It is not panacea, but it is a start. On late Tuesday afternoon, news broke that Kirby Smart was making a big change to his coaching staff. While offensive line coach Stacy Searels is not being fired, he is changing roles within the program to more of that of an offensive analyst. Replacing him as the team's new offensive line coach is Phil Rauscher, who had been hired as an offensive analyst last year.
Smart released in a message on Tuesday how grateful and appreciative he was for what Searels did.
“We’re grateful for everything Coach Searels has poured into our program over the past several seasons. His knowledge, experience and steady leadership have been instrumental to our offensive production. In his new role, Stacy will continue to impact our offensive strategy and provide mentorship for both our staff and players.”
Smart then went on to say how excited he is to give Rauscher this great opportunity with Georgia.
“Phil has been a tremendous asset to our staff and players. He has earned this opportunity through his work ethic, technical expertise and his ability to connect with our players. We’re excited about the future of our offensive line under his leadership.”
Prior to coming to Athens, Rauscher had worked in the NFL at places like Jacksonville and Denver.
Georgia demotes Stacy Searels, promotes Phil Rauscher to new OL coach
Before coming aboard with Georgia last season, Rausher had been the offensive line coach in Jacksonville (2022-24), Minnesota (2020-21), and Washington (2018-19). He also served as an assistant in Denver from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that he worked in the college game at his alma mater of UCLA (2006-09), Dixie State (now Utah Tech) (2010), Hawaii (2012-13), and Cal Lutheran (2014).
From the looks of it, this feels like a long time coming. Kirby Smart and his Georgia staff seemed to be overly impressed with Rauscher's coaching abilities. While Searels had been a long-time offensive line coach, he was easily the most criticized position coach on last year's staff. Outside of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, nobody received more flack...
So what this means for Georgia is the Bulldogs might be willing to make the necessary microadjustments to get back to being a serious national title contender again. This team has won the SEC in back-to-back years, but does not have a playoff win to show for it. While last year's team was well-coached, it was still rather green. The 2026-27 squad might be one of Smart's best to date.
People may still want Bobo and Schumann gone, but Searels getting demoted is a real positive start.