Fire Mark Richt?

17 losses to the Florida Gators in the last 20 years are not sitting too well in Bulldog land. The natives are getting restless. There is a website up at www.firemarkricht.net you can check out for some laughter. The puppy dogs are mad and they want to take it out on their coach. But do they have a right to be? Well, not really.

Mark Richt has a record of 2-7 against the Gators. That sounds bad until you stop and consider that the Dawgs were 1-11 in the 12 years before Richt got there. You have to figure at his current rate of success he should probably win one more by year 12. That would be a 3-9 mark. That’s three times better than the previous 12 years. Unfortunately they measure him up there against the previous two decades. In the 70s and 80s, the Dawgs were 15-5 vs. UF. However, this was your daddy’s UF. That was a whole different animal. Since 1990, the Gators have built an elite football program. It has stood the departure of great head coaches, great quarterbacks, countless NFL stars, etc. The Gators are now a juggernaut. That’s not Mark Richt’s fault.

Richt has a record of 86-26 as UGA’s head ball coach. How many schools would LOVE to have a record like that? I’m thinking about half the schools in the SEC would. Let’s not forget, just two years ago, UGA finished at # 2 in the final polls. You would think that would buy the guy a little more than two years. The Dawgs lost in this year’s draft, three underclassmen who are all starting in the NFL out of their backfield. Their QB went #1 over all. The tailback went #9. You don’t just replace talent like that. There’s going to be a drop off. That’s not Richt’s fault either.

Georgia’s problem is their fan base has an over inflated opinion of itself. They think they’re Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, or USC. In actuality, they are Clemson. They’re a good program that once in a blue moon if all the stars align can win a National Title. They have two National Titles in school history. One was in 1942. That one came about because UGA had the South’s only ROTC program. Most of the football team was in ROTC. So when WWII broke out, everybody else’s players were either drafted or enlisted, while UGA’s stayed in school. So they played that year with scholarship players against walk-ons and freshmen. Their other title came 38 years later. They had an extremely talented RB you may have heard of, Herschel Walker. 29 years later, and the Dawgs best finish was the #2 in ’07. And now they want to fire the coach who gave them that season?

Sometimes you have to know your place in the world. Kentucky fans aren’t upset because Brooks can’t beat us. I don’t even hear too much grumbling from South Carolina about Spurrier. And those people might have a beef. If UGA fires Richt, who do they think will come in there and beat Meyer? Pete Carroll? Bob Stoops? Those guys aren’t interested in Georgia. Georgia’s a nice program, but they are not Oklahoma. They’ll end up with another Donnan or another Richt. And in a few years they’ll be screaming that they need to get rid of this guy. Why? Because he can’t beat Florida.