College football isn't the same sport that we all grew up loving. NIL and the Transfer Portal caused a massive shift in the sport that still hasn't become normal after all these years, but it's the College Football Playoff that might be the biggest problem today.
The powers at be are still trying to figure out if the playoff should expand and if so to how many teams. Coaches from every conference have had an opportunity to voice their opinions, and the vast majority believe that the playoff should expand to 24 teams.
Kirby Smart isn't against this idea, but he is upset with the motivation behind it because some coaches want to expand the playoff just to make it easier to get in to inflate their resume and give them more job security. That motivation infuriates Smart, so he took the opportunity last week to suggest a mindset shift that needs to occur if they want to make the sport better.
Georgia’s Kirby Smart on most important issues to address at SEC spring meetings: “It can’t always be what’s best for self-preservation. It has to be what’s best for the game.”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 26, 2026
Kirby Smart wants more coaches to think like him
Instead of using expansion talks to try and benefit themselves, Smart believes coaches should want what's best for the sport. That however has not been occurring this offseason.
This selfishness is not only seen in playoff expansion talks but it is also seen with how some schools operate in the NIL space. There are rules the NCAA expects schools to follow when it comes to NIL, and so far they haven't been able to enforce them as well as they want. Some coaches have taken this as an opportunity to bend the rules any chance they get, but Smart doesn't think that is right.
So instead of focusing on their selfish desires Smart is begging coaches to think more about the good of the sport so they can start making some actual progress on the things that really matter.
Kirby Smart's opinion could decide college football's fate
Smart has previously said that he isn't against expansion, he actually is in favor of it. He however doesn't know what number he wants to expand to.
The Big Ten and SEC are the two conferences who will decide the playoff's fate. The SEC hasn't decided how many teams they want to expand to, but the Big Ten is set on 24. Until the SEC decides what they want to do it is unlikely that any changes will be made, but the SEC will have to make up their mind eventually.
Some SEC coaches are in favor of 16 teams while others want 24 like the Big Ten, but it could come down to what Smart wants. He is the most senior coach in the SEC and has found more success than any other active head coach, so whatever he decides he wants will carry a lot of weight.
That is a great thing for college football because Smart wants to make the right choice for the future of the sport. He doesn't necessarily care if it is best for Georgia or not, he cares about doing what's right while so many others are worried about their own personal gain.
Hopefully that sentiment will impact other coaches to feel the same way so more progress can be made on college football's biggest issues today.
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