The man who was the first to know that Mark Richt would be coaching Georgia learned third-hand Sunday that Richt had been fired. Vince Dooley was returning from Thanksgiving in Dallas — his son Derek is a Cowboys assistant coach — and got the word after landing in Atlanta. His wife Barbara read the press release aloud as they were driving to Athens.
As Georgia’s athletic director, Dooley hired Richt — who accepted the job in a middle-of-the-night phone call — in December 2000. His thoughts now? “If that’s what they want to do, it’s fine with me,” Dooley said.
Having coached the Bulldogs for 25 years, Dooley knows the nature of the business. He was hanged in effigy in Athens early in his Georgia career. Son Derek was fired after three seasons at Tennessee.
“Again, it’s all about expectations,” Dooley said. “And the expectations were to win the East (the past) three years. What we did, we ended up winning games we were supposed to win and losing games we were not supposed to win. They’re real happy with (former Georgia offensive coordinator) Mike Bobo at 7-5 at Colorado State. Imagine what 7-5 would be here.”
Asked if he had any second thoughts on his hire of 15 years ago, Dooley laughed. “It was an excellent hire. The record proves that on football field; (Richt’s) character proves it on the field and off. It was a great hire. Anybody who lasts 15 years in this day and age is like 25 years in my time.”
Any sadness for Richt? Said Dooley: “I don’t know. If he’s happy with that mutual position (outlined in the press release), then I’m happy for him. It’s up to him about how he feels about it all. I guess that will be revealed at the press conference (Monday).”
Will Dooley be in attendance? “I don’t know whether I should or not. Maybe I should call Claude (Felton, Georgia’s publicist).”
