Mark Richt fired from UGA

[Midswat]

Mark Richt is out after 15 seasons as head coach at Georgia, the school announced Sunday.

"Coach Richt and I met Sunday morning to discuss the status of our football program," University of Georgia director of athletics J. Reid Parker said in a release. "And we mutually agreed that he would step down as head coach and would have the opportunity to accept other duties and responsibilities at UGA following the bowl game."

Richt has led Georgia to a bowl game in every season as coach of the program. A 9-3 record in 2015 qualifies Georgia for 15 consecutive bowl appearances for the Richt-led Bulldogs.

"I appreciate the opportunity of serving the University as well as considering any other options that may present themselves in the future," Richt said.
Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter @NFL_CFB.

 

[Mr.Po]

Mark Richt fired by Georgia, per source

Mark Richt fired by Georgia, per source

Georgia has fired coach Mark Richt, a family source tells ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

Richt has been the Bulldogs coach for 15 seasons and taken Georgia to a bowl game in each of the past 14 years. The Bulldogs are bowl eligible again in 2015 after a 9-3 regular season. He would pick up his 10th double-digit-win season with a bowl victory.

Even so, the Bulldogs are having a disappointing season after starting as the clear-cut favorite in the SEC East only to get blown out by Alabama and Florida.

Richt's future was the leading storyline going into Saturday's 13-7 win over Georgia Tech, with plenty of speculation that another season coming up short of expectations might be enough to lead to the school's first coaching change since Jim Donnan was fired after the 2000 season.

 

[cmd34]

Good. Chip Kelly can go there.

 

[ZeroClub]

What a great job opportunity for an outstanding coach. It is possible to recruit the best to Athens.

 

[dbair1967]

Kirby Smart, come on down

 

[dbair1967]

There's definitely hope for me now. Mark Richt and UGA ARE the Dallas Cowboys, and vice versa. They are virtual mirror images of each other. Poorly coached. A lot of talent but under performs almost annually. Stupid mistakes/penalties at the worst possible times. Cant tackle worth a shit. Talented players who lack focus and drive.

Finally they woke up in Athens, hopefully those fucking idiot Jones' do the same in Dallas.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Who are the rumored names out there to replace him?

 

[cmd34]

Who are the rumored names out there to replace him?

John Garrett.

Lane Kiffin.

Derek Dooley.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

John Garrett.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Heard a name mentioned was Tom Herman, who would be very interesting. Seems like an excellent young coach. Don't know if he has any connection to the South, but maybe that doesn't matter. If you got him, I think a bunch of Texas fans would be jealous.

I do think you old school SEC guys need to prepare for the spread to enter your league in a bigger way the next few years, though.

 

[peplaw06]

Heard a name mentioned was Tom Herman, who would be very interesting. Seems like an excellent young coach. Don't know if he has any connection to the South, but maybe that doesn't matter. If you got him, I think a bunch of Texas fans would be jealous.

I do think you old school SEC guys need to prepare for the spread to enter your league in a bigger way the next few years, though.

I was wondering about that. Lots of people thought it would happen when Urban Meyer was at Florida, but it didn't permeate the conference. Then A&M started flinging it around and we thought it would take over the SEC again... but it hasn't. It may happen simply because there are more and more coaches around the country that are doing it, and it may be hard to find a pro-style offense or run heavy offense.

But I kind of wonder if the SEC will never really flip to spread in large numbers until Saban is gone.

 

[ZeroClub]

I've heard Tom Herman mentioned.

Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator, is seen as the favorite to replace Richt. Smart played DB at Georgia; coached a bit there too.

The main downside with Smart is that Georgia may rather hire an offensive-minded coach. If so, Dan Mullen, Mississippi State head coach, might make some sense. Mullen was Urban's OC at Florida.


... I'm surprised that Les Miles now appears to be set to coach at LSU next year. If it were my decision, I'd pull the plug on him.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

But I kind of wonder if the SEC will never really flip to spread in large numbers until Saban is gone.

What do you mean, pep... Those offenses are the only ones that have a chance against Saban. If you go 70s I formation and try to run it up the gut time and again, they outphysical you and you have no chance.

 

[dbair1967]

Unless Saban has told Smart he is about to retire and hand over reigns, its almost assuredly going to be Kirby Smart at UGA.

Wont surprise me if announcement comes right after the SEC Championship game.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Aren't you a little worried their defenses are mostly Saban himself? Plus of course great recruiting.

 

[dbair1967]

According to reports, Herman has agreed to an extension at Houston.

Richt could be headed for Miami (he is a Hurricane alum)

 

[dbair1967]

Aren't you a little worried their defenses are mostly Saban himself? Plus of course great recruiting.

UGA has great recruiting base here, we can recruit against anyone (incl Alabama)

I'm sure its Saban's "system", just like I'm sure it was "Belichick's system" when Saban was with him.

UGA needs young enthusiasm badly.

 

[ZeroClub]

No argument about Georgia's recruiting base. Truly top notch. No doubt about it.

 

[Midswat]

USC named a head coach today. Some guy named Clay, I think

 

[peplaw06]

What do you mean, pep... Those offenses are the only ones that have a chance against Saban. If you go 70s I formation and try to run it up the gut time and again, they outphysical you and you have no chance.

You're right, but for some reason these other schools aren't trying to spread em out. The teams that have beaten Alabama in recent seasons (A&M and Ole Miss primarily) are throwing it around against them. But the LSUs, Auburns, and Arkansas of the world are still trying to run it on them.