Athens — The firing of Mark Richt — the Sunday morning surprise after the Saturday afternoon victory — seemed to cast a particular pall over the capital of the Bulldog Nation.
On the street in downtown Athens Sunday afternoon, Everett Jones just glared.
“That ain’t right,” Jones said, shaking his head. “That ain’t right.”
Jones and his wife, Michelle, and their teenage son Zachary had come from Dacula to spend the afternoon in downtown Athens. They hadn’t looked at their cellphones in hours and were shocked when an AJC reporter told them of Richt’s firing.
“No,” said Michelle. “He’s a good, Christian man!”
“That’s crazy,” chimed in Zachary.
The common sentiment across downtown Athens Sunday afternoon was a deep sense of disappointment and loss, not simply for Richt the coach, but Richt the community leader and philanthropist. Michelle Jones talked about the unwavering support Richt gave Devon Gales, a Southern University player who suffered a spinal injury during a game against UGA earlier this season. Jones’ husband, still in shock at the news, nodded as she spoke.
“I’ll tell you this, whatever school he decides to go to, it’s gonna be a blessing to the school and the community,” Everett Jones said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Richt, 55, was named head coach at UGA on the day after Christmas in 2000. In his first five seasons he led the Bulldogs to two SEC championships and helped the team regain some luster. But in recent years he was not able to top his early success, despite being one of the team's winningest coaches. And Saturday's win over Georgia Tech did nothing to alter Richt's fate.
The Tech victory was scarcely in the books on Sunday morning when Richt met with UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity to “discuss the status of our football program,” according to a statement from McGarity. The athletic director said he and the coach “mutually agreed” that it was time for Richt to step down.
Going into the postseason this year, Richt’s record is 145-51. He is being paid $4 million a year after receiving an $800,000-a-year raise in January.
Football is everything in Athens. After what many pundits and some fans considered to be a disappointing string of seasons late in Richt's 15-year tenure at UGA, speculation over his fate was rampant. Many commentators had been calling for his ouster for months. Yet, despite the disagreements over his performance on the sidelines, his performance as an Athens community member was widely and consistently praised. Some have speculated that his tenure as head coach, second only to the legendary Vince Dooley, lasted so long because he was seen as a goodwill ambassador for UGA and Athens.
“He’s such a stand-up guy,” said Carissa Smith of Washington, Ga., who was having dinner with her husband, Robert, and their small children. “Just as a spectator watching him over the years, he was not afraid to express his love of God. That has been a breath of fresh air. He prayed with his players. You just don’t see that sort of thing nowadays where people aren’t afraid to show they care for other people.”
Over the years, Richt’s Christian faith informed most of his decisions.
Richt began his coaching career at Florida State University under longtime Coach Bobby Bowden. He has said that, after an FSU player was shot and killed during the 1986 season, he was a “broken young coach” who was seeking spiritual guidance. Bowden had spoken to the team about the player’s death and invited anyone who had questions or “anything on their hearts, to please come and speak to him.”
According to a transcript of a talk Richt made at a South Carolina church a few years ago, Richt went to see Bowden the next day. The coach, he said, told him what it meant to be a Christian.
“My life had not turned out like I planned, I understood how self-centered and prideful I was,” Richt says in the transcript. “I saw my sin revealed and the reality of God’s love for me. Coach Bowden led me in a prayer that day, and I received God’s mercy, forgiveness and peace through what Christ had done for me… . I left Coach Bowden’s office a new man.”
Richt has done mission work in Honduras with his wife Katharyn and has given generous support to World Vision Church and its outreach ministry. His focus on faith led some to wonder whether he’d taken his eye off the ball in Athens. That’s the wrong way to measure Richt’s ultimate worth said, said Craig Adams of Vidalia. He, his wife Tracey, a UGA grad, and their three children were shopping in Athens on Sunday as news of Richt’s firing rippled across the state. People in the Adamses’ hometown had been talking about it all day, they said, and they were not happy.
“He worried about his kids’ graduation rates, he prayed with them and when you messed up there was discipline,” Craig Adams said. “He was old-school, like a father figure.”
“It’s a huge loss,” said Tracey Adams. “He had values.”
Bulldogs linebacker Tim Kimbrough tweeted this note Sunday afternoon: “Preciate everything Coach Richt has done for us. He made sure we grew as men and great ball players. Thanks Coach.”
Craig Adams said that Richt’s true measure will be seen years from now, not in how many championships he won, but in the lives of his players as they mature and go on to careers on and off the football field.
“We’re losing the bigger picture,” said Craig Adams. “It’s more than just winning a game on Saturday. He’s shaping young men’s lives. That’s not losing to me. That’s winning on a higher level. In my opinion, we just had the biggest loss today.”
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