Mark Richt
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Mark Richt (born February 18, 1960 in Omaha, Nebraska) is the head football coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the NCAA college football tournament. Since taking over from Jim Donnan at the start of the 2001 season, Richt has kept the Georgia football program in the thick of the competition in what many people dub as the toughest league in the nation, the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs have a winning year in each of his seasons at UGa., taking his team to the SEC conference title twice and into the SEC East Division championship once with seven consecutive postseason appearances. Richt has earned the distinction as only one of only six coaches to win two SEC football championships in their first five years of coaching and is also one of only five head coaches in SEC history to record four straight 10-win seasons.
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Personal Life
Mark is a native of Omaha, Nebraska. He was married to Katharyn Francis-Richt in 1987 and has four children with her, including Jonathan (born March 11, 1990), David (born December 1, 1994), Zach (born May 15, 1996), and Anya (born February 13, 1997). Zach and Anya are Mark's two adopted kids from Ukraine. Jonathan, or Jon, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound quarterback signed a letter of intent with Clemson in February of 2008. Before the signing, Mark accompanied his son on his official visit to Clemson in the fall of 2007.
Mark became a Christian with the aid of Florida State head coach and his former boss, Bobby Bowden. During one of the team meetings called by Bowden addressing the tragedy that killed one of the players named Pablo, the head coach preached the Gospel and the next morning, Richt became a converted Christian.
Off the field, Mark had an appearance in the movie Facing the Giants where he played the former coach to the movie's main character, Grant Taylor. His name was not mentioned in the movie, and his character's identity was also not listed on the credits. It was listed as "Grant Taylor's Former Coach" played by Mark Richt which would indicate his character is fictional.
Playing Career
Miami (Florida)
After his high school career at Boca Raton High School (Boca Raton, Florida) was done, he went on to sign a football scholarship for the University of Miami and arrived in the campus in 1978. Like any other quarterbacks, Richt's goals were simple when he entered the ranks of collegiate football: claim the starting role as a freshman, become an All-American the following year, win the Heisman as a junior then forego a season to enter the NFL draft. Unfortunately, the former high school football star playcaller never got his "plans" into motion as then coach Howard Schnellenberger decided to go with another newbie to call the shots for the Hurricanes, future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. He did not get any start all season long in his rookie year and when he competed with Kelly for the starting quarterback spot as they entered their sophomore year, Richt would lose the job. When he was in his final season, Kelly was sidelined with an injury, giving Richt the opportunity to start. Although he did inherit the QB-1 spot for most of the season, a disciplinary action prevented him from finishing his career as the Canes' starting quarterback.
In his years as a Hurricane, he was able to play with the likes of Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar, and quarterbacks coach Earl Morral.
Post-College
After graduating from Miami, he tried out with the Denver Broncos but was cut less than a week after arriving in camp upon John Elway's arrival. A year after trying out odd jobs in South Florida, he once again received an opportunity to play in the NFL, trying it out with the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, he was once again upstaged by another quarterback by the name of Dan Marino.
Assistant Coaching Career
Florida State
Being able to work with quarterbacks in the caliber of Kelly, Elway, and Marino, and earning good scores in QB tests during his brief stay in Miami showed Richt's potential for coaching. Bowden called him up and offered him a graduate assistant position to work with QBs at Florida State which he didn't hesitate to accept. He moved to Tallahassee in 1985.
