Fire Richt? Beware the perils of the Quick Hook

By Ray Glier

For the AJC

When David Cutcliffe stood up to the Ole Miss administration that wanted to tell him how to run the football program, he was fired. It was a quick hook that yanked him off-stage after one subpar season.

The numbers are enough to make Cutcliffe’s case that his ouster was not deserved.

Cutcliffe was 44-29 for the Rebels. His .603 winning percentage was the school’s highest since legendary coach John Vaught (1947-70, .745). Under Cutcliffe, the Rebels beat Alabama twice and beat Florida, LSU and Auburn. They shared the Southeastern Conference Western Division title in 2003 with eventual national champion LSU.

Nonetheless, Cutcliffe was fired in 2004 after a 4-7 season, a transition year following the departure of quarterback Eli Manning.

In 2007, he was named head coach at Duke and you can judge for yourself if Ole Miss made a hasty decision. The Blue Devils had won 10 games in the seven seasons previous to Cutcliffe’s arrival. They have already won nine and Cutcliffe’s second season is not even complete.

It was a quick hook by the Ole Miss administration, a hook that was to become just as disruptive to Mississippi’s football program as it was for Cutcliffe. Ole Miss is 27-32 in the five seasons since Cutcliffe departed.

So, those fans who want Mark Richt to start sending out resumes because he has lost the magic at Georgia might consider the cost of the quick hook.

If Cutcliffe is not a good enough example, what about Earle Bruce? He was canned at Ohio State (1979-87) after going 81-26-1 (.755) and winning four Big Ten championships. His successor, John Cooper, won three titles and needed three seasons more than Bruce to get them.

There are others. Pete Carroll was fired by both the New York Jets and the New England Patriots and within five years, he won consecutive national titles at USC. Bill Belichik left the Cleveland Browns and won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

“For most good people, winning is enough. I was the exception,” Bruce said. “You would have to know what the atmosphere was in Columbus, Ohio. I was not on the strong side of the ruling family. I’m not a political guy. I was a football coach, and the politics got me. It happens and there is nothing you can do about it.

“What kind of athletic director does Mark have? Who hired him? Did that president there now hire him? The chain of command makes every difference if you check coaching hirings and firings. Normally when there is a change in presidents and change in athletic director, that’s a problem. The athletic director was not a problem for me, but the president was. When the president got involved, it was politics.”

When Bruce was told some fans are urging Richt to replace defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, Bruce said Richt better beware.

“That's the start of the demise,” Bruce said. “The next step is you.”

The issues that undercut Cutcliffe had more to do with impatience than politics. Ole Miss did not have time to groom a replacement for Manning, and the 2004 season tanked. When Cutcliffe declined to submit to a list of problems handed to him by athletics director Pete Boone and then-chancellor Robert Khayat, the administrative undercurrents took the coach under.

“The difficulty that comes with it is not being talked about, not that your feelings are hurt. Even our families are accustomed to it,” Cutcliffe said. “I think the challenge you have is not letting it affect your players. You have to remain effective with your players and your players have to be very confident in you as a coach for you to be successful.”

Some Ole Miss players were convinced by people outside the program their coach was not fit to lead the program. Just like that — one subpar season after five winning ones — Cutcliffe was done.

“I think the biggest challenge you face in those difficult times is maintaining that quality leadership role and the only way I know how to do that is be who you are and continue to work and do things that you deeply believe in,” Cutcliffe said. “Don’t panic, don’t punch the panic button. Do what you know and do what you believe in.”

Some Virginia Tech fans were trying to push the school’s administration into removing coach Frank Beamer six seasons into Beamer’s tenure. The Hokies were 24-40-2 and by 1992, many fans wanted Beamer out.

They should be glad he survived. In the past 14 seasons, Virginia Tech has won six conference championships (Big East and ACC) and played for the national championship. Tech will be going to a bowl game for the 17th straight season.

“You’ve got to deal with what’s real,” Beamer said. “Whatever it is people will say, you’ve got to deal with what is the real situation. That’s what you’ve got to dwell on, not what people are saying, but what the real situation is and it’s not always the same.

“Mark has made good decisions and if I was a fan at Georgia, I would have trust in him making more good decisions. Every week somebody has got to win, somebody has got to lose. It’s a very thin line. Mark deserves the right to make decisions, and I think he will make good decisions for that program.”

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks, who was the defensive coordinator of the Falcons’ 1998 Super Bowl team, was scalded by fans his first few seasons in Lexington, but has survived and thrived. He had the same experience at Oregon, and eventually left.

“There is no patience in society today and certainly not in the SEC when it comes to football,” said Brooks, whose team last Saturday won its first game at Georgia in 32 years. “It doesn’t make any difference what you did yesterday or who you beat because if you lose a game or two, they are all over you.

“Sometimes it’s hard not to take it personal, but I have been beaten up by the best. I went through it at Oregon. They were selling ‘Ditch Rich' T-shirts in the parking lot after the third game of the season the year we won the Pac-10 championship and go to the Rose Bowl.”