Mark Richt: Why I Want to Believe a Nice Guy Can Finish First
by T Kyle King on Nov 4, 2009 12:30 AM EST
in Football
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PrintI don't think one fan has brought up something that we haven't thought of. We think about all these things. We're trying to make the best decisions that we can make. It gets down to a couple things: One is your focus, and you must focus on what's important now, and that's what we're doing. We're focused on getting ready for this next ball game. That's what we have to do. That's what we're called to do. That's what we were hired to do. Then we try not to watch or listen or any of that type of thing because the bottom line is, I want to do things that give us the best chance to have success at this particular moment. . . .
I'm not going to try to control the things I can't control. I don't know what's going to happen. I wouldn't underestimate our fan base. They do love the Dawgs, you can tell by their passion, and I'm sure they want to support our young men. And we want the fans to handle adversity well, too. I can understand their feelings of being upset or being curious or whatever it might be, but we're all still Bulldogs, and we all still want to support these young men. So I think our fan base will do a good job. . . .
We've done pretty well. This year, we have not. So we were averaging 10 wins a year, have won the SEC twice, and we hadn't won one in 20 years. So it's not like we've just been floundering around. This year we have been. Let's face it. And I don't like it. People that know me well or the team or the coaches, they know that I've got another edge to me that maybe I don't show publicly all the time. Maybe that's what the public wants to see. But if you're going to be accused of something, being accused of being a nice guy is not the worst thing to be accused of.
Mark Richt (November 3, 2009)
Reading the comments from Coach Richt related to us by David Hale and quoted above, I was reminded how much it means to me, and how much it ought to mean to all of us, not to have to root for head coaches who make us write such things as these in their defense:
Don’t look at us: there’s little deep emotional bonding with Urban Meyer, since his relationship with the Florida fanbase is like that of a mob boss with his prize assassin. We pay him to eliminate people in cold cash. He does that. We exchange Christmas cards and formal handshakes. Urban Meyer is not a cuddler with anyone, as far as we know, and only prizes the sweet embrace of victory and cold vengeance.
Ask Mark Richt about that. Mark Richt is the nicest human being on the planet, a man who takes in the stray children of the world, bonds with his players in teary team meetings, and probably always leaves too much money in the Starbucks’ tip jar even though the barista simply turned, poured coffee, and then presented said coffee to you. Mark Richt is a saint walking among us . . .
It is important that the man who leads my alma mater’s football program has not so thoroughly distorted my sense of values that I would ever write anything as morally warped as this:
Antiquated ideas like "class," "standards" and even "sportsmanship" are nothing more than tools—words with no real meaning that are used as weapons when someone doesn’t like what someone else is doing.
Winning matters. It’s the only objective measure of success.
Mark Richt is a good man. That counts for a lot. It counts for more, even, than having the highest winning percentage of any football coach in school history, although he has that, too.
I stand by what I wrote Saturday night. This program is in need of major changes, including staff changes which must at a minimum involve the replacement of our present defensive coordinator, and, while I want Mark Richt to remain at the helm, I now am at the point at which what I need as a fan outweighs what I want as a fan. Every year, Damon Evans sends me an annual report as though I were a shareholder in University of Georgia athletics, which, in a sense, I am, and the program has failed of late to give me an acceptable rate of return on my investments, financial and otherwise. I take no joy in arriving at that juncture, but this is the crossroads at which we find ourselves.
I still hold out hope that we can replace Willie Martinez without also having to replace Mark Richt. In his screenplay for the movie "American Graffiti," George Lucas described Curt Henderson as a hopeless romantic who liked to think of himself as the town cynic; that characterization probably applies to me. Like Coach Richt, I can think of worse accusations to which I could be subjected.
On Saturday, I will be taking my son to Sanford Stadium to see Georgia play Tennessee Tech. At some point, I will spot Mark Richt on the sideline and point him out to the six-year-old boy sitting beside me. I know that, by taking my son to college football games, I am sending a signal that he will see there things worthy of emulation. I will feel no twinge of conscience at the thought that I am tacitly endorsing my son’s adoption of Mark Richt as a role model. If my son is going to grow up admiring a football coach, he would be hard-pressed to pick a better one than Mark Richt. Certainly, the man even rival fans call "the nicest human being on the planet" would be far preferable to the man whose supporters describe him as their "prize assassin."
Damn it, Mark, one of us has to make a decision we don’t want to make. We all wish this decision didn’t have to be made, but we all know it does. This isn’t some knee-jerk reaction; I wanted Willie Martinez fired three years ago, then I talked myself out of it, then I arrived at a firm conviction and I did so without passion or prejudice.
I know he’s your friend. I know he’s a good man. I know he has a wife, Kim, and three children, Christina, Ashley, and William. I take no pleasure in telling them it’s time for them to pull up stakes, find a new job, and start over somewhere else.
It’s not fair, but that’s life. That, as they say, is why you make the big bucks. I pray that you will make your decision, Mark, so that we don’t have to make ours. Please.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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Mike Shula to the White Courtesy Phone Please
If what you are doing isn’t working but you refuse to change it, what recourse is left? The situation isn’t going to improve without major upheaval. The talent is there, no question about it, but the results don’t match. I like and respect your coach and hope this works for you guys, but I’m getting the same vibe from Richt that Shula was giving off (and he’s a way better coach than Shula ever will be but…) during that last ugly season of not knowing how to fix the problem but also not being willing to try something new.
