Dawn of the Dawg
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Weekly Top 10: Best head coaches in Georgia football history

By Kyle Funderburk

Apr 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart greets fans during the Dawg Walk before the spring game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart greets fans during the Dawg Walk before the spring game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of the Old Leather Helmet after the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of the Old Leather Helmet after the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

5. W.A. Cunningham

Today we know Georgia football has one of the best and most respected programs in the country. The Bulldogs have won two consensus national titles and a share of three more. They’ve won 12 SEC Championships and 13 conference titles overall.

Two Heisman winners have played for Georgia, numerous other award winners, hall of famers and All-American’s.

But for the first 18 years of Georgia football, the program was anything but successful. Between 1892-and-1909, Georgia had 13 different head coaches and a record of 47-52-10.

But Georgia’s fortune changed in 1910 when William Alexander Cunningham became head coach in 1910. . The effects were felt immediately. Before then, Georgia had never won more than five games in a season, that year the Bulldogs finished 6-2-1. That team also outscored opponents 281-52 with five shutouts.

Things got better in 1911 when the team captained by “Kid” Woodruff finished 7-1-1 and outscored teams 147-28, shutting-out five of them.

Their domination of southern college football continued for two more seasons. They finished 6-1-1 in 1912 and outscored opponents 151-80. The 1913 squad, captained by Georgia’s first All-American Bob McWhorter, finished 6-2 and had outscored teams 243-55.

The only blemish on Georgia’s record in those first four years was the 0-3 record against Vanderbilt who, in that same span of time, had a record of 29-5-2.

Georgia fell to 3-5-1 in 1914 before going 5-2-2 in 1915 and 6-3 in 1916. Georgia didn’t play football in 1917 and 1918 while America fought in World War I. Cunningham joined the Army during the time of war.

He and Georgia football returned in 1919 and they finished that season 4-2-3. Cunningham left after that season to rejoin the Army where he eventually achieved the rank of general.

In eight seasons as head coach at Georgia, Cunningham went 43-18-9 and he only had one losing season. Beyond that, Georgia won 36 games by shutout and a total of 48 games where they held opponents to under 10 points.

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