The 2024 season was not the best for Kirby Smart.
Georgia went 11-3, losing three games in a season for the first time since 2018. Smart came under plenty of criticism, be it for retaining offensive coaches Mike Bobo and Stacy Searels or his program’s recent driving record.
Even on the recruiting front, Georgia has taken a bit of a hit of late. Yes, the Bulldogs continue to sign elite recruiting classes, but between Justus Terry and Jackson Cantwell, Smart’s program has suffered a few high-profile misses of late.
Yet with all that Smart has had to navigate in the past year, he is still viewed as the top coach in the sport. By a wide margin too, according to ESPN’s stable of writers.
In a group of 12 contributors, Smart received 11 first-place votes for who was the top college football coach in the country. The lone dissenter voted for Bill Belichick, whose success has come exclusively at the NFL level.
“With more first-round NFL draft picks (20) than losses (19) in his nine seasons as coach of his alma mater and back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, it’s hard to argue it could be anyone other than Smart with Nick Saban retired,” ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote. “I don’t think Georgia’s program is going to slip anytime soon.”
Smart finished with 119 points out of a possible 120 in the poll.
In his first nine seasons at Georgia, Smart has gone 105-19. He needs just five wins this coming season to have the second most by a coach in his first 10 seasons as a head coach. The record holder, Penn’s George Woodruff, won 124 games from 1892-1901.
Smart understands that with great success comes even greater expectations. Despite winning the SEC a season ago, many no longer see Georgia as a top-tier team entering the 2025 season.
The Georgia head coach, who has won three SEC championships and two national titles, knows what he needs to get out of each and every season. And winning the last game of the season doesn’t define whether or not the Bulldogs had a successful year.
“Do I want to win a national championship? Absolutely,” Smart said in a recent interview with Paul Finebaum. “But that’s not going to be the be-all and end-all for us. We want to get the most out of every team we can.”
Georgia’s 2025 team will look different from last season’s team. The Bulldogs lost 16 scholarship players to the transfer portal and had 13 players off of last year’s team drafted.
Georgia is likely to start Gunner Stockton as the team’s quarterback, while Smart tapped into the transfer portal to add talent at wide receiver and running back.
With another strong season in an ultra-competitive SEC, Smart has a chance to widen the gap between himself and his contemporaries. Of the coaches who ranked second through 10th on ESPN’s list, Smart has a record of 6-2.
Many will judge Smart on whether or not he is able to win another national championship at Georgia. Having already won two, Smart understands that is the bar he has set for himself.
He welcomes the chance to try and clear it once again in 2025.
“I love the expectation. I embrace that,” Smart said. “I think that’s a good thing because if it’s not there, then what are you playing for, you know?”
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