The Mark Richt Victory Watch

In light of the fate that most likely awaits the Georgia Bulldogs’ head football coach at the end of the 2011 season, I debated whether to perpetuate the Mark Richt Victory Watch this autumn, for fear that it might come across either as mocking or as morbid. After all, 294 days have elapsed since I last was afforded an opportunity to update the Mark Richt Victory Watch, and, while I still have hope, I have lost the faith that Mark Richt ultimately will overtake Vince Dooley as the all-time winningest coach in our history.

Eventually, I decided to press ahead with the Mark Richt Victory Watch, as I have counted down every win of his career, whether on "The Dawg Show" on local cable, at my old weblog, or here at Dawg Sports. I don’t know what the future holds; I don’t know whether the present bad patch is one from which Coach Richt will recover (as Coach Dooley did from the downturn of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s) or one from which he will not (as Wally Butts never really did from the downturn of the late ‘40s and ‘50s). I know, however, that Mark Richt is the head coach of the Red and Black right now, and that I am proud of that fact, even if I am not presently pleased with the results on the field, and I will continue to celebrate every success by the Bulldogs, which is why this feature will continue for as long as Coach Richt’s tenure endures. If that gets me booed for being a rational Georgia fan, so be it.

The Mark Richt Victory Watch now stands at 97. Coach Richt trails Coach Dooley by 104 wins on the all-time school victories list.

Coach Richt’s 97-36 record remains the best in Georgia history after 133 games. Only two of Coach Richt’s predecessors lasted as many games in the job; Coach Richt’s office is located in a building named for the first in an athletic complex named for the second. Coach Richt has the most victories, is tied for the fewest losses, and has the best winning percentage among the three Bulldog head coaches who lasted more than 100 games on the Sanford Stadium sideline.

At the same points in their respective careers, Coach Butts was 90-36-7 and Coach Dooley was 88-40-5. Coach Richt’s career winning percentage of .729 exceeds those of Coach Butts (.703) and Coach Dooley (.681) after the same number of games.

Go ‘Dawgs!