richt hasn’t won a national championship in 14 years and hasn’t won an SEC championship in 10 years it leads me to believe it’s not going to happen with him as the coach.
I know I’m in the minority, the piles of checks that flow into BM every year show the majority of fans are tickled to death with the current state of the program. As a whole, Georgia fans are more terrified of the unknown of a new coach than they are desiring of anything more than being relevant. With the pansy ass schedules played these days, you or I could coach a team with Georgia’s talent to 8 wins a season. Kentucky, Vandy, two cupcakes and tech should be 5 automatic wins each season. Throw in a couple of conference teams having down years and there’s 7 right there. I see it as Richt actually coaching the team to about one or two wins a season and he offsets those by blowing a game or two with his coaching.
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Fair enough. While I’m okay with the state of the program today in an overall sense, there’s always room for improvement. I don’t consider myself ok with mediocrity, and as I suspected, our definition of mediocrity differs. So it’s not that I’m happy with a ceiling of 8-10 win seasons (although I admit it could be much worse), but I’m not convinced that we’ve hit the ceiling, two years removed from being in contention. Quite the opposite, I see things getting better, but sometimes taking a step forward means taking a step back. I think that happened with the Pruitt hire and the defensive restructuring. I could be wrong, but I don’t see our offensive scheme taking a hit like that with a new coordinator coming in, and with the new guy having to break in a new QB next year, I’m thinking it’s probably as good of a time to make that change as any.
Regarding where we stand, and forgetting what the market may look like… I want to see that our coach isn’t just making moves for the sake of making moves to quell the fanbase, for one.. but I do want to see an appropriate reaction to situations when status quo isn’t working. At times, that means staying the course and getting better execution through more reps (figuratively and literally). At times, it’s changing course dramatically. I think Richt’s done both. I also think we’ve seen Georgia be the victim of ‘dumb luck’ over his tenure…. when we had a team to compete for the title, we ended up outside of the conversation. Again.. not to make excuses, but the whole 2007 debacle still irks me (particularly when you see flip floppers like Herbstreit who a few years later contradicted himself when he advocated for the LSU / Bama matchup in the national title game.
Either way, I get where you’re coming from, and not trying to argue.. I respect where you’re at completely. If there is one point I’d say I think you’re wrong in, it’s that many of us fans with a divergent opinion about our head coach think we’re stuck at that 8-10 win ‘ceiling’ (I’m using that term instead of mediocrity) or that we’re giving him a pass. Improvement is key, and for me, I feel like we’re seeing it. I hope I’m right, but agree you could be as well.
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Hear! Hear!
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I get where you’re coming from, too. It’s interesting, I find that I do give Coach Richt a mulligan for doing only a slightly better than average job in the W-L dept. (compared to his peers working in the modern era with similar talent) because I like the way he represents the program. It’s an intangible that counts a lot for me.
But you are spot on about Florida and South Carolina games. Tech has a good team this year, but we still had the horses to beat them. If we win one more of those games, perhaps the season’s not a total disaster, but in retrospect 2014 was not a great year….it was not the bottom, either.
Injuries were the issue last year. Gurleygate and Gurley’s injury are the excuses this year. Goal line fumbles were the excuse for Tech game. And all fair for discussion – legit frustrations for CMR and largely out of his hands to control, but you have to have enough depth and planning to coach around bad luck…
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It seems increasingly lonely at UGA, doesn’t it? Really, none of the top teams in the SEC, and very few of the top teams nationally (?Va Tech?) have made coaching stability the virtue that UGA has. The Georgia Way seems to include stability, money in the bank, and 8 to 10 wins a year. That is our unique definition of success. We almost feel superior because we alone have followed this pattern, while others have chased championships and national relevance. IMHO, I don’t feel that other programs who have both succeeded and failed are envious of our tendency to do neither.
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This is the rub of it all. It does not matter one hill of beans what Tom, Dick or Hairy Dawg wants. The men inside B-M have to be driven to succeed beyond the all mighty dollar to make a HC change. 8-4, 10-2, 7-5 all generate money for the university. I do not have the inside knowledge that many here, there or elsewhere claim to have, but it certainly appears that little motivates the men of B-M beyond the dollar. Very few are willing to overturn the apple cart when the river of money is flowing so freely. Good or bad, we are stuck with Richt until the money stops coming in or he decides to leave.
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Skeptic, you are correct. I don’t consider we’re stuck with Richt as you seem to believe, but at this point, he will continue to be the head coach until he either decides he has had enough or the big money donors decide to cut off the money.
