NCAA NOTEBOOK: Miami names Richt as coach

He coached for 15 years at Georgia will lead the team in its bowl game following a 9-3 finish to the regular season. I know (Richt) was a major influence in his decision to commit to Georgia. Georgia was not expected to have its first formal contact with Smart until after No. 2 Alabama plays No. 18 Florida in Saturday’s SEC championship game in Atlanta.

It seems likely that Richt will be costing the Hurricanes far more than their last coach. However, Richt will not be the coach that will replace Mike London at the head of the Cavaliers. LSU needed a defensive backs coach, and assistant coach Will Muschamp recommended Smart, who had been a player at Georgia when Muschamp was starting his coaching career. Now he can add another: Interim head coach. The sophomore now sits at fifth on Miami’s all-time passing list after his 261-yard passing performance against Pittsburgh last week and he is one of just eight Hurricanes quarterbacks to pass the 6,000-yard mark. Golden was sacked in late October following Miami’s 58-0 loss to the now top ranked Clemson Tigers.

Richt is an offensive-minded coach, having been Florida State’s offensive coordinator before coming to Georgia. “If it wasn’t offered to me, I would’ve asked for it. Very excited about that”.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has rebuilt the Seminoles in part by poaching some of the best players from the Miami area, including running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Dalvin Cook.

It’s official Bulldog fans: Former UGA football coach Mark Richt has been hired by the University of Miami as their next head football coach.

Richt is a proven excellent recruiter (consensus top 10 classes for a decade), who likes to play a pro style offense and is good at finding and developing quarterbacks.

With the news of his hire, it is unclear whether he will coach in the Bulldogs’ upcoming bowl game.

Richt, who was a star quarterback at Boca Raton High, graduated from UM in 1982 after backing up Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly in the early 1980s.

“I think Miami is getting a great, great coach”, Georgia linebacker Davin Bellamy said over the phone. Maybe not. If sports history has taught us anything it’s that when a competitive person gets fired, they get their fire back. The school has not won 10 games in a season since 2003 and has had three different coaches in the time Richt spent in Athens.