Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Is Great At Winning Football Games, But Not At Leading A Program

Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart might not be as great a leader as we thought he was.

Yes, I’m talking about the same Kirby Smart that led Georgia to back-to-back college football titles in 2022 and 2023. He has turned the Bulldogs into a nearly unstoppable force that should be the team to beat in the sport for the next five years. The big, bad SEC has its new darling program.

Correction, its new troubled program.

It all started the night Georgia made TCU look like a middle school football team in the 2023 natty. Offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCory died in a high-speed car accident. Unsurprisingly, alcohol was involved.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart speaks to the media on the first day of spring practice in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

Aside from the tragic loss of life that this obviously was, it was a major blemish on the reputation of the program. Couldn’t the victors celebrate a win with more care and make sure everyone got home alive?

Nonetheless, accidents do happen. Given the magnitude of this situation and its subsequent publicity, you would think that a proven leader like Smart would use this as a seminal moment in his program to demand better from those who wanted to wear the Red and Black.

Well, that hasn’t been the case.

Smart Has Let Georgia Crumble Off The Field

Since that heartbreaking night, there have been 23 more driving-related violations from players associated with Georgia, two of which happened on Thursday. Most of these violations involve guys going at crazy high speeds (90 mph in a 50 mph), which is not only juvenile, it puts everyone on the road at risk and increases the possibility of a Willock-LeCroy Part II - and we absolutely do not want that.

If you’re trying to find a way to justify this number or make excuses for it, don’t. Programs that reach the highest levels of success on the field must bring the same level of excellence to their behavior off it. It’s absurd that this has been an alarmingly consistent problem for this long.

Irresponsibility, carelessness, and a lack of accountability have eaten away at the integrity of one of the powerhouses of the sport. But if you’re wondering if Smart has a plan to stop this disturbing trend, well, prepare to be disappointed.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck during a football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Almost exactly a year ago, Smart said he had a plan in place to solve what he even called a "problem."

"I'll be the first to admit we haven't solved that issue or problem. I don't honestly know that anybody has, but certainly for us, it's important to acknowledge it first," Smart said. "We've had a lot of intervention in terms of talking and visiting, and discipline measures have been implemented in terms of education. We'll continue to do that."

Is that so, Mr. Smart? Because to everyone else, it looks like your program is disintegrating into a "Fast and Furious" talent pipeline - in the worst way possible. If these kind of off-the-field stunts continue, you could see more of your players - and innocent civilians - pay the price of your incompetence.

Georgia is a ship lost at sea in need of a good captain to get it back on course.

Smart is not that captain.