The Georgia Bulldogs have seen a complete program resurgence since hiring Kirby Smart ahead of the 2016 season.
Smart — a UGA alum and longtime defensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama — replaced Mark Richt, a coach who won a lot of games in Athens but failed to take the program to an elite level. After an 8-5 finish in Year 1, Smart nearly reached the mountaintop in his second season, losing to Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Smart would go on to avenge that loss a few years later in 2021, defeating the Crimson Tide to capture Georgia’s first national championship since 1980. At 80-15 during his tenure with the Bulldogs, Smart’s team is looking to become the first repeat national champion in a decade in 2022-23 season’s CFP title game against TCU.
