Mark Richt shares heartfelt testimony on Finebaum, talks Alabama game
Highlights from Georgia coach Mark Richt’s appearance on Friday’s Paul Finebaum Show:
I genuinely believe the interview with @MarkRicht was one of the most memorable we’ve ever had. So much respect.
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) October 2, 2015
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Importance on Alabama game for program:
“Our goal is to get to ATL and win the SEC Champions game. Every single SEC game matters. I like the way our schedule sets up like that. This is a huge game for us and for our ultimate goal. Certainly when you have a team that’s been one of the best in America for as long as they have been, it’s good for us. The goal for us is to take care of business and be as disciplined as we can.”
15 years on this job, can you still take in the pageantry, surroundings:
“I don’t know which game it was, but when I was at Florida State as an offensive coordinator, we were playing Florida and it’s pre-game. For the first time, I looked around and said’ ‘man, this is awesome.’ How many people get to do this? I’ve learned to try to smell the roses and drink the coffee just a little bit. I’ve got a great job and I don’t take it lightly. I’m thankful to be a part of something as big as this.”
On Herschel Walker’s ‘Fournette is better than me’ comments:
“I don’t think it bothered our guys in anyway. My first year at Georgia, I had a recruit that wanted to wear No. 34. So I’m thinking to myself, ‘there’s no way in my first year I’m giving away Herschel Walker’s retired number.’ I called him and he said that if this kid wants it, let’s let him have it. I didn’t let him have it. I always tell our players the man makes the number, the number doesn’t make the man.”
Why so little criticism within the fan base:
“I love these dogs. When me and my wife decided on this job, I wanted to be here for the long haul. We love Athens. There is nothing better for us. We love our fans, they’re awesome. I’ve never tried to leverage anything for more money, more fame, anything. I’ve always been very, very loyal to Georgia. That’s just the way I operate.”
Closing remarks, story about his father:
“A man yesterday walking into the football complex found a $100 bill. He gave it to our receptionist. The receptionist held the money in case the person who lost it came back. It reminded me of Proverbs 20, Verse 7. The righteous lead blameless lives and blessed are their children after them. That man was my Dad who came to the office. I want to publicly say, ‘Dad, I love you and for your integrity and how you blessed me.”
Vince Dooley also had some nice things to say.
Win or Lose, Georgia has themselves a classy and good-hearted coach. He wins more than most although he hasn’t brought you guys home the big one (always on the verge of it), he is a keeper.
Mark Richt is our Dawg!
Richt is a good man and I wish him well in all but one game!
I hope he’s in Athens for a long time.
I really appreciate how he said “me and my wife decided on this job.” The wives are a huge part of the programs. I admire him for giving her credit for her support and efforts.
“I love these dogs”
Enough said….. Let every poster in the stadium this weekend say that.
If I’m in line to get in heaven and someone says, Mark Richt just didn’t make it. I know I ain’t got a chance in *ell~!
None of us has a chance, my friend. Coach Richt is just one of those who has trusted in the perfect Son of God’s death in payment for his sins.
Go get um Coach. You , the Georgia nation, Athens, your family EVERYBODY is behind you on this one. You and your team deserve it. Go get it!!!! HOW BOUT THEM DAWGS!?
CMR has been super-loyal to UGA, and some Dawgs don’t appreciate that enough. We tend to forget that he was one of the hottest coaching commodities in the nation between ’01 and ’08, but he never considered leaving UGA for more money or a better job (and there are few better than what he has). His response has always been, “I’ll be at UGA as long as they’ll have me.” That kind of loyalty by a head coach is not very common nowadays.
I hope Mark is at UGA for years to come – he’s only in his mid-fifties – and that he retires as the winningest coach in school history. Sure, I want more SEC championships, and maybe a NC or two, but the program could not be in better hands. On four separate occasions during his career he had teams that could have won the NC (’02, ’07, ’12, ’13) but things didn’t break right or injuries decimated the team. Last year’s team could also fall in that category. He puts top-shelf squads on the field and we’ve been oh-so close a painful number of times. He’ll get over the hump and shake a reputation that is only party deserved.
Coach Richt is teaching our guys a lot more than football. Even the star players that have been kicked off the team have learned a lot from him. Isaiah Crowell, Nick Marshall, Shaq Wiggins, Tray Matthews, josh Harvey Clemons and others may not have the character to make it as a Bulldog but they all learned a lot from Coach Richt. He doesn’t compromise his or UGA’s values just to have a great football player. It’s probably cost us championships which is frustrating but when he wins a National Championship, it will have been done the right way.