I seriously hope that Gators fan is pulling our leg.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Nov 4, 2009 2:10 AM EST reply actions
Richt is a nice guy to be sure…but it sure would be nice to have an assassin if only for a season or two. However, I just don’t think Richt can take it to the next level. The Atlanta Braves won their division 14 years straight, but Bobby Cox only won the big show once. He just couldn’t take his teams to the next level either. It’s really rather sad.
Disagree
In 2002, Georgia won the SEC and finished with one loss and a #3 ranking only because they had bad luck in that there were 2 undefeated teams in the country that year.
In 2007, Georgia missed out on a trip to the SEC Championship Game because between Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina, not a damn one of them could make a field goal at the end of the game. Even so, however, UGA went into the final week of the season ranked #4. That week, the teams ranked #1 and #2 lost, and when the new polls came out, the previously #3 team moved up to #1, and the previously #7 team leaped to #2, for no reason other than, “they won their conference title game.” Georgia finished that season ranked #2.
And even if Georgia manages to go undefeated in a season (which neither the great Urban Meyer nor Nick Saban have done in the SEC… yet), they could still end up like Auburn in 2004, which went undefeated and had the bad luck of doing so in a year where there were 3 undefeated teams.
Making it to the national championship game is just as much about getting some luck as it is about playing at an elite level. Do you really think Southern Cal hasn’t deserved a shot at the national championship any of the past 3 years? But they play in the Pac-10, which is perceived as weak (though it’s not nearly as weak as people think), and Ohio State has been able to mow through the collection of MAC teams known as the Big 10+1.
I don’t buy the “nice guys finish last” think just because it’s a popular axiom. Nice guys don’t cheat their way to the top like some people who get there, but they can be tough, hard-nosed competitors who can win in the big situations. Mark Richt is one of those people.
No
We didn’t go to the Championship game in 2007 because we couldn’t score versus South Carolina, and we looked like trash against Tennessee (what was, up until last year, the worst I thought we’d played under Richt,….oh well, for better days).
I don’t care if we could have won had those teams kicked field goals, we didn’t win because we played like garbage against lesser teams twice that year.
Of course, you're right...
… but I’m right, too. If South Carolina, Kentucky, or Vanderbilt make any of those 3 field goals, deserving or not, Georgia is playing in Atlanta. And if we had beaten LSU (and given all the momentum we had, combined with the fact that LSU was coming off of a loss, I certainly would think we would), Georgia would have been playing for the national championship.
You’re right that Georgia played pitiful against two lesser teams, but they still only had 2 losses. That year, it worked out that everyone else had 2 losses, too (except Ohio State).
by vineyarddawg on Nov 4, 2009 10:24 PM EST up reply actions
Give me CMR every day of the week and twice on Saturday
No one is going to argue with the point that changes need to be made… I think that conclusion has been carved in stone since the Tennessee game. The more I hear and see, though, the more I think that Coach Martinez is going to go the hara-kiri route and resign.
I mean, let’s be honest, even if you love what you’re doing and think you’re doing it right, no one is going to want to stay in a position where everyone thinks you’re doing a terrible job, criticizes literally your every move, and demands to your boss (repeatedly) that you be fired. (Granted, no one else on the coaching staff or team seems to think that, but neither he nor his family spend 100% of their time around only the coaching staff and team.)
Mark Richt is loyal to a fault to his assistants, and I think we’ve seen that play out most notably when Martinez wasn’t fired after last season. In the face of all the current pressure, however, and the pseudo-admission of Damon Evans that he was going to force Richt to make changes, it seems pretty certain that Richt will let Martinez go even if he doesn’t resign.
In spite of all this, however, I would still take Mark Richt over any other current head coach in the country. In spite of what many Florida fans think (I hate Florida), things like “class” and “sportsmanship” are not only still important in college football, they are equally as important as winning, and I think Coach Richt drills that value into his players. 90+% of the players on the field in any college football game will not play professionally, and the lessons they learn on the football field will follow them as they pursue their other endeavors in life.
Kids who have learned that is it important to respect your opponent and show a modicum of class in any situation will generally continue to do these things when they’re working as a high school football coach, a mortgage broker, or any other job in-between. Kids who have learned that it’s important to win, no matter the cost, even if you have to bend the rules and gouge out an eye or two every now and then will carry those lessons with them, too, when they move on. And I don’t know about you, but I know what type of person I’d like to have in the business world with me on an every-day basis.
The football players who take the field on Saturdays are not a means to an end for the fans. They are young men who are still learning what it’s like to be an adult, and hopefully a responsible one. The first duty that any football coach has to his program is to take care of his kids. The co-first duty (at Georgia) is also to win, but not to the long-term detriment of the players.
Finally, I stand with pride knowing that, during a conversation, I will likely never have to say about CMR, “Yeah, I really don’t like him, either, but he’s a winner, and I sure do like that.” That, my friends, is why I want Mark Richt to be the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs until he’s as old as Papa Bowden.
Excellent Post.
Bravo Vineyarddawg. Well Said. Extremely logical. Most of all, you are correct, sir!
Easy
Easy to say, but give ole’ Richt a couple of 5-7 years, and we’ll see how important class is for people who write the checks.
