No rush for new coaches

ATHENS, Ga. -- More than two weeks have passed since Georgia football coach Mark Richt fired defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, and it may be more than two weeks before a successor is named.

"I would say the safest bet, and I don't want to put a timetable on it, but I would hate to think it goes much past the first week of January," Richt said Wednesday. "You have to get back on the road recruiting, and you would like to hit the ground running at that point with your new staff, but even then I'm not going to say 100 percent, because I'm not 100-percent sure when it will happen. I wouldn't imagine it going too much past that."

Richt also fired defensive ends coach Jon Fabris and linebackers coach John Jancek, but he will hire a defensive coordinator first and let him suggest the other two spots. He is not ruling out using an opening for a special-teams coach but said that is unlikely at this point.

Asked who would call the defensive plays during the Independence Bowl against Texas A&M on Dec. 28, Richt said, "It will be a group effort." The Bulldogs will face the Aggies with Rodney Garner coaching the defensive line, graduate assistant Mitch Doolittle coaching linebackers and Todd Hartley overseeing the secondary.

Countless names have been rumored as Martinez's replacement, but the only coach to publicly acknowledge having a discussion about the vacancy is Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who chose to remain with the Hokies on Monday. Richt said Wednesday that he has not offered the job to anybody.

"I know the fans want to know right now, but I don't think it's the main focus of the players," cornerback Brandon Boykin said. "When this season is over, then we'll talk about that. We know we're going to have to learn a new system, but we're looking forward to it."

Said linebacker Rennie Curran: "I'm very curious. For a lot of us, it's going to mean a lot in how we fit into this new scheme and what feel we get for the coaches."

Richt has some security in taking his time on the search, because Georgia already has 19 commitments for its 2010 class. He is open to different schemes when it comes to the candidates.

"There are different ways of skinning it," Richt said. "If you are really good at skinning it the way you do it, it's OK with me. I'm open to championship-level defense."