Mark Richt, the University of Miami’s new football coach, caused a stir Thursday by a statement he made to his former University of Georgia players.
Richt said, “People matter most … (championship rings) collect dust.”
UGA fired Richt on Nov. 29, but he was expected to coach the Bulldogs in their bowl game later this month or in early January. When he accepted the head coaching job at Miami, his alma mater, he couldn't coach the Bulldogs one last time.
Some people won’t understand or agree with what Mark Richt said. They will state that he just won two Southeastern Conference championships at Georgia, and never won a national championship.
Many people will overlook that Richt won 145 games in 15 seasons at Georgia, that he was the SEC Coach of the Year twice and took the Bulldogs to six SEC East division titles.
I won’t insult anyone’s intelligence and suggest Mark Richt was the SEC's best football coach. That honor goes to Alabama’s Nick Saban. At least three other coaches, past and present, would be considered better coaches than Richt.
That said, Mark Richt understands that, while winning is important, there are more important things in life.
He knows that people are more important than the biggest game on the biggest stage in any sport at any level.
Legendary Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi made famous Henry Russell “Red” Sanders' expression, “Winning isn’t everything — it’s the only thing.”
While Lombardi was winning championships, it has been documented that his wife might have been an alcoholic. If that's true, could there have been something more important than winning in the Lombardi family?
Don’t get me wrong, I want to win, and I’ve always played to win. There’s a joke in my family that I would run over my mother to score a touchdown in football or a run in baseball or softball. I’d help her up after I scored, but Mom has always known that winning is that important to me.
Many of us, too often, get caught up in the win-at-all-cost mentality. We neglect to think about the price we might later pay for victory.
In the end, I believe Mark Richt is right. People do matter most, and our greatest victories are measured in the lives of those we touch.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DICKSON: People do matter most