I wouldn’t have believed it before the season. Heck, I wouldn’t have believed it after the Tech game, even. But I think our performance was so bad yesterday that money donors are going to demand a change or they’ll take a walk. Money talks in the world of college football and when longtime donors (like myself) have finally had enough that they stop giving, a coach is done no matter how much “good will” he built during his first 7 seasons. I’ve never seen so many people on Georgia message boards threatening to give up their tickets. (And why not, since tickets for nearly every game this season sold for face value or less on ebay before the game. If you want to go to Georgia games these days, you’ll save a TON of money just buying tickets from the nice man with the cardboard sign on Broad Street an hour before the game.)
People, in varying degrees, have been upset at Richt’s coaching before. But I think three things from yesterday were the nails in Richt’s coffin: 1. The disastrous decision to kick a field goal on the first drive on 4th and inches; 2. Running the clock off AGAIN at the end of the half; and, 3. Our bumbling clock management and wasted time on our final desperation drive.
Those coaching decisions (in the first two) and lack of coaching (in the last) aren’t just bad…they’re emblematic of everything that is wrong with Richt as a head coach. Somewhere along the way he lost any form of bravado and offensive aggression that he ever had. His overly conservative approach on game day was frustrating when we were winning close games that we should have won easily, but it’s unacceptable when we’re losing to teams like UCF and Colorado.
Everyone knows that football is a game of calculated risks. If Georgia went for the first down on 4th and inches, UCF might have stepped up and made a great defensive stop. If Georgia threw the ball downfield with 30 seconds to go in the first half, UCF might have intercepted it and returned it for a huge touchdown and a 10-3 lead at halftime. No one who loves Georgia would have been happy with the result, but, hey, sometimes calculated risks don’t pay off. Losing when you take some risks that don’t pay off isn’t fun, but it’s substantially better than thinking about all the “what ifs” when you don’t.
It’s also amazing that in ten years Richt has never learned to manage the clock. What college football team doesn’t practice a hurry-up end of game offense? Murray is a smart quarterback, yet on that drive he was throwing two yard passes to covered receivers in the middle of the field? And as the clock is rolling, precious seconds roll off while he looks to the sideline for a playcall?
Granted, Georgia’s ineffective offense probably couldn’t have scored anyway. But good clock management would have given Georgia at least three more pass plays to the sideline.
Is it possible Richt can make major staff changes and turn things around? The offensive line was terrible this season. The running game was terrible this season. The offense couldn’t make first downs when needed. (In fairness, Georgia did score a lot of points in it’s wins this season, though Georgia did not beat a team with a winning record.) But even if Richt fired the ENTIRE offensive coaching staff–a good move, in my mind–who could he bring in to replace them, knowing that it’s a probationary one year job? No proven OC would be interested, so Richt would need to be creative to find a diamond in the rough. But other than Van Gorder, Richt has not shown himself to be particularly astute in making good assistant hires. What is the likelihood he does that now?
I like Richt personally and would have loved to see him succeed. He’s the kind of coach I’d like to see my own son play for. But coaches who make $3 million a year aren’t judged on intentions but results. Richt’s results haven’t been subpar, they’ve been bad. Sad as it is, I can’t think of a single reason to believe Georgia will improve significantly next season with Richt still in command. It’s not a matter of bringing in great players…he’s done that in Stafford, Moreno and Green, just to name a few. Great coaches don’t need a Heisman contender to field a disciplined football team than wins more games than it loses in a season. If Georgia wants to be good again, it needs a great coach, not a great guy.
Jun 05, 2011 @ 23:14:08
I went through the “too conservative” thing with Tressel at Ohio State. Both he and Richt are professing Christians. Now Tressel is gone, only himself to blame, at a dear cost to his testimony to millions. I’d say, until Richt pulls a Tressel, pray for him. He’s one of my favorite coaches. I even wear a Georgia Bulldog polo shirt with Georgia logo around town to alienate all the Gator fans. Sidebar: You spoke of repentance as changing one’s mind. How about this concerning Tressel and my view on divorce/remarriage. Tressel and his first wife divorced. She is still alive. The Bible, in I Cor. 7:10(which ironically is the biggest split in bowling)says, if separated, you are to remain single until reunited with your spouse,” Remarriage on either spouse’s part while the original spouse is still alive(whether “remarried” or not) constitutes adultery. Adulterers do not inherit the kingdom of God. It’s like a bank robber becoming a Christian, and not returning the $100,000.00 in his safe to the bank.(He might “turn” from his sin, but he MUST return the money.) If you have remarried while your original spouse is still alive, you are stealing from that spouse, and so is the one whom you have married.(In fact, there is NO such thing as “remarriage” in the Bible.) You were made ONE flesh by your vows in covenant with God, who NEVER recants what he promised to do. How can Tressel or any other “Christian” think otherwise!? They need to go back to their original spouse. As Jesus said, “they were once twain, and now have become ONE, and NEVER shall be TWAIN again.”