ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia coach Mark Richt insists his longtime friendship with Willie Martinez hasn't clouded his ability to assess the job performance of the Bulldogs' embattled defensive coordinator.
Last week's 45-19 loss at Tennessee marked the eighth time in 15 games that Georgia has allowed 37 or more points, but Richt has no immediate plans to demote Martinez.
"If you coach, you're going to get criticized," Richt told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "You're going to get criticized when you win. You're going to get criticized when you lose.
"So whether a guy is your friend or not, they have taken on a certain responsibility where they know that they're going to be in a situation where they know they can be criticized and they know they've got to do their job regardless of who the boss is."
Entering this weekend's game at Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs rank last in the Southeastern Conference and 100th nationally in allowing an average of 30.7 points.
Georgia is second-worst in SEC total defense and 75th nationally with 377.2 average yards allowed, but Richt blames the entire team for falling to 3-3 overall for the first time since he became head coach in 2001.
The offense is no better, averaging 324 yards to rank second-worst in the SEC and No. 97 in the nation. Against Tennessee, the Bulldogs' only touchdowns came on an interception return and a kickoff return .
"We are very concerned about how this season has gone," Richt said in his weekly news conference, "and we are battling as hard as you can possibly battle to get things moving in the right direction this year."
Georgia (3-3, 2-2 SEC) will visit Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3) with a two-game losing streak for the first time since Oct. 28-Nov. 4, 2006.
"As far as the program, we have a very strong program, finishing in the coaches' poll No. 10 last year and No. 2 in The AP the year before and six out of seven years in the top 10, that's not bad," Richt said. "That's the past. I understand that. But when you start talking about a program I think you have to start looking at where we've been in the recent history here."
"The other thing is the season is not over. It's just not over."
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hang in there, dawg fans. i know it's tough, with all the loud mouth alabama fans around. but, they'll be on probation again soon, and it'll all seem normal again.
Fine Mark. Fire him when the season is over if you want. or don't fire him at all.. maybe then both of you will be looking for a job. :)
If we had all held ourselves to the same high performance standards that we hold coaches to then maybe this country wouldn't be in the sad shape it is in.
If it was up to fans Coaches would be fired weekly.
L-Man, very well said. Thanks for putting something on here that is worth remembering.
kodos l-man
i concur. 2 years ago, he was a genius. georgia has played a tough schedule the last couple of years.
two years ago he was not a genious. GA has struggled the last three years defensively.