Richt Resigns as Georgia Head Coach

The University of Georgia then got into the act when it fired head football coach Mark Richt.

Richt’s departure Sunday as Georgia’s coach after 15 years will be dissected and analyzed many ways for quite a while.

Upon Mark Richt stepping down as Georgia’s head football coach, the Bulldog nation remembers a man that did just as much on the field as off it.

The website says, Athletic Director Greg McGarity and Richt met Sunday morning to discuss his future with the team.

Georgia has tentatively planned a Monday news conference.

Former players and several media members also spoke very highly of Richt in the hours after the news broke Sunday. That’ll keep a football coach in most jobs, but not in the high pressure spot as the head man at the storied Georgia program.

Helton was offensive coordinator when Sarkisian was sacked after five games.

With all of that, there’s plenty of disappointment among players who knew Richt best.

“I’m not as proud of that part”, Shearman said. The Volunteers are on their fourth head coach since kicking Phillip Fulmer (74.3 winning percentage) to the curb in 2008, while Nebraska took a major step back this season after letting go of Bo Pelini (71.3 winning percentage).

Alabama coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts on the news during a teleconference Sunday afternoon.

There is also another option for Richt as noted in yesterday’s press release.

“I’m really looking forward to coaching these boys one more time”, said Richt, who accepted UGA’s offer to coach the team in the as-yet-undetermined bowl game.

Yes, there’s the SEC factor and the hotbed of talent in Atlanta, but it’s not like the Bulldogs aren’t a team poised to contend in the SEC East in 2016. Obviously, McGarity felt that Richt had reached a point of no return, a place where the program had settled into an uncomfortable groove and would no longer be competing for conference championships and national titles.

LSU had been rumored to be interested in luring Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher to Baton Rouge, which triggered speculation that Miles was on shaky ground despite his 111-32 record in the last 11 seasons. Musa Smith ran for 145 yards as Georgia won 13 games for the first time in school history. Georgia always stumbled along the way, preventing a bigger finish to the season, never going undefeated in the SEC or winning the conference championship game when it meant playing for the national title. Georgia’s last SEC championship was in 2005. If Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen leaves, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze would be tied for the third-longest active SEC coaching tenure at five years. That’s a sterling overall record, an average of 9.7 wins a season. He went 35-15 in four seasons with the Rockets, including 9-2 this season with victories over Iowa State and Arkansas.

CON … Timing. Gamecock athletics director Ray Tanner has said he wants to name his new head coach in early December.

GOPHERS MAKE CHANGES: Minnesota Coach Tracy Claeys fired offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover and quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski on Sunday, acting swiftly and decisively as he embarks on his first offseason as a head coach.