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For the crowd that calls us mediocre, there are about 110 other programs who would probably like to have what we have other than our whiny fan base. Let’s look at the data above:
UF – Spurrier left voluntarily in 2001. If you injected Jeremy Foley with truth serum, he would have never had SOS leave Gainesville, period. No Zooker, no Corch, no Agent Muschamp.
Bama – Coach Fran left because he thought the NCAA was going to drop the hammer in T-town. Shula was in over his head. Mal Moore was dumb enough to hire RichRod and Little Nicky fell into his lap.
Auburn – As usual, the closest to us … Ears was comfortable on the Plains when Bobby Lowder had enough. Chizik was a disaster who had someone buy him a national championship with $Cam. Malzahn had a great 1st season but lost badly to his 2 biggest rivals.
LSU – If you injected truth serum into Little Nicky, I bet he would say he should have stayed in Baton Rouge and never left for Miami. He wouldn’t have left Red Stick for T-town.
If Richt had 1 national championship or hadn’t squibbed the kickoff against tech, would we even be having this conversation?
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How many of those 110 other programs have Georgia’s talent and resources? That is what the coach lovers conveniently leave out of their arguments. Richt has all the tools to win big and he craps the bed at least twice a year. Let’s really look at the numbers that matter:
UF-2 NCs after SOS left
Bama-3 NCs and playing for another since Fran left
AU-1 NC, played for another since Tubbs left
LSU-1 NC since Nicky left, Les has an incredible record at LSU.
Georgia in the same period- 2 SEC Championships, most recent one 10 years ago.
You are probably right, if Richt had one national championship and hadn’t squibbed the kickoff we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation but he hasn’t and he did.
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I keep hearing folks repeat the “under Richt, Georgia just wins 9 or 10 games a year and that’s all they’ll ever do” line. I simply don’t understand that one. What is it about being able to win 9 or 10 games per year that prevents one from winning more? Do people truly think there is something to the Auburn approach (e.g. you have to go 3-8 one year to play for a national title the next)?
Perhaps the program is not in good shape talent-wise and Richt is overachieving by consistently winning that many games per year. I have a hard time believing that’s the case (usually the knock on him is that he doesn’t get enough out of great recruiting classes). Or perhaps we’re so frustrated because Georgia stays within striking distance of the truly elite, year-in, year-out. It is silly to believe that a coach is capable of getting a team into that stratosphere on a consistent basis yet isn’t capable of closing the deal. I’m a firm believer in the normal distribution of statistics, and over the course of Richt’s time at Georgia we’re certainly skewed far to the left of the mode when it comes to winning a national title in a year where we had the team capable of pulling it off.
There have been plenty of frustrating circumstances under Richt over the years. However, those happen under literally every single program. The Georgia fan base is on a drought and needs to get laid. To continue the analogy, LSU or Florida can go out and strike out with a girl at the bar and not worry about it all that much…they’ll just hit on the next girl. Georgia will just sit and dwell on every single detail of every word we said to her and try to figure out how we screwed up, when in reality, it probably just wasn’t going to happen.
I’m not one who would say we never need to make a change. After the South Carolina game in 2011, I thought one would have to happen because Richt had lost the team. To his credit, he brought them back, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t lose them again. But for the folks who are adamant that a change needs to be made, I’d ask them one simple question: would you want to fire him had Georgia scored at the end of the 2012 SECCG? The national title would have been a given if that happened, and I imagine our outlook as Georgia fans on the last two seasons would be completely different. If someone says they’d still make a move at head coach even with a national title, then I’ll listen to their case. If they say no, though, they’re basing far too much on one individual set of plays and extrapolating far too much out of it. Just saying “he doesn’t have what it takes to win a national title” is about as stupid as saying that Derek Jeter is a hall of famer simply because he’s “clutch”.
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You last paragraph is profound FD. Therein lies the real problem. CMR loses close, big, games even when he has really good teams in usually a spectacularly bad fashion (I won’t dwell on why.) That leaves the fanbase “frustrated.” Following your analogy, it is sort of like “coitus interruptus.” That’s why the fans sit around muttering to themselves. Personally I think it is better to go 9-3, 9-3, 9-3. 9-3, than 6-6, 11-1, 4-8, 10-2. But that’s just me. It would be good if one of those 9-3 seasons tuned into 12-0, though.
