That was Donnan's first season, when we went 5-6. By comparison, the other teams in the SEC have had the following number of losing regular seasons from 1997-2014:
Alabama- 3 (most recent- 2003)
Arkansas- 6 (most recent- 2013)
Auburn- 4 (most recent- 2012)
Florida- 1 (2013)
Kentucky- 10 (most recent- 2014)
LSU- 2 (most recent- 1999)
Mississippi State- 8 (most recent- 2009)
Missouri- 6 (most recent- 2012)
Ole Miss- 5 (most recent- 2011)
South Carolina- 5 (most recent- 2003)
Tennessee- 5 (most recent- 2013)
Texas A&M- 3 (most recent- 2008)
Vanderbilt- 14 (most recent- 2014)
One thing to keep in mind about the perception that many have of Richt and the Georgia program is that we are the only school in the SEC that hasn't had that "fall off a cliff"-type season- or several of them- that led to wholesale changes within the program. As a result he has been able to hang around a lot longer than the vast majority of other coaches in the league, and as such bears both the rewards and the burden that comes with that longevity. Compare us to Tennessee, who thinks they're "on the way back" because they have been mediocre for a few years after being way down for a few years before that. Just a different mindset.
I have been a vocal critic of Richt's at times over the years, but even I have to admit it's pretty impressive that he has been able to at least keep our program from completely tanking during his tenure, when you consider that every other program besides LSU has had at least one losing regular season since CMR has been at Georgia. Has he brought the hardware home that others have? No, and that's still a major sticking point for me. But one major reason we all focus so much on that is that he's still here after all these years. Other schools simply can't say that.
Alabama- 3 (most recent- 2003)
Arkansas- 6 (most recent- 2013)
Auburn- 4 (most recent- 2012)
Florida- 1 (2013)
Kentucky- 10 (most recent- 2014)
LSU- 2 (most recent- 1999)
Mississippi State- 8 (most recent- 2009)
Missouri- 6 (most recent- 2012)
Ole Miss- 5 (most recent- 2011)
South Carolina- 5 (most recent- 2003)
Tennessee- 5 (most recent- 2013)
Texas A&M- 3 (most recent- 2008)
Vanderbilt- 14 (most recent- 2014)
One thing to keep in mind about the perception that many have of Richt and the Georgia program is that we are the only school in the SEC that hasn't had that "fall off a cliff"-type season- or several of them- that led to wholesale changes within the program. As a result he has been able to hang around a lot longer than the vast majority of other coaches in the league, and as such bears both the rewards and the burden that comes with that longevity. Compare us to Tennessee, who thinks they're "on the way back" because they have been mediocre for a few years after being way down for a few years before that. Just a different mindset.
I have been a vocal critic of Richt's at times over the years, but even I have to admit it's pretty impressive that he has been able to at least keep our program from completely tanking during his tenure, when you consider that every other program besides LSU has had at least one losing regular season since CMR has been at Georgia. Has he brought the hardware home that others have? No, and that's still a major sticking point for me. But one major reason we all focus so much on that is that he's still here after all these years. Other schools simply can't say that.
