McClendon will coach the team in its bowl, which is yet to be determined.
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“Coach Richt embodies the competitiveness, the integrity, the passion, the abilities, and the experience to lead our young men to ACC and national championships and help them become men of character and success long after”, athletic director Blake James said.
Mark Richt may have had some trepidation Thursday as he walked into the team meeting room at Georgia, about to tell his former players that he would be leaving them immediately, and for another school. Miami will introduce its new coach today, and Richt has reportedly reached an agreement to coach the Hurricanes. “This will be the least disruptive option for our players and staff as they begin preparations for our bowl game”.
With Mark Richt set to depart for Miami, one of his former players, receivers coach Bryan McClendon, will serve as Georgia’s interim head coach in the bowl game.
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and all other assistant coaches will remain in their roles with their current responsibilities, McGarity said in the release.
McClendon will turn 32 on December 28, right in the middle of bowl practice. He played wide receiver at Georgia from 2002 to ’05, & his father, Willie, played running back at the school. “His passion for the game of football and for his student-athletes is evident in everything he does and we could not be more excited to welcome Mark and Katharyn and their family to Coral Gables”. Miami still has not announced its pick, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Richt and the Hurricanes had agreed in principle on a deal that will bring him back to his alma mater.
Everyone who reads my stuff and knows me knows what a great respect I have for Mark Richt as a man and as a recruiter. Get to coach one more time with these guys and finish the season? “If it wasn’t offered to me I would have asked for it. I’m very excited about that”. He takes over a Miami program that hasn’t won a national championship since 2001, last topped nine wins in 2003, and hasn’t won a bowl game since 2006.
Richt was sacked from his job at UGA after 15 years as the head coach.
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During his time in Athens, Richt accumulated a 145-51 record with a 83-37 record in conference.
