Kirby Smart entered the Sugar Bowl with an 85 percent winning percentage, meaning his teams are likely to win many games and championships. But as everyone understands, you can’t win ‘em all.
When the Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss was final, and he had a brief respite with his team, Kirby was as pragmatic and insightful as ever. He reminded everyone not to hang their heads, pointing out that they had much to be proud of.
After all, they were state champs again and won back-to-back SEC championships. (He never calls attention to himself, so I will do it for him since it is so noteworthy. His record of 117-21 is the best ever for a coach for his first 10 years on the job!)
Winning back-to-back championships, he told his team, is an occurrence that might not happen again for a long time — the SEC is just too competitive — and while he didn’t address the transfer portal, it is obvious that this latent circumstance has created the most disruption we have seen in college football since 1905 when 18 fatalities almost caused the game to be abolished.
The Kirby Smart plan has seen the Bulldogs make the playoffs four out of the last five years. How many communities across the country — and how many fan bases — can realistically see such expectations become reality? Kirby keeps making it happen.
He keeps sending worthy talent to the NFL each spring but finds a way to win and get into the playoffs, where one of the reasons to advance to the ultimate game is good health, making coaching a greater challenge today than ever. How much more success would the Bulldog offense have achieved had Drew Bobo played at full strength through the playoffs? How much more effective would the offense have been if there were a durable, stud running back like a Todd Gurley in the backfield?
The Georgia senior class posted a 51-6 record, and since 2021, UGA leads all FBS schools with a 65-7 record.
Ole Miss, a team that came close to reaching the final game, has for decades yearned for yesteryear — the glory days of Coach John Vaught — to return.
Seasoned observers have noted that it would be difficult, given the state of Mississippi's population base. Lane Kiffin pulled it off by going to the portal and bringing in abundant talent, highlighted by a remarkable quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss.
Among the College Football Playoff teams, Georgia had the fewest transfers starting (10%) while Ole Miss had the most (66.3%). Many seasoned observers suggest that the plan will not work long-term, and you can see how long it took Kiffin to jump ship — to LSU, which has a much larger recruiting base with far less in-state competition than Ole Miss.
Something peculiarly significant with Indiana, the favorite to win the national title, is that the average age of their roster is 23. Kids entering college at age 18 and graduating on time usually get their cap and gown by their 22nd birthday. Those extra years of seasoning make a great difference in competition. Georgia’s average age was roughly 20.5 years old for its 2025 roster.
The post-game locker room scene in New Orleans was one that revealed that Georgia’s most recent team had the right stuff. There were a lot of tears, and much hugging and feeling as the players said their goodbyes, knowing they likely will never be together again as a group. It was a sincere and compassionate expression of brotherly love.
Nobody was discussing the draft or NIL possibilities; they were instead focusing on how much they enjoyed and appreciated their teammates and their time together in Athens.
The culture the head coach has brought about has resulted in sustained success, but it is very tough to win a championship, especially in today’s college football world, where roster stability is scarce.
There are more talented athletes than ever before, and while many of them greatly appreciate the institutions with which they affiliate, today’s process often favors the highest bidder.
Have you ever considered the predicament Kirby Smart has created? He does such a good job with player development that many players come to Athens, benefit from the Georgia system, and then move on to where the grass is greener (more money). Kirby simply will not let money spoil the locker room.
The Georgia training regimen is so good that every year, the Bulldogs lose a significant portion of their roster to the National Football League. (For the 2026 Super Bowl, for the 25th straight year, Georgia will have a player on one of the rosters). How about that streak, which is likely to continue?
It is tough when you train a kid for the NFL and lose a portion of your roster every year when August comes around, but losing players who can move on for any reason certainly makes college football recruiting an inequitable process.
Then, when judges get in on the act, directing that a school grant an extra year of eligibility, which happened last fall, you wonder if there will ever be any sanity with college football again.
Fans who are being called upon to support the program — to the extreme — also put more pressure on the coaches to win big. If the championships are not there, the donors will not be there either.
As a Georgia alumnus, I am overjoyed with what Kirby has been able to accomplish in Athens. It is historically the best record of any collegiate program in the state. No coach works harder or smarter. No coach has ever given his alma mater more energy and effort.
Thank you, Kirby.