Kirby Smart is riding high on the coaching throne, showing no signs of slowing down after Ohio State’s championship win under Ryan Day last season. ESPN’s latest rankings cement Smart as the top coach, snagging 11 of 12 first-place votes for the second consecutive year. Since taking charge at Georgia in 2016, he’s built a dominant program, boasting a remarkable 94-16 record through 2024. His Bulldogs have been nearly unstoppable, achieving a best-in-the-nation 42-2 record over the past three seasons. Consecutive national titles in 2021 and 2022 ended a long dry spell, complemented by three SEC championships. However, the landscape may be changing, potentially requiring a new strategy for the Bulldogs.
Look, if we know one thing about Kirby Smart, it’s that all he thinks about is winning. Since the moment he joined Georgia, he just had one thing in his mind: “For me, when I got this seat, it was like, okay, I’ve got to make all of these decisions; let’s make them based on what matters: how do we develop young men and women, how do we graduate them, and how do we win championships?” And he sure did it; that is exactly the reason why young players show immense trust in him. This offseason, Smart added 6 new players to his team: Jared Curtis, Jordan Smith, Vance Spafford, Zech Fort, Lincoln Keyes, and Graham Houston.
But this brings us to a question: Will they be able to thrive under Kirby Smart’s mentorship? His rulebook isn’t that straight. And the host over at UGA Football on Dawg Post is highlighting the same thing. ” And he talks about his non-negotiables, stuff that, if you just don’t have it, you can’t play at Georgia. You’re not even going to get recruited. But stuff that you absolutely have to have if you want to win over the staff, play, start, and have a big-time career at Georgia.”
He then added, “My non-negotiables are effort and toughness, and DNA qualities. That’s what we look for. That’s a non-negotiable. If you don’t have those qualities, you are not going to play.” Effort and toughness are all that matter to Kirby Smart.
NCAA, College League, USA Football: CFP National Championship Head Coaches press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz Jan 8, 2023 Los Angeles, CA, USA Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart right speaks at TCU Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes watches during the 2023 CFP National Championship head coaches press conference at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Los Angeles Los Angeles Airport Marriott California United States, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKirbyxLeex 20230108_tbs_al2_096
No fluff, that’s exactly the case. Dawg Post’s host also highlighted a recent incident of how Kirby Smart let go of a talented TE of 2026 just because he didn’t resonate well with his program’s values. “Georgia dropped a guy who I believe was the number one tight end in the 2026 class. Dropped him completely off their board because he didn’t fit what they were looking for in a person, right? Super talented kid, but he didn’t fit the Georgia culture. That’s what they thought. So they dropped him. He’s committed elsewhere.” Even if you are a top talent, that doesn’t mean Georgia will go desperately behind you, the host explained.
Look, this might sound harsh, but it doesn’t mean players are scared of Kirby Smart’s vision and avoid his program because of it. They are NFL legends who basically entered beast mode under him. “And, you know, this is a reason why we see a lot of three stars — Jordan Davis, Ladd McConkey, Javon Bullard, so on and so on — do really well at a place like Georgia. Because they have that fire and energy and that toughness that he’s talking about,” the host said.
And that’s exactly the same vision he carries for his team this season too- fight hard to get success.
Kirby Smart’s vision for Georgia this season
For the 2025 season, Kirby Smart says Georgia needs to improve its run defense and its rushing offense. He directly attributes those improvements to better third-down performance, saying, “There’s a long list of things we can improve on,” Smart said in an interview with Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy on WJOX. “But number one, we’ve got to stop the run better. And we’ve got to run the ball better. And if you do those two things, you’re also going to help yourself on third down. Because we weren’t where we needed to be on third down. But those problems came from first and second (down).”
Georgia’s 2024 rushing attack saw a major hit from injuries to running backs and offensive linemen, ranking a dismal 102nd nationally in rushing yards per game—the worst under Coach Smart. Despite losing three offensive linemen early in the NFL Draft and running back Trevor Etienne in the fourth round, Georgia’s coaching staff remains largely intact. Running backs coach Josh Crawford, offensive line coach Stacy Searels, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo are all back, hoping continuity and player development will revitalize the running game.
For four straight years (2019-2022), Georgia’s rush defense never fell below the top 2. Georgia’s 2023 season performance resulted in a 20th-place ranking in the metric, yielding an average of only 113 rushing yards per game. However, Georgia led the nation in third-down stop percentage that year. The Bulldogs’ national ranking dropped to 17th last year. That slip-up proves Smart’s point.
Now, Kirby Smart’s offensive line will rely on returning starters Monroe Freeling, Earnest Greene, Drew Bobo, and Micah Morris. Instead of depending on freshmen, Georgia added just one offensive lineman via the transfer portal, prioritizing experience. At running back, Illinois transfer Joshua McCray, a 10-touchdown scorer last season, joins sophomore Nate Frazier. McCray’s skill set complements Frazier’s, avoiding the redundancy that existed with Etienne.
Georgia’s rush defense weakened defensively, but held its ground. Last year, the Bulldogs’ rush defense was ranked 36th. However, despite losing numerous NFL draftees on the defensive front, the team has its key returning linebackers, Raylen Wilson and CJ Allen. Freshman Christen Miller heads a defensive line strengthened by transfer additions Joshua Horton and Elo Modozie. Now, let’s just wait and see if Kirby Smart’s coaching rulebook does him any good this season or not.
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