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I guess I don’t think it’s an “either/or” situation. I think, with Georgia’s talent base, resources, facilities, etc that we should be a 11-1, 9-3, 12-0, 10-2 type program with an SEC championship and a shot at the national championship at least every five years. We are not Miss State or South Carolina where we are in a state with a small population and a program that is trying to make a name for itself.
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Every 5 yrs.? 2002 Richt led the team to 13-1 and finished 3rd. Possibly with a few breaks he would have had a shot at the MNC if two teams did not finish undefeated (If my memory is correct). 2007 Richt led the team to 11-2 and would have played for the MNC but UT won the tie breaker over UGA and got to loose to LSU who went to be the MNC that yr., UGA could have given LSU a run for the money in the SECCG to be allowed into the MNC. 2012 well something about 3 yds. short that year. That seems like every 5 yrs. Richt is knocking on the door. OK maybe 2017 they door will open.
Keep in mind the powers that be in BM are not from AU or Bama where they are ONLY defined only by their success on the field. Nor does Richt have Huntley Johnson for player protection services. Nor does Richt have LSU’s drug testing team. Richt and his staff do not complete on a completely level playing field.
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I don’t think it is an either-or situation, either. But given your standard, you can look at schools like LSU or Texas A&M who have just as many systemic advantages as we do and haven’t won as many games over the past three years. Auburn recruits the same players we do given their proximity to Georgia and they haven’t been as consistently good as we have (we’re 9-5 against them under Richt and on a 7-2 run in the series).
There are really only four programs I can think of right now nationally who match the kind of consistency you’re describing over the past three years: Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, and Florida State (maybe not-so-ironically the four teams playing for the title this year). Oregon has consistently won 11 or 12 games in a strong conference, but they’ve always stubbed their toes and have just as many titles as we do in Athens recently to show for their efforts. Ohio State and Florida State play in weak leagues that simply don’t present as many opportunities for toe-stubbing…seriously, we’re bashing our coach for losing to a bad Florida team (and to be fair that’s one of the worst losses that fall on Richt in his career), while FSU only beat them by five at home. In reality Florida may have been the most talented team FSU played all year.
Alabama is on a run since 2008 that is on par with the greatest dynasties in the history of college football. While I’d love to see that happen in Athens, that’s just not realistic; it wouldn’t have been realistic to expect it in Tuscaloosa in 2008. And that’s really the problem. We’re having to compare ourselves against this current improbably Alabama run since they’re one state over and we recruit against them. I don’t remember us going so nutty over not being able to match the success of Tom Osborne’s mid-90s Nebraska teams.
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I’m assuming by your handle that you’ve followed Georgia football at least since the early 80’s. If so, why do you think we’re mediocre now when historically, we have the winningest coach in our history? By your definition, we’ve only been mediocre or worse over the course of our football history (barring 1980 and 1942, and perhaps 1946 even though we finished 3rd).
I agree that Richt can improve some things. All coaches can. However, I think we’re better now than we’ve ever been, and I’d rather support Richt to get over the hump. I trust that he knows what needs improving and wants to win way more than you, I or anyone else posting here does.
I agree that at some point everyone hits a ceiling. I just don’t think Richt has hit his yet. You obviously disagree. Since Richt isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I’d rather pull for him to make it rather than worry that he won’t. Just makes the games more fun for me.
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Among the SEC teams that were in the mix for a national title (or in the playoffs this year) since Richt arrived:
2001: Tennessee – lost at home to 8-4 Georgia, lost as a big favorite to LSU in the SECCG
2002: Georgia – bad loss to Florida
2003: LSU – bad home loss to Florida
2005: Georgia – bad loss to Florida, close home loss to Auburn
2006: Florida – double digit road loss to Auburn
2007: LSU – two OT losses to mediocre Arkansas and Kentucky teams
2008: Florida – home loss to 8-4 Ole Miss
2011: LSU and Bama both lost to one another
2012: Alabama – let A&M run all over the field on them
2013: Auburn – smoked by two TDs at LSU
2014: Alabama – road loss at Ole Miss
Point being, the only teams in the SEC since Richt arrived who haven’t experienced coitus interruptus were 2004 Auburn, 2009 Alabama, and 2010 Auburn (and they were coached by a complete moron). Obviously we need to just win them all for Richt to get over the hump because he clearly isn’t going to get the breaks most of these other teams got, but this shows just how difficult that is to do in our league.
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None of those team were smoked like UGA/UT ’07 or WLOCP this year.
