OH SO COLD: UGA's Richt Not on Hot Seat

There is no doubt Georgia Bulldogs head football coach Mark Richt had a rough year in 2008, as the team went 8-5, the worst record since taking over the team in 2001.

In fact, some are saying that if he has another season like last year, his days are numbered in Athens.

So does this mean Richt is on the hot seat?

Should he be worried about his future and start looking for other jobs if he doesn’t win big ASAP?

Richt should not worry about his job at because he is not on the hot seat.

I know Urban Meyer and Nick Saban are the class of the SEC when it comes to coaches because of the national championships they have won.

But Richt made the Dawgs contenders for the SEC crown on a consistent basis and if he was to get fired, Georgia would be back to square one and their hopes for a national title would diminish.

Georgia went 8-5 last season and did not make the final top 25 for the first time in the Richt era. That’s not good for the Bulldog Nation because year in and year out, Georgia fans want to be in the talk for a SEC and national title.

I agree Georgia should have had a better season and they had a few losses that had fans fuming (Tennessee and Kentucky).

But let’s go back to the end of 2006 when Georgia was coming off a bad season where they had disappointing losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky. But at the end of the season, they came together and defeated Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium, took care of Georgia Tech in Athens and came from behind to beat Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

This momentum carried into 2007, recording an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl win against Hawaii.

This scenario reminds me of the Dawgs of 2009. After losing to Kentucky between the hedges, they defeated a good Auburn team, took out a better Georgia Tech squad and dismantled Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl.

My point is this; Richt has done a great job holding his team together when times are rough. He knows what to say to his team and knows how to get the fired up when needed.

And because of this he is third winningest active coach in the country with 90. He is 33-6 in opponents stadiums. He is the one of only five coaches in SEC history to win 10 games for four straight seasons.

The last two years for Richt have not been great for him as well as the entire Georgia family.

But he is not on the hot seat and he is not going to be fired in the near future.

Bad seasons happen to all the good coaches. Virginia Tech head man Frank Beamer went 5-6 in 1991 and 2-8-1 in 1992. Even Nick Saban had a bad season at Alabama, as the Tide went 7-6 in his first year at the helm.

With the players retuning on offense, and the defense installing the 3-4 scheme, things are looking up for the Bulldogs and if Georgia wins 10 games or more, expect Richt to be wearing the red and black for a very long time.