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Kirby Smart says Georgia has ‘best staff in the country’ in defense of OC Mike Bobo
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kirby Smart isn’t interested in the outside noise surrounding his coaching staff at Georgia.
Coming out of a disappointing conclusion to the 2024 season, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Stacy Searels were particularly criticized. Starting quarterback Carson Beck regressed heavily this past season and the offensive line was certainly less dominant than has been customary under Smart.
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum was especially critical of Bobo. In those comments, Finebaum criticized Smart for “looking past reality” when it comes to what Bobo brings to the table as someone the head coach is personally close to.
On Tuesday, Smart was asked about the outside criticism of his coaching staff, but the head coach isn’t paying attention. In fact, Smart claimed he still has the best coaching staff in the nation as the Bulldogs gear up for 2025.
“To be honest with you, I don’t get into it much,” said Kirby Smart about the outside noise. “I worked at a place for 10 years before I came here and this is my 10th spring here, so that’s 20 years that I don’t really pay much attention to anything outside.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in this organization, the foundation we’ve built. I’ve got the best staff in the country, I’ve got no doubt about that. I’ve got one of the most experienced SEC staffs there is. To be honest with you, there’s a lot of confidence in that, and I have confidence in that.”
Even if Smart believes in his coaches, he still has to account for an offense that averaged less than 32 points per game for the first time since 2019. And while Beck struggled, it was also the ground attack that averaged less than 5 yards per carry for the first time since 2020.
Instead of shaking things up after that performance, Smart is running it back, and it will be imperative to return to form for the Bulldogs to once again seriously compete for the national title.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
