Is Mark Richt making same mistakes with Miami Hurricanes as at UGA?

In two and a half seasons as the Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mark Richt’s team has seemed to hit a plateau. How does that compare to his tenure at Georgia?

Richt seemed to overstay his welcome during his 15-year tenure coaching the Bulldogs. He was welcomed back to the Miami Hurricanes to be the Head Coach at his Alma Mater and rightfully so.

Richt has advanced the program in many ways in less than three years as the Head Coach. Miami accomplished a lot in 2017 with their first ACC Coastal Division title in appearance and the Conference Championship game. The Hurricanes Orange Bowl Appearance was their first major bowl game since the 2003 season.

After a 10-0 start in 2017, the Miami Hurricanes have gone 5-5 since. That includes a victory over FCS Savannah State. Miami has won only two of their last seven games against Power Five conference teams.

Can Mark Richt still get the Hurricanes to be one of the nations elite programs or is he repeating the same pattern from Georgia?

When Richt became a Head Coach in Athens for the 2001 season the College Football landscape and the world was very different. There was no social media, texting or smartphones which all have had a big impact on recruiting and very few if any games were streamed online.

Some of the criticism of Richt while he was at Georgia which likely led to his firing included that he lost big games, lost to rivals too often, had poor clock management skills, questionable play calling in crucial situations, that he was often too loyal to some of his coaching staff.

The tag on not being able to win the big games is subjective depending on the definition. He has winning records against rivals and in bowl games.