While many Georgia football fans continue to speculate and even obsess about whom Mark Richt will hire as defensive coordinator, Richt continues to offer no clues.
Richt wrapped up his ninth season with the Bulldogs on Monday night with a 44-20 rout of Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl. Thursday, he held his year-ending teleconference.
"I'm not taking any pleasure at all in what people might be going through out there," Richt said when asked about the search that began with the Dec. 2 firing of Willie Martinez. "The only comment I'll make on that is when I do have that decision made and it's ready for public consumption, we'll let everybody know. My goal is to get the right man for the job.
"I've never set a timetable. I've given a general idea, but the bottom line is that I'm not going to make any comments on that until the job is done."
Former Tennessee and current LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis was contacted by Richt, LSU coach Les Miles said Thursday, but Chavis has elected to stay in Baton Rouge and is receiving a raise. Chavis, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Illinois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning each reportedly has been contacted by Georgia, but Richt has not admitted to offering the job to anyone.
Richt did say defensive line coach and recruiting chief Rodney Garner, who helped hold the defense together against the Aggies but never has been a coordinator, was not a candidate.
Bowden's finale
Richt will not attend today's Gator Bowl between Florida State and West Virginia. The game in Jacksonville will be the finale for Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden.
Bowden produced the greatest run in NCAA history from 1987 to 2000, when FSU went 152-18-1 and won two national titles, and Richt was on his staff for 13 of those years. Since Richt's departure as offensive coordinator following the 2000 season, the Seminoles are a more modest 73-42.
"I'll be with him in spirit," Richt said. "I'm not going to make that trip, first off because it's sold out, and I don't know if it would be right for me to be on that sideline at this point. I'm a Coach Bowden and a Florida State fan when I watch this ballgame."
Looking ahead
The biggest storyline for Georgia's 2010 spring practice will be the quarterback competition among Logan Gray, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.
"The things I'm going to be looking for is a guy who can hit his target, a guy who can make decisions and a guy who can handle the pressures of the job," Richt said. "Whoever wins that job is going to have a very good respect for the football. We know the quarterback, of all positions, usually has the most turnovers, whether it's a sack and a fumble or an interception, and I think it's going to be a very difficult thing for these young men.
"In one sense they want to do something great and win the job, but they also have to understand that not being careless with the football is a big part of the job description."
Gray may decide between now and spring that he wants to try another position.
Odds and ends
Monday's Independence Bowl wound up being the final game for Aggies defensive coordinator Joe Kines, as the 65-year-old former defensive coordinator at Alabama (twice), Arkansas, Florida and Georgia has announced his retirement. ... Richt is arranging talks with junior linebacker Rennie Curran and junior safety Reshad Jones about their impending decisions and does not believe any other player is considering leaving early. ... Trinton Sturdivant (ACL) could go through portions of spring practice but no live contact. ... Richt did not know of any impending surgeries for players, nor has he received any calls requesting permission to talk with his six current assistants. ... There could be a couple of players switching positions between now and spring, but Richt didn't want to make those possibilities public.