I have been monitoring the start of each season of Georgia football for almost seven decades. There was never a time when there was not a rush of adrenaline accompanying that first day of practice.
Yesteryear, the players reported on Labor Day weekend. Now, they play the first game on Labor Day Saturday. I like the way it is with the semester system, which brings the campus back in full swing by the first game.
Like everybody else, I am excited about this year’s team. I have a seasoned reply when anyone asks that standard question: What kind of team will we have this year?
The answer? We will always be good with head coach Kirby Smart on the scene, but he wants UGA to be great, and now his constituency expects that of him.
Already Kirby has established himself as the best college coach in the history of this state, and he likely will end up as one of the best ever in the SEC. However, the man under whom he apprenticed, Nick Saban, has a resume that will be difficult to surpass.
The only coach with a better career start was Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, who won the old BCS championship in his second year at Oklahoma (2000). Stoops would go on to lose three other BCS championship games, however.
In perusing the newsletter, “Kickoff,” which lists the records of all college teams over the last five years, you note that Georgia leads all schools with 61 victories and only seven losses. Alabama is next with a 58-10 record, followed by Ohio State and Notre Dame, who have won 54 games apiece. The Bulldogs, under Kirby, are winning at an 89.7% pace. Only one coach in history, Walter Camp (Yale and Stanford), won 90% of his games (79-5-3), but he only coached seven years.
Even with teams like Marshall and Austin Peay on Georgia’s schedule this year, it is tougher to win these days, especially with all the ancillary influences such as NIL and the professional influence. Still, it is difficult to believe any coach is more organized, more prepared, or more on top of a multitude of issues than the current Bulldog head coach.
This year, Kirby should become the winningest coach in college football history for his first 10 years. He needs only four victories to pass Stoops for that honor. Not sure how the NIL circumstance will play out, but Kirby’s approach is to coach his team to be just that — a team. The winners of a high-bid process can wind up with a collection of selfish players. His way is to ensure that NIL money does not spoil the locker room.
Most of the big-name coaches win 70% to 75% of their games, including Saban at 72% and Bear Bryant at 76%; however, at Alabama, Saban won 87% of the time and Bryant 78%.
Most seasoned observers would conclude it’s tougher to win games today than in the past, which is why the records of Saban and Smart are so impressive.
Kirby has always been very respectful of his old boss, saying, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without having coached with him.” I can’t think of another successful coach who has seen one of his assistants win two national championships, as has Saban with Kirby.
Obviously, there continues to exist more opportunity for the protégé, but you also must have an enormous amount of luck to win a championship. But the Smart man knows that if you are in the hunt year after year, you create your opportunities to claim the big prize.
Kirby has been a difference maker, making an impact from the beginning by winning the SEC championship in just his second season and getting his team to the national championship game, where it lost in overtime to Alabama.
It took Vince Dooley 16 years to win a national title. Bear Bryant needed 19, Darrell Royal required 16, Saban, 14, Tom Osborne, 11. Woody Hayes and Dabo Swinney grasped the Holy Grail after nine seasons. Bobby Bowden had the best record in football during his peak years at Florida State, but his first title came after 28 years as a head coach. That Kirby almost won it in his second year further reflects his brilliance as a coach.
Georgia has upgraded its facilities across the board; other UGA sports teams are enjoying noteworthy success, too — the rising tide lifts all boats effect — and the university remains in popular demand, regionally and nationally. Home state pride in the Bulldogs has never been higher.
With that success, however, comes an unrelenting pressure to win.
Everybody has the highest expectations, but Kirby can handle that and will work harder to overachieve. He will never fall victim to resting on his laurels. He will never underestimate an opponent, and he will never get fat-headed with the potential of any of his teams.
A UGA alumnus who wants nothing but the best for his alma mater, Kirby is built for the long haul and is as anxious for the season to get underway as even the most passionate Bulldog fan.
The Kirby kickoff awaits.