Mark Richt Ranked Fifth Best Coach to Not Win National Championship
Mark Richt has the most wins among active coaches that have not won a championship and is fourth among active coaches overall in wins. Where does he rank among coaches most likely to win a title that has not won yet.
In an article USA Today mentioned that only four active coaches have won a national championship and asked who is next? The article ranked Mark Richt fifth among active coaches most likely to be the next one to win a national championship.
The closest Richt has come to a national championship was in his second season at Georgia in 2002. With Sophomore quarterback David Greene returning, the Bulldogs finished third in the country.
That was one spot behind Miami who finished second after the bowl games were played. Georgia went into the bowl season ranked third in the BCS standings. If there had been a playoff in that era, the Bulldogs would have played Ohio State and Miami would have played USC in the semifinals.
The four coaches ranked ahead of Richt is USA Today’s ranking were Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Washington’s Chris Petersen and Stanford’s David Shaw. Among those three, only Petersen has competed in the college football playoff.
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Among the top ten, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly is the only coach on the list who has played for a national championship. No one else has gotten close.
TCU’s Gary Patterson, Houston’s Tom Herman, Penn State’s James Franklin and Richt’s Georgia successor Kirby Smart were the other coaches on the list. Michigan State Mark D’Antonio is the only active coach on the list to have competed in the College Football Playoff and not make the list.
Michigan State Mark D’Antonio is the only active coach on the list to have competed in the College Football Playoff and not make the list.
Baylor’s Art Briles and Oregon Mark Helfrich were fired in the last year and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops retired. In discussing Richt’s prospects USA Today’s who wrote the story projecting which coaches are most likely to win a National Title next said:
In discussing Richt’s prospects USA Today’s who wrote the story projecting which coaches are most likely to win a National Title next said:
"5. Mark Richt, Miami (Fla.)Richt couldn’t get Georgia over the hump. But everything seems to be coming together for Richt with the Hurricanes — in recruiting, most of all. Miami currently has the nation’s best class, though there’s a long way to signing day. Richt is clearly refreshed by the change in scenery."
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Since the article was released Miami has fallen to second in the 2018 projected rankings. Even with that happening, the Hurricanes should be set up over the next two seasons to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
If Brad Kaaya had returned for the 2017 season, Miami might be a favorite in the ACC. They are still likely the co-favorite in the Coastal Division.
If they can get quality play from the quarterback position and just have a game manager it should be a good season in Miami. The Hurricanes have one of the best one-two duos at running back and wide receiver with Mark Walton and Ahmmon Richards and one of the best front sevens in college football defensively.
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If they don’t challenge in 2017, they will still likely be one of the nation’s top ten teams heading into the 2018 season.