Mark Richt

Mark Richt has served with dignity as the head football coach of the University of Georgia for the past twelve years.

When the Georgia Bulldogs lost the S.E.C. championship game of 2012 to the University of Alabama, he didn't go berserk on the sideline despite its bizarre ending.  It went down to the wire as Chris Conley was tackled on the five-yard line after catching a deflected pass from quarterback Aaron Murray.  Time then expired before Georgia could get off another play.  Instead of acting like a jerk the way some coaches would have done, he simply packed up his team and headed back to Athens.

When UGA endured a crushing defeat to Clemson University in their 2013 season opener, Mark Richt took the high road.  Even after his team blew a second-quarter lead, Coach Richt stayed calm.  With the heartbreaking loss, the university dropped from five to eleven in the polls before rebounding the following week against SEC powerhouse South Carolina to the credit of their top leader, Mr. Richt, the strong, silent type, like legendary head coach Vince Dooley before him.

Finally, in the game against North Texas State University, when the Mean Green shocked Georgia with a third-quarter 21 to 21 tie, Richt didn't blow his stack. He remained confident that the Bulldogs would pull it out in the end.  As a result, UGA scored twenty-four unanswered points to break the stalemate and win 45 to 21 in a driving rainstorm.  Like in the past, the victory was due to a capable head coach.

Mark Richt deserves much kudos for being level-headed, which is why he is the senior coach in the Southeastern Conference.