Richt fully invested as head coach of the Hurricanes
There wasn’t an article of red clothing to be found on Mark Richt’s body when he stood on the podium at the ACC Football Kickoff meetings.
In his first regional meeting with the media since he was named head coach at Miami, it was obvious that the former Georgia head coach is now 100 percent focused on helping the Hurricanes return to national prominence.
“To me, there’s pressure and there’s stress,” Richt said. “There’s pressure in this job of head coach. I mean, there’s certain deadlines you have to meet, certain things you’re responsible for. A lot of things have to happen. There’s pressure to get the job done.
“I think whether you stress out about it is up to you. I’ve tried not to stress out about much of anything. I have a solid faith that the Lord is going to take care of me. All I can really control is what I can control. I focus more on the process of doing things right. I feel like the results will come.”
The Miami faithful has been waiting for results since Larry Coker took the program to the national title in 2001. Coker was run off after the 2006 season and successors Randy Shannon and Al Golden failed to slow the slide. It got so bad last year that Golden was blown out after a 58-0 loss to Clemson, leaving interim head coach Larry Scott to clean up the mess.
Richt took over the job on Dec. 4, 2015, just days after he was sacked following 15 successful seasons as head coach at Georgia. The timing was providential and allowed Richt the opportunity to observe his new team during its preparation for the Sun Bowl.
“I was kind of, ‘watch from a distance, a little bit of a fly on the wall,’ just observing, trying to assess the things that I thought we had, things that I thought we needed,” he said.
He replaced the entire coaching staff. Richt hired Manny Diaz, who played alongside him at Miami, as defensive coordinator. He hired Thomas Brown, who played for him at Georgia, as offensive coordinator and running backs coach. He hired former Georgia assistant Todd Hartley as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. He brought along his son Jon, who worked last season with the Buffalo Bills, as quarterbacks coach.
Plus, Richt promised to be more involved with the game preparations. He had gotten away from that in recent years at Georgia, ceding the play-calling responsibilities to Mike Bobo and Brian Schottenheimer.
“I told the coaches. I am coaching quarterbacks again, I’m calling plays,” he said. “I’m getting in the middle of this offense again.”
The changeover has been noticeable to the players.
“A lot more early mornings,” quarterback Brad Kaaya said. “That’s one thing, 6 a.m., every day. Pretty cool. A lot of key guys are up at 6 a.m. every day.”
Punter Justin Vogel said there was definitely a feeling-out process when Richt arrived, but the transition has been positive.
“He’s come in, been honest with us from the start,” Vogel said. “He’s been a great guy. He’s not only tried to improve us as players, but as men. He’s done many things for us in the community, pushed us in the community to be better people.”
In the end, Richt’s success will be judged by wins and losses. It’s hard to believe, but Miami has not won the ACC’s Coastal Division since joining the conference in 2004. The Hurricanes haven’t beaten Florida State since 2009. He’s committed to the long-term success of the program.
“Being back at my alma mater is huge for me,” he said. “It’s kind of a good spot to finish my career. I have no intention of doing anything but finishing my career at Miami. It’s been a little overwhelming, the outpouring of support. It’s energizing.
“Now we’ve got to get ready to play some games. …. The only thing I promised is that we’re going to work hard and try to do things the way everybody will be proud of us, just a team that will play hard, play physical, be a disciplined bunch and just get after it.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Richt fully invested as head coach of the Hurricanes."