This past week Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart brought back two former Dawgs — Mike Bobo as an offensive analyst and Bryan McClendon as the passing game coordinator and receivers coach.
Some may feel like the Dawgs shouldn’t rely on alumni to coach the team, while others realize what this means for the rest of the SEC and country.
Smart just sent a message to the rest of the country about his approach to college football and how it will lead this evolution everyone keeps discussing.
Georgia football is elite, but these two hires made the Dawgs frightening.
College football is transforming before all of our eyes, and Georgia is no exception. While half the fanbase doesn’t mind adding these alumni to the equation, and the other half doesn’t understand why Smart chose this route.
Former players’ response on Twitter and social media should be the first clue, but he is also pulling another evil genius move.
If you look at the hires Georgia brought in, both are elite-level recruiters but at the same time excellent coaches who have quite a few NFL stars on their resumes.
However, after thinking about it, bringing in alumni, especially ones like McClendon who played the game most recently — they know what works, doesn’t work and how to connect with these new players.
When someone plays college football, they understand the sacrifices and things these players go through. Then when you have coaches like Bobo, Will Muschamp, McClendon and Smart — they all bled on the same field.
They can connect with these current players and future players on a level that coaches who didn’t play at Georgia cannot because they didn’t have the same experience.
Their ability to say, I played here, and I care about this program is a big selling point to recruits and their families.
It isn’t a requirement to be from a school to coach there, but this homecoming between Bobo, McClendon, Muschamp, and Smart is a strategy he wants to try and see if it’ll evolve this program.
This coaching strategy will only make Georgia better and even more elite. Dawg fans love Smart because he is young, up-and-coming, and is changing the game right before our eyes. They love his passion, energy and how he changed the program in these six short years.
He knows that his love for Georgia football has shown through since taking the job in 2016, so why not bring more talented alumni to help him turn Georgia into the next dynasty. These men understood what it took, wore the uniforms, and made the sacrifices.
Smart isn’t the only school taking this approach, though. Ohio State took the same strategy by promoting Brian Hartline, their receivers coach, to their passing-game coordinator.
He went to Ohio State from 2005 to 2008 and then spent seven years in the league. Now he is giving back to his school and making them better.
These young coaches are the future of football, and Georgia is taking advantage of using former Dawgs who have already found success. Smart is slowly but surely evolving his offense into what will be an even more elite one.
Five alumni members on staff is a bold strategy for Smart, but it will pay off quicker than anyone realizes.
Smart isn’t afraid to take a risk. We all saw it when he stuck with Stetson Bennett in 2021, and now it’s time to trust that this coaching move will make Georgia one of the most terrifying programs in college football.