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Report: Mark Richt to meet with Maryland
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The top free agent coach in college football has interest in Maryland.
That, according to 247sports, is the latest development for former Georgia coach Mark Richt. Jeff Ermann reported that Richt was set to meet with the Terps either Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the head coaching vacancy.
Georgia and Richt agreed to part ways and pay his $4.1 million buyout, though he’ll still coach the team in a bowl game.
Richt is the most experienced candidate of anybody on the coaching market. Over the last 15 seasons, only four coaches in college football racked up a better winning percentage than Richt. He won 145 games and two SEC titles at Georgia, but was fired after another nine-win season.
Maryland hasn’t had a nine-win season since Ralph Friedgen’s last year in 2010. Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson fired Randy Edsall in the midst of a 3-9 season and suggested a splashy hire would be ideal given the school’s Under Armour backing. That would suggest that the team would be willing to pay a whole lot more than the $2.1 million Edsall made annually.
Richt joined a list of candidates the Terps are reportedly pursuing, which includes Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin. Yahoo reported last week that Durkin’s interview with Maryland went well.
But it might not be a matter of whether or not Maryland has interest has Richt, and more about whether or not he has interest in Maryland. He told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he had several programs asking about his availability following his departure from Georgia.
“Yeah, there’s about five today,” Richt told the AJC. “It’s kinda crazy. But I’m not sure, again, what I’m gonna do yet. But it’s nice to have opportunities and options.”
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Maryland settle on a coach within the next week before bowl season is in full swing.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.