Miami found its new coach on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) Mark Richt is going back to where his college career began. The Miami Hurricanes will be getting a coaching upgrade with Richt.
The deal was worked out in a Tuesday afternoon meeting at an undisclosed Atlanta hotel with the man who was Jim Kelly’s backup at Miami from 1979-82.
Other names were mentioned, including Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. Vince Dooley, Ray Goff and Richt were assistants when named Georgia’s head coach.
Miami fired Al Golden in late October after more than four seasons coaching the Hurricanes. Under Richt, Georgia finished ranked in the top 10 eight times. Miami was a traditional power for two decades under a series of coaches, but since 2006 has compiled a rather pedestrian 71-55 record.
On Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game, Smart’s appointment as the new head coach of the Bulldogs football team will be announced.
However, it was Richt’s inability to win the “big game” over 15 years at Georgia that led to his firing on Sunday after the Georgia Tech game, a rivalry Richt dominated (13-2 and 7-0 at Bobby Dodd Stadium).
Miami’s Angel Rodriguez left Puerto Rico at 15 for the USA mainland to play high school basketball and chase a college scholarship. The Hurricanes rebounded from the loss and finished the season 8-4.
Georgia’s coaching search could be headed for a swift end, but the school was tight-lipped Wednesday about its progress and scheduled no announcement about who would succeed Richt. But Richt, a Boca Raton native, has always been a great recruiter in south Florida.
We’ll continue to update with more stuff, but there is literally not a single negative thing about this hire. His teams have gone to a bowl game in each of his years there.
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It is unclear if Richt will coach the Bulldogs in their bowl game. “Now you put the head coach of the school he committed to there, I think it definitely will have appeal to him”. Richt’s recruiting hasn’t been much of an issue, as his staff has repeatedly landed top-10 classes.
