Georgia football: Glenn Schumann sticking around is a massive win

The Georgia football program received some massive news this week when it was announced that defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann would be staying with the Bulldogs for the 2023 season.

This news came a few days after he interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles for the same position. Even though the 32-year-old Schumann doesn’t have any NFL coaching experience, the Eagles were likely interested in him thanks to his impressive resume at Georgia.

Schumann began his coaching career at Alabama as a student and graduate assistant. He then followed Kirby Smart to Athens in 2016, and he quickly became his right-hand man in addition to coaching some of the best linebackers in the nation.

Two of Schumann’s linebackers, Roquan Smith and Nakobe Dean, won the Butkus award. Others, such as Quay Walker, Lorenzo Carter, and Channing Tindall, have found success in the NFL.

In 2022, he and former Bulldog safety Will Muschamp became co-defensive coordinators. Muschamp has praised Schumann for his talent as a coach and his knowledge to know when to adjust on defense. Both men did a great job of coaching another talented defense in 2022, as Georgia gave up an average of 14.3 points per game and finished in the top 10 of several defensive categories.

Had Schumann left for the Eagles, Kirby Smart likely would’ve made Muschamp the outright defensive coordinator, and the Dawgs would’ve been just fine. However, keeping Schumann is a massive win for the team.

As mentioned, Schumann is great at developing linebackers, and Georgia will have some great ones returning for 2023, most notably Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon. The relationship between these guys will be important as the Dawgs seek an unprecedented third straight national championship.

Schumann himself will also get to develop his own knowledge of the game. Kirby Smart spoke highly of him before the 2022 season:

"“He’s never satisfied.  I think a lot of times you can get complacent, it sets in on all of us, this is what we do.  We don’t want to be complacent.  That’s just not what I believe in. We’re always trying to find a different way to do it better. I think Glenn epitomizes that.“He’s a sponge…Doesn’t think he knows it all.  Always trying to find a better way to do it, to reinvent himself as a coach.”"

Despite losing Todd Monken and Stetson Bennett on offense, Georgia has plenty of talent to pick up where it has left off over the past two seasons, and with Glenn Schumann sticking around another year in Athens, 2023 could prove to be a special season.