The Junkyard Dawg Bites Back

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Okay, I want to make something clear.  This isn’t a war of words.  And it’s not a set-up, either.

There’s no Andy Kaufman-Jerry Lawler funnin’ goin’ on here.

I link often to Bill King’s “Junkyard Blawg” at The AJC.  I enjoy his stuff. 

In June, I wrote a piece that said Mark Richt’s seat would become very warm if he had a bad year in 2009.  Even with the personnel losses, etc, I know how fans are (ticket-buyers don’t like losing… EVER) and I know that Richt has been in one place for nearly a decade.  That’s about the time trouble starts.

Mr. King wrote about my initial hot seat column and said that Georgia fans would not turn on Richt this year.  In fact, he said UGA’s coach being on the hot seat would only take place in “some strange alternative universe SEC.”

So, this morning — as Georgia sportswriters question the state of the program, as Georgia radio guys field angry phone calls, as the messageboards melt, and as the national media talks about growing unrest in Athens — I asked Mr. King what he says now about my prediction that a bad year would land Richt on the hot seat.

And as a good sport, he’s done just that:

“Are there Georgia fans calling for Richt to be fired?  Sure.  Are we hearing such calls from more than just the usual lunatic fringe?  We are.”

Bingo.

He then continues, “Is it a realistic response, and do I really think Richt’s job is in jeopardy?  No and no.”

Fair enough.  Neither do I.  My initial piece (as well as today’s) makes it quite clear that I think UGA fans would be crazy to run off a man with Richt’s resume.  He’s won two SEC titles in eight years and played for a third.  He’s literally having his first bad season.  And that’s due in part to two of the best players in the country leaving his program as juniors.

But I can assure you he WILL have to cut ties with defensive coordinator Willie Martinez at year’s end (barring an unforeseen turnaround) and he will face a more critical fanbase in 2010.

Mr. King continues his latest post by preaching the same sermon I’ve been reciting — one bad year does not a program decline make.

He finishes up with the following:

“So in answer to MrSEC.com, as I read the Bulldog Nation, fans are unhappy.  Very unhappy. … But there is not currently any widespread support for getting rid of (Richt), especially among those who have the ear of Damon Evans or Michael Adams.”

Good.  I didn’t think there would be.  And I don’t think there should be.

But when more than just the nutjobs start calling for a coach’s head and when numerous sportswriters begin to refer to a “decline in the program,” it’s time to go ahead and call a spade a spade: Mark Richt’s seat is getting hot and it’ll be fully hot next year.

His longtime future at Georgia will be determined by what he does with his staff this offseason and what kind of year he has next year.

All the administrative support in the world can’t save a coach if his fanbase turns on him and folks stop buying tickets.  If UGA finishes 6-6 this year — which is a possibility — another bad year could bring that about.  (Whether it should or not.)

Currently, Richt is getting more guff from his fanbase than any other SEC coach.  Which means he is indeed sitting on the SEC’s hottest seat.

And that’s been my point all along.  When you’ve been at a place for a longtime — without a national championship ring — all it takes is one bad year for folks to start talking about hiring Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher to replace you.

Georgia fans told me all summer that that wouldn’t be the case in Athens, but now it is the case. 

And that’s no knock on Dawg fans.  The longest-tenured coaches always get the most scrutiny.  Especially if they’ve never reached the “next level.”

On a sidenote that I find fascinating: The LSU fans I’ve heard from continue to say, “Yes, Les Miles IS on the hot seat.”  I’ve not had one person email me to say that his seat hasn’t started to warm.