Richt and Georgia must part ways

Since Halloween 2014, Georgia has lost five games, all of the jaw-dropping variety: An 18-point loss to a Florida team about to fire Will Muschamp; an overtime loss to Georgia Tech after taking a three-point lead with 18 seconds remaining; a 28-point home loss when the Bulldogs were favored over Alabama; a squandered 21-point lead a week later at Tennessee, and finally a 24-point loss to a different Florida under a different coach.

To be fair, there have been nine victories over the past 12 months. But how many of those wins were because Georgia is Georgia and has advantages South Carolina and Missouri never will? (The Bulldogs' best win since Halloween 2014 was over Auburn, which is 6-8 over the same span.)

Winning nine games while coaching Vandy would be fabulous, but Richt isn't coaching Vandy. I never thought I'd say this, but here it is: He and Georgia need to part.

The circumstances at Georgia suggest this: Mark Richt has failed. He should not be back as Georgia's coach next season.

This isn't because he is a bad coach or because the Bulldogs are likely to finish with a losing record (they're 5-3 with four winnable games and a bowl left). It's because they did not meet expectations – this season, last season and arguably most seasons since 2007, when Georgia went 5-0 against ranked opponents and finished 11-2. It's because with no drop in resources or support from administration and with a never-ending tap of recruits, Richt has failed to build momentum and take advantage of a run-down SEC East Division.