In his first tenure as QB coach, Richt's understudy was Chip Ferguson who finished the year going 70-for-130 for 990 yards and 11 touchdowns with 1 300-yard game against Oklahoma State. The Seminoles finished the year with a 9-3 slate capped by a Gator Bowl victory over the Cowboys. The following year, the Seminoles rotated Ferguson with Danny McManus at the quarterback position with each of them appearing in 10 of FSU's games. McManus went 65-for-112 for 872 yards with 7 touchdowns while Ferguson was 63-for-128 for 807 yards and 4 TDs. The Noles was 7-4-1 that season with a win over Indiana at the All-American Bowl. In 1987, McManus took most of the snaps and was 138-for-264 for 1,964 yards and 14 TDs as the 'Noles lost only once during the year. FSU duplicated their 11-1 record in 1988 with Ferguson reclaiming the starter's role. He went on to claim All-American Honorable Mention selections from the AP and UPI after passing for 1,714 yards and 16 TDs. By 1989, Peter Tom Willis inherited the starter's role from Ferguson in his senior year and went on to pass for 3,124 yards and 20 TDs with seven 300-yard games en route to claiming All-American Honorable mention honors from The Sporting News and the UPI. Other quarterbacks in this talented 1989 roster include future Heisman winner Charlie Ward, future Heisman runner-up Casey Weldon, and future Pro-Bowler Brad Johnson.
East Carolina
Richt took a hiatus from Florida State to become offensive coordinator for East Carolina head football coach Bill Lewis. After piling up four straight victories, the Pirates went 2-5 the rest of the year. ECU still managed to outscore its opponents 301-286 but Richt would leave the program after just one year to return to FSU.
Florida State
Bowden reacquired the services of Richt in 1990, doing double duty as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Weldon and Johnson were thrust into quarterbacking duties with the former throwing for 1,600 yards and 12 TDs while the latter recording 1,136 yards and 8 scores. FSU never skipped a beat and finished with a 10-2 record. In 1991, Weldon threw for 2,527 yards and 22 TDs, was named 1st Team All-American by several publications and was runner-up to Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard in the Heisman Trophy voting. Richt had the dynamic Ward at his playcalling disposal in 1992. The prolific QB threw for 2,647 yards and 22 TDs and rushed for 504 more with 6 scoring runs as he led the team to the ACC title and an Orange Bowl win. Ward returned in 1993 to lead the team to the national championship enroute to a NCAA Consensus All-American selection and a Heisman win. FSU displayed dominance offensively, outscoring its opponents 43.2 to 9.4 and outgaining them by more than a thousand yards in both rushing and passing.
After playing back-up to Ward for the past two seasons, Danny Kanell took charge of the FSU offense in 1994 and led the team to its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference Championship after passing for more than 2,000 yards and 17 TDs. FSU finished with same output in 1995, claiming a share of the ACC title with Kanell performing at an All-American level as he amassed nearly 3,000 yards and threw 32 scoring passes. Thad Busby carried the quarterbacking load in 1996 and 1997 and with him on the slot, FSU continued its dominance in the conference with back-to-back league titles to add to its ever growing collection. By this time, with the impending departure of Busby, Richt had already planted the seed for the future as he recruited Cretin-Derham Hall standout Chris Weinke. In only his second year, Weinke immediately got the nod to start and along with Consensus All-American receiver Peter Warrick led FSU to a share of the ACC title and Fiesta Bowl game appearance against Tennessee.
Wanting to redeem from the Fiesta Bowl loss to the Vols the previous year, Richt's offensive duo of junior Weinke and senior Warrick once again joined forces in 1999 to lead the team to an undefeated 12-0 record and a national championship. Both Weinke and Warrick, along with offensive linemen Jason Whitaker and Brett Williams also earned All-American citations. In 2000, Weinke found a new set of targets to once again lead the team to an ACC championship and earn for himself a Heisman win to become the second quarterback under Richt to claim the most prestigious title in collegiate football. In his 7-year stint as offensive coordinator, the Noles blossomed into one of the deadliest offensive teams in the nation with five appearances in the top 5 teams in scoring offense, five appearances in the top 12 total offense, and appearing in the top 12 list in passing offense five times. The last offensive team he handled in 2000 was ranked first nationally in total offense (549.0 ypg), first in passing offense (384.0 ypg), and third in scoring offense (42.4 ppg). Also, six of Richt's QBs between 1987 through 2000 went on to play in the NFL including Weinke (Carolina Panthers), Weldon (Washington Redskins), Johnson (Washington and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Kanell (New York Giants), McManus (Kansas City Chiefs) and Willis (Chicago Bears).
