Just Asking X2

Found the follow article interesting. Seems we get around to discussing this every year on this board. Others do the same.

Ok, so here we have installment number two of “Things Georgia Fans Chew On.” Last week I discussed the Legacy of Aaron Murray and this week I will throw another log on a long raging camp fire known as “Coach Richt: What’s the Debate Really About?”

I tried to think back to some of the days of seeing this debate on other boards and remembered that the debate seemed to come down to a few things. First, he can’t win the big game. Second, he is too soft and too loyal to his staff. And lastly, he under-coaches the talent he has.

1. He can’t win the big game


This one shapes up like this: What do you define as “the big game?” If it’s all about winning the National Championship, well getting to the game is kind of a prerequisite. And really, up until the mini-playoff starts, only two teams even get that shot each year.



So what is the big game OTHER than the MNC? Is it BCS bowls? Coach Richt has guided the team to three Sugar Bowls and won two of them. Is it SEC titles? We have seen two of those in his tenure also. Admittedly, we haven’t seen him beat Florida as much as we would like including the painful memory of the 2002 game that ultimately cost the Dawgs a shot at a national title but things are turning in our favor on that one also.



Maybe for some, it’s just winning big games in the regular season against ranked teams. But for every Boise State or Florida loss, there is a 2009 win over #7 Georgia Tech, a 2008 win over #11 LSU or even a 2013 win over #6 South Carolina or #6 LSU again. He has gone through the ups and downs with this through the years but I think any coach in their 13th season will go through the same (unless you pull an Urban Meyer and just quit prior to your team taking a subtle dive).

2. He is too soft and too loyal to his staff

Let’s face it; we would all like to work for someone like Coach Mark Richt in our everyday lives. And that comes from that spirit of being loyal and sincerely caring about not just the staff but the kids themselves. Is he ever going to be Saban-like in terms of ruthlessness? Not likely. He is often considered the “nice guy” of the SEC coaches but I don’t equate that to being the worst thing ever seeing as how I would bet that has led to UGA being able to pull a number of recruits just based on the relationships he builds alone. Let’s look at it this way. Did he pull Robert Nkemdiche last year or Reuben Foster? No, but both of those kids really enjoyed the relationship built with Coach Richt during the recruiting process.



Some would say he was too loyal to Mike Bobo (who is another point of UGA contention but I am not going there). Here is the problem with that. Although we all know that at times (the 2011/12 Outback Bowl comes to mind) the play calling had a tendency to become predictable, the offense has still racked up points in droves and this year has proven to be no different. So how do you fire a guy proves his team can put points on the board? This is obviously Bobo’s first Offensive Coordinator position but he has certainly grown into it and at this juncture of his career, is starting to make Coach Richt look really good for keeping him around.



Then there’s that old pesky defense. We have seen a few defensive coordinators during the Richt era .. Brian Van Gorder left for the NFL after the 2004 season after engineering the Dawgs defense that finished 4th and 6th nationally in total defense during his last two years. In comes a not so popular name in Georgia Bulldogs history, Willie Martinez. Martinez started off with some quality defenses, possibly thanks to following Van Gorder, but fell in his last two years to 53rd and 73rd nationally in scoring defense. He, along with John Jancek, was fired and in comes Todd Grantham. Grantham has been called the fire that needed to be lit for the team. In three full seasons, his defenses have finished 30th, 7th, and 29th in total defense. To date, Martinez and Jancek (both now coaching for Tennessee) are the only two coaches in the CMR era to be fired. Has Coach Richt been loyal to these guys? Sure has, but I would tend to believe it has paid off more often than not. Many of these coaches have also been very, very good recruiters and the strength of your program starts on the recruiting trail.

3. He under-coaches the talent he has

This one should be addressed short and sweet (sort of). There are 39 former Bulldogs on active NFL rosters. All but one, Champ Bailey, played for Coach Richt. Now some would say with that much talent, UGA should have won a lot more games and some more hardware to go with it. But there is another side to that. Keep in mind that Georgia is consistently among the leaders of teams with the most players in the NFL with the likes of USC, Miami and Texas. And yes, two of those teams have National Titles in recent years. But look at the vast array of teams, Michigan, Notre Dame, Auburn, Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA and many others who typically have comparable, if not higher, ranking recruiting classes as UGA and yet send not nearly as many kids to the League. Point being, we often look at why we haven’t won more with NFL talent, but what’s to say that the level of coaching many of these kids are receiving isn’t the reason they are becoming NFL talent?

Bottom line is this; we have a coach in Mark Richt who will not destroy a kids career, provide kids with luxury SUV’s, pay the kids outright or damage the career of a staff member unless absolutely necessary. He needs no course on people skills, leadership or ethics. Coach Richt wins a lot of games, 122-41 to be exact, and does this while keeping a great reputation for the program. Me personally, I would rather win 11-12 games a year with a chance at an SEC title and maybe the stars align one year for a national title, and do it RIGHT, than to win them all and have a dirty stigma over the program year after year in the process. And in the letters of many in chat rooms everywhere, JMHO.

What kind of world are we living in somebody run over my sister doberman and didn't even stop part of there car was beside the dog.
This really makes me mad as Hell!!

Hope there is a special place for them.

What kind of world are we living in

One need only look at the absolute dysfunction we call "Congress" to find the answer. We are rapidly approaching moral bankruptcy...Sad, just damn sad!

Sorry for your sisters loss, DWS!!!

Dawg With Style wrote: What kind of world are we living in somebody run over my sister doberman and didn't even stop part of there car was beside the dog.
This really makes me mad as Hell!!

Hope there is a special place for them.

UNBELIEVABLE.......sorry DWS

DwS So sorry to hear of your sister's loss I am thinking that the driver had other issues that they did not want to risk having to deal with

Law enforcement DUI comes to mind Sad Day

Thanks everybody just hard to explain to a 9 year old little girl.

Own a postive note a guy last nite said don't count Georgia out Murray has had a week with these WR remeber he didn't do too bad with them just havin to come end.