Guerry Clegg: Georgia makes big mistake in parting ways with Richt
Congratulations to the screaming minority and your gutless leader, Greg McGarity. Victory, at last, is yours.
Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead. The Mark Richt ouster went off without a hitch, but not without a lot of wailing from thousands of Bulldog fans who supported Richt.
Less than 12 hours after beating Georgia Tech for the 13th time in 15 seasons, Richt was fired by McGarity, Georgia's athletic director, who either A) never fully appreciated what he had in Richt or B) caved to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, who caved to the dissatisfied donors with big bucks.
Last I heard, the Regents govern all colleges in Georgia. I'm not sure why they were more consumed with firing a coach that just finished 9-3 in a bad season and are OK keeping the coach who just finished 3-9, that being Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson. That says the Regents have pitifully low expectations for Tech, or they simply just don't care. (For the record, I'm not lobbying for Johnson to be fired. Just baffled by the hypocrisy and inconsistency.)
It would be false to say the masses wanted Richt gone. Oh, sure, many were upset that he failed to win a national championship and now has gone 10 years without winning the SEC. But in at least two online polls, more than 70 percent of the respondents opposed firing Richt.
But the decision wasn't made by democratic vote or even an electoral college. There were many hands in this decision -- the Board of Regents, which comprises 19 members, and UGA president Jere Morehead. But ultimately, it was McGarity's call alone, just as the head coach is ultimately responsible for every decision in every game.
McGarity reportedly wanted to fire Richt last year and hire Dan Mullen, with whom McGarity worked at Florida, from Mississippi State. But Morehead wouldn't go along with it. McGarity denied that, but the guess here is he was just covering himself publicly because that's what athletic directors do.
That's exactly what McGarity was doing -- again, just a hunch, since I wasn't there -- when he issued this statement Sunday:
"Coach Richt and I met Sunday morning to discuss the status of our football program, and we mutually agreed that he would step down as head coach and would have the opportunity to accept other duties and responsibilities at UGA following the bowl game."
Mutually agreed?
What a crock.
If there was any agreement at all on Richt's part, I suspect it was because he refused to let McGarity dictate changes in his football staff, particularly firing either offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer or defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, or both. Schottenheimer's play-calling has been questioned, even by myself. Pruitt has done a fine job with the defense, but supposedly has worn out his welcome within the athletic department.
If that's the case, Richt made the right decision. If you're going to have the AD making football decisions, you might as well let him live with the results.
Some regents were worried that South Carolina was about to scoop up Kirby Smart, the former Bulldog safety and now Alabama's defensive coordinator. Smart might turn out to be a fine head coach. Bob Stoops was never a head coach when Oklahoma hired him, and he won a national championship. Ditto for Gene Chizik at Auburn, although signing Cam Newton might have helped a wee bit, dontcha think? Jimbo Fisher at Florida State is another one. Again, having Jameis Winston didn't hurt.
So there is a case to be made for on-the-job training. Tom Herman's successful rookie season at Houston doesn't carry much weight in my book. See also: Gus Malzahn, Auburn 2013. Mullen? Never been overly impressed. Last season's ascent to No. 1 in the country had a lot to do with "upsetting" three overrated teams -- LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. Charlie Strong from Texas? Not happening.
How much of a recruiting set-back this will be remains to be seen. Georgia's bound to lose some recruits, but much can happen between now and the first Wednesday in February.
Now that the dirty deed has been done, Smart is as good a choice as any. But beware, Kirby. You better compile a winning percentage of at least .741, because .740 apparently doesn't cut it at Georgia. Better not go 10 years without winning the SEC. But even if you do, that's not going to be enough. You better win it all, or one day your boss will issue a statement saying that you have mutually agreed to step down.
Smart has never built a coaching staff. He has never managed a coaching staff. He has never been responsible for strength and conditioning. He has never managed a recruiting class. He has never called an offensive play, let alone be held accountable for a decision to go for it or kick the field goal on fourth-and-1. He has never managed a crisis. He has never dealt with administration or boosters. He doesn't even have to talk to the media at Alabama. Nick Saban makes his assistants off limits, with rare exceptions. He has never had the final say in discipline.
All Smart has ever done is work under the best coach in college football with the most talent, year in and year out, in the game.
Now, it's also unfair to call him Will Muschamp 2.0. I don't think I've ever seen Smart cost his team 15 yards for going ballistic over a play that happened on the other sideline, as Muschamp did Saturday in the Iron Bowl. He's intense but composed.
Smart just might do very well at Georgia. But winning 74 percent of his games won't be good enough.
-- Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com
This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Guerry Clegg: Georgia makes big mistake in parting ways with Richt ."