Therefore perhaps it's best that I had no choice but to write this column on Jan. 3, rather than Dec. 31 (vacation kept me away from a computer) -- three full days removed from another in a long line of hand-wringing results from the Georgia football team.
Yet the cold conclusions I have drawn today aren't much different than the heated emotions running through my mind on New Year's Eve.
Mark Richt's time at Georgia may have passed.
I write this not because of last week's dreary 10-6 Liberty Bowl loss to Central Florida -- though the effort on display in that contest may well rank as the nadir of a very low season -- but due to the overall direction of the Bulldogs program since the 2006 season.
It is certainly true that Richt took Georgia to heights not reached in 20 years over his first five seasons, winning the SEC East three times, the conference title twice and 10-plus games four of five times. But since smacking LSU in the league's championship game in '05, what are the Bulldogs' signature moments? A grand finish to the 2007 season that included a No. 2 ranking is pretty much all that shines in the face of continued disappointments (there were a few individual successes, such as impressive wins over Auburn in '06 and Georgia Tech in '08 but nothing sustained). And the farther we remove ourselves from Knowshon Moreno, the more and more we are coming to see '07 as the outstanding anomaly.
Bulldog fans should always remember and respect what Richt accomplished for their program, but those same fans should also be allowed to ask why that success has vanished. And if you don't believe that it has vanished, consider that over his first five seasons Richt's teams lost 13 total games; starting with '06 his teams are averaging close to five losses per year.
It has been said many times over that Richt has earned the chance to correct the current spiral Georgia finds itself following. And he will get that chance -- new athletic director Greg McGarity has said numerous times that Richt will be in Athens for the 2011 campaign.
But if it was possible for Richt to correct the problems currently dogging Georgia, wouldn't he already have done so?
There is some reason for hope in Athens, as there is a certain amount of talent in place (quarterback Aaron Murray for one) and a potentially star recruiting class lining up for February's National Signing Day. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham also has another season to improve a unit that took some steps forward this campaign and played well enough to give the Dogs a victory in the Liberty Bowl.
Changes have also been wrought to the program's strength and conditioning set-up -- a shift designed to instill toughness and psychological stamina in a group of players that are behind the trends set in places like Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Gainesville, Fla.
With all that said, those changes came long after they were needed, with even the most ardent Richt supporters wondering when the coach would pull the trigger.
It is that inability to be proactive that has helped send the Bulldogs into their tailspin -- starting with the loss of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder (currently impressing with the Atlanta Falcons) after 2004.
Maybe Richt will surprise by grabbing hold of the program that seems to have run out from underneath him, but as things currently stand that seems a doubtful proposition.
-- Morgan Lee is sports editor for Access North Georgia
Georgia football coach Mark Richt
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/1/234992