Kirby Smart has been on quite the run during his 10 years as Georgia's head coach. He has won four SEC Championships, two national titles and has been one of the best recruiters in the entire sport.
But Georgia hasn't won a playoff game for three years now, and that is becoming a significant problem for the Bulldogs' reputation in the sport. And it is this lack of success in the playoff that is frustrating Georgia fans the most this offseason.
“Once you taste the nectar, are you uncomfortably impatient or frustrated right now?”
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) March 10, 2026
We took a deep dive into Georgia and Kirby Smart entering 2026, @DawgsHQ: https://t.co/ixkWp7CXNp pic.twitter.com/fNJ8IEam3I
Kirby Smart, Georgia are being treated unjustly because of recent playoff struggles
Georgia has been good enough each of the last three years to win a National Championship, unfortunately they never got close. Three years ago they failed to make the playoff after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. The last two years resulted in an SEC Championship and high seed in the playoff, but the Bulldogs lost both of their quarterfinal matchups.
So after winning two straight national titles Georgia has not won a playoff game again, and that has caused some college football fans to question if Smart has lost his touch. That however is a completely unfair narrative to put on him.
Winning a National Championship is hard. Even winning one game in the playoff is very difficult. Sure the last three years have not ended how anyone in Athens has wanted, but that is the name of the game. No matter how much Georgia fans may expect it, UGA will not win a National Championship every season. But just because they went a few years without winning a playoff game doesn't mean they are a bad program or that Smart is a bad coach.
The Bulldogs just won the SEC for the second year in a row. They also earned a top three seed in the playoff each of the last two years. Unfortunately they fell short against two really good teams in the quarterfinals, but that doesn't mean Smart has lost his touch at Georgia.
If Georgia goes another three years without winning a playoff game then this narrative would be fair to put on Smart, but until then it is not even close to being deserved.
And who knows, maybe this year will be the year Georgia finally makes a playoff run again.