University of Georgia Athletics
Richt Looking Forward With A Smile
November 30, 2015 | Football
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Mark Richt looked unburdened Monday morning as he talked about ending his 15-year run as Georgia's head football coach. Appearing at ease and optimistic, Richt smiled often and looked like someone who had been chewing on words like freedom and opportunity for a little while -- and liked how they tasted.
"My wife (Katharyn) and I will be fine," he said. "We're empty-nesters. We're still madly in love. We'll probably get to do some things we just haven't been able to do in the past.
"I've been coaching for 33 years straight, and that's a long grind. It can wear a man out a little bit, especially sitting in the head coach's chair. We're very excited about our future."
About 24 hours before Monday's news conference with J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity in the Richard B. Taylor Georgia Room at Stegeman Coliseum, McGarity and Richt met to discuss the future of the football program.
It was decided at that meeting, one day after the Dogs beat Georgia Tech to end the regular season 9-3, that this season would be Richt's last at UGA. It was an impactful run that featured SEC championships in 2002 and '05, as well as three other SEC championship game appearances.
"Days like yesterday are the most difficult in our profession, especially when you're dealing with someone who has the character of Mark Richt," McGarity said.
Georgia longtime swimming and diving coach Jack Bauerle was among those on hand for the news conference. He said Richt, from the beginning, "opened his door to all of us (coaches) and he was always helpful to us, and I just viewed it as an honor being on the staff with him."
Georgia still has a bowl game to play, which Richt will coach, giving him a chance to add to his total of 145 wins. That's second only to UGA legend Vince Dooley's 201; Dooley, who hired Richt back at the end of 2000, was seated about 20 feet from him during the news conference.
When some coaches part ways with a school, they don't stick around for the bowl game. Richt never considered that.
"I was very thankful for the opportunity, are you kidding me?" he said. "I get to coach one more time with these guys and finish the season. If it wasn't offered to me I would've asked for it. I'm very excited about that."
Richt was scheduled to spend the next two weeks on the road recruiting, which Georgia's staff will continue to do. For the 55-year-old that has worked nonstop in coaching for the past 33 years, he suddenly finds himself in an unusual situation.
"Now that I'm not recruiting, there's nothing on my calendar," he said.
Not until bowl preparation really gets going. And even that may have a different feel to it this year. It will be the Dogs' 15th bowl with Richt, but it will also be his last. Richt seemed to relish the idea of being with his players and staff for a few more weeks of practice and one more game. And he may be much more involved, getting his hands dirtier, in the actual offensive planning and coaching than he has in recent years.
Richt smiled when talking about maybe one day coaching again, which could come as early as next season. And he stressed a desire to work with quarterbacks and run an offense again.
Richt said he will listen to offers and explore options in the days and weeks ahead.
"I'll say this, if and when I do coach again, I'm looking forward to coaching again in terms of being more hands-on," he said. "I miss coaching quarterbacks, I miss calling plays, I miss that part of it. Whether it's in the role of head coach, coordinator, quarterbacks coach, whatever it is.
"If in fact I choose to do that, I'd be really excited about coaching QBs again and getting in the middle of coaching offensive strategy. Not that I wasn't in it, but I wasn't calling it. And I think I'd be more apt to do that again."
Richt and Georgia parting ways came as a shock to parts of the fan base, but not Richt. he said. He knew it was a possibility and he'd had to respond to questions about it in numerous news conferences since Georgia lost to Alabama, Tennessee and Florida in October.
"I see where I am, Georgia sees where they are, and everybody's going to do what they think is in the best interest to have success in the future, so that's how I look at it," he said of Sunday's decision.
The Georgia football program, the Georgia athletic department and the University of Georgia are all better for Richt having been here, and that's the case regardless of how his teams performed on the field.
The SEC and all of college football and collegiate athletics also are better for Richt having been here. For 15 seasons he's been a classy, concerned coach, helping his players become productive players -- 77 have been selected in the NFL and more signed as undrafted free agents -- and, more importantly, productive citizens.
Richt has never pretended there wasn't life outside of football, and he made sure the players never forgot it, either. For much of his tenure at Georgia, the Bulldogs paid annual summer visits to Camp Sunshine, which provides programs for children with cancer. Connections were made with those children, just as Richt made one with Southern wide receiver Devon Gales, who suffered a spinal injury against the Bulldogs on Sept. 26.
When he's out recruiting or interacting with Georgia fans, Bauerle said, "people invariably ask about football and the question always was, `Is (Richt) as good a guy as he seems?' And it was a real quick answer."
Every coach has a shelf life. There were coaches before Dooley and there will be coaches after Richt and his replacement. Life will go on for Richt and the Bulldogs.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
