On Monday, October 21st, Mark Richt had a heart attack. Two weeks prior, we were visiting about his sudden retirement, and how a year ago, he couldn't see himself anywhere but on the sideline at the U in Coral Gables, Florida.
RP: Did you a year ago, have any idea that you wouldn't be coaching there at this time this year?
MR: No
RP: Really?
MR: No, it was not a really well planned out event…I'd hate to think that I knew I was going to be retiring from coaching and not telling anybody… changing jobs or retiring…so many people are affected.
MR: No, I didn't know it was going to happen…it happened after the bowl game…not long after that, where I made the decision…I went 15 years at Georgia with the responsibility of being the head coach and it was probably time to take a break from that responsibility of being a head coach and that was my plan. And within hours I had 6 job offers...and all my former players from Florida State and Georgia were texting and saying how much I had blessed their life and all that kind of good stuff and you are thinking, "Well Lord, maybe I'm not done yet."
MR: Long story short, I did the interview and asked the questions I needed to ask Miami. I said, "I am in and within 48 hours of the Georgia job I'm the head man at Miami… and it was a program that required a lot of heavy lifting.
And I was loving it! I was going hard. But the problem was that I really and truly didn't take care of myself like I should. I didn't rest like I needed to. I didn't exercise like I needed to. I was just going so hard. I might have worked out 5 times in three years and I got depleted in a lot of ways and I was pretty much on empty at the end and I was like, you know what, this is not healthy for me, this is not good for Miami and you know, I could sit here and fake it…but Miami deserves better than that, and quite frankly, I needed to take care of myself. And so that's a very difficult decision to make, as I said before, because it affects so many people and it was kind of a strange sensation to be out of coaching, but at that moment in time, it was the right thing to do and I'm even more certain that it was. You know, you only have one heart, you only have one circulatory system, you only have one brain, you know, and if you overdo it…God's made a sabbath for a reason…and when you don't do it, you don't get blessed and you can't replenish and it is just not a wise thing and I didn't take care of myself good enough.
I'm thankful for Coach Richt's honesty. And it might be an honesty that saved his life, because he was honest with himself. In further reflection, listen to some of the lessons he has learned since he walked away exhausted.
To hear the entire interview subscribe to the Vision for Life Podcast on your podcast app. You can follow Coach Richt on Twitter @MarkRicht or Roger Patterson @RogerPatterson.
How Texans face uphill battle after big losses before pivotal Chiefs matchup
Jan 14, 2025, 3:34 pm
It's no secret that the Texans' offense hasn't been the same since Stefon Diggs went down with an ACL injury midseason. To make matters even worse, Houston lost Tank Dell for the year, suffering a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs just a few weeks ago.
In an attempt to replace that production, the Texans took a flier on the talented and temperamental Diontae Johnson, who has worn out his welcome with now four NFL teams.
That's right. Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Texans have cut Johnson and elevated Jared Wayne from the practice squad.
When Diontae Johnson, now cut by #Texans, was with #Ravens he was suspended for conduct detrimental for refusing to play. After games, if he wasn't involved to his liking, he was highly upset and had to be calmed down. Pattern continued in Houston and now he's off his third #NFL… https://t.co/wF3WnRfBvg
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2025
This move is disappointing on so many levels. Houston desperately needs a playmaker to pair with Nico Collins, that's why they took a chance on the disgruntled receiver to begin with.
And while it's fair to blame Johnson for displaying displeasure about his role in a playoff game in which his team won, there are two sides to every story.
I certainly don't put this on the Texans. Johnson has proven many times to be a bad teammate, and who wants to deal with that during a playoff push?
But the Texans did only target Johnson one time in the game, which he caught and led to a field goal. While receiver John Metchie got most of the playing time despite losing a fumble on the first offensive possession of the game, costing the Texans three points.
Metchie almost had another fumble shortly after the first one, but luckily the refs ruled an incomplete pass on the play. My guess is Johnson correctly thought he was a better option than Metchie, who hasn't done anything of significance at this point in his NFL career, and was playing like the moment was too big for him.
As Metchie was making mistakes, I found myself looking for Diontae on the field and wondering why he wasn't getting more opportunities with Metchie looking like a disaster.
What's even more concerning was Nico Collins not receiving a target until the second quarter, but that's a story for another day.
As we look back at the stat sheet, Johnson was only on the field for 16 snaps, by far the fewest of Texans receivers. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson played a much bigger role than he did.
If the Texans could do things over, planning to get the ball to Collins and Johnson early could have gotten the offense rolling, instead of waiting for the broken play that sparked CJ Stroud and the offense in the second quarter.
But instead, the former Pro Bowler had almost no role in the game, complained about it following a huge win, and is now off the team.
He could have been a very valuable asset against the Chiefs, who will likely take away Collins, forcing Stroud to go to his other options. Now, those options will be players that couldn't crack the starting lineup on any decent team.
Plus, tight end Cade Stover broke his collarbone against the Chargers, and has been placed on IR. It might not seem like a big deal losing Stover, after all, he hasn't been a very big piece of the offense this year.
But he hauled in four passes against the Chargers, the second-most on the team, tied with Metchie. Which also shows you how much Houston needs help at receiver.
At the end of the day, the friction with Johnson probably couldn't have been avoided. It's hard to get newly acquired players comfortable with a new offense and quarterback. Especially if he has an attitude.
But the Texans did know his frustration with the Ravens was all about his role, or lack there of. One can't help but wonder what might have been had the Texans decided to get him the ball early, to try to get some buy-in from a talented player they desperately needed.
There's a reason Jared Wayne (who collided with Dell in KC, ending his season) is being added from the practice squad, and Johnson is a former Pro Bowler.
And kudos to Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans for taking a chance on Johnson. Often, this franchise has avoided rolling the dice on a volatile player.
They gave it a shot, it didn't work, and they cut him. It was a low risk move worth trying that didn't pay off. And for Johnson, good luck finding another team.
This dude clearly prioritizes complaining over winning football games. Have fun explaining your antics to other teams when trying to get a contract next season. If you can't play for John Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, that says a lot about the player.