Let me reiterate...
… winning is important, but equally as important as the idea that the men in your program are not a means to an end.
If you fail to live up to either of those expectations, your job won’t be safe for long.
Your cavalier reference to CMR as “ole’ Richt” implies that you think notions of ethical behavior, class, and sportsmanship will be discarded if Mark Richt fails to stem the losing tide and has to be dismissed. By implication, you are saying that it’s likely Mark Richt’s successor in Athens would be cut from the mold of a Lane Kiffin or Urban Meyer.
No amount of winning or losing would change the idea that class matters at Georgia. Not for many of the important Georgia donors, and certainly not for Damon Evans. Georgia has too much history with Wally Butts, Vince Dooley, and other successful coaches with class to summarily abandon a principle that we’ve been able to live up to and still experience success. You can bank on that.
by vineyarddawg on Nov 4, 2009 10:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You, my friend, make great points and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Cheers to you, fine sir.
by get swoll yunel on Nov 5, 2009 1:47 AM EST up reply actions
A bottle of the house's finest to you.
Bye weeks: The time to tweak your fashion sensibilities.
by DavetheDawg on Nov 6, 2009 10:43 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Mark Richt (Good). Urban Meyer (Evil).
I agree wholeheartedly. There is something in this world called class and something else known as dignity and they are more important than winning. Unfortunately, most Gators I have ever encountered, including their coach, possess the above attributes in pitiful supply.
What “Corch” did at the end of the game in ’08 was perhaps the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen a coach do in college football. It was an act that belongs in the pantheon of someone like Jerry Glanville and/or Buddy Ryan during their NFL days (but at least those guys would get a chuckle as they do it). When the Ole Ball Coach ran it up on us in Athens I was disgusted, but he at least did it with his tongue planted in his cheek.
Mark Richt is a VERY GOOD FOOTBALL COACH. He did not forget how to coach this year (or last). Obviously some significant changes need to be made. I sincerely believe this “nice guy” has the wherewithal to change it and to fix it. At the end of the day, the Georgia Bulldogs will come back and win big, and we will do it with a man who we don’t have to tolerate but who we can respect and believe in.
You know what really can enhance and dignity?
A mean, kick-yer-ass SOB for a defensive coordinator. It would be the perfect Ying to Richt’s Yang.
Bye weeks: The time to tweak your fashion sensibilities.
should read "class and dignity."
obviously, I skipped class.
Bye weeks: The time to tweak your fashion sensibilities.
Okay
Couldn’t agree more. I think we had a lot of that with Van Gorder. I was up last night trying to think of someone who fits the description.
by Kevin's Butler on Nov 4, 2009 10:25 AM EST up reply actions
I agree
And this is possibly the only argument I can think of against Sylvester Croom. I might be wrong, but he seems to be cut from the “nice guy” mold like Mark Richt.
by vineyarddawg on Nov 4, 2009 12:29 PM EST up reply actions
Look at that 'Stache and tell me Bumpas isn't a kick yer ass SOB
This does not strike me as a man you’d want to make unhappy
His resume is also pretty impressive if you haven’t had a chance to look at it. What’s more, he doesn’t strike me as someone with HC aspirations. Just a hard nosed defensive guy with an extremely successful track record at programs from a variety of sizes, traditionals, and talent bases.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
Of course I meant "traditions"
I was just overwhelmed by the awesomeness of that mustache.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
It's the eyebrows, man. The eyebrows.
Just staring at that picture makes me want to tackle somebody. I think he would make a fine DC/Hypnotist.
Bye weeks: The time to tweak your fashion sensibilities.
Disgraceful?
Twice now, Mark Richt has directed, endorsed, or played some role in a sideline/endzone “celebrations” which run the risk of starting a full-scale riot in a stadium filled with passionate, emotional, football fans.
You don’t care for the timeouts? I regret that three were not called. I think Richt, and your squad of big talkers, deserved it at the time.
I think the “assassin” moniker is humorous. Urban Meyer is active in the community, is well-liked and has many friends beyond the obvious football connection. He runs a quality program and promotes family. He also happens to win a buttload of football games. He obviously has figured out the winning formula.
Meyer is guarded with the press. I have seen him outside of that arena, in forums the public would not be privy to, and he is a very colorful and interesting person. He does not give that away to the media. And I don’t blame him.
Mark Richt does seem like a wonderful person off the football field. But I still grit my teeth everytime I think about the “Incident” in the ’07 WLOCP. Different perspectives, sure. I know a rash of Georgia fans will be quick to decry my view as hopelessly misguided, etc. etc. That is to be expected but hardly carries a favorable impression.
If the timeouts from last year bothered you (and I hope they did), you have no right to defend your own coach’s actions from the previous year. They were far more heinous. They were dangerous. If 49-10, timeouts, then 41-17 the following year is tough medicine for you, know that for us, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Orange and Blue Hue: The World through GATOR-colored Glasses -- http://www.orangeandbluehue.com
So now we're in your heads?
This is all terribly confusing for me. :)
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
sorry, can't....control...the....reply....
I’m sure you read it correctly, but it was Orson Swindle who called Meyer the assassin. And for all the warm fuzzies he might do in the community, he is pretty ruthless (or insert your own adjective) as a coach. Which is a good quality. If he wasn’t, he would’ve taken the high road in 08 and not called the timeouts. But he just had to make some sort of statement eh?