’13 Auburn LSU was 2 TDs but also take the look of what point in the season/program was that? Ole Miss Bama this year was close as was Bama/A&M ’12
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None of those teams were smoked, but those are the ones that either played for a national title or were the SEC’s best shot at it. If we want to talk about 2007 or this year, I can find plenty of highly-talented two- or three-loss teams out there who did get smoked. Truth be told, the 2007 team only was in the discussion that year because LSU was the only great team in the entire country and even they dicked around and lost a couple of games they shouldn’t have.
As far as when Auburn lost, that shouldn’t matter one bit. I’d argue that LSU was much more indicative of the ability of the ’13 team than the Georgia or Alabama games were.
As far as Alabama losing a close one to Ole Miss…can you imagine any sort of scenario where Georgia fans give Mark Richt a pass for losing our only game to Ole f-ing Miss if that keeps us out of the national title game? They were pretty good this year, but they’re still Ole Miss. They were only one game better than that 2002 Florida team we blew our MNC shot against, equivalent to the 2005 Florida team we blew that season against, and equivalent to the 2007 Tennessee team.
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Many UGA fans wouldn’t give him a pass because it is the track record. Bama has lost 1 close but won out enough to get to the SECCG and win it not coming up 6 yards short. I disagree with Ole Miss being Ole Miss, they were Top 5-7 until their WR went out against Auburn. The only aspect that they were Ole Miss is they still don’t have the depth of Bama, LSU, Auburn etc
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“I disagree with Ole Miss being Ole Miss, they were Top 5-7 until their WR went out against Auburn. The only aspect that they were Ole Miss is they still don’t have the depth of Bama, LSU, Auburn etc”
So what exactly is different about close UGA losses to South Carolina in Columbia that derail the UGA season?
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“As far as when Auburn lost, that shouldn’t matter one bit. I’d argue that LSU was much more indicative of the ability of the ’13 team than the Georgia or Alabama games were.”
So 1 game was more indicative than 2?
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In the case of the extremely unlikely events that it took for them to win the Georgia and Alabama games, I’d say absolutely.
Besides, I’ve also got narrow home wins against Washington State, Mississippi State, and Mississippi on my side of the ledger. They could have easily lost any of those three, particularly the MSU game.
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But they won the close games, more times than not. unlike UGA SECCG12, GT this year, Auburn last year.
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So what you’re saying is that Mark Richt needs to do a better job of coaching the other team’s defensive backs to tip inaccurate, last-ditch passes to his players and making the other team’s coach give up 109-yard field goal attempt returns. Got it.
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What I’m saying is the offense was not rehearse enough in the 2 minute drill. The play should be called earlier, you can watch the sideline and QB to see the dislink between a verteran QB and OC. It would have been better to spike the ball and get 1 organized play off. Thinking Bobo would catch Saban off guard with a few seconds on the clock is lunacy.
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Otto, the two minute offense was extremely well rehearsed, and while you may have a different opinion about the call chosen, it was one of two viable options. They were way ahead of you, Murray, Bobo, and Richt were in control, the play just didn’t work, and a play by Bama resulted in it costing us the chance for a 2nd play. Anyone who listened to the explanation could never say that had not rehearsed, or weren’t on the same page. As for out coaching saban at the end, you should go back and look at saban blowing the end of the 1st half of that game and, of course the Iron Bowl in 2013. Stop with the hero worship, saban is good, so is Richt. Wonder what UGA could be if everyone (fans, admin, staff, and players) got on the same page and stopped with the hate?
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Reminds me of the norm theory of counterfactuals. It was easier to take the loss to Florida, than the one to South Carolina, or Lex Luthor’s “I’d rather fail spectacularly than succeed minimally.”
“In 1986, behavioral scientists Daniel Kahneman and Dale Miller developed “norm theory,” which suggests that humans engage in a lot of counterfactual thinking: We evaluate our experiences by asking about what might have happened instead. If you miss a train by two minutes, you’re likely to be more upset than if you miss it by an hour, and if you finish second in some competition, you might well be less happy than if you had come in third.” –from kottke.org
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He didn’t win ’12 SECCG and actually blew it in the most expected CMR way possible. I disagree with talent, UGA classes are always highly rated. If it is talent, it is because the coaches evaluated or used talent incorrectly (Carlton Thomas up the middle)
I wanted CMR out prior to the ’12 SECCG game, and had a fear UGA would never get him out if he did win it all. In my opinion UGA is equal to Texas under Mack Brown, regularly beaten on a neutral site to their national title winning rival, consistently near the top , but just short. I expect Richt will eventually get a title just as Mack Brown did. However how many would another coach have? UGA has the resources to be up there with UF, Bama, Oklahoma, etc. If Richt had Murray be his Vince Young, I would still be expecting to see this season play out as it did, National title talent coming up short.