Coaching Career
Georgia
Richt was introduced by athletic director Vince Dooley to the media as UGa.'s 25th head football coach on the 26th of December 2000 to take over from coach Jim Donnan. Donnan actually fared quite well at the helm as he led four of his five teams to winning records, but the school obviously aspired more than just wins as Donnan failed to take his squads to championships during his tenure.
Richt made his debut at home with a win over Arkansas State but would loss the following weekend to South Carolina. The team however rebounded with 4 straight wins including a 26-24 shocker against Tennessee courtesy of the "Hobnail Boot" (termed for the winning play where David Greene tossed a TD pass to Verron Haynes with only five seconds remaining in the game) to hand UT its only loss of the season and practically put Georgia back on the map as one of the rising programs in the nation. After two straight losses to Florida and Auburn, the Dawgs once again piled up three straight wins that include its first win over in-state rival Georgia Tech since 1997. The team would however loss its Music City Bowl showdown with Boston College, attributed by many to Richt's questionable time management, which put a blow on his debut season with Georgia. Nevertheless it was considered a successful rookie campaign as he became the first Georgia coach since H.J. Stegeman in 1920 to win eight games in his inaugural season. His reputation to hone talented quarterbacks also continue with his new school, with Greene being named as the SEC Freshman of the Year after establishing a school record for passing yards (2,789) and passing TD’s (17) by a freshman.
In 2002, Richt led the team to a 13-1 record including five straight wins to close out the season. These victories include a close 24-21 win over Auburn for the SEC-East championship, a 30-3 truimph over Arkansas in the SEC title showdown (first for the team in 20 years), and a 26-13 defeat of Richt's former employer Bobby Bowden and his Florida State Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia would end the season 3rd in the national ranking in both polls with Richt claiming his first major award as a coach, the SEC Coach of the Year award to go along a nomination in the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year Award. That year, Greene led the SEC in passing efficiency and was the consensus choice for All-SEC first team after leading the Bulldogs offense which topped the SEC in scoring offense (32.2 ppg).
By his junior year, Richt and his Dawgs were once again placed in a perfect position to retain the SEC championship after a 10-2 record that include a 30-0 win over Clemson in the season opener. Unfortunately, the Dawgs failed to defeat the other team outside of Florida to beat them in the regular season, LSU. The Tigers beat Richt's team twice that season, including a 13-34 defeat in the SEC Championship game which stood as the worst defeat for Richt at that time. The team however was able to redeem themselves in the New Year's Capital One Bowl game against Purdue, 34-27.
After ending the previous year ranked 7th in the AP Poll, the Dawgs were a hyped team in 2004 as they entered the season as the #4 team in the country and the consensus pick to win the SEC. By the start of October, the team was poised to return to the SEC championship game after getting redemption against LSU, 45-16. But the following week, Tennessee ended any hopes of a national title contention, or even a SEC title appearance with 14-19 win over the Dawgs. Another loss to Auburn practically eliminated any chances of a title, so the Dawgs had to settle for an Outback Bowl win over Wisconsin. It was the first time in three years that UGa. failed to contend for the SEC championship and for that, fans considered 2004 to be lost season.
By 2005, Georgia wasn't one of the most favored teams to challenge for the SEC title as the media chose the team to place only third in the SEC East Division. Nevertheless, Richt and his boys were motivated to prove themselves and would zoom to seven consecutive wins. However, with senior quarterback D.J. Shockley sidelined after sustaining an injury in the 23-20 win over Arkansas, Georgia would suffer two straight close setbacks to Florida and Auburn. Fortunately, the team was able to rebound with two straight wins over Kentucky and Georgia Tech to end the regular season with a 9-2 record, paving the way for a third trip to the SEC title game in four years. In a rematch of the 2003 SEC title game, Georgia went off to a quick start for a 14-0 lead enroute to a 34-14 win over LSU. The SEC championship was a "consolation" for Georgia after it got defeated by West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, giving Richt his second postseason defeat in five tries.
