What a weekend to remember in the SEC coaching soap opera: Les Miles, riding off on the shoulders of his players as fans chanted his name, survived an overthrow attempt by LSU’s athletic director and donors.

Mark Richt wasn’t as fortunate. Hours later, he was out at Georgia.

Richt was 145-51 in 15 seasons at UGA. That’s a sterling overall record, an average of 9.7 wins a season. But critics -- and those who ultimately decided to fire him, including AD Greg McGarity -- pointed to a decadelong SEC title drought as the reason for change.

“With the talent in Atlanta and in that state, players who go to top college programs and wind up in the NFL, there’s no reason you can’t win more SEC titles than that,” an NFL scout told me. “For one thing, you should never lose to Tennessee.”

Where will McGarity and Georgia’s administration look to replace Richt? They probably already have been in pursuit, or at least preparing for today. Many believe losing to Florida and first-year coach Jim McElwain sealed Richt’s fate weeks ago.