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This is the blind faith I love. What in the history of the Georgia program makes that so?
You can keep insisting that it all looks great on paper, but the reality is Georgia’s one national title in the modern era came when it had the greatest college football player ever. That’s the Georgia Way.
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4th most talent producing state, one of the most profitable programs in the country. UGA has the funds and talent just as Florida did before ’92. The fans have to demand it from B-M and the staff. The landscape has change for the state of Georgia just as it did for Florida.
By your argument Florida should expect to be mediocre with a great player coming up just short (SOS as QB)
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Yes, it’s us. The fans. If we only demanded success, we’d have it.
If it helps the cause any, unlike my previous 30+ years as a fan of the program, I hereby demand success. Let me know if that works.
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ok will you reduce donations, give up seats, stop in any way giving funds to the program? It is more than verbal
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You really don’t get this, do you?
Remember Michael Adams? He really did lead to a significant reduction in giving to UGA. Notice any changes as a result?
Not only that, but Jim Delany is telling people the next Big Ten Network deal should net each conference team $50 million a year. The product is shifting from a fan-based one to a viewer-based one before our very eyes.
What you suggest only works if the administration gives a shit about excellence. Given Georgia’s established track record, I’d say you’re gonna be disappointed.
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I say I’m willing to accept greater decline to bring about good times. Yes I remember Adams.
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The administration remembers Adams, too. That’s why it doesn’t care what you’re willing to accept.
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The fans are not willing to do what it takes, UGA has a culture of accepting. Attendance did drop under Goff, and Donnan, changes were made. Attendance has not not dropped recently for home games. As 1 fan no they don’t care but I am willing to speak out and maybe get the topic started.
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Goff was there for, what, seven years? Georgia had several losing seasons at the tail end of his stint. And Dooley still gave him an extra year. To equate the state of the program then with now is a real stretch.
As for Donnan, he was dismissed because Michael Adams got tired of losing to Georgia Tech. If you want to think Adams was responding to the will of the fans there, be my guest. But that would be a first.
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I don’t believe the equating the under performance of the program to the state it was under Donnan is that much of a stretch.
http://patrickgarbin.blogspot.com/2014/12/so-it-hurts.html
The end of the bog links to other interesting stats. It may not be as bad but less of a stretch than most think.
Hopefully the coaching turning over will get things moving up again.
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Perhaps you should read my comment again. The “stretch” I referred to was your comparison with Goff. Got any links for that?
As for Donnan, Richt at least won the East twice in the last four seasons.
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Do you honestly think that Bama (just for an example) operates the way it does because they live in fear that the fans will stop financially supporting the program?
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Bama fans never let it get to the point of funding and make sure hires from Pres. to AD support the program.
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And how exactly do they do that?
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Senator you underestimate the power of the internets.
Maybe we could start a change.org petition demanding success.
Nominate all the GTP readers to the UGA tailgate challenge to demand success?
Of course then what we’ll probably end up with as a result will just be a link from McGarity to his gofundme account for an IPF. 🙂
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Mark Richt flat-out outcoached Nick Saban in the 2012 SECCG with a defense that physically had no answer for stopping the Tide when they made the decision to go to the jumbo set and run it down our throats with one of the greatest offensive lines in college football history. I’m not sure what you’re talking about here. In fact, when we look head-to-to head, you’ve seen Richt outcoach Saban twice (2004 and 2012), Saban outcoach Richt twice (2003 SECCG and 2008), and two coaching draws (2003 regular season and 2007).
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lol Saban let Bobo run the play off without calling a time out, he didn’t think UGA could put together a play on the goal line and trusted his defense to be in formation, and UGA scrambling. It played out that wy the QB called for the spike, coaches were calling for a play. UGA rushed and tossed a prayer. When it was critical Saban out coached Bobo.
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That was two damn good teams going at one another. Someone had to win…did not mean one outcoached the other that night. Not sure why folks can’t handle being the second best team in the Country that year. Close but no cigar. Oh the Mediocrity.
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Nope. Just plain nope. That is so very much revisionist, hindsight bologna. I will go to my grave defending the play instead of the spike apparently, but if Gurley steps up and undercuts the blitzer, Murray gets a pass into the endzone to Mitchell in a one-on-one matchup. That is 100% the best case scenario for Georgia in that situation. Give your best player a chance to make a play.
