March 10, 2021 · 6:15 AM

You can take the Dawg out of Athens…

… but not forever.

Welcome back, Coach.

As macondawg notes, every head coach Georgia’s had over the past five decades or so resides in Athens today.  Even the ones who were canned.  There’s just something about the Classic City that gets to a man.

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37 responses to “You can take the Dawg out of Athens…”

  1. munsonlarryfkajim
    March 10, 2021 at 6:34 AM

    Isn’t Richt the first one in that same time period to have another head coaching job? Dooley, Goff, Donnan at a minimum. Pre Dooley pre dates me by a good bit

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Gaskilldawg
    March 10, 2021 at 7:00 AM

    The last former UGA head coach before Richt who was a college head coach after leaving UGA was Joel Hunt, who coached us in 1938. He coached us one year and left to take the head coaching job at the University of Wyoming. Hunt succeeded Harry Mehre, one of the Butts-Mehre namesakes, who left UGA to coach at the University of Mississippi.
    Joel Hunt is in the College Football Hall of Fame as a player. Hunt brought with him as an assistant coach Wally Butts, who succeeded him in 1939. Butts was forced out after the 1960 season. Officially, he retired and remained in Athens even after death. Johnny Griffith was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech after he was fired from the UGA job, but was never again a head coach.

    Liked by 9 people

  3. Hogbody Spradlin
    March 10, 2021 at 7:22 AM

    Nicely built house. Looks brand new.

    Like

  4. Ran A
    March 10, 2021 at 7:41 AM

    Makes sense. He is still loved by the Bulldog faithful. They were here 15 years. His kids grew up here. This is home…

    Liked by 1 person

  5. eethomaswfnc
    March 10, 2021 at 7:50 AM

    Richt said when he left Tallahassee that an administrative assistant at FSU who was also from Athens told him to take a breath of the air for her. Once that place gets in your blood, it’s always a part of who you are.

    Welcome home, Coach Richt and Ms. Water Girl. It’s been long enough now. It’s time to pay the man the respect he truly deserves on the hallowed sod of Dooley Field.

    DGD.

    Liked by 9 people

  6. Got Cowdog
    March 10, 2021 at 8:07 AM

    Athens is a great town. It’s a blast for students, but it has a ton to offer for us grown ups as well. Great food, great bars, downtown…
    Throw in the excitement of gameday and the Classic City is hard to beat.

    Liked by 6 people

    • RangerRuss
      March 10, 2021 at 8:37 AM

      Athens is a great place to visit. I’ll never live there again. Bunch of gotdam hippies running that place. True educated idiots.

      Liked by 3 people

      • chuckdawg
        March 10, 2021 at 9:08 AM

        Lot of massive nostalgia going on. Athens isnt a quaint small little city anymore. Costs are relatively high. I’d need a major payraise to live there from here. I mean, i may take it if it happened, but it aint happening. I drive no more than 5 miles a day with little traffic. Thats making money. But, here, we have uneducated idiots running the place. lol.

        Like

      • classiccitycanine
        March 10, 2021 at 9:20 AM

        What have they done that’s bothered you? What’s different now that a bunch of progressives sit on the Commission?

        Like

      • Got Cowdog
        March 10, 2021 at 9:25 AM

        IDK. I’ve thought about a place there when we get ready to hang up the careers, for the reasons above. I’ll never talk Mrs. Cowdog into leaving her lake house full time, but she and I have always talked about having a place with an active downtown scene.
        I like being in Athens on gameday even though I don’t care to attend the games anymore.
        It’ll be a few more years, but I am thinking about it.

        Liked by 2 people

    • classiccitycanine
      March 10, 2021 at 9:22 AM

      Athens is great if you have disposable income. The food and drink scene here is unbeatable for a city our size. That said, there’s a shit ton of poverty here and an increasingly dysfunctional housing situation.

      Liked by 2 people

    • californiadawg
      March 10, 2021 at 11:40 AM

      I miss it like crazy and haven’t been back in about a decade now. I was set to come for Auburn last season, but 2020 had other plans. Only bummer is our schedule next season leaves a lot to be desired. What do you think our best home game will be, Kentucky? Mizzou? It’ll be so fun to be back in Sanford I honestly might not care too much.

      Like

  7. originaluglydawg
    March 10, 2021 at 8:22 AM

    This is wonderful for the Richts and is even more wonderful for the Athens community!
    Classy people for the Classic City!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. armydawg
    March 10, 2021 at 8:34 AM

    I would love to see him on the sidelines during a game as Kirby’s guest.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. PTC DAWG
    March 10, 2021 at 8:42 AM

    Athens address? Or just in the area? Athens proper isn’t what it used to be. Props to Kirby for hanging in there.

    Like

  10. debbybalcer
    March 10, 2021 at 11:46 AM

    I hope they hire him to work with the Paul Oliver Foundation. Richt is not the kind of coach to do anything but support Kirby. He did not throw Pruitt under the bus. He has been a class act since he was fired. He is a DGD!!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Tony BarnFart
    March 10, 2021 at 12:07 PM

    We’re pretty rare in our ex-coach relationship department, IMO.

    Like

  12. Derek
    March 10, 2021 at 3:52 PM

    In contrast, if you don’t flee Tuscaloosa after you’re no longer head coach, you quickly die.

    Not because you’re old or sick, but because you want to.

    Like