Jul 17, 2014; Hoover, AL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt talks to the media during the SEC football media days at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3 – Mark Richt
Have you noticed anything about coach Richt this year? The affable, congenial and warm Richt is still there…lurking, but he’s been much more business-like and (dare we say) focused so far this year.
Mark Richt more than likely knows two things. First, his job at Georgia is safe and will be his for as long as he wants to be the head coach in Athens, despite what the forums and bulletin boards may scream. Second, he knows that his window for a shot at a national championship is small. It’s not closing…not yet. But in college football, for most programs it’s definitely not a huge window.
The argument can go on forever about whether Mark Richt is too nice, too forgiving, too strict, too tolerant, too unemotional…pretty much any adjective you can think of has been applied to Richt with the word “too” in front of it. It’s clear that the media has lost control of Mark Richt.
But in the end, Richt is a winner, and he wants to produce a winner. Every man goes through some sort of fire and comes out changed on the other side. We may be seeing some of that change in Richt, and none of it is for the worse.