Former Georgia coach Vince Dooley claims he wouldn’t have fired Mark Richt

Former Georgia football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley says he would not have fired Mark Richt in 2015.

If you were to erect a Mt. Rushmore for former Georgia Bulldogs, Vince Dooley probably would be the first person picked. He’s wasn’t a founding father like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, in the sense that the Bulldogs existed and had great success before Dooley was hired as head coach before the 1964 season, but he orchestrated some the program’s best years and guided the program into its modern era in a variety of roles. Let’s call him the Teddy Roosevelt Georgia football.

Dooley coached Georgia to six SEC titles and the 1980 national championship — the last one for the Dawgs. He also recruited and coached the greatest player in team history, Herschel Walker, and served as athletic director from 1979-2004. After Dooley left the sidelines following the 1988 season, he hired three Bulldogs football coaches and was AD when two of them — Ray Goff and Jim Donnan — were fired.

But Dooley said recently he likely would not have fired his final hire, Mark Richt, had he still been in charge. At least, he wouldn’t have done so when current Georgia AD Greg McGarity did, following a 9-3 regular season in 2015.

In an interview with Chip Towers of DawgNation, Dooley explained that he probably would have given Richt one more year:

"“He had to make to real tough decision in changing coaches,” Dooley said. “Mark Richt, I hired him and, well, you have this loyalty when you hire someone that you’re going to go the extra mile. If I’d have been the athletic director, I probably would have sat down with Mark and said ‘next year is very important,’ and I probably would’ve gone another year with him.”"

Like Dooley, Richt had great success at Georgia. Under his direction, the Bulldogs won 145 games, went to a bowl in each of his 15 seasons on campus, finished in the top 10 of the final AP Top 25 six times, and brought the 2002 and 2005 SEC Championship trophies to Athens. In other words, Richt would have a strong case to have his face displayed on that Georgia Mt. Rushmore.

Dooley noted that the Georgia fan base was divided as to whether or not Richt should have been fired, and that McGarity’s decision was a tough one. The Hall of Fame coach also spoke highly of Kirby Smart, the man McGarity tabbed to replace Richt.

"“He’s got a great background,” Dooley said. “He knows what it takes in this league. He’s a Georgia man. He played here but then he had his training under a guy who is a proven success in Nick Saban. He’s got a good staff and the recruiting has been great. So I really think that the future is really bright.”"

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Time will tell whether or not Kirby Smart achieves the national championship that eluded Richt and every other Bulldogs head coach since Dooley, but the last man to win one for Georgia believes Richt should have gotten one more opportunity.