As for 07 – I do understand that a brawl may have ensued and that is a geniune concern. But it didn’t and yet it still bothers you. Good, I hope it did. And mostly because you think that it is all about you. On a small scale it was, but the larger scale motive was to motivate a team that had been lackluster throughout the whole season.
And for the last time, he didn’t order the whole team onto the field. He ordered the 11 players that were on the field to celebrate. You know what their plan was? To line up like they were taking their picture and have the scorer be the photographer. The team came out and celebrated together. Where there a few people that may have gator chomped? Probably. But its not like they came out and mooned the Gators directly. The intent was to celebrate themselves. Not disrespect the gators. Speaking of which, glad you have gotten your revenge the last 2 years, but perhaps ya’ll should’ve manned up and shut us up during the rest of the 07 game instead of waiting a whole year for revenge.
Yes, that is my son. Yes, that is a bottle of Crown.
You know
Isn’t if funny that the past never matters to Gators unless it serves their purpose? Mention that we still own the series, and “you’re living in the past.” Point out they’ve been complaining about a game from 2 years ago for 2 straight seasons, and it’s justified because somebody very possibly in an alternate universe was in a fight that started during that game.
You so crazy.
But its not like they came out and mooned the Gators directly.
No, but that would’ve been awesome.
Will
Sir . . .
I’m going to need to see your ridiculous hyperbole license before you deploy it again.
Twice now, Mark Richt has directed, endorsed, or played some role in a sideline/endzone "celebrations" which run the risk of starting a full-scale riot in a stadium filled with passionate, emotional, football fans.
A full scale riot? That’s just hilarious.
gatorpilot.....
Get your jabs in now……
“He obviously has figured out the winning formula.” We’ll see next year when Tebow, Cooper, Stamper, & that Thug “hokey pokey” have moved on to the County Detention Centerser, I mean NFL….
I’ve had moments where I thought, you know SOME gator fans may not have mullets & wear jorts! be okay but then you have to go and post mess like “I regret that three were not called.”
But don’t worry-God STILL loves ya (& He usually shows that on the last weekend of every October)……
GO DAWGS!!!
Still funny that
Gator fans are still outraged about the clebration. And no one else ever was. Precious got her feelings hurt.
by NCT on Nov 4, 2009 9:52 PM EST up reply actions
That's true.
I don’t think anyone else thought that end zone celebration was anything other than a bit of silliness.
On the other hand, I don’t think anyone except Georgia fans (and maybe Florida fans) thought the time outs at the end of last year’s game were anything other than a funny bit of silliness, either.
Between the two the time outs were much funnier to me.
True
I wouldn’t want my coach to do either, and I don’t think that he would. “Act like you’ve been there before,” CPJ says.
It was still funny, and everybody watching knew it was payback for the celebration thing. Neither act was a big deal, and I’m surprised either still bother anyone.
Was getting rings to celebrate winning 1 game in a 8-5 season part of "acting like you've been there before"?
I honestly don’t see the difference. Richt used the celebration as a way to motivate players for a series in which they have been owned as of late.
Johnson’s ploy did the same… Although I would argue that Richt’s actions inspired scorn and angry ridicule while Johnson’s inspired pity and mocking ridicule.
Either way, having rings made after one win in a series does not demonstrate “acting like you’ve been there before”.
It’s fashionable given recent events to mock the celebration of 2 years ago, but at the time it was a brilliant motivational ploy… Even if it was gimmicky. I’m sure in the coming years, Johnson’s magical “We Beat Georgia” Rings will be viewed similarly.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
by RedCrake on Nov 5, 2009 11:20 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
For the record . . .
. . . it was a 9-4 season, not an 8-5 season. Probably the string of five-loss seasons that preceded it made you type “8-5” out of muscle memory.
The remainder of your point still stands, though.
Go 'Dawgs!
You are, of course, as usual, correct.
Both in your stats and your assessment of the reason for my error.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
There was no "We Beat Georgia" ring,
Tech was allowed by the NCAA to give each player up to $300, in addition to the gifts they received from the bowl, for going to the Chick-Fil-A bowl. The school chose to give the team a ring. They allowed the team to design the ring. Part of the design was “45-42”. Part of it. The ring wasn’t given to the team for winning the Georgia game, and Johnson had nothing to do with the design.
I guess they could have written a poem about and retired the jersey of the guy who won the game, but that would have been silly, wouldn’t it?
You may have forgotten, but Georgia’s celebration wasn’t for winning the game; it was for scoring a touchdown in the first quarter.
Richt has said the he just wanted the players on the team to celebrate, that he had nothing to do with the entire team going onto the field. This means he is either lying or the players did it on their own. This was a “brilliant motivational ploy”?
Be honest: if the Tech players had all run onto the field to celebrate their first touchdown of last year’s game, wouldn’t you have thought that was pathetic and pitiful?
The point still stands, though
If “45-42” is part of the design, you’re placing undue emphasis on one game. This isn’t surprising, since the lyrics to your fight song denounce us even during the eleven or twelve games a year when you’re playing someone else. You can’t deny the truth of the old saying: “Georgia people think about Georgia Tech when Georgia Tech is good and Georgia Tech people think about Georgia every day of their lives.”
