UGA football coach Richt hoped for another year

University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt was not expecting to get the sack Nov. 29, particularly after his team had just defeated Georgia Tech the day before. Richt had thought the Tech victory might buy him another year at UGA, said a friend, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak for Richt.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's reconstruction of Richt's firing provides a glimpse into the high-stakes, high-pressure world of major college football in the South. In the end, of course, the fate of the much-loved, deeply religious Richt came down to a very cold calculation: spreading the gospel and building character in players are admirable qualities, but you're being paid $4.1 million a year to win football games.

Although the most dramatic action was compressed into a single wild week, the whole affair seems to have been a long time in the making. The clues to Richt's undoing began to crystallize as much as a year ago.