Former Georgia coach Mark Richt can pinpoint when things started to change for him during his 15-year tenure in Athens.
It began when he ceded play-calling duties after training and promoting former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who served in that role from 2007-14 before becoming Colorado State’s head coach.
That decision seemed to put Richt in the background with the Bulldogs, whose last SEC title came in 2005.
“When you turn over the play-calling as a head coach, you become more of just a CEO-type of coach,” Richt told SiriusXM College Sports Nation. “Obviously a lot of coaches had success doing it that way, and we did at Georgia, but it’s just not as much fun. You’re just not as involved. I think the players, over time, see you as the grandfather figure, just keeping an eye on everybody.”
However, things are poised to be different in Miami as Richt will be the head coach and quarterbacks coach.
“Now, I’m in the heat of every meeting, the heat of every battle on the field, installing stuff, calling stuff, competing on a daily basis against a defense,” he said. “They see my energy, they see my competitive spirit that is more reserved if I’m not in the heat of it. I think it’s healthy for me. I’m enjoying it tremendously, and I think it’s healthy for the players to see me get down and dirty with everybody else.”
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
