By: Capers Childs

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

For decades, University of Georgia fans waited for someone who could finally bring the Bulldogs back to the apex of college football. Then, Kirby Smart arrived.

What Smart has built in Athens is more than just a winning football program. He has changed the standard of Georgia football in its entirety.

Before Smart, University of Georgia was a consistently-successful program, but the Bulldogs struggled to break through and become a national championship winning program.

Under previous head coach, Mark Richt (2001-15), Georgia posted a 145-51 record (.740) and remained nationally relevant, but could never reach the top of the college football landscape.

Smart took over as Georgia’s head coach in 2015 and has since built one of the most dominant stretches in college football history.

He currently has an impressive record of 117-21 with a .848 winning percentage. His accomplishments include back-to-back College Football National Championships in 2021 and 2022, a 2017 CFP title game appearance, SEC Championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024, six SEC Eastern Division titles, and eight New Year’s Six bowl appearances. In just his second season, he had the Bulldogs playing for the national championship for the first time in three decades.

What makes Smart so valuable to Georgia goes beyond his records. He took the job at his alma mater and a place he and his family love. His passion for the program has helped create a standard that Georgia fans had been waiting decades to see.

That impact is also reflected in the atmosphere surrounding the program. Georgia football has become one of the most iconic environments in all of college sports. The Dawg Walk, tailgates, and the packed Sanford Stadium is what defines a Saturday in Athens and under Kirby Smart, Georgia is expected to maintain greatness every season.

Smart’s dominance is also shown in recruiting. Before this year, the Bulldogs hadn’t signed fewer than three five-star recruits since 2017, and they have consistently been top 10 in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

That talent has translated directly to the next level. Under Smart, Georgia has produced 21 first-round NFL Draft picks – the same number as his total losses as head coach.

In that span, he has also had 84 players selected in the NFL Draft, including a modern-era record 15 players taken in the 2022 NFL Draft, the most from a single school in the seven-round draft format. Smart has turned Georgia football into one of the strongest NFL pipelines in college football.

Smart’s commitment to the program is also reflected in the investment Georgia has made in him. He is currently on a $130-million dollar contract through the year 2033. He’s making roughly $13 million dollars a year. In fact, only five NFL coaches are making more than Smart is at UGA. So, why would he leave the SEC?

Speculation about Smart eventually leaving for the NFL continues to surface. However, he already has a background coaching in the NFL. In 2006,  he was the safeties coach for the Miami Dolphins for just one season under Nick Saban.

During his lone year in the league, the Dolphins finished with an overall record of 6-10-0. After a subpar year, he returned to college football, where his career has reached a whole new level of success

The reality is that Georgia Football is built around Kirby Smart. Every part of the program. If he were to leave for the NFL, Georgia would be losing the foundation of what the Bulldogs have spent decades trying to build.

For Georgia, the question is what the program would look like without Kirby Smart – and for a team built entirely around his standard, that answer is exactly why Georgia cannot afford to let him go.