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Georgia AD Greg McGarity reflects on firing Mark Richt: 'jury will be out forever'
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Georgia AD Greg McGarity reflects on firing Mark Richt: 'jury will be out forever'
Georgia AD Greg McGarity has several fond memories of his tenure leading the Bulldogs, but also, he recalls one of the most difficult experiences any AD can encounter
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The truth is Richt retired a few years before he got "fired" he just didn't tell anyone or file the paperwork. He was being paid millions to win football games and he wasn't getting it done. It shouldn't have been a hard decision. He beat Georgia Southern in overtime in his final home game. Not to mention he started Faton Bauta against Florida with the SEC East on the line. The level of talent and coaching was miles behind the Alabama team that beat the fool out of Richt's team in the rain. The jury is still out on the decision? Give me a break.
Mark RIcht was a DGC. Just wasn't Saban enough or DAbo enough, Meyer enough . How many coaches are? You can count them on one hand, that tells you. The jury is not out on Richt it is out on Kirby. One can argue that the closest KIrby has gotten so far to a NC is with Richts recruits. Year after year of top 3 recruiting classes and you can't win the East. History will not look favorably on Kirby if he can't deliver a NC with better recruiting classes than Richt.
Mark Richt is a great man and was a wonderful coach for a while, and his team that beat Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl should have been National Champions. But it seemed like the last few years of his term he lost his energy. We needed to get better, and the opportunity to get one of the most talented young coaches in the nation presented itself. If we hadn't gotten Kirby Smart, somebody else would have. I'm sorry for Greg McGarity's dilemma, but the jury's not out.
I agree with those who say the jury is definitely not out on Richt - great man but lost his mojo at the end. However, I would submit the jury IS out on his replacement right now...
I disagree with the other comments, had Mark Richt been given the support that Smart has gotten, I believe he would have competed every year for a National Championship.
1, CMR, had the second best record in the SEC while he was at GA, only Saban has been better.
2, CMR was never one of the top paid coaches in the SEC, usually not in the top five.
3, For fifteen years he asked for a indoor practice facility only to be told NO.
4 While at UGA the football facility's were not comparable to the Alabamas, LSU, Fla, Tenn, TA&M, or even USC.
5,The UGA recruiting budget was about half of Alabamas
6, The assistant coaches were never among the best paid in the SEC
CMR never had the school support but was expected to compete with his plate half full.
Richt's best teams were with Donnan recruits. Should have been released after his fourth, maybe fifth year. He was once described as the most underperforming 9.5 wins per year coach in D1 because he failed to take advantage of his perennial top 5 recruiting classes. I agree.
If you want to go to heaven, hire Mark Richt, if you want a NC, find someone else.
Many are wrong about Mark Richt. The man was left behind by the powers that were in place at UGA.
They didn't get UGA into the SEC arms race until Kirby Smart told them that if they weren't willing to make the same commitment as LSU, Alabama and even Auburn, he wouldn't be coming to Georgia.
Georgia should've invested much more just as soon as Richt showed that he could be competitive.
Richt won the SEC Championship in his second year (2002 and did it again in 2005). Meanwhile Alabama, LSU and many other SEC programs were telling recruits "when you visit Georgia, ask them to show you their indoor practice facility".
The UGA President and AD didn't give Mark Richt the same support that the HC's at many other SEC programs were getting.
This has came up recently...especially since Kirby has kinda dropped off in the last few years. That said firing Richt was the right thing to do. 9-3 or 10-2 and never getting to an elite status.....That would have continued...In nay case football was not his main concern.....He had gotten to where he was buying bibles for all of the players and doing prayer meeting during practice.......I bet that wasn't very popular in Miami either
I am so tired of hearing about how unfair it was to fire Mark Richt. He should have been fired for starting Faton Bauta against Florida. That decision shows that Richt had lost his way. He had trouble dealing with Jeremy Pruitt who he hired. He made a horrible decision hiring Shotenheimer from the NFL to lead the offense and replace Mike Bobo. Losing Bobo revealed another problem. Bobo had been Richt's wing man and handled many behind the scenes issues such as Jeremy Pruitt's tendency to go around Richt when he felt Richt was not pushing for things the program needed. It took guts for McGarity to replace Richt , and you can bet he had the support of many influential supporters or it would not have happened. Thank you Greg McGarity for doing your job.
"you can bet he had the support of many influential supporters or it would not have happened."- Bingo! We have a winner. It's all about the money. Especially in major institutions. AD's don't act on their own ,they test the wind everyday.
This is a joke, right?
Revisionist history. Richt got exactly what he asked for. He wanted an upgrade of Butts-Mehta. He got exactly what he requested. That included palatial offices, new meeting rooms, and the Nalley Indoor practice facility that Pruitt called the “practice closet” which ruffled many athletic department feathers including Richt’s. Comments lamenting that Richt didn’t get the support that Kirby has gotten are off base. The problem was Richt had no vision for being a championship program. Kirby has got that in spades!
As if McGarity made the decision to fire Richt! Laughable! An AD doesn’t go from “10 wins are enough.”and handing out a raise and extension for winning the BELK BOWL to within a year firing that coach. It’s obvious, his choice was fire Richt and keep your job or pack your bags and get kicked to the curb with him!
"The problem was Richt had no vision for being a championship program. Kirby has got that in spades!" Maybe...but vision doesn't mean anything without execution. It's undeniable that we have regressed over the past 3 years. From national championship finalist to #2 in the SEC East. I certainly hope you are right about Smart but I'm not totally convinced.
Clemson fans would have loved having Kirby’s record after five years of Dabo! UF and Mullen are to UGA and Kirby what Auburn and Mullen are to Bama and Saban. They’ll get their occasional win, but there is no doubt who has the better program! The same people that complain the loudest about Smart’s “regression” to New Year’s Six bowls were just fine with Richt’s bowls out of the way by December 31.