ATHENS - Mark Richt didn't hide knowing what moniker is being put on this Saturday's game. In fact, he made fun of it.
Richt, the Georgia head coach, and Houston Nutt, the Ole Miss head coach, have both faced scrutiny about their future. Hence some are calling this the "Hot Seat Bowl."
"Oh I knew that would happen," Richt said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. "No, I mean that was pretty easy to predict. You'd think they could've thought of something better than that. I think a couple kindergartners could've thought of that one."
Richt said he had a lot of sympathy for NUtt, or any coach going through that.
"I hate that for anybody. I've always hated that," Richt said. "I guess I could just talk about it this way: When you, as an SEC head coach, when we go to our meetings in Destin, let's say, you all get in that room together. Whether we get mad at each other or not, or get in these competitive situations, whether it's recruiting or on the field, you all sit in that room together and start discussing the reality of our jobs and our responsibilities, and just the things we can control, the things we can't control, there's a heavy dose of respect for everyone in that room. I don't think anyone enjoys another guy going through something like that.
"We all know that we're pretty darn good coaches, and somebody's gonna have a good year and somebody's gonna have a bad year."
Tight end Orson Charles said the idea of both coaches being under pressure should ratchet up the play of their teams.
"I definitely don't want to play for anybody except coach Richt, and I don't want coach Richt to go anywhere else," Charles said. "That just jump-starts us to want to play harder, because we all, not only me but we all feel the same way, and I'm pretty sure they all feel the same way about their coach. So I'm pretty sure this is gonna be a very important game for us."
Charles, a junior who has been on some NFL draft boards, was asked if Richt's status could dictate his own future.
"It's kind of hard to tell," Charles said. "I'm not really thinking about what I'm going to do if coach Richt leaves, because in my mind he's staying. That's not something I've really given much thought about. ...
"It's definitely a business and people definitely want to win, and that's why I feel like we're definitely stressing on how badly we want to win. Because I guess the people upstairs (Charles pointed towards the athletics department offices) don't care who you are they just want to win. And it definitely shows that. So all we want to do is win right now."
Some other notes from Richt's weekly press conference:
- Receiver Marlon Brown is "questionable to doubtful" with a sprained ankle.
- Defensive end DeAngelo Tyson (back strain) and guard Kenarious Gates (leg) are each hopeful to return, according to Richt.
- They haven't gone into any discussions about Hutson Mason getting series a la D.J. Shockley.
"He's earned playing time in my mind," Richt said. "How we're going to manage that, I'm not prepared to make any promisses I can't keep."
