Outgoing Georgia football coach Mark Richt has a short-term goal of guiding the Bulldogs to a bowl victory.
His long-term plans are as open as Terrence Edwards was against Auburn in 2001 following David Greene's brilliant play-fake.
Richt and Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity met with the media Monday morning, less than 24 hours after news broke of Richt's firing after 15 seasons at the helm of the program. McGarity and university president Jere Morehead have offered Richt an undefined role in the athletic department, but the 55-year-old coach isn't committing to anything past his final time on the sideline.
"Since I'm not on the road recruiting right now, I'll have an opportunity to look at a lot of options," Richt said, "and I think there are going to be a lot of options to weigh. I'm blessed in that way and thankful about that, but I'm just not ready to say what I want to do yet. It's very attractive to have the thought of being able to stay in Athens and still be able to help our young people."
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Should Richt continue living in or around Athens, he would follow in the footsteps of his three predecessors: Jim Donnan, Ray Goff and Vince Dooley.
Richt could choose a path very different from those three by returning to coaching, and he said Monday night on his radio show that he already has been contacted by five or so schools. Before his 15 seasons with the Bulldogs, Richt was an offensive assistant at Florida State for 15 years and an offensive assistant at East Carolina for one.
"If and when I do coach again, I'm looking forward to being more hands-on," Richt said. "I miss coaching quarterbacks and I miss calling plays. I miss that part of it, whether it's the role of head coach, coordinator or quarterbacks coach. If, in fact, I do choose to do that, I would be really excited about coaching QBs again and getting in the middle of the offensive strategy."
McGarity announced that he will use a search firm to land Georgia's next coach but said multiple times throughout the 30-minute conference that this event was about Richt. There were reports Monday that Houston head coach Tom Herman was agreeing to a new contract with the Cougars, furthering speculation that Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is the leading candidate for the Bulldogs.
Smart was named Monday as a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation's top assistant coach. He won the award in 2009.
Richt has a 145-51 record at Georgia, with his .740 win percentage topping Dooley's .715 clip for the best in program history. He hasn't won a Southeastern Conference title since 2005 but has been revered as a quality face of the program, which led to Sunday being a "most difficult" day for McGarity.
"Decisions of this nature are very difficult," McGarity said when asked if there had been backlash. "Our fans are passionate, and Mark has tremendous support and a way of connecting with people. I've been the recipient of emails on both sides, and it goes with the territory. I understand it."
McGarity declined to elaborate on Sunday's conversation with Richt before the announcement, calling it a private matter between the two. Richt was more forthcoming on his termination, pointing out that 15 years is a long time in this day and age.
Georgia is 23-9 in SEC games the past four seasons, a record second only to Alabama's 28-4 mark, but the Bulldogs have not capitalized in an SEC East that contained recent down cycles at Florida and Tennessee.
"The expectations have been built to the point where, if you don't win a championship, it's kind of miserable around here," Richt said. "If we don't make it to Atlanta, I'm miserable, too. Our sport is a very passionate sport and a very public sport, and you can't have all the excitement and the cheering without the other.
"If things don't go the way you want, people are going to be disappointed, and I can understand them thinking there is a better way. I can respect that, and I think it got to the point where there wasn't enough confidence in my leadership to get it done, and that's the prerogative of the people in charge."
The Bulldogs, as of Monday afternoon, had the nation's No. 4 recruiting class according to 247Sports.com and the No. 6 class according to Rivals.com. The last commitment before Sunday's news was Devwah Whaley, 247Sports' No. 4 tailback nationally out of Beaumont, Texas, who made a nonbinding pledge Thanksgiving.
Georgia's class is headlined by five-star quarterback Jacob Eason out of Lake Stevens, Wash., who has been on track to enroll in January along with in-state tackle Ben Cleveland and in-state defensive tackle Julian Rochester.
"I talked to Jacob last night, and I just told him to be patient," Richt said. "I told him to see who the next guy is, because he might get really excited about that. I didn't tell him not to check out other options or be proactive or whatever, but I told him not to jump the gun and that he chose Georgia for a reason.
"I'll encourage all these guys to do the same, because they're a great group of guys and have a chance to come in and be one of the best classes in the United States of America. It might even be a blessing to be on the front end of a guy's contract rather than year 16."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.