They are the head coach for different sports in the State of Georgia. They both started their season with reasonable expectations. Right now, one is exceeding those expectations and one isn't living up to them. Welcome to the world of Georgia football coach Mark Richt and Atlanta Hawks head coach, Mike Woodson.
Mark Richt has a contract that runs through December of 2013. Mike Woodson has a contract that runs through Memorial Day. Through 11 games, Mark Richt is 6-5. Mike Woodson was 9-2. Is it possible that the coach without the contract is feeling a lot more comfortable on his seat than the one with a guaranteed paycheck for the next four years?
Richt has been under fire pretty much all season long for being too loyal to his friend, defensive coordinator, Willie Martinez. He's been called 'too nice and too soft', which, if you believe in the statement, "a team takes on the personality of their coach", doesn't bode well for the Bulldogs in the present and perhaps the future.
Georgia looks like a program that forgot how to reload, and that typically falls at the feet of it's head coach. This is a program that lost two first round draft choices, in quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno. Momentum can be a tricky thing to maintain. The fact that the Georgia Bulldogs have been trotting out a senior without any leadership skills is troubling. The fact that the Georgia Bulldogs will now have to start a quarterback next year who has never taken a college snap in a meaningful game is troubling. What are the expectations for next year? New quarterback, new learning curve? That word 'momentum' is going to rear its head again, but for all the wrong reasons.
That brings us to the $64,000 question: is Mark Richt on the hot seat? My personal assessment is, the seat is very warm. Mark Richt has earned the right to come back next year and prove that this season was an aberration, not a trend. However, he has certainly put himself in a tight spot. He is sitting on a very warm seat with a very young quarterback next year.
Back in Atlanta, Hawks head coach Mike Woodson probably wishes he had a contract that ran through 2013. His team is off to a phenomenal start, yet he's coaching with zero job security. To Coach Woodson's credit, he has remained focused and made this season about the team, not his own personal situation.
One difference between Woodson's situation and Richt's is that Woodson has always had to play the hand (rosters) he's dealt. For years the dealer (Billy Knight) wasn't very kind to him. Finally, two summers ago there was a 'dealer' change and suddenly Woodson is playing with a full house. The problem now is he's not sure if the pit boss is going to ask him to leave or comp his room.
Two jobs in two different sports. Two completely different contract situations. One seat is getting hot, one seat is getting cold. Yet at the end of the day, the one thing they both have in common - the pressure to keep winning.
Mark Richt has a contract that runs through December of 2013. Mike Woodson has a contract that runs through Memorial Day. Through 11 games, Mark Richt is 6-5. Mike Woodson was 9-2. Is it possible that the coach without the contract is feeling a lot more comfortable on his seat than the one with a guaranteed paycheck for the next four years?
Richt has been under fire pretty much all season long for being too loyal to his friend, defensive coordinator, Willie Martinez. He's been called 'too nice and too soft', which, if you believe in the statement, "a team takes on the personality of their coach", doesn't bode well for the Bulldogs in the present and perhaps the future.
Georgia looks like a program that forgot how to reload, and that typically falls at the feet of it's head coach. This is a program that lost two first round draft choices, in quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno. Momentum can be a tricky thing to maintain. The fact that the Georgia Bulldogs have been trotting out a senior without any leadership skills is troubling. The fact that the Georgia Bulldogs will now have to start a quarterback next year who has never taken a college snap in a meaningful game is troubling. What are the expectations for next year? New quarterback, new learning curve? That word 'momentum' is going to rear its head again, but for all the wrong reasons.
That brings us to the $64,000 question: is Mark Richt on the hot seat? My personal assessment is, the seat is very warm. Mark Richt has earned the right to come back next year and prove that this season was an aberration, not a trend. However, he has certainly put himself in a tight spot. He is sitting on a very warm seat with a very young quarterback next year.
Back in Atlanta, Hawks head coach Mike Woodson probably wishes he had a contract that ran through 2013. His team is off to a phenomenal start, yet he's coaching with zero job security. To Coach Woodson's credit, he has remained focused and made this season about the team, not his own personal situation.
One difference between Woodson's situation and Richt's is that Woodson has always had to play the hand (rosters) he's dealt. For years the dealer (Billy Knight) wasn't very kind to him. Finally, two summers ago there was a 'dealer' change and suddenly Woodson is playing with a full house. The problem now is he's not sure if the pit boss is going to ask him to leave or comp his room.
Two jobs in two different sports. Two completely different contract situations. One seat is getting hot, one seat is getting cold. Yet at the end of the day, the one thing they both have in common - the pressure to keep winning.
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