quote:
I don't see the problem....if you the not the best at you job, and Richt and company aren't and they prove so every season, then you have no reason to expect to be paid like the best. It doesn't make any difference if schools who have done less are paying more....that is their decision to make. If they wish to throw money at people who arent worth it that is a decision that will come back to haunt them.

Richt is not a champion. He could be...he has the ability...but he is simply too willing to accept mediocrity without getting too high or too low. This is in the mans DNA and it will never change. There is a reason he stayed at Miami knowing he wasn't going to play there and also knowing he could probably start somewhere else...because there is little or no pressure when you aren't the best.

This is also why he isnt being paid as much as his counterparts...because he doesn't want to ratchet up the expectations that would come along with more money and he for sure doesnt want the pressure that would come along with starting over somewhere else. This is why he is almost never mentioned for other jobs because no one thinks he could be enticed to leave UGA because we are a perfect marriage for a person like Richt. His demeanor would last about a week in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge.

There are only a few things that would cause any change. If he starts losing to Tech on the regular he will get the Jim Donnan treatment. For whatever reason Richt has Tech's number and this isn't likely. He could also have a string of 6 or 7 win seasons but again that isn't likely considering how weak the SEC east and the fact that we are almost guaranteed 5 wins a season with 2 rent a wins, UK, Vandy and GT on the schedule. Going 3-3 against the rest of the SEC, especially when you only play Alabama and LSU every 20 years or so, is no great feat.

Richts is as good as it gets at UGA. If he stays long enough we will probably win a couple of nattys. It will be pure luck and will require some serious Auburn type smiling on us by the Gods but we are due. I dont think he stays that much longer. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't retire in 4 - 5 years and I dont think we win a natty in that period.

Well stated and yes, we have discussed this issue many times on this board. The finale in the article nails the same conclusion we have already come to:

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In the end, though, I’m not sure any of this really matters. Here’s the most revealing thing McGarity has to say:

“I sleep pretty well at night, because I know when I go home I’ve given it my best,” McGarity said. “But I’ll let others judge me. I have a boss. We all have bosses. And my boss is the president. So he’ll let me know how I’m doing.”

I don’t think he’s the only one there who sleeps well at night. At least as long as the money keeps rolling in. That’s the Georgia Way.
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And since our university remains one of the most profitable in the nation, I am reluctant to criticize their strategy; it is certainly working from a cost/benefit perspective.

But here's the rub. McGarity's argument is that we are investing appropriately based on results compared to our top competitors. The problem with this approach/logic is that it doesn't represent the reality of the current coaching/sports investment market and it is reactive rather than proactive. The programs winning NC's are investing first to foster a higher level of achievement. While McGarity is clearly saying that we won't invest at a higher level until better results are achieved at the same level of investment. And nothing will change until the model for success employed by our admins begins to fail aka profitability declines.

I would add (and have done so a number of times), what McGarity is not saying publicly is that academics is the priority for our admins as well it should be. UGA, like Texas, has been focused on increasing it's academic standing. As such our priority will remain academic investment and we will never go all in to win a football NC under our current administration. Call it accepting mediocrity in sports or whatever but it is what it is and once I understood this the gnashing of teeth ended.

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I still yell a lot during our football games.