Mark Richt - Make the Call: Game-Day Wisdom for Lifes Defining Moments

While Mark was at Florida State University, I had the privilege to lead Mark to Christ in 1986. His life has never been the same. Mark not only talks the talk but he walks the walk. He is a great role model for young people to follow.

Bobby Bowden , former head football coach, Florida State University

If you love faith, family, and football, with some wonderful leadership and decision-making tools, you will love Make the Call .

John Maxwell , #1 New York Times bestselling author

Make the Call will entertain, inspire, and also challenge you to make decisions that will bless you and others that you influence. This is a must-read!

Jon Gordon , author of The Energy Bus and The Power of Positive Leadership

I have always had great respect and admiration for Mark Richt. Through his book Make the Call , we can now relive some of Coach Richts great and not-so-great moments in his career. This book will give you great insight into the life of a Division I champion coach and man.

Dabo Swinney , national championship-winning head football coach, Clemson University Tigers

I have admired Mark Richt as a coach because he not only produced great teams but great young men as well. Make the Call will give you some of Marks coaching secrets, but also give you the secrets to making the truly important decisions in life.

Tony Dungy , bestselling author and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts

If you want to know what made Coach Richt tick throughout his days as a coach and mentor, Make the Call will tell you where his strength came from.

Tony Evans , president, The Urban Alternative and senior pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship

Copyright 2021 by Mark Richt

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-0877-4186-4

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Published in association with the literary agency of Legacy, LLC, 501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite #313-348, Winter Park, FL 32789 and in association with the talent agency of CSE Talent, LLC, 150 Interstate North Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339.

Dewey Decimal Classification: 153.8

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE / DECISION MAKING / PROBLEM SOLVING

Main Scripture: New American Standard Bible 1995, New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked nkjv are taken from New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked esv are taken from English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture references marked hcsb are taken from Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked csb are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Cover photo Micah Kandros; Kara Gaylor, stylist.

Radio broadcast transcriptions on pages 118 and 127 are used with permission of the University of Georgia Athletic Association.

Press conference quotations on .

1 2 3 4 5 6 25 24 23 22 21

I dedicate this book, first and foremost, to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And to my beautiful wife, Katharyn, who has been my rock through it all.

Introduction

Make the Call, Coach

M iami hadnt beaten Florida State in seven years.

Miami, winner of five national championships. Miami, the inventors of swag. Miami, the orange-and-green gatecrasher whod risen up out of seeming nowhere in the 1980s to shake up the blue bloods of college football. Miami, my alma mater. Miami, the U.

Miamiwho was now my football team.

It was October 7, 2017. My second year as head coach in Coral Gables, and my first trip back to Tallahassee as the enemy. This was special to me. At 3:30 in the afternoon, at kickoff under bright sunlight on Bobby Bowden Field, at Doak Campbell Stadium, this was our chance to prove that the U was worthy of the nations attention once again.

The year before, at home, wed come close to beating them, close to at least pushing the game into overtime. Our junior placekicker, Michael Badgley, had seen his streak of made extra points end at seventy-two, with just over a minute to play. A leaping Seminole lineman had pawed the ball out of the sky, right after wed scored late to pull the game to within one.

And this yearman, this year, it looked like theyd gotten us again. Tied at the half, tied again at the start of the fourth quarter, we finally nudged ahead 1713 on a short touchdown pass from Malik Rosier to Braxton Berrios. But freshman Florida State quarterback James Blackman, filling in for their injured star sophomore Deondre Francois, marched his offense seventy-five yards on a four-minute scoring drive, capped by a crushing touchdown completion to a wide-open receiver in the right corner of the end zone.

New scoreFlorida State 20, Miami 17.

Time remaining on the clock1:24.

The home team fans erupted. Our undefeated, thirteenth-ranked Hurricaneswinner of eight games in a row dating back to the previous yearhad come into town and, from the way it was looking, we were about to get whipped for the eighth straight time. From the dancing on the other sideline, to the chanted Seminole Chops thundering down around the stadium, the mood among most of the 78,000 in attendance was clear. This ball game was over.

Only not to us.

We knew their defense, playing to preserve a win in the last minute of the game, would leave enough space underneath for us to pick up chunks of yardage, allowing us to draw closer and closer into field goal range. If we could just get to about their 35 or so. Michael hadnt missed a field goal from between 4049 yards, not just in this season, but in his entire career. We still had a chance.

After the first two plays of the series, though, wed gone nowhere. Both were incompletions, so at least the clock hadnt moved much: a batted-down pass at the line of scrimmage, followed by a pass to Braxtoncaught, but out of bounds.

Then we converted the third and long. Out to our 41. We reeled off consecutive first downs on two gashing run plays, taking us inside their 35, still with half a minute to go. Faced with third and long again after a couple of incompletions, Braxton caught a short ball from Malik in the right flat and ran it to the sticks. First down. Out-of-bounds, clock stopped, at the Florida State 23.

Eleven seconds left.

Which, for a kicker like Badgley, amounted to a forty-yard chip shot, to tie and force overtime.

Or...

What about we go for the win?

We did have a time-out to play with, but I didnt want to use it yet. Id burned one with five minutes left, down in the red zone, when Maliks helmet had flown off after taking a vicious hit. Could have been a targeting penalty maybe, which meant he couldve stayed in the game rather than be forced to sit out a play by rule, but the refs didnt see it that way. So I had to make a call. Put in a fresh quarterback, who hadnt played a down in the game? On third and one? On the 6-yard line? Needing a go-ahead score? Or should I use a time-out, and keep our quarterback on the field?

Thats the thing about making calls. Sometimes youve got to decide.

Thats the thing about making calls. Sometimes youve got to decide. Right now. You dont have a week or ten days to mull it over. But whether youve got all the time in the world to sit and pray about it, or whether youve got about forty seconds, like I did, youve got to be the one to do it. To make the call. Somewhere inside you, inside that whole complicated combination of memories and experiences, of lessons taught and logical hunches, youve got to bring it all to bear on whatever decision is staring you dead in the face. Youve got to squeeze it all down and sort it all outdecide what stays, decide what goesdecide what matters, decide what doesntdecide who youre going to listen to, and decide whose voice is misleading youdecide whats right and decide whats wrong. Or at least decide whats best. Decide what this moment is calling for. Decide what you can live with. Decide what you cant live without.