What magical play could Georgia draw up after spiking it to guarantee a better outcome than getting your best receiver singled up on the outside? If play-calling is about percentages, then the higher percentage play is to call what was called. An Alabama player just tipped the ball enough that it didn’t get batted down, but it went into the hands of Conley who instinctively caught it just short of the goalline. I think the coaches handled that end-of-game scenario as well as they could have. Saban, in no way, out-coached Richt or Bobo in that game.
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In fact, Saban by his own admission made the bad calls at the end of the first half that would have been the margin of our victory if we had scored at the end. Plus, Saban’s terrible special teams bit him with our block/score of their punt. Saban is a great coach, but he isn’t without the same flaws that Georgia fans blame Richt for.
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BTW Bobo in 7 of 15 possessions only went 3 downs before a punt or turnover
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Wait, you were talking about Bobo? If that’s the case, you can rest easy. He’s no longer employed by the University of Georgia.
Also, I like how you’re ignoring the entire game to concentrate on one play that could be argued either way (Richt’s defense of running the play was a completely valid, even if the particular play didn’t work in hindsight; there’s nothing to guarantee that we would have scored a TD following a spike). If that’s the standard you want to use, then Richt also outcoached Saban in the 2007 game because he was smart enough to let Bobo call a bomb on the first play of OT.
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The entire game, I followed up with a very brief stat for the result every offensive possession. Bobo was a Richt hire, and Richt could have called the time out or at any point changed play calling.
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“Bobo was a Richt hire, and Richt could have called the time out or at any point changed play calling.”
Even easier would be to turn off the Xbox and turn it back on instead of saving after we lost. Everything is that controllable, right?
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With the crazy salary inflation for Head Coaches and staff, the cost of a miss is really going to hurt when they’re carrying 4 year contracts for recrutiing stability. Buyout for a $3.5M+ coach ,toss in a couple of coordinators with two or three year contracts making in $800 to $1M range plus paying the buyout to the school you stole the new $3.5M+ coach from… could be a $20M whiff.going forward.
I think the money involved is going to force schools to slow down the merry-go-round because no AD budget is going to be able to take that kind of hit twice in 5 years unless they’re printing money in the basement..
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BM should have half the money they need fro the IPF just in BUYOUT SAVINGS.
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It is going to take a few major programs ending up in bankruptcy for the chase to slow down just yet. So far Tennessee is the only one who has hit that problem but that wasn’t really related to this recent spiral in coaching salaries and facilities building. That was just poor management on the part of their AD.
You’d have to guess that the Mississippi schools are going to be among the first to see the bubble pop. They’re trying to run with LSU, A&M, and Alabama when in reality there’s simply no way they can consistently keep up with those programs. Baylor has a good shot at being another bubble. There are probably a couple of lesser Pac-12 schools who will try to enter the money race and fail miserably. Auburn has more systemic advantages than these other candidates, but their complete lack of concern for anything beyond the current season (in any sport) and their proclivity to spend like drunken sailors in port makes them a potential candidate as well.
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I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, we are not fans we are experts and too many of us will never be satisfied with Richt, Bobo or their replacements. The continuation of this discussion proves it.
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Ahhh…the 15% ers (so named from the GTP poll showing only about 15% of the responders thought Richt should go) show up early and obnoxiously loud this morning. Facts mean little to this crowd, nor originality of thought, debate or even use of the English language. “Mediocre”….indeed. Gentlemen, the more you keep shouting (or really parroting for most of you) a stupid statement, it’s still never going to become true.
So that others may enjoy the facts, 5 out of 50 HC’s in the SEC have won a national championship (I’m including Spurrier, even though his did not occur in the 2001 – present time frame being discussed, but OBC and all, let’s include him anyway to keep the fire of jealousy strong). That’s 10% for you 15% er’s who struggle with the maths.
In addition, Richt has the 2nd highest winning % in the SEC. LSU is first having enjoyed 2 of the 5 HC’s that won MNC’s. (That’s 40% of the coaches who’ve won boys….50% if we throw Spurrier 2.0 to the curb). Richt is #8 in the nation in wins since 2001.
Odds say you should continue to ride this horse. There is not a guarantee with anyone else, even at the now $8 – $10 million price tag it takes to get the “next Saban”.
