Georgia Football: Despite Bad Start, Mark Richt Will Be Coach for Rest of 2010

Georgia head coach Mark Richt is in a place where he has never been before.

As a quarterback for the University of Miami, he was on a program that was used to winning on a consistent basis. That is also true when he was an offensive coordinator for Florida State where he was part of two national championships.

So, with the 1-4 start the Bulldogs are going through this year, Richt, as well as the rest of the team, are going through something that is new to them.

And because of the slow start to the season, fans, alumni and anybody else who supports the team in Athens are questioning the job Richt is doing, despite the fact he has won two SEC titles during his tenure.

But with that said Vince Dooley, Ray Goff or Jim Donnan never had this slow of a start to a season when they were head coach at UGA.

With all the scrutiny and criticism pointed towards Richt, will he make it through the rest of the 2010 season?

The answer to that is "Yes," and he will make it through 2011 also.

There is no question Richt is going though his toughest year as a coach, coordinator or player and things seem to get worse each week.

We all know what he’s done at Georgia so there is no need to go into that again. But the reason he will make it through the year is he needs a chance to prove he can get out of this hole.

They probably won’t win out, but if they can improve each week and limit the turnovers as well as penalties, then the team is headed into the right direction.

But it is up to Richt to get the players to stop with the mistakes and the penalties when they practice and prepare each week.

Another reason he will make it though the season is the team is young and still learning. With a freshman quarterback in Aaron Murray as well as a new defensive scheme, there has to be some time for the squad to get adjusted and learn their new roles.

If they improve at the end of the season, they are taking the right step. If not, then there needs to be a change.

Should Richt’s job be in question? Absolutely, because his team has not performed well the last two years. But to fire him during the season is going to cause more problems because the players will have more distractions to deal with.

Let’s hope for Richt’s sake the Bulldogs can find a way to beat Tennessee on Saturday because if they go 1-5, he may want to leave Athens ASAP because it’s going to be an ugly scene next week.