Coach Richt was trying to fire up the team. He told the offense to celebrate. They did. The rest of the team got into it. I think that suggests that the motivational ploy worked beyond his expectations. Further evidence of that is the fact that Georgia won.
Yes, I would’ve found it pathetic had the shoe been on the other foot, but that attitude would have lasted for three hours. Once the game was over and the visitors were victorious, I’d have had no room to criticize.
Go 'Dawgs!
Only if the point is a moving target
redcake’s contention was that the ring was a motivational ploy used by Johnson. Since it wasn’t Johnson’s idea to put the score on the ring, and it happened after Tech had already won the game, that’s clearly not true.
Beating Georgia was one of the team’s goals going into last season. Those were goals the team set, not Johnson. It makes sense that they wanted to record achieving that goal on their ring.
This year that is not one of the goals, although it is implicit in going “undefeated at home”, which is one of the goals.
Beating Tech, however, does seem to be one of Georgia’s goals this year. I can’t find the image right now, but I’ve seen a picture from Georgia’s locker room showing pictures and the scores from last year’s Florida and Tech games.
If...and it's a big if....Georgia does beat Tech this year...
They won’t be commemorating the rare occasion using custom made jewelry.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
No, but when a series gets out of hand,
as Tech/Georgia has recently, or as it did in the ’50s, or as Florida/Georgia has the past couple of decades, the fans and teams on the losing side tend to get a little invested in it.
I'm not saying anything about the validity of the celebration or the rings...
Just that the rings does not demonstrate a “act like you’ve been there before” mentality. If that truly is Paul Johnson’s philosophy, when the players designed the rings, he should have said “We’re not going to do that, we’re going to act like we’ve been there before.” His acceptance of the design is no different than Richt accepting the whole team running on the field (if he really just told the on field players to celebrate) in terms of “acting like you’ve been there before.”
Whether or not Richt ordered all the players onto the field or just the celebration of a few, it was a brilliant motivational ploy and it worked as the team went on to win the game. At the time, most everyone thought it worked as a motivational ploy, even those who decried it as unsportsmanlike.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
Do you really think that's comparable?
On the one hand, you’ve got a coach who tells the players they can design their own ring and then doesn’t overrule them when they do.
On the other hand, you’ve got a coach who tells his players to commit an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (not my description; that an NCAA rule) in the first quarter of a game to get them fired up.
Those are the same? Really?
If the proof that it was a “brilliant motivational ploy” was the victory, then you think Florida would have won had Richt not done it?
It is comparing apples to oranges...
What I’m saying is simply that neither fruit represents an “act like you’ve been there before” mentality.
We’ll never know what would have happened if Richt hadn’t done that in terms of the Florida game.
What we do know is that following that event, a team that came into the game 5-2— with a bad loss to Tennessee and a head scratching collapse against South Carolina— beat and sent into a tailspin the defending National Champion, beat 3 other ranked teams, won the Sugar Bowl, and finished #2 in the country. By an objective measure, most would say that’s a pretty impressive motivational ploy.
Now if we could just get Richt to realize that was a one shot deal.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
Oh, and if you notice Tech wearing different jersey's this week,
it’s because Wake Forest insisted on wearing visitor’s whites, not a “brilliant motivational ploy” like Richt’s uniform change last week.
There's no need to get snarky, CraigT
We understand that Georgia Tech has a tradition of wearing white jerseys at home, just like LSU does, and that the Yellow Jackets only changed that longstanding practice because of NCAA rules requiring them to do so.
I’m not going to lie and say that we don’t enjoy finding things for which to mock Georgia Tech, but we’re not going out of our way to ridicule that which does not legitimately invite mockery.
For the record, I hope we agree to allow the Yellow Jackets to wear their traditional home whites so we can wear our traditional red jerseys at historic Grant Field in a few weeks. It’s as it should be.
Go 'Dawgs!
I said at the time
I think criticism of Tech players’ having commemorated the game’s score on rings is misplaced. Georgia fans would do well to remember that we actually named our longest losing streak to Tech, and its termination is the reason no player wears #40.
by NCT on Nov 6, 2009 9:11 AM EST up reply actions
What's the point of a good rivalry though if
We can’t ceaselessly mock the North Avenue Virgins whilst they claim we are all backwoods Skoal-dipping hillbillies?
That’s the beauty of rivalries: misplaced, unreasonable, and occasionally invalid hatred and ridicule.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
Oh, the hatred is COMPLETELY valid....
I meant that sometimes the points we make in our mockery are invalid.
Not the “virgins” one though….that is substantiated by years and years of data.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
That's probably true,
since most of the trampy girls go to school in Athens.
by CraigT on Nov 6, 2009 11:59 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
All right, guys . . .
. . . let’s keep the shots directed at folks with Y chromosomes. No need to bring the ladies into this.
Go 'Dawgs!
Especially since we could whoop the virgins’ butts if they keep running their mouth about the Georgia ladies.
by vineyarddawg on Nov 6, 2009 12:12 PM EST up reply actions
As the aunt
of a young lady currently attending Tech (as hard as that is to believe, I gave my blessing.) I will be personally offended at any shots taken at the young ladies of either institution.
Agreed
I was calling for chivalry on all sides. No matter which side of the fence on which a fellow happens to fall, he needs to leave the ladies out of this.
