Richt fired: Who will replace Richt?

Sports

Who will replace Mark Richt?

Georgia at least knew what it had in Mark Richt. Now the program heads into the wilderness, where the right coaching hire could finish the job that Richt couldn’t, but the wrong one will make fans yearn for the Richt era.

With UGA head coach Mark Richt officially out, the program is looking for a new leader. The right coaching hire could lead Georgia to a national title, but the wrong one might make fans yearn for the Richt era. This time around, the thinking is Georgia can shoot higher, which is probably thanks to what Richt did for the program the past 15 years. The following are leading candidates to replace Richt at Georgia via Seth Emerson/Dawgnation.com. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Dan Mullen: The Mississippi State head coach also has the connection to McGarity, as the two were at Florida together during the Urban Meyer years. Mullen offers head coaching experience and a dynamic offense, although it may not be a fit for pro-style QB recruit Jacob Eason. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Kirby Smart: The Alabama defensive coordinator is an obvious candidate given his connections, and there is considerable sentiment among those close to McGarity to pursue Smart. He’s a former Georgia safety, he was an assistant under Richt in the mid-2000s, and he’s served under the tutelage of Nick Saban at Alabama the past eight years. The question is whether Georgia will take a gamble on someone who not only has no head coaching experience, but has also been running Saban’s defense. (Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP)

Tom Herman: The Houston head coach is 11-1 in his first season, after serving the previous two years under Meyer at Ohio State, where he was offensive coordinator. It’s unclear how much Meyer and McGarity still talk, but if they do Meyer could certainly provide a recommendation. Herman doesn’t really have any other connections to the SEC or the South, having served most his career in the Midwest. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

Charlie Strong: The Texas head coach has been adamant that he’s staying, despite two rough seasons. Of course that’s been because Strong has mostly been linked to the Miami job. The Georgia job could be a different case, given Strong and McGarity also know each other from their Florida days. And when McGarity canceled a planned Georgia-Louisville series a few years ago, he was very complimentary of Strong, saying part of the reason he didn’t want to play the game early in the season was he knew Strong would have his team ready to play. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

1/5

With UGA head coach Mark Richt officially out, the program is looking for a new leader. The right coaching hire could lead Georgia to a national title, but the wrong one might make fans yearn for the Richt era. This time around, the thinking is Georgia can shoot higher, which is probably thanks to what Richt did for the program the past 15 years. The following are leading candidates to replace Richt at Georgia via Seth Emerson/Dawgnation.com. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

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