http://espn.go.com/blog/travis-haney/insider/post?id=4909
Why the Florida loss could be Richt’s last straw
Travis Haney, ESPN Staff Writer
Ask anyone who has spent time around Georgia’s Mark Richt the past few years, and they’ll return with the same ■■■■■■■■: He looks tired.
The grind of coaching and competing at the highest level has seemingly taken a toll on the 55-year-old Richt, despite a 141-51 record at the school. Those who know the program well told me this past week they truly believed the Florida result would dictate whether Richt would return for a 16th season. If it went poorly, the majority thought a mentally and physically taxed Richt would walk away at season’s end.
Well.
Florida 27, Georgia 3.
Richt’s UGA teams are now 5-10 against the Gators, including decisive losses the past two seasons – to two different coaches, one in his final year and one in his first.
Further, the Bulldogs are out of the SEC East race by Halloween. It has been 11 years since they won a conference championship.
To be clear, Richt is not going to be fired. But he just might have had enough. The negatives are outweighing the positives; the losses like Saturday’s hang like a weight around the neck, making the wins feel less enjoyable – or all but forgotten.
So what’s next? A coach told me a year ago, the last time Florida dominated Georgia, a robot could win 10 games a year at UGA (Richt’s average). The question is whether someone else can win at an even higher rate, especially performing better in big games.
“This is the kind of job that coaches who have good jobs would leave for,” an agent told me this week. “Georgia is at that level. They absolutely should be winning championships, or at minimum competing for them regularly. There will be a line if that comes open.”
Who are those names to watch at Georgia, should Richt step aside? That’s where we begin Next Week Now, which continues with a stacked Week 10 schedule and the team to watch in the first College Football Playoff rankings.