Like Gavin Stevens, I believe feminine virtue deserves defending, irrespective of whether it actually exists. :)
Go 'Dawgs!
This
among many other reasons is why some of us love this blog.
I just wanted to offer fair warning to anyone among us who might be tempted to malign the young ladies at tech that they’d be speaking about my niece. Since I am particularly fond of her, I might not be very ladylike in any response.
On the contrary podunkdawg
I was simply pointing out that as a student at Tech, your neice’s chastity will be safe for the duration of her time there.
It’s hard to make a pass at a girl when you’re wearing a cape and a wizard hat from your afternoon LARPing session. The ladies don’t usually respond to cries of “2 Damage, 2 Damage!”
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
by RedCrake on Nov 6, 2009 4:36 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Since the guy's already wearing it...
… i guess the old, “I put on my robe and wizard hat,” line wouldn’t be useful, either.
(Just google “I put on my robe and wizard hat” if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Not going to link to it since it’s mildly NSFW text.)
But yes, no need to bring the ladies into it at all. The nerds give us plenty of fodder all by themselves.
“Most of the trashy girls go to school in Athens” is not the same as “Most of the girls going to school in Athens are trashy”, but I understand that math is hard.
“Trashy” was not my first choice. I did show restraint. And I was joking around with my brother, which I hope was clear. My mother went to the University of Georgia, after all.
I’m pretty sure Georgia Southern has both UGA and GT beat in that category.
by NCT on Nov 7, 2009 8:21 PM EST up reply actions
True Story
Some poor guy showed my brother in law a picture of a young female GSU student after describing her as a tall thin gorgeous blonde. Upon seeing the picture my brother in law simply said – that’s my baby sister. Yes, my darling niece’s other aunt goes to GSU – I like her too.
All I heard was "Girls go to school in Athens"
Trampy or otherwise, 18 year old boys should be interested in this stat when choosing a college.
It isn’t natural to pick a place to spend four years of your life based on the quality of available Dungeon Masters.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
I think the quality of the education is the main reason people pick Tech.
Nope. He actually said it. Well, yelled it. I rewound it a few times to make sure.
by NCT on Nov 6, 2009 8:37 AM EST up reply actions
Oh, you mean in a particular instance.
I thought you meant in general.
Oh, no.
In general, his facial expression says, “What am I? Stupid?!” But that may be a strategic ploy, since he’s clearly a brilliant football coach.
by NCT on Nov 6, 2009 8:47 AM EST up reply actions
That may well be
He never looks happy, except for maybe five minutes after a win.
As I asked someone . . .
at this summer’s Peach State Pigskin Preview “Why does Paul Johnson look constipated?” Reply by said journalist: “Because Paul Johnson always looks constipated.”
It’s the grimace of dedication, I suppose. Or bad nachos. Whichever.
Seems to be working
He just needs to hire someone comparable for the defense.
May I suggest one W. Martinez....
I can’t defend against the triple option but since nobody else is running that offense he should work out just fine.
Hell, he already beat Georgia last year and will probably repeat that performance this year. Now ya’ll just need to make it official.
I want every college football fan in America to be as miserable as I am.
One more thing about the QB situation
I noticed in David Hale’s post that he quoted CMR as saying the following re: Murray and Metzenberger:
“The young guys, we just didn’t feel this late in the season it was time to do it and they (hadn’t) earned the right to be the starter. My feeling was this: If you’re going to put a freshman in there, you start him, and you start him the rest of the way. Well, did anybody really earn that? They didn’t.
It made me feel kind of good to see that the coach said basically what I said in an earlier thread.
(/boasting)
Since we mostly agree
that CMR can fix the offense, why not hire a proven DC and allow that man to bring in his own staff? Shake the whole thing up. Really bring a culture of winning to the team. Steve did ok coaching offense and letting the other guy handle defense. If anything, he still has an excellent D at SC. Mark should emulate this and (as hard as it may be) severe some of the ties he has held onto for too long.
On the subject of a new DC, I may have a suggestion in mind…..
Why do we think he can fix the offense?
Given the talent of the kids he has coached, we’ve never been a terribly great offense. The only teams under Richt that I felt could and would score whenever necessary were those driven by the sheer forces of will of DJ Shockley or Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno.
There are teams with far less talent than we have that are able to be productive on offense. And not just adequate, productive. Think Arkansas. Think Boise. Cincinnati. And don’t say that it’s the defenses, because we are not explosive and prolific against the Vanderbilts and Marshalls and UABs of the world. I just can’t take for granted that Mark can “fix” the offense. He can patch the offense.
Defense
is our most pressing issue, in my opinion. Someone else needs to be brought in. That is my main point. Offense is where Mark earned his pedigree. If you choose to dismiss that, so be it. My thoughts are that he CAN fix it, and should be allowed the opportunity. Obviously a lot needs to change. I am hopeful that your bitterness will fade and that my optimism will grow. We will see…
IMO....
Arkansas has a potential top draft pick in Mallett. Boise has a possible Heisman Trophy winner in Keenum. Less talent on offense than UGA? Not sure about that. Bobo has shown what he can do with the right horses. We led the SEC in most offensive categories last year. I’m on the “Fire Willie” bandwagon but I’m willing to give Bobo another chance. The thing is, we’ve never really needed a super productive offense because our defense was always so great. Similarly to Florida’s or Bama’s offense this year, when you have a killer defense, you don’t really need sky-high offensive production. We used to have that kind of defense and if we can get that back, I think you’d be surprised how much better our offense would look.
