What the (heck)? Richt discusses his feisty Macon comments

GAINESVILLE – Mark Richt’s traditional spring speaking tour is winding down, and it hasn’t been without its fun moments. Recall, if you will, what happened in Macon when a fan asked Richt some pointed questions:

The deeply-religious head football coach at Georgia slipped up and now-famously told the fan, “I know what the hell I’m doing, OK?”

Richt brought up the exchange himself on Tuesday night, as he prepared to meet another group of fans in Gainesville. And he put a happy face on Macon back-and-forth, without quite backing off the tenor of his comments.

“I know it was publicized one time I got on a guy a little bit about what he was asking. But even at the end we hugged, and it was fine,” Richt said. “He just wanted to give me his opinion. I wanted to let him know I was there. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. That’s really the only time it’s gotten a little testy. I appreciate the guy’s passion for his team and the program. I just wanted to let him know I’ve been doing it a long time and I still know what I’m doing, and stuff like that. Sometimes you’ve gotta help them out.”

A reporter then asked Richt if the outburst had forced him to explain himself to his wife Kathryn.

“Well yeah I told her as soon as I got home,” he said, smiling as his face reddened a bit. “I probably told her on the way home. If I had just said 'I know what the heck I’m doing', it wouldn’t have been a story.”

Then Richt was asked if it surprised himself to hear those words come out of his mouth.

“Well, I mean I didn’t prepare mentally and spiritually well enough for that moment. I mean it wasn’t that bad,” Richt said, then began to laugh more. “I mean he asked two or three more questions before the night was over. And literally we talked and I hugged him. He was happy, I was happy.”

But Richt didn’t learn the fan’s name.

“I thought he’d be an Internet phenom by now,” he said. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal, I didn’t think. I didn’t like the choice of words – I wasn’t upset that I said what I said, I just wished I didn’t use that word. To some people it’s not a big deal. But I could’ve chosen a better word.”