As a fan, you never know how quickly success can come crashing down. Ask any Arkansas fan. Ask any Auburn fan. Ask any Miami fan. Ask any Tennessee fan. Ask any Texas fan. Ask any Notre Dame fan how hard it is to get back to relevancy. Get the picture?
After the Bulldogs, lead by 12-year head coach Mark Richt, beat their archrival and undefeated No. 2 team in the country, Florida, in the team's biggest rivalry game, talk radio and papers in Atlanta radio have spent entirely too much time devoted to whether Richt should be fired or not.
Richt has run a clean and winning program, and what does he get from his "fan"base? No confidence and a place on the proverbial "hot seat" no matter how much success he has. Six reasons why Georgia fans' arguments are wrong and can give it a break.
1. "Richt can't win with blue-chip talent": Mark Richt has consistently brought in top-tier recruiting classes. He is helped by UGA's history and facilities, how former Bulldogs perform in the NFL, and ultimately his geographic location. The state of Georgia is the fourth best state for high school talent in the country, and Richt has had to fend off bordering state schools from intruding on his territory.
By Rivals.com's or Scout.com's standards, Richt almost all he can do as far as keeping his talent in-state and picking occasional five stars from bordering states. Bulldog fans argue that with this talent Richt should be winning title after title, a weak argument at best.
If you use recruiting as the only predictor of success, Florida State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Virginia Tech should have been winning national titles for years.
2. "He will never win a national title.": I am sorry to break Georgia fans' hearts, but your program is not exactly used to winning championship after championship. The Associated Press has only awarded two national championships to UGA all time (1942, 1980). That's one more than Maryland and the same number as Minnesota. Let that sink in. Side note: Georgia also has two "Alabama" national championships -- the ones your program claims and no one believes.
The entitled thinking that Georgia should win be winning a championship at least every other year is a new concept brought about by Richt's early success, six 10-win seasons in his first eight years.
Richt should have gotten a shot at the BCS in 2007 when they were Bulldogs were "2004 Auburn"-ed and a two-loss LSU team got to the championship game instead. Georgia, led by Richt went to the Sugar Bowl and demolished Hawaii.
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| Vince with his star, Herschel. |
What is not as fondly remembered of Dooley is the start of his career. In his first 12 years, he had two 10-win seasons and a 4-5 bowl record. He also had three .500 seasons and compiled an 88-41 win-loss record.
Richt is in his 12th year. While he did have one "atrocious" season (6-7), a losing campaign capped by an Independence Bowl loss to UCF, he has two SEC Championships (just like Dooley) and has won 74% of his games with a win-loss record of 113-39 (better than Dooley). Richt is 7-5 in bowl games (better than Dooley).
Dooley's one national championship did not come until his 17th season at the helm of Georgia football. No way Richt can make it without one for another five years with this fan base, even with 10-win seasons.
4."Richt's players don't fear him.": Maybe they do not "fear" him in the same sense players at Alabama do Saban. However, no players love their coach more than the boys in Red and Black.
Just like Les Miles, Bobby Bowden and Pete Carrol, who have had pretty successful runs in college, Richt's players love to play for him. These coaches and others prove that you do not have to instill fear in your players in order for them to win.
5. "Richt has no control over his players":Put any group of 80, 18-23 year-old, young men in an enabling community that lets them get away with most anything because they play football. Now make said community Athens, with its unbelievable downtown atmosphere and tell me there will not be a few kids who get in trouble with the law. Not happening.
Add in UGA's toughest drug policy in the SEC and you have a mixture that looks like Richt has no control.
If a Bulldog violates the teams' drug policy once the player is suspended for 10% of the games, twice equals suspension for 50% of the season, and three times the player is dismissed from the program.
Only one other SEC school (Kentucky) has penalties for failing one drug test -- and you see how that program is doing. At Alabama, Florida and LSU it takes four violations to be dismissed. Gators who fail their drug tests for marajuana three times lose only 20% of their games. This is unfair approach is one Richt can no go backwards on. Instead he has to fight negative recruiting on this matter and push forward.
So it looks as if Georgia players are in trouble much more than other programs because the other programs are able to keep it on the hush longer as to why a player who appears healthy is not playing.
Also Bulldog fans must realize what Nick Saban is doing with "The Process" at Alabama is the only place like it in the county. He is the only person with such coaching talent and there is not anyone out there close to what he does.
Saban is Usain Bolt in a 100-meter race and the rest of college football is like Jared Lorenzen trying to catch up. There is only one of him and he is not leaving.
You had a $90 million football surplus last year to use for hires? Great. You are still not luring Saban away from Alabama. Not only that, there is no a coach with Richt's consistency and knack for winning available.
So on the behalf every college football fan, "Georgia fans, give it a break."
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