THE LETTER:

January 2, 2015

Dear Fellow Bulldogs,

First of all, I am very proud of the way we finished the season in Charlotte at the Belk Bowl. The preparation by our coaching staff and our student-athletes was exceptional, and we certainly performed like we practiced leading up to the game. The level of enthusiasm and determination we displayed was obvious to everyone, and we were able to maintain that edge throughout the game and defeat a very good Louisville squad. Ten wins and perhaps a Top 10 finish in the polls should make all Bulldogs proud.

In my 38 years of experience in college athletics, I can’t remember one full season where we had so many highs, lows and unique circumstances. Regardless of the situation, Mark and his staff kept their focus on the student-athletes and their well-being. Mark’s “move forward” approach to his profession allowed us to quickly rebound from our “lows” and control the only thing we could control —- our next game. As we know, we enjoyed many “highs” after these “lows” this season.

Many times we forget this is a game played by youngsters who are dealing with a number of challenges of their own, and I appreciate the time and effort our student-athletes devote to our program all year long. In my conversations with Mark throughout the year, his student-athletes are always at the forefront of any decision, and I respect his consistency in this area.

I would also like to congratulate Mike Bobo on reaching his professional goal of becoming a head coach. We appreciate Mike’s contribution to UGA as a student-athlete and coach, and we will be pulling for the Rams and Mike for successes in the future.

I look forward to working alongside Mark in the future and in helping him move our program forward in all areas. We will be working on a contract extension with Mark over the coming days. I know Mark is focused on completing his coaching staff and recruiting. Our support staff is also focused on a number of construction projects, including the indoor practice facility and future enhancements to football areas in Sanford Stadium. We will keep you updated on progress in these areas as they develop.

We have so many dedicated and talented staff members working very hard to make our entire program the best it can be, and we are motivated to accomplish great things as a department in 2015.

As I said as we closed the calendar year of 2014, we have so much to be thankful for and we appreciate the support you provide to our program! Thanks for being there for us!

Happy New Year. Go Dogs!

Greg McGarity

J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics

A contract extension is in the works for Georgia football coach Mark Richt, and it’s just the first of what’s expected to be several moves to stabilize and enhance the Bulldogs’ coaching staff in advance of the 2015 season.

Athletic Director Greg McGarity on Friday sent out a letter to the athletic program’s top financial contributors praising Richt and his staff for Tuesday night’s win over Louisville in the Belk Bowl and for their deft handling of adverse situations all season.

In the fifth paragraph of the letter, McGarity informed Hartman Fund contributors, “We will be working on a contract extension with Mark over the coming days.”

It did not end with Richt. Later Friday, UGA sent out a news release confirming that defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has received a raise and contract extension. The new deal for Pruitt, who made $850,000 last year, adds a year back to the original contract and gives him three years at a new salary of $1.3 million per year, according to the school

“Our defense has performed overall at a very high level this season and much of it is due to Jeremy’s leadership,” said Richt. “It’s important that we solidify his tenure at Georgia and continue to build our defense in all areas including recruiting, coaching and player development.”

ources have told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Georgia is also expected to offer promotions, contract extensions and/or raises to defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Bryan McClendon.

Pruitt, Rocker and McClendon have been approached about openings at other programs and will receive commensurate salary increases. Rocker is expected to be promoted to assistant head coach.

Meanwhile, Richt, who has been at the same SEC school longer than any other coach in the league, has fallen down the pecking order in terms of compensation because of increases provided to less experienced coaches at other programs. His $3.5 salary currently ranks ninth among conference head coaches. He would need to be in the $4 million range to be among the top five in the SEC, led by Alabama’s Nick Saban ($7.1 million). Richt’s present contract expires after the 2017 season.

Richt did not return calls and messages seeking comment. McGarity also declined comment.

The No. 13-ranked Bulldogs defeated the No. 21 Louisville 37-14 to finish the season 10-3. They did it despite losing their starting quarterback, leading receiver and starting safety to injuries during the game and while working with an interim offensive coordinator. The victory secured double-digit victories for Georgia for the ninth time in 14 seasons under Richt.

Wrote McGarity: “In my 38 years of experience in college athletics, I can’t remember one full season where we had so many highs, lows and unique circumstances. Regardless of the situation, Mark and his staff kept their focus on the student-athletes and their well-being. Mark’s ‘move forward’ approach to his profession allowed us to quickly rebound from our ‘lows’ and control the only thing we could control —- our next game.”

Georgia had to overcome four-game suspension of star running back Todd Gurley. Gurley returned against Auburn on Nov. 15, but then suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs’ losses were South Carolina (38-35), Florida (38-20) and Georgia Tech (30-24 OT).

Entering late November, Georgia still had a chance to play in the SEC Championship game and possibly qualify for the College Football Playoff. But Missouri, which the Bulldogs beat 34-0, edged Arkansas in the season finale to earn the SEC Championship game berth from the East. Then Georgia lost to Tech on Nov. 29, which knocked it out of contention for one of the six major bowls.

Before the Belk Bowl, the Bulldogs lost offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to Colorado State, who fulfilled his goal of becoming a head coach. Offensive line coach Will Friend is following Bobo to the Mountain West Conference school as offensive coordinator but stayed on to coach in the bowl.

“Our offensive staff pulled it together under some adversity,” Richt said after the game. “Anytime you lose a coach like Mike Bobo, you’ve got to rally. You’ve got to come together and do that. I know Will Friend is going to be going on to Colorado State with Mike but Will chose to stay for the bowl game. I think that was very key to our success. It would have been very difficult to run this bowl game without Will being there with these offensive linemen. I think they played their tails off for him and for Georgia.”

Tight ends coach John Lilly served as play-caller for the Belk Bowl and is being considered as a successor for Bobo. Richt is also screening several candidates from outside the program.