Richt, Georgia ready to face expectations of being top dog

[BAMAPHIN 22]

Just before Vince Dooley, then Georgia's athletics director, offered Mark Richt the head football coaching job after the 2000 season, he spoke with Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. Richt had spent 15 seasons with Bowden's Seminoles, primarily as offensive coordinator.

"The one thing that worries me about him is he's too nice," Bowden told Dooley. Seven seasons later, Richt is still as nice but also has won nearly 80% of his games, becoming one of only nine coaches in major-college history to record 70 or more wins in his first seven seasons. He also restored the glory, glory to old Georgia, as the fight song goes, winning two Southeastern Conference championships.

Now Richt, 48, has the Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches' Poll, which raises the question: Can nice guys finish first?
"Absolutely they can," says former coach Dooley, whose 1980 team won Georgia's last national title.

Bowden, Richt's mentor, also agrees. "Because he is very nice, I wondered if he'd be tough enough to be the head coach when everyone's jumping down your throat. We have found out he has an inner toughness that makes him able to handle it," says Bowden, who has managed to be both the winningest coach in major-college history and everyone's favorite dadgum nice guy.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/coll...georgia-poll-cover_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

[GSU Eagle]

Yea, he's nice. TOO nice. He should be a bit tougher on his players and demand some discipline. UGA is #1 in the nation at playing football and #1 in the nation at having football players end up in jail. Yesterday atleast 8 UGA football players got in a bar fight and there will likely be more identified in the coming week or two. That also doesn't include the hit and run by one of the players who is about to get busted after the surviellance tape is given to the cops.

 

[Timmy54]

they will not be #1 at the end of the season, too brutal of a schedule and they are Georgia...they will find a way to lose 2 games they shouldnt.

 

[CedarPhin]

The National Championship comes down to two games this season.

Florida vs. Georgia and OSU* against USC.

 

[XXXSURTAINXXX]

they will not be #1 at the end of the season, too brutal of a schedule and they are Georgia...they will find a way to lose 2 games they shouldnt.

Neither of those losses will be against the gators