Mark Richt won’t coach Georgia bowl game after accepting Miami job

ESPN and the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was Georgia’s selection. The Bulldogs’ season this year was indicative of Richt’s career, as they went 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, finishing second in the Eastern division. Smart’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, could not be reached for comment. The 55-year-old is scheduled to be introduced this morning as the new coach at the University of Miami, his alma mater.

“Miami is a unique job”, Bowden said.

Players said on Wednesday that they don’t consider Smart’s situation or the status of other coaches from Alabama’s program as a distraction.

“I know he’s going to be a great role model for my boy, for our kids, he’s going to be a great person and a great teacher”, Vinny Testaverde said.

The former Georgia head man is landing on his feet. Golden was an underwhelming 32-25 in four-plus seasons with the Hurricanes, who have yet to make the ACC championship game since joining the conference in 2004.

Richt is considered a strong hire for a Hurricanes program that has largely floundered for more than a decade.

Georgia confirmed Thursday that even if Richt accepts a new head coaching job, it will pay him the $4 million buyout under a new contract that was not signed but that the school is honoring. That remains to be seen, he could very well follow Richt at Miami.

He was mentioned as a potential fit for Miami nearly as soon as the Hurricanes fired Al Golden in October, with five games left on this year’s regular-season schedule and one day after the Hurricanes endured the worst loss in school history – a 58-0 defeat to Clemson.

Smart, 39, has a background that should be appealing to Georgia fans. He was an administrative assistant at Georgia in 1999 before returning as running backs coach under Richt for one season in 2005. Before working at Michigan, Durkin was the defensive coordinator at Florida for two years.

Eason took an official visit to Florida after Georgia let go of Richt, and Rivals.com reports that Miami is a contender to land the top prospect.

Savage, during an appearance on Sirius/XM radio, said three people have told him of Smart’s plans.