Class?
I think most Georgia fans would agree that Mark Richt does have a kind, good heart and loads of integrity and that Urban Meyer is evil. I also think CMR does want to mold these kids into good young men. However, with all due respect, these boys are here to win football games, that’s why they get scholarships, that’s why most we pay money to go to games, and it’s why people give money to the program. I don’t want mediocrity year after year. I want my team to win EVERY game EVERY year. Realistic, no, but as a fan that’s what I want. It’s what all passionate college football fans want. Of course I want these players to go on to living responsible, successful lives after they leave Georgia, but is that the reason this football program is in place?
You can’t make me believe that all winning coaches are jerks. If a jerk is someone who makes hard choices, who puts the Program before personal feelings and loyalties to players and coaches who may be subpar, or someone who demands discipline and accountability from his players, then I’m sorry, I want a jerk. I’ve seen many posts about all this class we’re supposed to have yet we’re one of the most penalized teams in the country, sorry folks, that’s not classy.
I want Mark Richt to be accountable. I want him to say “the buck stops here”. I want him to make personnel decisions based on ability instead of emotion. I would like him to do these things so I can continue to support him.
Abhorrent Gator fan here
and I stand by my comment quoted in the article.
If you really think the term “class” has any objective meaning, and is anything other than a cheap way to heap scorn upon a rival you don’t approve of, you’re living in what you imagine the 1950s were like. Say hi to the Beav for me.
Whether Urban Meyer or Mark Richt meet my definition of a “nice guy” is irrelevant, not least of which because my definition of that phrase is different from everyone else’s. I’m not arrogant enough to presume that my idea of what constitutes “class” is some kind of universal truth.
I care that Meyer wins, as that is the only measure of his success that isn’t contingent upon some schoolmarm’s idea of how he “should be” doing it.
hmmm
I noticed sportsmanship is off your topic list, thus I will take that to mean you agree on that point. You’ll notice I didn’t argue that “class” has any objective meaning in my prior post, nor will I now. I would however argue that there is a commonly understood definition of the word. According to Merriam Webster the word “class” in this context is defined as high quality or elegance (see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/class) Of course these are both still subjective terms.
Blasphemy...
The fact that you are a Widespread Panic fan cancels out the fact that you are a Gator fan. But the American Graffiti shot is nothing but pure and simple, old fashioned communism.
I think Erk Russell could have kicked Clint Eastwood and John Wayne's butts with a corn cob and one hand tied behind his back. GATA!
I’ve tried more than once, but I just can’t get past the schmaltz and terrible, terrible dialogue.
At least the early Star Wars films had aliens and explosions.
The dialogue was sub par, I will give you that. No doubt,
The story, characters and music were wicked good. Plus I can never turn down inserting a great Smokey and the Bandit quote into my comment. I am a sucker for Jackie Gleason and a bad southern accent.
I think Erk Russell could have kicked Clint Eastwood and John Wayne's butts with a corn cob and one hand tied behind his back. GATA!
I hate to be the contrarian here...
…but I don’t care if our head coach kicks dogs and steals candy from small children as long as he wins games. I’m in no way advocating Mark Richt’s dismissal, because he has shown he can win at a high level on a fairly consistent basis. All I’m say is that if he were to ever leave for any reason, then I sure as heck hope that being a “nice guy” isn’t part of the criteria for hiring his replacement. I’d take someone slimier than Saban and Petrino combined if it meant we would win a national title.
Sic 'em Dawgs
I would have a real problem
with any head coach that kicks dogs and steals candy from children, especially if that head coach represented The University of Georgia! I seem to remember an earlier post on this esteemed blog that debated the qualities of a good head coach and proposed that, in this order, a head coach should represent the University well, follow NCAA rules and see that the program is in order, and win games. The logic is that winning games will follow if you focus on the first two. We need to focus on the first two. Right now there are some things in our program that are out of order. We need to work on righting those things. Obsession on winning a national championship will drive a fan crazy!
Well said about Richt, Kyle.
My two cents is that we don’t have to slam Urban to recognize Mark’s character. We really don’t know what kind of man Urban Meyer is in his community and behind closed doors with his family or with his players. We know he is a dang successful football coach, and he may be a very good man also. (As an aside, he has a point about the cheap shot Nick Williams put on Tebow__it was enough, imo, to get him thrown out of the game, but no personal foul was called. Not as bad as the 30 year old thug named Spikes but clearly unsportsmanlike.) And, why can’t Martinez just step down a notch. He apparently was a good position coach when Van Gorder was there. Not all, and I might guess a majority of, good position coaches make good coordinators. Just like not all good coordinators make good head coaches. It was called the Peter Principle back in my day__essentially everyone rises to his or her own level of incompetence. So why dump Willie? Why not just let him step back to a job where he can contribute and remain a Dog, if that is what he and Mark want? We might all be better for it.
Fan perception of Bulldog coaches
Dang Jujdog, it was worth wading through all these comments from ill tempered people to hear one wise man weigh in. Blood is not the answer to a family crisis. The conciliatory route may be the most effective. Salute.
