Report: Mark Richt Will Become Hurricanes New Head Coach
By J.T. Wilcox & David Dwork | Staff Writers
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CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami) – The University of Miami may have gotten their guy.
Reports have surfaced that former Georgia coach Mark Richt is expected to be named the Miami Hurricanes next head coach.
Mark Richt is expected to be named Miami's next Head Coach, sources told https://t.co/a7sVno50GF. #Canes
— Peter Ariz (@PeterAriz) December 2, 2015
Mark Richt is headed to Miami, a source told @ESPN. 1st reported by @PeterAriz
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 2, 2015
Richt was said to be one of four men who the school had narrowed their search to, but he was always considered their top choice.
CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald is reporting that Richt has accepted the Hurricanes offer to be their new head coach.
Well, was just told with 100-percent certainty that Mark Richt to Miami should be finalized tonight or tomorrow.
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) December 2, 2015
Richt, 55, will be Miami's fifth coach since 2000, taking over the storied program after it finished the season under interim head coach Larry Scott, who replaced Al Golden.
Golden was fired on October 25th following Miami's 58-0 loss to Clemson and Scott took over for the remainder of the year, going 4-1 and leading the team to an 8-4 overall record and a bowl game berth.
Richt spent the past 15 seasons leading the Bulldogs in the SEC, including helping UGA to a 9-3 record in 2015 before being fired from his post.
During his time at Georgia, Richt totaled a 145-51 record, 9-5 in bowl games, and was named the SEC Coach of the Year twice (2002 and 2005) as his Bulldog teams won SEC Championships in those years.
Tabbing Richt the next head coach appears to be the "happy medium" for fans and alumni who wanted the program to make a big splash by hiring a proven coach that also has ties to the school.
Richt, who graduated from UM in 1982, played quarterback for the Hurricanes, mostly serving as a backup to Canes great and future NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.
Many wanted to see Butch Davis get the job. Davis, who coached the Hurricanes from 1995 to 2000 before going to the NFL. Davis last coached the University of North Carolina from 2007 to 2010.
Mississippi State head coach Dan Mellen and former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano also interviewed for the Hurricanes job according to reports.
With Richt at the helm, Miami gets a coach who has an impressive coaching resume along with being someone who is familiar with the South Florida football landscape.
A Boca Raton native and a Boca Raton High School graduate, Richt has some in-roads with local high schools, evident by the five players from either Miami-Dade or Broward County high schools on Georgia's 2015 roster.
There's no word as to who Richt would bring with him to also be on UM's coaching staff nor is it known if he will retain any of Miami's current coaches, including interim coach Scott or coordinators James Coley and Mark D'Onofrio.
David Dwork and J.T. Wilcox contributed to this post.