I'd also add that most of the truly elite coaches -- Saban, Meyer, Patterson, Dantonio, Harbaugh, Petrino (I considered him elite even before this year), Peterson -- and even our own JJ, and Ericson, all had (successful) experience as HC's on teams where they didn't always have a built in talent advantage.
Outside of a brief one year stint at East Carolina, Richt has always been on a team where he had a recruiting and talent advantage. Yes, I understand UGA isn't exactly Alabama, LSU, or UF, but they aren't exactly Utah, Michigan State, Boise State, San Diego State, Stanford (at least before Harbaugh built them back up), TCU, Washington State, OK State, or Lousiville either. When you're at those schools, you have to consistently out-coach your opponents on a weekly basis.