I cannot say that I have not enjoyed the success of the Gators and that I am proud of the college team from the town of my birth. However, I cannot help but question an interest that can cause such elation or pain due to an outcome that I have absolutely no control over. When the Gators win, I can claim no glory. When they lose I can claim no blame. On those painful days when my team loses I take a long walk or mow the grass or arrange time to hold my grandchild. During bad times for my team I have to try to focus on the real, tangible gifts that I enjoy. Coach Mark Richt is a decent man and a talented coach. Minor changes in coaching and attitude will restore Georgia to glory in due time.
In the mean time it would not hurt for CMR to show a little more emotion when the situation warrants. When a head coach has the passive look of a California sex therapist getting a toe massage while he is getting his ass handed to him on the field, it does not inspire confidence amongst the followers. Hang in there bretheren of the South. Your day will again come and I will mow the grass. God bless good people everywhere and that includes Coach Meyer. Please can the “corch” b.s.
Thanks for the temperate comment, renegator . . .
. . . but there’s nothing BS about the “Corch Urban Meyers” references. Don’t blame us; blame Representative Brown!
Unfortunately, I think demoting Willie Martinez back to secondary coach (even assuming he would do well at that position, which recent results do not suggest is the case) is as untenable a proposition as demoting Ray Goff back to recruiting coordinator. There’s a reason why Tommy Tuberville said in his recent interview that he had no interest in getting back into coaching as a coordinator.
Frankly, when opposing fans want us to keep our current defensive coordinator on staff, that says something to me.
Go 'Dawgs!
Unfortunately, Tuberville agrees with the opposing fans
Kyle,
Tuberville was quoted in the AJC as saying the schemes are fine, Martinez is fine. I don’t know if I buy this whole-heartedly, but with Richt saying it and a man who could be the DC for any team in the country and whom also in fact DID manage to go 12-0 in a season, I am beginning to wonder if we might all be jumping the gun a little here. I’m not saying we shouldn’t relieve Martinez, but I am saying I think the situation is probably not that simple and we may be throwing the baby out with the bath water to appease the hurting fans.
Quentin
Tommy Tuberville is a commentator who hopes to get back into coaching
There’s not a college football commentator out there who doesn’t think every coach in the country is “doing a fine job” and “deserves to be given more time.” As a guy who hopes to get back into the coaching ranks, Tubs isn’t going to give anyone bulletin board material. Coaches and commentators are politicians; they’re trying to be as nondescript and noncommittal as possible, and Tuberville is a master of that craft. We shouldn’t read anything into his deliberate efforts to say nothing.
The schemes are not fine. That is plainly apparent. South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida all had breakout games offensively against Georgia, three of them with quarterbacks who previously had accomplished very little. The schemes have remained essentially unchanged from what they were in 2001, despite the fact that quite literally every team we play regularly has changed coaches in the interim, often changing offensive styles in the process (including each of our three biggest rivals).
The Willie Martinez experiment is a failure. The only argument to the contrary is that giving up 37+ points to the other team as often as not is an acceptable performance. It isn’t, but it’s become the norm and it isn’t getting any better. I’m not asking for appeasement; I’m willing to be patient when I see progress. It’s time to fix what’s broken.
Go 'Dawgs!
All that may be T Kyle
However, if removal of the man that CMR has staunchly supported has become necessary does that not mean that the will and vision of the head coach was wrong? Further, if administrative decisions are forced on the head coach by a fan uprising doesn’t that mean that the leadership of the head coach is tainted as well? I will bow out of this discussion due to the fact that both you and CMR are infinitely more knowledgable about the Bulldogs than I am. It just seems to me that when a coach’s decisions run counter to the will of the fans, a clean sweep may be in order. One side of the argument is more right than the other. When egos of the magnitude of head coaches are challenged, it can cause a wide ripple effect. It’s a hell of a thing to lead a movement against a good man and then regret it later….. Back to “corch”, but does it bear repeating?
Those are fair points . . .
. . . which is why I wrote what I wrote last Saturday night: I want Mark Richt to be our head coach; I need Willie Martinez to be replaced as our defensive coordinator; I am at the point at which what I need supersedes what I want.
Perhaps Jujdog’s distinction between Willie Martinez and Tommy Tuberville in the comment below is a fair one and, if the responsibilities of being a coordinator were removed from him, Willie would go back to being a good secondary coach (which he undoubtedly was before). I trust Mark Richt enough to defer to him that far, even though it would not be my preference.
Coach Richt said after the Tennessee game that he thought fans wanted blood. I don’t believe that’s the case; we want the bleeding to be stopped. Bleeding is the metaphor to which I have been returning since last year’s Alabama game, and I’m ready for the hemorrhaging to end.
Holding a team with a pulse below 37 points would be a nice start, too.
Go 'Dawgs!
The difference is, Kyle, that Tuberville has been a success as a head coach
so why should he step back__he has not “peter principled”. On the other hand, Martinez has demonstrated he is not a success as a coordinator, but he has, apparently, demonstrated he can be a good position coach if (1) a good coordinator is his boss and (2) he does not have the added pressures of being the coordinator. My suggestion provides a way out that should be acceptable to Willie, Mark, and the fans. You are a lawyer__rarely, if ever, do parties in a dispute get everything they want. Most of the time, reasonable compromise is the best solution.
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