Georgia Football
coaching staff
KIRBY SMART Head Football Coach
• FIFTH SEASON AS GEORGIA COACH • 51-14 RECORD IN FIVE SEASONS • 2017 SEC CHAMPIONS • SEC EASTERN DIVISION CHAMPS 2017-19 • 2017 NATIONAL RUNNER-UP • 2017 GEORGE MUNGER AWARD (NAT’L. COACH OF THE YEAR BY MAXWELL CLUB) • ONE BUTKUS AWARD WINNER • ONE THORPE AWARD WINNER • ONE LOU GROZA AWARD WINNER • FIVE 1ST-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS • FIVE 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT PICKS • TWENTY-ONE NFL DRAFT PICKS OVERALL
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hree straight SEC Eastern Division championships, 51 wins, one SEC title, three bowl victories, and an appearance in one national championship game are more than respectable rewards over a five-year period. That’s what Georgia got when it hired Alabama defensive coordinator and former Bulldog player and assistant coach Kirby Smart to head the program in December, 2015. His impact, along with a stellar coaching staff, players, and a passionate fan base has put Georgia on the national stage four years running. The 2020 Bulldogs became Smart’s fourth consecutive team to earn a New Year’s Six bowl game. With a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory, this year’s Bulldog senior class could tie the record for the most wins by a senior class in school history (44) set by the 2005 and 2019 teams. This is also Smart’s fourth straight team to finish the regular season ranked in the top ten of the College Football Playoff rankings. Smart’s 2019 Bulldogs became the first team in school history to win 11 or more games for a third straight season. The senior class posted a four-year
record of 44-12, matching the school record of 44 wins for a senior class. Along the 2019 schedule, Georgia defeated three Top 15 teams in the final CFP ranking — Notre Dame, Florida, and Auburn — and finished as the fourth-ranked team in the final polls. The Bulldogs capped their season with a dominant victory over Baylor in the Allstate Sugar Bowl game. Georgia in 2018 posted an 11-1 regular season record, a second straight SEC Eastern Division title, and a ranking as high as number four in the College Football Playoff poll. Georgia landed in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019—the program’s tenth all-time appearance in the New Orleans classic. For his efforts, Smart was named a semifinalist in the Maxwell Club George Munger National Coach of the Year balloting and a finalist in the Bobby Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year competition. Smart’s second season in 2017 was a special one, with an 11-1 regular-season record, an SEC championship, a win over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl Game (College Football Playoff semifinal) and advancement into the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in the program’s first appearance. In the SEC championship game, the
Bulldogs avenged their only regular-season loss with a 28-7 victory over Auburn. It was the first conference title since 2005 for the Red and Black. Both Smart and his players reaped the bounty of their banner 2017 season. He was named George Munger National Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club, SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and SEC Coaches, and the Regional Coach of the Year by the AFCA. Roquan Smith earned first-team All-America honors and the Dick Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. Smith, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel were all taken in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, which also claimed seniors Nick Chubb, Lorenzo Carter and Javon Wims in subsequent rounds. In Smart’s first season leading the Bulldogs, Georgia made its 20th straight bowl appearance and posted four fourth-quarter comebacks, including wins over No. 8 Auburn and No. 22 UNC. He led the Bulldogs to an 8-5 final record, which included a victory over TCU in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Smart has also made a profound impact in recruiting circles by posting the nation’s third-ranked class in 2017, followed by three more classes of signees that ranked either first or second by every
Smart’s Year-by-Year Coaching Record Year School Position 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
32
Valdosta State Valdosta State Florida State Florida State LSU Georgia Miami (NFL) Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia
georgia
Asst. Coach/DBs Def. Coordinator Grad. Assistant Grad. Assistant Asst. Coach/DBs Asst. Coach/RBs Asst. Coach/Safeties Asst. HC/DBs Def. Coord./ILBs Def. Coord./ILBs Def. Coord./ILBs Def. Coord./ILBs Def. Coord./ILBs Def. Coord./ILBs Asst. HC/Safeties Def. Coord./ILBs Head Coach Head Coach Head Coach Head Coach Head Coach
Overall Conf. Final Record Record AP Rank 10-2 12-1 9-5 10-3 9-3 10-3 6-10 7-6 12-2 14-0 10-3 12-1 13-1 11-2 12-2 14-1 8-5 13-2 11-3 11-2 8-2
9-0 9-0 7-1 7-1 6-2 6-2 --- 4-4 8-0 8-0 5-3 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 7-1 4-4 7-1 7-1 7-1 8-2
Bowl
Season Note
--- --- Reached 1st Rnd. Division II Playoffs --- --- Reached 2nd Rnd. Division II Playoffs --- Sugar Lost to UGA in Sugar Bowl 11th Orange ACC Champions 16th Capital One Lost to Iowa in Capital One Bowl 10th Sugar SEC Champions --- --- 4th in AFC Eastern Division NR Independence Def. Colorado in Independence Bowl 6th Sugar SEC West Champions 1st BCS Champ. Game National Champs, SEC Champs 10th Capital One Def. Michigan State in Capital One Bowl 1st BCS Champ. Game National Champs, Def. LSU in Champ. Game 1st BCS Champ. Game National Champs, SEC Champs 7th Sugar Lost to Oklahoma in Allstate Sugar Bowl 4th Sugar SEC Champions 1st Cotton, CFP Champ. National Champs, SEC Champs NR Liberty Def. TCU in Autozone Liberty Bowl 2nd Rose, CFP Champ. SEC Champs, Reached CFP Nat’l. Champ. Game t7th Sugar SEC East Champions 4th Sugar SEC East Champions; Def. Baylor in Sugar Bowl ---
2020 Georgia Bulldogs • Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Media Guide