Let’s be clear…I’ve not insulted any of you personally. I’ve merely pointed-out the disingenuous argument you continue to spew here for what it is. Bring some substance if you’re capable. Criticise Richt for real flaws (and I’m not sure his religious beliefs should be considered, but if you want to keep childishly going there, feel free to keep showing your anonymous ass). Recommend changes. But show some sign of intelligence in doing so by recognizing the facts the good Senator keeps laying out….there is absolutely NO PROOF coaching turnover rewards a program. The cost of turnover is getting outrageously expensive that can hamper a program in the long run. And there are FEW coaches better than Richt, so the odds of getting someone are terribly remote.
Certainly the day will come when UGA will have to face these issues head-on. Nearly all analysis concludes that now is not that time. Rant away 15% ers,…it’s all you seem capable of doing.
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+100
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Post of the day – well stated, Aus
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So, your post was to RANT about the “15%ers,” as you call them, who come on here to rant? That makes sense. By the way, you left off the statistic about no championships to speak of since 2005.
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Sir, that was no rant, but instead a well considered comment complete with factual information and invitation to further join the debate. I would sincerely enjoy the opportunity to engage you in a battle of wits, but, alas, I see you are completely unarmed.
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Of course let them rant…because nobody who actually matters cares what the ranters rant about…ranters gotta rant…
I, on the other hand, am concerned that since I have not even thought about going to church since before the war, am I allowed to be a Mark Richt fan?
Bircher Dawgs….great sound and fury signifying nothing.
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If Mark Richt were of a different race, country or planet would it matter to this particular conversation? I’d suggest not and see no reason why his religion makes a difference either, but I find it interesting (and slightly offensive) that many of his detractors try to infer some type of problem, weakness or other flaw in his coaching or accuse others who support his religion to be blind apostles.
I mean, did Jesus, Allah, Moses or the Pope tell him to squib kick it?
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True, while this has been one of the more reasonable discussions on the subject held here in many moons, that one very weird comment about religion and being a “good man” was strange by any measurement. I am sure the number of people who want to keep him because he is a “Christian” is less than 5%. I think his support numbers would be similar if he were Jewish, or agnostic. I know it doesn’t impact my feelings at all, and have never had a discussion with anyone that felt differently, which isn’t to say that number is zero. In fact, that number might be smaller than those who want him out simply because he is a Christian given the number of negatrons who wallow in that choice of faith issue here.
Now the “good man” argument, and how well he represents the program is often brought up as “a”, not “the”, reason for supporting him. I have to admit, it boggles my mind when I hear someone against being a “good man”, a police person, a successful business person, supporting our American way of life, etc. Yet, that is out of favor with some in that 15% (I know a few that want a change but, fortunately, none for that reason.) I feel like I have traveled to the Twilight Zone and left the place I once understood well, the apocalypse cannot be far off.
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Mac that Richt is an openly religious man makes a small group of folks uncomfortable. Since Richt is also an openly damn fine football coach, that same small group simply has to believe that his religion is bad for coaching football.
The most recent testament (forgive me) to Richt being a good man is his taking the heat for the squib kick call. Whether or not he actually made the call, he took the blame.
Nick Saban, also a damn fine football coach, on the other hand suggested Bama’s botching of the field goal try against Auburn last year was the result of a team error.
Neither approach is bad, or even wrong. But I would be less than candid if I did not wonder if maybe I should go to church more. 🙂
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“Well considered comment?” Hilarious. Keep ’em coming.
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Poking fun at your intellectual betters…hilarious, no doubt you will keep them coming.
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Guy is an immature tool, virtually every person old enough to type is his intellectual superior. Not worth your band with to engage. First clue was dude in the name, then came the shallow thoughts.
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“(not to mention McGarity’s mentor).” mmmm…I am sure working for Foley had an influence, but he worked at Georgia under Dooley quite a while, too.
Saying Foley is McGarity’s mentor suits your argument.
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Is there a rule that someone can only have one mentor?
Besides, what McGarity’s responsibilities were under Dooley and what they were under Foley were different.
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“Is there a rule that someone can only have one mentor?”
I hope not, cause that is exactly what I am saying.
Certainly the pupil may respond to that mentorship in different and unpredictable ways. (See Evans, Damon)
Foley, for instance, compared to the Joel Eaves mentored-Dooley seems like a spendthrift to me.
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On a completely different note, I see that Bielema got boned by the spell-checker again.
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The Damn the Torpedoes, Fire Richt crowd would have more of a leg to stand on if there was evidence Richt was complacent. He’s not. He fired one of his best friends when the defense went south. He replaced another close friend, Van Halanger, when strength and conditioning took a step back. He hired Pruitt away from the defending national champion, which I think will pay off big time. He works his ass off on the recruiting trail.