In 2006, Georgia racked up three consecutive convincing wins over Western Kentucky (48-12), South Carolina (18-0), and UAB (34-0) before close calls over Colorado (14-13) and Mississippi (14-9) drew concerns from Georgia supporters. On their 6th assignment, the Dawgs bowed in defeat to Tennessee, 33-51 followed by a humbling and unexpected loss to Vanderbilt, 22-24 with both losses coming at home. The Dawgs momentarily stopped the bleeding with a 27-24 win over Mississippi State, then went on to lose a couple more to eventual champions Florida and Kentucky. By this time, blogs calling out for Richt's firing have flooded the internet, but despite that, the Dawgs held on and strung up three straight wins over Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech, all three teams carrying respective rankings, with the Dawgs beating the latter for the Peach Bowl.
Georgia tried to carry on their momentum from the previous season, winning their first outing against Oklahoma State. After a loss to South Carolina at home, Georgia fought back with three straight victories over Western Carolina, Alabama, and Ole Miss. However, after a loss to Tennessee and a three-point win over Vanderbilt, the season seemed lost again just like the previous year. But Richt was able to prove how good he was in motivating his troops as he managed to rally his troops to six straight wins, including a 42-30 triumph over Florida, where his team was tabbed with two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the entire Georgia football team rushed into the end zone to celebrate Knowshon Moreno's one-yard touchdown run that gave Georgia an early 7-0 lead. During halftime, it was found out that Richt intentionally told his players to celebrate the first touchdown until they received a penalty. Richt later sent a letter of apology to SEC commissioner Mike Slive, sending his apologies to both the SEC and the Florida Gator team. The league had announced that it would not penalize Richt although the NCAA may still impose their own sanctions.
Georgia's victory over UF was only its third win against Florida in their last 18 meetings and the 42 they scored was the highest point total against the Gators since 1982. It also ignited the team's winning run that include a win over Auburn (45-20) where the Dawgs wore black jerseys for the first time in the modern era. That game also marked the first time Georgia defeated the Gators and the Tigers in the same season since 1982. Despite a strong finish in the regular season, the Tennessee loss prevented the team from appearing in the SEC championship game and may have also cost the team a shot at the BCS national championship. Richt's team instead settled for a Sugar Bowl game against the offensive minded Hawai'i squad led by Heisman candidate Colt Brennan. The black-clad Bulldogs went on to deal the Warriors its first loss of the season, 41-10.
After a highly successful season, Richt was rewarded with a salary increase from $2.2 million per year to $2.8 million per year, making him the fifth highest paid coach in the SEC.
Highlights
| Georgia head coach Mark Richt on 2008 Signing Day. |
Year-by-Year
| Year | School | Record | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Bulldogs SEC (2001 — present) | ||||||
| 2001 | Georgia | 8-4 | 5-3 | 2 - SEC East | L - Music City Bowl | #25 Coaches; #22 AP Poll |
| 2002 | Georgia | 13-1 | 7-1 | 1 - SEC East | W - Sugar Bowl | #3 in Coaches and AP Polls; Conference Title |
| 2003 | Georgia | 11-3 | 6-2 | 1 - SEC East | W - Capital One Bowl | #6 Coaches; #7 AP Poll; Conference Division Title |
| 2004 | Georgia | 10-2 | 6-2 | 2 - SEC East | W - Outback Bowl | #6 Coaches; #7 AP Poll |
| 2005 | Georgia | 10-3 | 6-2 | 1 - SEC East | L - Sugar BOwl | #10 in Coaches and AP Polls; Conference Title |
| 2006 | Georgia | 9-4 | 4-4 | 3 - SEC East | W - Chick-fil-A Bowl | #23 AP Polls |
| 2007 | Georgia | 11-2 | 6-2 | 2 - SEC East | W - Sugar Bowl | #3 Coaches; #2 AP Poll |
| Georgia | 72-19 | 40-16 | ||||
References
- Mark Richt @ Team United
- Mark Richt Georgia Profile
- Mark Richt Wikipedia
- Mark Richt: A Protege of Football's Finest
- NoleFans.com
Categories: Georgia head coaches | NCAA head football coaches | Southeastern Conference head football coaches
