Mark Richt is out after 15 seasons as head coach at Georgia, the school announced Sunday.
"Coach Richt and I met Sunday morning to discuss the status of our football program," University of Georgia director of athletics J. Reid Parker said in a release. "And we mutually agreed that he would step down as head coach and would have the opportunity to accept other duties and responsibilities at UGA following the bowl game."
Richt has led Georgia to a bowl game in every season as coach of the program. A 9-3 record in 2015 qualifies Georgia for 15 consecutive bowl appearances for the Richt-led Bulldogs.
Richt compiled a 145-51 record at Georgia, including an 83-37 record in the SEC, which his Bulldogs won twice (2002 and 2005) and six times played for the league championship. During those two SEC title-winning seasons, Richt was also named the conference's coach of the year. Richt's .738 winning percentage made him the fifth winningest active coach in FBS, behind Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Alabama's Nick Saban and TCU's Gary Patterson.
Georgia had 11 first-round draft choices under Richt's watch, the most recent being running back Todd Gurley to the St. Louis Rams in the 2015 NFL Draft. Other top talents to come out of Richt's program include Cincinnati Bengals four-time Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green, 2014 sack leader Justin Houston of the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
"I appreciate the opportunity of serving the University as well as considering any other options that may present themselves in the future," Richt said in the school release.
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