All this “mediocrity” bullshit comes on the basis of an inexplicable loss to Florida and a squib kick. Yeah, those sucked, but to dwell on those is to ignore the good things he did this year under tough circumstances.
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Majority of the offensive staff have been in place for years, and while they regularly put up good stats over the season, blow it on the big stage.
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What big stages are you talking about? The noon SEC Network start against Georgia Tech or the one in which they were 13-point favorites over Florida this year so few people were paying close attention? How about the noon SEC Network start against Missouri last year? Do you even understand the words that you’re typing?
The biggest stages of the past three years for Georgia were probably:
2012: Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama
2013: Clemson, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn
2014: Clemson, South Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, Auburn
In only two of those (2012 SC and UF) could you say that the offense had a bad enough day to “blow it on the big stage”. And only one of those was actually a loss.
So either you’re unaware of what you’re talking about or you’re selectively defining what a “big stage” is to make sure you include all of the losses you can while ignoring bigger stages, such as the the 2013 LSU game, where the offense was absolutely lights-out and won a game in spite of the defense.
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Richt fired his friend 2 or 3 years after the defense went south and only once his own job was on the line. Richt also said there would be no changes in the staff after the 2013 season, he didn’t fire Grantham and go after Pruitt because he wanted a great DC.
The “mediocrity” comments do not come from two games this season (three actually, you are forgetting first and goal from the four), they come from 6 years of under performing. 2012 is the only season since 2007 the team played well (and we crapped the bed against SC that year), and we still managed to come out of the season with nothing of consequence.
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To me, the 2008 game against Bama was very revealing about CMR and our program. With Stafford, Moreno,Green, etc., we were embarrassed at home by the new class of the conference. Unfortunately for UGA, in my opinion, the SEC east has tanked since then and we have generally avoided playing the best teams from the west most years, so our mediocre level of play has been masked to some degree. Nine or ten wins with our recent schedule is not much to brag about in the scheme of things, and it conceals somewhat the fact that we remain a middle of the road SEC program.
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In 2012, there was a 12-win team, two 11-win teams, and a 9-win team in the East. In 2013, there was a 12-win team, an 11-win team, an 8-win team that was a nose hair away from sweeping LSU and Auburn, and a 9-win team.
Yeah, the East sucked this year from top to bottom (one 10-win team with a home loss to Indiana and one 9-win team with a home loss to Georgia Tech), but this is really the first year that it has been on par with an ACC division.
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The East has been dominated by the West for several years now. The East has not had a nationally relevant team since Meyer left. More wins per year by Missouri or SC, for example, may just mean that the traditional powers (UF, UT, and UGA) are all down. Just my opinion.
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Georgia wasn’t relevant in ’12 in a game everyone nationally was calling a national semifinal? That’s some historical revisionism right out of the glory days of the USSR.
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Not to mention that Missouri would have very much been in the mix to play Florida state had they beaten Auburn in Atlanta.
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Wow. We lost the game, did not win the conference, and played in the Citrus Bowl, I believe. National relevance at least means winning the conference game and playing in a bowl game with title implications, IMO. There is no partial credit in football for moral victories or close losses.
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I agree with other here, if you don’t think we were in the mix/discussion nationally in 2012..you were just not paying attention.
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So, just to be clear, there are only two relevant teams each year prior to this one, and only one had a successful season. Got it.
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Winning the SEC East was an accomplishment, I agree. But I don’t think that put us back on the national stage. I certainly leave room for disagreement, however, and I recognize that my choice of words leaves room for differing opinions.
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Yes, I can see my choice of words was poor. I guess simply a conference championship instead of the ambiguous “nationally relevant” phrase would be much better. So, maybe this: “an SEC East team has not won an SEC championship since Meyer left”. I am pretty sure that is accurate and a better way to make my point.
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Which, even when made better, is still a weak point. Headline readers rarely get the story right. Sometimes “the rest of the story” tells the real truth. UGA can play with anyone, when , except in the HW days has that been true? We are one of the very best programs in America, what exactly is required from the fans at this school? Better turn your guns on the pathetic AD and appreciate the HC we have, things can get much, much worse….and might. But they can’t get much better year in, and year out.
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Glad this is all settled. So the fan base has settled on Richt as HC for the next 10 or 20 years. And commenters get another chance to bash the ‘fire Richt crowd’. All this while 4 other coaches are challenging for the championship. Belk Bowl here we come!
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