With Miami announcement looming, Mark Richt informs UGA players he won’t coach

Mark Richt previously said that he wanted to coach Georgia in the bowl game, because he wanted to be with his guys as long as possible. 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.

Richt moves to Miami, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is expected to move to Georgia, and the coaching carousel is in full swing.

Miami has announced there will be a news conference held Friday at 10 a.m.to introduce its new head coach but did not mention a name. The school stated offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt & different employees members will retain their roles via the bowl.

“I’ve asked Bryan to assume all administrative duties of the head coach”, said Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity.

Alabama radio game analyst Phil Savage had some insight into the matter when doing an interview on SiriusXM radio Thursday morning. A source of Bruce Feldman’s said that the school could pay up to $4 million to its head coach, but how much it’ll pay Richt isn’t yet known.

Smart played and coached at Georgia.

The decision is a complete reversal from Richt’s statements during a news conference Monday.

“It’s not my real position to confirm any of this stuff, and I really can’t confirm it”, Saban said Wednesday. Smart was a graduate assistant at Florida State, his first job in major college football.

“Oh man, I was very thankful for the opportunity, are you kidding me?” He was sacked by UGA on Sunday.

McGarity on Monday described the search to replace Richt as “wide open”, though Smart is widely considered the leading candidate. Scott took over for the remainder of the year and has led the team to a berth in a bowl game.

Nov 28, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jordan Jenkins (59) celebrates while waving the Georgia flag after their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The four-game winning streak was not enough to save Richt’s job, which by all indications was decided after the team’s loss to Florida.