So
I'm just wondering how long it takes for Richt not to win anything getting paid 4 million plus a year before you guys decide he's not that good of a coach.
How many years? Or is it that you don't care and you just want a good Christian man to coach Georgia no matter how many games he wins.
I'm just wondering.
So what's the criteria for a good coach? Championships, especially national championships, are only part of the equation. Talent and fortune have a lot to do with it as well.
The repeated talking point that with all of the talent UGA has had they should have won a championship sounds good but isn't a statement of fact. Name every championship team of the BCS era and tell me that UGA was better than them top to bottom, no questions asked.
2002: UGA could have beaten either OSU or Miami but it wasn't guaranteed and that team could have lost to either.
2005: Perhaps with a healthy Shockley against Florida the rest of the season would have played out differently but UGA did lose a close one to Auburn in Shockley's return because of defense and went on to lose to West Virginia in the bowl game despite a near miracle comeback so it's hard to say that team should have won a championship.
2007: UGA was one of the hottest teams at the end for sure but this isn't the NFL. If there was an 8 team playoff I would have bet on UGA winning it all that year but that's not how it works.
2008: This is the worst season of the Richt era that left me feeling like Donnan's 2000. To me, this is the season Richt and Bobo should be held most accountable as there's absolutely no excuse for how poor the offense played. Yeah, they put up numbers but many Richt UGA teams have too. That offense didn't dictate games like they should have considering the talent and that was a leadership issue in my opinion. The defense wasn't as great as it could have been either. Great teams don't have mediocre defenses.
2012: Simply lost to a better Bama and not by much. UGA was the 2nd best team in America on the field because the NFL talent-laden defense wasn't playing up to potential.
2013: UGA got over 2 early humps with the wins against SC and LSU after dropping the opener on the road to Clemson. If not for the numerous injuries they could have had an OSU-like recovery but we'll never know. It's doubtful though because the offense was still carrying the defense.
2014: New defense hit hard by attrition held their own for the most part but UGA's only chance of making noise rested on Gurley. The SC loss was a great offensive mind exploiting a clear advantage over a new defense early in the season. Take emotion out of it along with Bobo/Richt not running Gurley on 1st down inside the 5 and you still come away with UGA not being clearly the best team in America. The running game could have carried UGA the rest of the way with an eligible and healthy Gurley but when most of your eggs are in one basket you're not the best team in America.
So I ask again, when has UGA been clearly the best team in America to say that we should have won a championship by now? UGA has been one of the best teams in America plenty of times and their records have shown it. If anything, UGA has been the most consistent program I've seen in my life. There's no trophy for that but that's why I personally am not crazy about the idea of firing Richt.
When coaches like Chizik and Fisher win championships, it's been on the back of a Heisman winning player with pretty good talent around him. When Stoops and Miles have won championships, it's been with the previous coach's players and their spark but both have not been able to get it done since, especially Stoops who has probably lost the most games he should have won on the way to a national championship. The Big12 has been a mess to the point where Baylor and TCU are the kings for crying out loud. There's no reason for Oklahoma to fail to be a national championship contender at the end. They have an easier path than OSU.
Saban and Meyer are really the only 2 who have proven they can win with another coach's players and their own built teams so they are in a league of their won right now. Meanwhile, Richt is about the only coach who can survive and compete at a high level for a relatively long time despite changing dynamics and while sticking to his guns (willing to punish wrongdoers).
Yeah, Richt has faults but so does everyone else. I'm willing to see this through because Richt won't be the head coach forever either way. I don't believe Richt can't win a championship so why would I be an advocate for change? Short of bringing in Saban, Meyer, or even Spurrier, I don't see why I'd trade proven success for a relative unknown given the current recruiting situation which continues to tick up. The next 5 years will cement Richt's legacy one way or the other.
