SEC Football (Rivalry Coaches): Mark Richt V Paul Johnson

Rivalries are a part of what makes sports great. Tyson-Holyfield. Liddell-Ortiz. Lakers-Celtics. Canadiens-Bruins. Already I have offended people by not including their favorite rivalry. As posted in the first article in this series, however, each post will contain some new rivalries in the introduction, so feel free to make a suggestion in the comments or tweet @southbounddown or @jcrichardson12 (still not great with “the twitter”) with your suggestions.

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Originally I intended for this to be strictly SEC football games, rivalries and coaches. Fortunately I realized my folly. If I were to limit this series to only SEC games, some great rivalries would get left out. Additionally, the SEC East would have been done a huge disservice.

Many SEC West teams have the (dis)advantage of having one of their biggest rivals be not only in the same division, but also in-state (Alabama-Auburn, Ole Miss-Mississippi State). Many teams in the SEC East, however, have one of their biggest rivalries with an in-state team that is not a part of the SEC (Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida-Florida State, South Carolina-Clemson, Kentucky-Louisville…it counts).

I also thought the wording of the questions was key. “Who would you rather have take over your program right now” eliminates coaches who may not be in the game very much longer. “Who would you rather have for one season” negates recruiting expertise to an extent. So it was settled that the question would be “Who would you rather have for the next 4 years?” That encompasses coaching and recruiting. It implies that the coach cannot retire after one season.

If you have a preference, you already know which way you are going to vote. The introductions and overview here will be kept at a minimum.

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So without further ado, let us introduce our second ever contestants for our ‘Rivalry Coaches’ series . . .

The Venue: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate Game

Mark Richt:

*cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Red and Black corner wearing a G on his trunks and holding UGA on a leash…he has a Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate record of 12-2 and has KO’d more Tech coaches than he cares to count…he recruits studs and sends ‘em to the NFL, he was once a prodigy and is now a perennial contender…he’ll ground and pound, throw haymakers, and ball up…whatever it takes to win…MMMMMMMMMMMMAAARRKK “THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAANNNN” RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCHHHHTTT.

Paul Johnson:

*throat clear, cue announcer voice* Fighting out of the Gold and White corner wearing a bee-stinger on his trunks and claiming it as his third option…he has Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate record of 2-5 but is responsible for Richt’s only two losses in this series…he is an old-school fit for this old-fashioned game…he use a triple threat of strategies to wear his opponent down…he’s a technical mastermind of old-school technique..PAUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLL “THE TECHNIIIIIIIIICIANNNNNNN” JOHNNNNNNNSOOOONNNNNNNN

Take your pick. Share with friends. Make sure your coach comes out on top. Results for round 2 purposes will be taken a week after the publish date (8/23/2015). The poll will remain open and like LL Cool J said, “Don’t Call it a Comeback”

For more on SEC Rivalries, check out Barrett Sallee’s article: ‘SEC Football: Ranking the Conference’s Best Rivalries’

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