ATLANTA — Mark Richt stepped down as Georgia’s coach on Sunday in what was called a “mutual” decision but looked like a firing.
Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said in a statement that he met with Richt on Sunday morning “to discuss the status of our football prog ram.” McGarity said the two “mutually agreed that he would step down as head coach and would have the opportunity to accept other duties and responsibilities at UGA following the bowl game.”
Georgia (9-3) ended its regular season with Saturday’s 13-7 victory over Georgia Tech. It was clear after the game Richt had no plans to step down. He said he planned to begin recruiting “and getting prepared for the future at Georgia.”
Now, his future as Georgia’s coach will include only one game. Richt will coach the Bulldogs in their bowl game as the search for his successor begins.
Richt issued a short statement in the announcement released by Georgia.
“I appreciate the opportunity of serving the University as well as considering any other options that may present themselves in the future,” Richt said.
Richt scheduled a meeting with his players Sunday night. He did not hold his normal Sunday teleconference with reporters.
There has been speculation about Richt’s future since losses to Tennessee, Alabama and Florida ended the Bulldogs’ hopes for a SEC championship. Georgia closed the regular season with four consecutive victories, but that was not enough to make up for failing to land a spot in the title game. The Bulldogs were the preseason pick in the SEC East.
Richt, 55, said Saturday that the team “came up short of our goal” to win the SEC championship.
“That’s the standard here,” Richt said. “Win the SEC and hopefully go beyond that. From that point of view, we fell short of our goals.”
McGarity praised Richt, who is 145-51 with two SEC championships. Only Vince Dooley (201) won more games at Georgia.
McGarity thanked Richt and Richt’s wife, Katharyn, “for 15 years of remarkable service to the UGA community, hundreds of our students and staff, and to college football.”
“Mark’s record on the field was outstanding; however, his impact on college football goes well beyond the gridiron,” McGarity said before mentioning children who attended Richt’s summer camp, recruits and his players. “For those contributions, we are sincerely appreciative.”
Richt, deeply religious, was respected for his integrity but criticized for failing to keep pace in the SEC’s recent string of seven consecutive national championships. Georgia’s last SEC championship was in 2005. Its last national championship, under Dooley, came in 1980. The Bulldogs lost in the 2011 and 2012 SEC championship games.
Georgia has tentatively planned a news conference for today.
A leading candidate in Georgia’s search could be Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, a former Georgia safety and assistant coach under Richt.
Georgia’s tradition of hiring or promoting assistant coaches to become coach includes Dooley, Ray Goff and Richt, who was the former offensive coordinator at Florida State.
One current head coach who has a history with Mc-Garity is Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen, who was an assistant coach for the Gators when McGarity was an associate athletic director at Florida.
First-year Colorado State Coach Mike Bobo is another with a strong Georgia connection. Bobo left as the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator after the 2014 season and is 7-5 with the Rams, who have won their past four regular-season games.
McGarity said if Richt chooses to remain at Georgia, he would “be heavily involved with outreach programs for our former football lettermen.”
University of Georgia President Jere Morehead said he asked Richt to accept “a new leadership role” that apparently would include fundraising.
IOWA STATE
Campbell leaving Toledo
Toledo Coach Matt Campbell left Ames, Iowa, in October 2014 with a 37-30 loss and a deep appreciation of Iowa State football.
On Sunday, Campbell celebrated his 36th birthday as the new coach of the Cyclones.
Iowa State announced the hiring Sunday afternoon, saying Campbell has agreed to a six-year contract starting at $2 million for 2016. Campbell will replace Paul Rhoads, who was fired a week ago after seven seasons.
Campbell is now the youngest coach at a Power Five school. He went 35-15 in four seasons with the Rockets, including 9-2 this season with victories over Iowa State and Arkansas.
Toledo Athletic Director Mike O’Brien told The Associated Press on Saturday that the school had offered Campbell a contract that would have made him the highest-paid coach in the Mid-American Conference.
The Rockets started 7-0 this fall, including a 16-12 victory over Arkansas in Little Rock, before a loss to Northern Illinois.
RUTGERS
Coach, AD terminated
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers fired football coach Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann on Sunday, stripping the athletic department of its most prominent employees after a season that was a failure on and off the field.
University President Robert Barchi announced that Patrick Hobbs, Dean Emeritus of the Seton Hall University School of Law, will take over for Hermann.
Barchi decided last week to make a change in leadership, he said in a statement, and told the football team of the change Sunday afternoon. As players left the team meeting room about 45 minutes later, everyone declined to comment except senior Quentin Gause, who was team captain.
The reaction in the room was silence, Gause said, and Barchi provided no other details about the Flood decision or what would happen to the assistant coaches. Assistant head coach Norries Wilson will be interim coach.
“We asked questions and stuff but at the end of the day it’s a business decision, but keeping everybody together,” Gause said. “That’s what it’s all about at this point.”
The Scarlet Knights finished 4-8 after blowing a big lead to Maryland on Saturday, a game that was not even close to being the worst of the team’s embarrassments this season.
VIRGINIA TECH
Fuente taking over
Virginia Tech has hired Memphis’ Justin Fuente to be its next football coach. The school made the announcement Sunday, bringing a quick end to its search to replace the retiring Frank Beamer after 29 seasons. The school also said longtime Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster, thought to be a candidate for the job, will remain in that position at Fuente’s request.
Fuente, 39, has spent the past four seasons at Memphis, turning a struggling program into a winner. The Tigers, who compete in the American Athletic Conference, were 10-3 last season, including a 55-48, double-overtime victory against BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl.
They are 9-3 this season, including a 63-0 victory against SMU on Saturday in Fuente’s final game.
Virginia Tech will introduce Fuente at a news conference today.
VIRGINIA
London quits Cavaliers
RICHMOND, Va. — Mike London resigned Sunday s football coach at Virginia after six seasons.
Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said in a release that he met with London on Sunday morning and both agreed that a change was in the best interest of the program.
The move came one day after Virginia lost 23-20 to state rival Virginia Tech, its 12th consecutive loss in the series. It left London with a 27-46 record at the school.
Sports on 11/30/2015