The following is an opinion piece by UGASports.com publisher Steve Patterson. .

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire": a cliché that perfectly describes the result of coach Mark Richt's comments following the Bulldogs' loss to Tennessee. The "Arena speech" as fans are calling it, came at bad time, and, if Richt was indeed echoing Teddy Roosevelt's historic "Man in the Arena" speech, then he might want to revisit those words, because they are not applicable to his situation at this time.

When asked in his post game press conference how he intends to keep his players that might read or hear dissatisfaction of fans following Georgia's 45-19 loss at Tennessee, Richt started out saying that he would tell his players that it was "just a part of football", but, on the heels of that, he shifted to a bigger-picture answer that included facing criticism in general.

Said Richt: "If you are a leader, if you are a player, and you are brave enough to be in the arena, then there are going to be folks outside the arena that want to throw things at you and say things about you, but there is honor in being in the arena. A lot of people do not understand that because they are not in the arena."

Richt was clearly tiring of the post game interview at this point as is evidenced by his answer to what turned out to be the final question of the press conference.

The question asked by Radi Nabulsi of UGASports.com, whose personal photography website is fittingly titled BullMoosePhotography.com, was: "What did you think of (Offensive Coordinator Mike) Bobo's play calling?"

"I liked coach Bobo's play calling," answered Richt.

"Do you have confidence in what he did?" Nabulsi asked as a follow up question.

"Of course I have confidence, that's why he is my coordinator and calling plays. I guess you don't," was the reply.

It might be "making a mountain out of a mole hill," and if it is toss out my first cliché and substitute that one because it would be equally applicable, but you can't, and here is why.

If Richt was using the arena wording to illustrate a proverbial wall around his players to keep them motivated and focused it was lost when at the end of his reply he placed responsibility for the problem as those outside "the arena"--a statement that left many feeling as if the coach was saying that their criticism was not the problem as opposed to the object of their concern.

Ending the press conference with a snide, "I guess you don't" only reinforced any suggestion that the coaching staff was taking on a "bunker mentality" as one fan said.

Many Georgia fans that sat though the most humiliating 60 minutes of Bulldogs football in recent memory felt slapped and mocked in the final 60 seconds of a press conference in which they hoped to find answers.

At best many fans see an "us and them" posture from their coach, at worse they see the "I guess you don't" as a shot across the bow from inside the arena. A shot that didn't need to be taken at folks who do not see it as an us and them situation, they see only an us.

The last guy of note to echo TR's "The Man in the Arena" speech was Richard Nixon, in his resignation speech. Where Nixon went right and where many fans believe Richt has gone wrong comes a little later in Roosevelt's speech and what Nixon did next.

Before we get to that, here is the passage from the speech from Theodore-Roosevelt.com:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst,…

(Within in the following passage is the part at, what I believe, is at the heart of fan unrest)

…if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

The cold and timid would like to see some of that "daring greatly" stuff. Nixon became worthy of echoing these words because what he did on the day qualified him for their use:

"To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home."

After that, he announced his resignation. Even in his darkest hour, Richard Nixon dared to do something he would have never imagined himself doing, resign, to fulfill his obligation to act in the best interests of the American people.

Nobody is calling for Richt to resign, but it is fairly safe to say that Georgia fans believe the football program has fallen on hard times and request some amount of change.

It was pointed out on The Dawgvent that the "perception" of Tennessee and Georgia who share a 3-3 record is different. My input in that discussion was that, among other things but certainly the most important, is where these two programs have been of late and where they are today.

Mark Richt has taken UGA to heights that it had not been to in a long time. Among active coaches, he places at or near the top in many categories. Georgia is regarded as one of the premier programs in college football since the day Richt "blew the lid of the program" with the Hobnail Boot play at Neyland Stadium in 2001. I must add here that another person posted on The Dawgvent that the lid blown off the program that day has now landed and back in place).

Despite all Richt has done, the area many fans feel he has come up short in is changes in his assistant coaching staff. Richt has never let a coach go, and, while one resigned, the only ones to leave did so to accept other jobs.

The first five seasons largely featured the original cadre of coaches Richt hired his first year. In those years, they elevated Georgia to a perennial Top 10 program, and went 57 and 13 with 4 of those losses being in the first year.

Whether it was the result of a few exceptional players eligibility running out, the end on an era in which some good assistant coaches worked well together to produce a great team, or a combination of the two and other factors; there is a marked difference in the two halves of the almost decade long Richt tenure in Athens.

It may seem crazy to some to point out any faults in what Richt has done, but we live in a "what have you done for me lately" society where perception is everything, and the perception of the state of the program among many Dawg fans is not good.

Richt needs to make changes, even if he does not want to, and a good place to start would be in the way that he is responding to critics, be they the media or fans. The former are just doing their job, and the later would like him to do his better. As stated, I do not presume to know the inner workings of being a head coach of a major college football program, but, if I were afforded a suggestion to someone who is and finds himself in the situation that currently exists in Athens, that would be it. While that simple change would not win any games, it would go a long way in winning back the confidence of many fans.

Mark Richt is the only guy on Earth who has been able to say for every single minute since December 2000 that he is the head coach of a Southeastern Conference football team. In that time, he has faced some of the greatest coaches in conference history and has enjoyed much success, but, in the "what have you done for me lately world" that we live in; laurels are no longer handed out to rest upon.

The days of a "honeymoon period" with new coaches are gone. No longer can an SEC football coach assume he has time to rebuild a program; at least not at the schools that are regarded as powerhouses in a powerhouse conference. Richt did not need one as he made great strides in his first year and won the SEC in his second. The other powerhouses took note of that and made changes.

Florida and Alabama have both fired their head coaches since Richt was hired at UGA, and now both programs are doing very well to put it mildly-they are currently ranked number one and number two in the polls, respectively. Florida has won a couple of national championships, Alabama came close last year, and if they continue to play well and win their divisions, the SEC Championship Game will be a de facto national title game.

It appears that Tennessee made a good change as well. Despite all the great times the Volunteers had under Phil Fulmer he was asked to step down. His replacement became the whipping boy of fans of other SEC schools for his brash, sometimes reckless style. Thirty-four year old Lane Kiffin's first win as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference over a program that he noted last week was running the same offense that Mark Richt had been running since his days at Florida State.

His father, Monte Kiffin who happens to be his defensive coordinator, is widely regarded as one of the best defensive minds in football. After the game, it was reported that Lane Kiffin said that Georgia would not beat Tennessee again while he was at the helm.

Ouch. Folks in Athens would really like to change the future Lane has predicted.

The change from Fulmer to Kiffin was a big one, big shoes and shirts to fill, and it was required to fix a team that had been inconsistent and largely underperforming for a time. Georgia is not to that point totally, though you will find plenty of fans that will say the Bulldogs are, and there are very little if any calls for a replacement at the top spot by fans.

The calls are for change.

Georgia and Tennessee both have 3-3 right now, but, while they sport the same record, the perception is that Georgia is on the way down while Tennessee is on the way up. Furthermore, the two might be tied in that one instance, but after last Saturday, it appears the tie has been broken.

Nobody is calling on Richt to pull a Nixon, but many would suggest he pull a Richt-a Richt being the guy who worked magic before and can hopefully do so again. Georgia fans are at the ice cream store and would like a scoop, but they would like something new. They want Mark Richt to pick the flavor, and they want it to be good.