Mark Richt was one of the most successful coaches in the history of the Southeastern Conference. In his 15 years at the University of Georgia, he made six appearances in the SEC Championship game. He won two SEC Championships and went to BCS Bowls. Richt had one losing SEC record in his 15-year tenure, winning 74 percent of his games at Georgia. On Sunday, Nick Saban had Mark Richt fired.
Alabama coach Nick Saban reacts in the game against Ole Miss earlier this season. (Photo by: Logan Kirkland)
Saban wasn’t in Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity’s office, but make no mistake, Saban’s tenure at Alabama had everything to do with Richt’s “firesigning.”
Look at Nick Saban’s Wikipedia page. Look at his head coaching record. It has more colors than the rainbow.
Since Saban has taken over at Alabama, he’s won three national titles. He’s appeared in the SEC Championship game six times in his nine years at Alabama. He’s changed the game. He makes over 7 million dollars a year. He’s worth every penny, but Saban has made it different for coaches in this league. Nick Saban is dominating the league. His recruiting tactic is better than every other coach’s in the SEC.
“I think the expectations have been built to the point that if you don’t win a championship it’s kind of miserable around here,” Richt said Monday. “If we don’t make it to [the SEC championship game in] Atlanta, I’m miserable, too.”
The expectation is championships. Go find a coach that was fired in the SEC for only winning 9 games in a regular season before Nick Saban arrived at Alabama in 2008. You won’t find one.
Alabama had to pay high dollars to keep Nick Saban happy. When that happened, other athletic departments around the country had to match it if they wanted to keep their coaches. When other athletic departments started throwing out four and five million dollar salaries, they expected Nick Saban results. The problem is: there’s only one Nick Saban.
“I don’t know what the world’s coming to in our profession,” Saban said, referring to Richt’s dismissal from Georgia.
The world’s coming to this: In a world where coaches are making over four million dollars, fans are expecting championships, not 9-3 seasons. That’s not fair, but when you make that type of salary, the expectations are going to skyrocket. Fans are not going to appreciate 9-3 at places such as Georgia and LSU, when Alabama is consistently winning 11-12 games in the regular season and often winning the national championship. That’s the world we live in.
With the salaries the coaches are making, it’s hard to feel empathy for them. They know what they’re going into when they sign up for this. Coaches are hired to be fired. It’s rare that a coach in this age of college football stays at a program for a long time. That’s the world we live in.
It’s also hard to blame coaches for leaving for more money. Fans are fickle. They can change their mind at a moment’s notice. I offer you LSU this weekend as an example. That’s the world we live in.
It’s simple. Nick Saban has changed the game. Nick Saban and Alabama have made schools pour more money into their football programs to remain competitive. Nick Saban’s success has made fans at other schools wonder why their school can’t accomplish what Alabama has. Nick Saban’s first victim was Mark Richt. He likely won’t be the last. That’s the world we live in.
