As the Golden Era of football at Miami has come to a close, the embattled University of Miami Athletics Department has found a new man for the job in former Miami player and former University of Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Richt took his time in commenting on whether he was interested in coaching next season, but had been contacted by several schools including Maryland and Virginia, the latter of which he had an interview. Richt was chosen by Miami over several other candidates, including former UM coach Butch Davis, Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen. As of Wednesday night, Mark Richt is Miami’s new head football coach. But who is he, and what does he offer Miami?
A South Florida native, Richt was the back-up quarterback to Hall of Fame player Jim Kelly, and played at Miami from 1979 up until 1982 under Howard Schnellenberger. After graduating, he took a graduate assistant job at Florida State University, later leaving for East Carolina University as the offensive coordinator for a year. His return to FSU in 1990, as quarterback coach and later offensive coordinator, yielded impressive results, including coaching two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks and an explosive program that went on to win two national championships.
In 2001, Richt was hired by Georgia before the season started. At Georgia, he went on to become the SEC’s longest tenured coach, leading the team to 136 wins and only 48 losses over fifteen seasons. Richt also lead the team to two SEC championships-2002 and 2005- as well as nine post-season bowl wins. Despite a long and generally successful career at Georgia, athletic director Greg McGarity ultimately made the call to let Richt go due to a lack of SEC championships in his last ten seasons at Georgia. McGarity offered Richt a position in the Georgia Athletic Department, but Richt stated that he would prefer to continue coaching.
As far as what Mark Richt brings to the table for Miami football, his obvious career successes and overall season record average overshadows Golden’s Miami career average of 7-5, and is very appealing to a Miami Athletic Department. His history with UM may have been a factor leading to hire as well, as he has a personal connection to the culture and institution that is Miami football. UM also offers Richt, and the team, the opportunity for a hands on coaching experience, especially in terms of quarterback Brad Kaaya’s development. Richt’s ability to recruit in South Florida could prove beneficial as well. The skills and experience of a coach like Mark Richt combined with the multitude of talent currently seen on the team gives UM football a good chance of once again becoming the team that we all dream about.