As a Tier 1 coach, Kirby Smart has reached a level few in the sport have ever touched. The Georgia Bulldogs’ HC has stacked three SEC titles, four College Football Playoff appearances, and back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. But this off-season has been a jab to the ribs. Smart, who’s never hidden his disdain for NIL, now dislikes it more than ever.
And who wouldn’t? Try losing No. 1 OT Jackson Cantwell, your QB1 Carson Beck (both to the same team), and now a five-star pass rusher. The sting of that reality bled into a fan Q&A on That SEC Podcast with Mike and Shane, when one listener asked: which two coaches or programs have benefited most from NIL, and which two have been hurt the most? Shane didn’t hesitate—Ole Miss and Missouri were his winners; Georgia and Alabama, his losers. “The hurts would be Georgia Bulldogs. And then, probably Alabama,” he said.
Mike had a different read and better reasoning. “Oh, really? I’m going to go a little differently. I think the hurts is A&M. Remember they were the first one to go all in on all this and I think it destroyed the locker room. It got Jimbo fired.” But the two were on the same page concerning Smart, “I agree with you with Georgia just simply because I don’t think the depth has been there the last couple years that was there during their great championship run…. it’s not like they don’t do NIL or anything, but I think we’re seeing it—players that leave there, even guys that can’t get on the field, they’re going to other SEC schools and becoming key contributors. Those are guys in years past who would be just the next man up in Athens.”
The irony? For all the outside noise about roster hits, Kirby Smart still refuses to let national titles define the measure of a head coach. During a recent Marty & McGee appearance, he lobbed a perspective curveball: “Did Mark Richt win a national championship as the head coach anywhere? But he’s successful as hell. He’s one of the greatest people, one of the greatest men that I’ve ever been around. You don’t define success by that [winning championships].”
Dec 30, 2023; Miami Gardens, FL, USA;Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia Bulldogs running back Kendall Milton (2) react with the trophy after defeating Florida State Seminoles in the 2023 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
That philosophy comes from experience. Kirby Smart was Georgia’s RBs coach under Richt during the Dawgs’ 2005 SEC Championship season. He’s seen how careers—and legacies—are shaped by more than hardware. He even pointed to another familiar name: “Sometimes it takes luck, sometimes it takes breaks,” he said, citing former teammate and colleague Will Muschamp as an extremely successful coach despite never hoisting a national title trophy. It’s a worldview that cuts against the sport’s win-or-bust narrative, but it’s consistent with the way Smart has always blended personal loyalty with competitive drive.
NIL’s impact isn’t theoretical in Athens—it’s shaping the roster math in real time. Georgia’s depth during their 2021–22 run was absurd, producing NFL-caliber backups who could have started anywhere else. Now, with more than 30 straight home wins and a spotless record in season openers under Smart, the Bulldogs remain a juggernaut, but the portal-and-pay era makes holding a two-deep of future pros nearly impossible. The program’s recruiting machine is still churning—five-stars still commit—but in this climate, a win streak in that department doesn’t guarantee retention.
The Bulldogs’ 2025 campaign kicks off August 30 against Marshall, and the on-field product will be the latest test of Smart’s resolve in the NIL era. The overall depth is solid thanks to past transfers and recruits, but not sure we can say the same about star recruiting.
Kirby Smart and UGA, a $3.5M in-state loser
Kirby Smart’s bad week in the NIL world just found a dollar figure — $3.5 million. That’s reportedly what it took for Texas Tech to pry five-star pass rusher LaDamion Guyton out of their backyard. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound edge terror from Benedictine Military School in Savannah didn’t just pass on the Bulldogs — he joined a Red Raiders program that’s rarely snatched a blue-chip defender from the Peach State.
For Georgia fans, the name stings a little extra because Guyton once played high school ball alongside current Bulldog freshman Elijah Griffin. That familiarity usually leans Athens’ way, but not in the NIL era. On3 reported that Texas Tech and Guyton reached an agreement on a $3.5 million compensation package to secure the class of 2027 prize. In an old-world recruiting fight, Smart’s track record in-state would’ve made this one feel like a lock. In the new world? Locks don’t exist.
The bigger picture hurts more. Georgia has just two commitments from top-10 recruits in the Peach State for the 2026 cycle. Compare that to the 2025 haul, when Smart signed six of the 10 best in-state prospects. When a Tier 1 coach with three SEC titles can’t keep a hometown five-star, the message is clear: the NIL bidding wars aren’t just here to stay, they’re rewriting the scoreboard.
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