Gregory Reed / Shutterstock.com
The price of dynasty building? Players who can’t handle tough coaching. It’s a reality Kirby Smart is facing head-on at Georgia, where winning has become the expectation rather than the exception. But here’s the thing — dominating in high school doesn’t guarantee you’ll thrive in the Power Four. Not even close.
Smart isn’t mincing words this spring. The man who’s built Georgia into a national powerhouse is clearly frustrated with his young roster’s attitude toward hard coaching — something that’s been the foundation of his program’s success.
“We have a lot of guys that put their hands up, they’re offended when you coach them,” Smart said bluntly during spring practice. “We’ve had multiple NFL coaches come through here, go to practice, and they talk about how their players love to be coached, they love to be given a nugget, a technique that might help them play longer. Some of our guys are offended by it.”
This isn’t just coach-speak. It’s a direct challenge to his players.
Smart took it a step further, almost mocking the mindset he’s encountering: “‘You’re coaching me hard? You’re telling me I’ve got to play with effort?’ Some of them, I guess, have never been held to that standard. That standard’s not going to change here.”
The Georgia head coach — arguably college football’s best — made it clear this isn’t just about freshmen adjusting to college ball. It’s a team-wide issue he’s addressing head-on.
“We have to coach it. That’s what they pay us to do. Coach them,” Smart emphasized. “They have to be willing to receive coaching, and on the whole, my whole preach after practice was, we got a lot of guys that put their hands up. They’re offended when you coach them. I’m not talking about the freshman, I’m talking about in general.”
The Standard Remains — Even After Last Season’s Disappointments
Smart’s frustration makes sense after Georgia’s 2023 campaign. Despite winning the SEC and making the College Football Playoff, the Bulldogs fell short of their championship standard. They lost to rival Alabama in the SEC Championship, dropped a regular season game at Ole Miss, and ended with a Sugar Bowl defeat to Notre Dame.
What separates Smart from his peers isn’t just his defensive expertise or recruiting prowess — it’s his competitive fire and ability to motivate. This is the coach who famously used a single prediction that his 2022 team would go 7-5 as fuel for a perfect 15-0 national championship run.
The 2023 team never seemed to have that same edge. When Carson Beck’s elbow injury ended his season in the SEC Championship, backup Gunner Stockton wasn’t prepared for the moment. But the issues ran deeper than quarterback play — the mental toughness that defined Georgia’s back-to-back title teams seemed missing.
If Smart — who’s won two national championships and established himself as Nick Saban’s most successful protégé — can’t motivate these players, nobody can. His coaching lineage traces directly from Saban back to the legendary Don James, forming one of college football’s most impressive coaching trees.
Only three active college coaches have won a College Football Playoff title. Smart has done it twice. His methods work.
