Smart Move

By: Jeb Watkins

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is now the highest paid coach in college football.

Coach Smart’s new deal keeps him in Athens for the next 10 years and he is set to collect 130 million dollars along the way.

He becomes the first college coach ever to make 13 million per year. It’s safe to say Kirby has secured the bag.

So, what does this contract mean for the UGA faithful? Well.. it means no worries for the rest of your days.. ha.

But no, seriously, this deal means another decade of bragging rights, stability, and dominance.

It also means more of Kirby’s fiery half time speeches that will have you ready to run through a brick wall and who doesn’t want to see more of his signature sideline celebrations, am I right?

He is a proven leader and a master motivator. Dawg fans should be ecstatic about locking down the greatest coach in UGA history and the greatest active coach in college football right now.

There’s no doubt Kirby is at the top of his game and is showing no signs of slowing down. When Smart became the new head coach back in 2016, feelings were mixed about moving on from former head coach Mark Richt. Georgia was handing the reins to someone with no head coaching experience.

And to be fair, Smart did have some growing pains early on and got outcoached more than few times his first couple of seasons.

Eventually those mixed feelings would go away after trusting the process paid off. Fans watched as Smart turned the UGA football program into a perennial powerhouse, silencing all the doubters and exceeding all expectations.

Dawg fans let us count our blessings. To start, 6 sec east division crowns and undefeated in regular season conference play for the past three seasons. Talk about bragging rights against your rivals.

Smart has dominated the SEC east and even with the new Pod system in place I don’t see that changing.. Top 5 recruiting classes and numerous NFL draft picks every year. Two SEC championships and most importantly back-to-back National Titles, which ended the 40-year natty drought.

That’s all just within his first 10 years, given another decade smart could very well build a dynasty of his own to rival former boss Nick Saban.

Considering that Saban is the only coach to beat Smart in the past 3 seasons, who’s going to stop Kirby and the Dawgs now?

So, looking ahead what does this contract extension mean for the football program going forward? Simply put. More of the same. More 5-stars, more SEC blowout wins, more playoff games, and more National Titles.

Also, the new 12 team playoff format rolls out in the 2024 season with the Bulldogs returning 16 starters on top of all the talent buried in the depth chart.

I think Kirby and his Dawgs should be the favorites to win it all. But favorites or not, you can bet Coach Smart will have his dawgs prepared and hungry for a championship when the time comes.