The O.C.

Most Dawg fans believe that Coach Richt is the right man to captain the ship. He's a great recruiter, he's a developer of souls, and unlike his immediate predecessor, he actually appears awake when he speaks. A growing faction of the Dawg Nation, however, are fed up with Richt's inability to remedy his own in-game problems of clock management and asinine playcalling. "Hire an Offensive Coordinator!" they've screamed ever-louder over the past few seasons, but few offer suggestions as to whom. I have one: Rick Neuheisel.

And how fitting is the position's abbreviated moniker? Richt is the perfect Sandy Cohen to Neuheisel's Ryan Atwood. A wish-he-was-my-dad do-gooder takes in a bright, promising kid with checkered past, and both make each other better in the long run.

Sure, Georgia has had problems with hiring coaches who have sketchy backgrounds, but Slick Rick wouldn't be in charge of things, and surely he has served his penance for his sins. He's been out of college coaching since 2002, was awarded a sizable settlement in his suit against his last college employer (which should count for some vindication), and this year he has demeaned himself as babysitter for Kyle Boller (until he got hurt) and gets blamed for the fact that Anthony Wright is the poor man's Aaron Brooks.

Neuheisel was once widely regarded as a brilliant young HC, leading both Colorado and Washington in returns to success. With a 10-win season in his 1995 head coaching debut in Boulder, and another 10 wins in his sophomore effort, he was on the fast track to Himalayan heights of college coaching greatness. He slipped slightly thereafter, and left for U-Dub in 1999. He was subsequently penalized for recruiting violations (not payments, just contacts) that occurred while he was Head Buff.

From 1999 to 2002, Neuheisel led the Huskies to four straight bowls, including a BCS victory in the Rose Bowl after the 2000 season. He got canned for developing a mild case of March Madness. It was a friendly neighborhood pool, for cryin' out loud.

He's a smart guy [even if he did go to law school] whose early tutelage produced the likes of future Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. He clearly wants to get back into the college game, says this article [which looks like I plagiarized it, but I found it after I'd written most of this post], but I don't think any Div. I school would take a chance on him as HC.

Neuheisel would be the perfect counterbalance to Richt's conservatism. Hell, he's literally a Gunslinger, and this forum can't resist getting behind one of its own. Certainly Richt knows that the Christian thing to do is to forgive Neuheisel's sins and forsake his own prideful grasp on the offensive controls. My only request is a clause in his contract requiring him to grow back the feathered mullet.