Georgia Football: Lack of Buyout in Richt's Deal Shouldn't Concern Bulldog Fans

The long and winding process of extending Mark Richt's contract after last season's SEC East championship and 10-4 record came to a close on Thursday, when Georgia extended Richt's contract through the 2016 season.

The contract stipulations were not surprising. Richt won't get a bump in base pay, but incentives for winning the SEC championship and national championship increased, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

One part of the extension is surprising, though. There is no buyout clause on Richt's end, meaning he could leave on his own whenever he wants and not owe Georgia one penny.

On the surface, that's big news. But is Richt really going to go anywhere? 

Of course not.

He was mentioned in relation to Texas A&M's job opening in late 2011, according to The Dallas Morning News. Was there anything to that? No, and there won't be anything to any subsequent rumors that pop up as a result of Richt's new-found accessibility.

Athens is Richt's home. He said as much in The AJC:

"

It’s not something that I was asking for; it’s something that he had suggested and I said that’d be fine. The bottom line for me is — and I think I’ve been here long enough for everyone to understand this — Georgia is my home, Georgia is where I want to be, Georgia is the only job I’ve ever wanted and that hasn’t changed.

"

Why wouldn't you believe him?

He has built a solid foundation in Athens, seen it disappear and has rebuilt that foundation to a point where his Bulldogs are again in BCS National Championship contention. If he goes anywhere before his contract is up on his own, it's into retirement, not another program.

You don't accidentally fall into a 10-game winning streak like Georgia had last year, even if the schedule is easy by SEC standards. Richt did that with his job hanging in the balance.

He deserves this extension, and has built up enough equity in Athens to earn the right to leave on his own without a buyout.

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