It’s Mark Richt’s birthday, so naturally, he’s live tweeting ‘Nacho Libre’

On your birthday, you can pretty much do whatever you please. It’s your day! There’s a variety of ways people choose to celebrate their birthdays. On Sunday, Miami head coach Mark Richt was celebrating his 58th birthday. How did he choose to ring in the big day? By watching the movie Nacho Libre, of course.

And more!

Nacho Libre is one of RIcht’s favorite movies, and he’s seen it over 50 times.

If you aren’t familiar with the Jack Black film from 2006, it’s about a monk who pursues his dream of being a Mexican wrestler, or Luchador. Yes, the film is as ridiculous as it sounds:

Richt doesn’t exactly strike me as a Nacho Libre kind of guy, but more power to him.

The Canes’ head coach is one of the most likable and straight-laced guys in college football. For example, after Miami’s win over Florida State last season, some Canes players began simulating digging a grave over the FSU logo. Richt came in hot and put a stop to that real quick, to say the least.

The rebuke was swift, and there’s an audible “ass” in there. Richt was, at least for a moment, pretty upset about this.

There are likely a few things at play. First, Richt got his biggest break in coaching from his time at Florida State. He was Bobby Bowden’s offensive coordinator, and from there became Georgia’s head coach. There’s an ingrained respect for the institution. There’s also the fact that he knows that that will become bulletin board material for next season for the Noles, and tempers might have flared if there happened to be any FSU players still around.

Richt is also a pretty pious fellow. It’s not a veneer, and that’s not me poking fun. He’s just a pretty staunchly Christian man.

One of his former players, Garrison Smith, said this about him a few years ago:

“I’ve seen coach Richt so mad one time that he almost said a cussing word. He said fiddlesticks,” Smith said. “A lot of people put on that façade of being a Christian guy and it’s just a tool that they use. I can honestly say, and I’m a stand-up guy, that coach Richt, he’s a genuine guy.”

But it’s not like Richt can’t have some fun.

Happy birthday, coach Richt! Enjoy your day.