CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott has sparked a fresh debate about Kirby Smart, and he’s taking a stance that doesn’t sit well with a lot of college football people: Smart is not irreplaceable at Georgia.
Elliott made his case on social media, writing, “I think Kirby Smart is an elite football coach. Hall of famer and I think you could argue before the full transfer portal/NIL era (23-current) that he was irreplaceable.
But now? No. You can argue he is very tough to replace but not irreplaceable.”
The core of Elliott’s argument is money, specifically NIL. He points to Georgia’s roster value, which The Athletic estimated last month at No. 19 among Power Four programs, and suggests another coach could walk into Athens, spend more, and produce similar results.
That idea runs into a pretty simple problem: Georgia has already been winning at the highest level in the NIL era.
Since NIL became legal in 2021, Smart has guided Georgia to three SEC championships and two national titles. The Bulldogs won their first national championship under him right after NIL arrived, then followed it with another title the next year. They added another SEC crown in 2022, and even as other programs have taken turns on top, Georgia has stayed in the hunt.
Michigan is the only program that comes close in that stretch, with three Big Ten titles and one national title. But Georgia still has the edge in total success since NIL became legal.
Elliott did make one distinction, saying NIL did not really reach its current state until 2023. That’s fair enough on a narrow timeline, but it doesn’t erase what Georgia did in the first two years of the era. And even since 2023, Smart’s team has kept showing up where it matters most.
Georgia hasn’t added another national title in that span, but the Bulldogs have been in the mix every year heading into conference championship weekend since their last one. That’s not nothing. That’s a program still positioned to finish the job.
There’s also the matter of how Georgia stacks up against the money. The Athletic’s estimates showed the Bulldogs ranked higher in the AP Poll than 17 of the 18 teams that spent more than them. Oregon, which spent the second-most money, has already lost to Oklahoma State this season, and Oklahoma State had only six teams spend less.
So yes, spending matters. But Smart has proven he can bridge that gap with coaching and evaluation. That’s the part Elliott’s argument has a hard time answering.
Georgia is 4-0, ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Poll and owns the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. The season is still young, but the Bulldogs are exactly where they need to be.
Maybe another coach could come in and spend more. Maybe another coach could recruit more top-end talent.
But would Georgia really want to gamble on that when Smart keeps putting the program in championship position? That’s the real test, and it’s why the “replaceable” label feels like a stretch.
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The first SEC injury and availability report for Georgias matchup with Vanderbilt immediately put the Bulldogs offensive depth under the microscope. Running back Nate Frazier and wide receiver Isiah Canion are among the Georgia players listed as questionable or out, a reminder that availability can shape the rotation as much as scheme this time of year. Vanderbilt also enters with a key uncertainty, as quarterback Jared Curtis is listed as questionable.
More updates are still expected from the SEC before kickoff, so the picture could shift again before the 12:45 p.m. start on SEC Network. For Georgia, the bigger issue is less about one name on the report than how many moving parts the offense may need to manage if those designations hold and the staff has to lean deeper into the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Have A New Reason To Worry About Kemon Spell
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Spell has already taken to social media to reaffirm his commitment to Georgia, but as every recruiting follower knows, the calendar still matters. Verbal commitments can hold all the way to signing day, or they can shift before December arrives, which means this remains the sort of situation Bulldogs fans will keep watching closely until the paperwork is finally signed. [Read more 🡒]
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Georgias trip to Vanderbilt comes with a longer-than-expected injury report hanging over the Bulldogs, and it is shaping up to be one of those weekly availability checks that can quietly reshape a game plan. Georgia listed six players on its report, with three ruled out and three more tagged questionable, while Vanderbilt also had its own issues, including injuries to its starting center and quarterback.
For Kirby Smart, the concern is not just who is unavailable, but how much the next men up can absorb if those absences linger into game day. He pointed to the work of backup players in practice, a reminder that the Bulldogs have been preparing for this sort of depth test even if the list looked a little heavier than expected heading into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]