Column: Georgia's Mark Richt not getting enough out of his Dawgs (Dogs?)

Mark Richt has been running the show for 15 years at Georgia, but now change in is the air. And that’s a good thing.

Change is good, certainly, because Richt just isn’t getting enough out of his Dogs anymore.

Proof is in the numbers. Georgia’s favorite dog, cute little mascot Uga IX, is heading to the bench, getting replaced by Uga X in two weeks. Ten will be introduced formally as the new mascot Nov. 21 in Athens when Georgia plays Georgia Southern.

Uga X is taking over on Nov. 21 and needs to turn around this Georgia program.

This change shows how Richt just isn’t getting as much out of this Dog as his predecessors.

Uga IX, affectionately known as Russ, started only 38 games for Georgia, far fewer than most of his family predecessors, who would often lead the program for 100 games at a time. Richt just isn’t getting production out of his mascots.

For instance, Nine’s team hasn’t scored a touchdown in two straight weeks, something that hasn’t happened since 1969 in the Uga II era. Two was the least productive winner of the first six dogs, so let’s not remember those ugly dog days.

These current struggles also are not a new thing.

There were problems under Richt’s watch in 2009 when Russ had to come off the farm to fill in for Uga XII and XIII for 25 games. Richt was stubborn in those days, and stuck with his Dogs for too long. Right had no succession plans in place when XII and XIII suddenly passed away (heart attack, lymphoma) and a young, inexperienced Uga IX was pressed into duty too soon.

Ugh IX could have used a redshirt year, but had to take over far too soon. Richt only got 23 games out of the 7-dog, and only six games out of his 8-dog.

All his upheaval has been seen on the field. No national championships, no SEC championships through three Dogs now. It’s not like the good ol’ days.

Ah, the good ol’ dog days.

Uga I first showed up in 1956 and a tradition was born, thanks to Sonny and Cecelia Seiler, who brought their English bulldog puppy – which was a wedding gift – to a Georgia-Florida State game dressed up in a child’s T-shirt. They worked the crowd, got noticed and the rest is history.

Uga III won a national championship in 1980 and then instantly retired as a legend. (Oh, OK, maybe Herschel Walker helped a little.)

Uga IV was the first animal ever invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation. When Walker won the award as college football’s top player, Four was there in a custom-made tuxedo.

Uga V made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997 as the best mascot in college. Courtesy: Sports Illustrated

Uga V was a big star, appearing in a Clint Eastwood movie. Eastwood told Seiler he was going to make Five a star.

Seiler had the perfect counter: “Clint, he’s already a star,” he told the Hollywood legend.

He even made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997 and was probably best known for trying to take a chunk out of Auburn receiver Robert Baker’s, ummm, groin area. VIDEO: Uga 6 takes a bite out of Auburn!!

True that.

Even Uga XI – Richt’s first mascot after being hired in 2001 – had some success in his run. He led Georgia to two SEC championships (2002 and 2005) early in Richt’s tenure. Six finished with an 87-27 record, the most wins for a mascot and the highest winning percentage (.763) of the family brood.

There’s been struggles from there.

Russ just didn’t have it anymore, further proof that Richt isn’t a good leader of … of … dogs. Russ is even getting backhanded compliments as he heads out the doggy-door.

”Uga is cherished by University of Georgia fans worldwide,” said Georgia President Jere W. Morehead. ”We are grateful for Russ’s dedicated service.”

Grateful for dedicated service. Hah. Bosses say that every time someone gets the boot.

So it’s time for a change. Maybe a new head coach would get more out of Que, Uga X’s nickname. They need it.

“Some jobs you might have a bad day at the office and maybe three people know,” Richt said earlier this week. “We have a bad day at the office in our line of work and millions of people know and millions of people have an opinion. And a lot of people know football; a lot of people think they know football, you know. So there’s a little bit of everything.

“There’s actually some pretty good constructive criticism out there. But it’s kind of obvious. I mean, we know it, too.”

Richt has made a Sports Illustrated cover too, just like one of the Bulldog mascots.

So do lots of dogs. Everyone knows there’s trouble. Richt’s 15 years have been far better than the previous 15 in Athens – he’s won at a 74 percent clip, predecessors Jim Donnan, Ray Goff and the last years of Vince Dooley won at only 64 percent.

And give Richt this: he loves dogs himself. He even had an offensive coordinator named Bobo, and that’s a dog name – and a dog coordinator – right?

Que has been looking on informally this year and sees all the problems between the hedges. He hung out earlier this year at the Countdown to Kickoff event in July and was at  Picture Day in August. He’s been at all of Georgia’s games this season, but just as a fan.