Georgia Football Needs To Keep Mark Richt

After Saturday’s loss to Florida, Georgia fans are calling for coach Mark Richt‘s head. Granted, it was not Georgia’s day. They looked lackluster and a bit sloppy. Florida seemed to outplay them at every turn. This was more due to outstanding play on the Gators’ part than due to any massive dysfunction of the Georgia organization. Upsets happen all the time; and teams that show promise at the beginning of the season lose games.

This does not mean that Georgia is a bad football team, nor does it mean that Richt is a poor coach. These things are cyclical, and Georgia has been plagued by more than its share of bad luck this season. Injuries, errors and bizarre circumstances have devastated UGA’s program. The fact is, though, Richt is still one of the best active coaches in the country, he has never had any serious NCAA infractions and his players love him. Let’s re-evaluate Richt’s performance at the end of the season. If UGA finishes last in the SEC and gets no bowl game, then sure, have the discussion with Georgia’s AD. Until then, give the guy a break.

Let’s analyze the numbers first. Several stats stand out immediately. Richt’s win percentage is .738, which is higher than Vince Dooley’s percentage of .715. Nobody was after Dooley’s blood every season. Regardless, Richt is currently ninth in the NCAA in win percentage, right after Nick Saban and Kevin Sumlin. And let’s face it—even the finest coaches regularly lose two or more games a year. The only current coaches who have not sustained two or more losses per season—Urban Meyer and Jimbo Fisher—are outliers, not the norm. Richt has also had the most success of any coach in Georgia’s history. Dooley finished at the bottom of the SEC three times during his first 15 years. On the other hand, Richt has never finished at the bottom of the SEC. Never. No coach in Georgia history has ever maintained that level. Point, coach Richt.

Richt’s team has also avoided any serious NCAA infractions. There has never been any time during Richt’s tenure when UGA has been on probation. People actually got mad at him in 2011 during the Todd Gurley and A.J. Green incidents; they felt that he shouldn’t have been so tough on his players. That is one of the dumbest arguments yet. You are annoyed at a coach for obeying the rules. When a player on a winning team gets the spotlight for the wrong reasons it tarnishes the reputation of the entire program. UGA’s program has managed to stay off the radar, and that is not a bad thing.

Finally, Richt’s former players have nothing but positive things to say about their former leader. You see the “Coach Richt Is My Dawg” T-shirt all over the place when past UGA players get interviewed. These guys know when a coach genuinely cares about them, and Richt does. This may not be a big deal to folks who prefer Saban’s hands-off approach to his players. But for the parents of these kids, Richt’s approach is far superior. His track record is proven—these kids graduate at a high rate. They also can count on Richt to provide them with job opportunities and career prospects long after they leave UGA. That is a rarity in many national programs, but it is one that should be admired. Some 90 percent of college players will never make it to the pros. Therefore, having someone in your corner after your college stardom has waned matters. Richt has made it abundantly clear that he will back these boys in good times and bad.

Yes, it’s frustrating when a team of Georgia’s caliber has a bad year. To fire a coach with a proven track record after one bad year is not only castigatory, it’s frankly idiotic. Football programs need consistency to do well; indeed the most successful programs over the past decade have had the same coaching staff for five years or more. No, Richt hasn’t won a national title—which seems to be the biggest point of contention for the Richt naysayers—but then neither have most teams outside of Alabama.

Leave Richt alone, y’all. A coach who has been to two SEC Championship games and has a 74 percent win percentage is a rarity; but a coach who genuinely cares about his players is a once-in-a-lifetime singularity, and Georgia would be doing the program a massive disservice to let him go.