As president and CEO of the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Catlett and others bowl directors with Southeastern Conference tie-ins had a chance to have Mark Richt coach his last game at Georgia in their city.
Advertisement
A source of Bruce Feldman’s said that the school could pay up to $4 million to its head coach, but how much it’ll pay Richt isn’t yet known. He starred at Boca Raton High before attending Miami, where he played for coach Howard Schnellenberger and was a backup to Jim Kelly.
The Bulldogs made the decision to part ways with Richt after Georgia hadn’t won an SEC title in the last 10 years.
Working With The Enemy- Richt began his coaching career in 1985 when he worked as a volunteer quarterbacks coach for the Florida State Seminoles, serving under legendary ‘Noles head coach Bobby Bowden. 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.
Richt replaces Al Golden, who was sacked October 25 after going 32-25 in four-plus seasons. It won’t be easy, but Richt has the capability to do it. If Richt is able to work his magic just like he did at Georgia, he should have the ‘Canes contending for ACC championships for years to come.
Richt has close ties to Miami begging the notion that these affiliations may have been the reason he took the job.
Ramsey said if a bowl could have Richt or retiring Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer “a lot of cities would like to host their final games”.
Some projections have Georgia and Miami playing in a bowl game.
When Richt left Georgia – officially by “mutual agreement”, a term Richt took a playful and telling swipe at Friday – he thought about taking a year off to catch his football breath. It is unknown if Scott will remain on the staff. He held up the soft drink sitting on the podium and said: “You can ask the bottle but don’t ask me”. “I spoke [to]him earlier before the news broke”.
“But I will say this: Kirby has done an outstanding job here for us”, Saban said.
For now, the Hurricanes’ fair-weather fan base has a lot to be excited about. Eighty-eight percent of the 5,000-plus participants in a Miami Herald poll voted they either liked or loved the hire.
Advertisement
So here’s my prediction – a long and successful stay at Miami is in Richt’s future and a few ACC divisional titles for sure, but I think he will struggle to once again lead his team to the promised land of a conference title.
