Kirby Paul Smart (born December 23, 1975) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, his alma mater. As head coach, he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Early life

Smart was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, to Sonny and Sharon Smart, and grew up in Bainbridge, Georgia. He has a brother, Karl and a sister, Kendall. His father, Sonny Smart, was a high school football coach and coached Smart in high school. Smart began his playing career at Bainbridge High School and went on to play college football at the

, where he was teammates with defensive linemen Antonio Cochran, Emarlos Leroy, linebacker Brandon Tolbert,

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

cornerback Champ Bailey, and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. Smart was a four-year letterman at defensive back for Georgia and a first-team All- SEC selection as a senior. He finished his career with 13 interceptions, which ranked fourth all-time at Georgia, and led the Bulldogs with six interceptions in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and five in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. He was also a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Smart graduated from the Terry College of Business in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in finance. He went undrafted in the 1999 NFL draft and signed a free-agent contract with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He spent the 1999 preseason with the team but was cut before the start of the regular season. In 2003, Kirby attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

for graduate school.

Coaching career

Early career

Smart began his coaching career with the

in 1999, serving as an administrative assistant. He moved to Valdosta State where he spent one season as defensive backs coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator for the 2001 season. From 2002 to 2003, Smart worked as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

under Bobby Bowden at Florida State while pursuing a master's degree. He received his master's degree from FSU in 2003. Smart then spent one season as defensive backs coach at

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

under head coach Nick Saban in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Smart rejoined the Georgia Bulldogs football program to serve as running backs coach for the 2005 season. His only season in the NFL came in 2006, during which time he coached under Saban again, this time as the Miami Dolphins safeties coach.

Alabama

Smart followed Nick Saban to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 2007. He was hired by Saban as an assistant coach on January 9. On February 27, 2008, Smart was promoted to defensive coordinator. On December 8, 2009, Smart was awarded the Broyles Award as the nation's best assistant coach. He was the first Alabama assistant coach to win the award. Alabama went on to win the BCS National Championship over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Smart considered a lucrative contract to be the defensive coordinator at his alma mater, the

but chose to stay with the Crimson Tide in early January 2010. In 2011, Smart's defense helped Alabama win another championship, beating

in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. On March 27, 2012, the University of Alabama System's Board Of Trustees voted to increase Smart's salary and extend his contract. On November 20, 2012, Smart was recognized as the 2012 AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year. Alabama would win another national championship, beating Notre Dame with a bruising defense. On April 16, 2013, Smart was granted a $200,000 salary increase to make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football. He was part of the Alabama staff that won the National Championship over Clemson in the 2015 season.

Georgia

On December 6, 2015, Smart was announced as the 26th head football coach at the

Smart has had 6 of his assistant coaches become head coaches at the FBS level: Shane Beamer for

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Sam Pittman Sam Pittman (born November 28, 1961) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Prior to being hired at Arkansas, he was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at the University ...

for

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Mel Tucker for

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and Michigan State, Dan Lanning for

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, Fran Brown for Syracuse, and Dell McGee for Georgia State.

2016 season

Smart earned his first victory as head coach of the Bulldogs in a 33–24 victory over #22

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in Georgia's first game. Smart led Georgia to a 13–7 victory over #8 Auburn on November 12. Smart went 8–5 in his first season as the head coach of the Bulldogs in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. The Bulldogs finished tied for second in the SEC East division. Smart's first year as Georgia's head coach ended with a 31–23 victory over TCU in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

2017 season

In the 2017 season, Smart led the Bulldogs to their first 9–0 start since 1982 and won the SEC East after a victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks on November 4. On December 2, 2017, Smart coached Georgia to its first SEC title since

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and only the fourth 12-win season in school history (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, 2002,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

). On December 3, Georgia was ranked No. 3 by the College Football Playoff Committee. Georgia played No. 2

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Rose Bowl. Georgia rallied from a 31–14 first-half deficit, ultimately defeating Oklahoma 54–48 in double overtime. The Bulldogs went on to lose to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the National Championship Game 26–23, where Alabama freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa relieved

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

late in the contest and ended the game on a 41-yard touchdown completion to DeVonta Smith in overtime. Smart was named SEC Coach of the Year for the 2017 season and received the

George Munger Award The George Munger Award is presented to the Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I college football coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The award was named after former University of Pennsylvania head coach George Munger (American footba ...

2018 season

In the 2018 season, Georgia completed the regular season with an 11–1 record. The one loss was a 36–16 defeat to #13

. Georgia earned a spot in the SEC Championship game as the Eastern Division Champions, but lost to

, 35–28. The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs earned an invitation to play in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, where they lost to No. 15

, 28–21.

2019 season

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Georgia had a regular-season record of 11–1. The team recorded victories over #7 Notre Dame and #6

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

during the season. The one loss was a 20–17 setback to

. Georgia won the SEC East for the third consecutive season, but lost to

in the SEC Championship game, 37–10. Georgia, ranked No. 5 entering the bowl season, beat No. 7 Baylor in the

, 26–14.

2020 season

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Georgia's regular-season record was 7–2. Georgia's two setbacks were to #2

and #8

. The season was shortened because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; all four games against non-SEC opponents were canceled, though Georgia played one more game than usual against SEC opponents. Georgia was slated to play ten games, but the game against Vanderbilt had to be cancelled due to COVID issues within the Commodore program. Georgia finished the regular season in second place in the SEC East. In the subsequent bowl season, the No. 9 Bulldogs beat No. 8

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

in the Peach Bowl, 24–21.

2021 season

, Georgia went 12–0 in the regular season. Georgia lost to

in the SEC Championship, 41–24. Georgia was ranked No. 3 after this game and earned a College Football Playoff nomination. The Bulldogs defeated No. 2

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Orange Bowl, 34–11. Georgia defeated No. 1 Alabama in the National Championship game, 33–18, to secure their first national championship since

. With this victory, Smart became the first of Saban's former assistants at Alabama and just the second overall to defeat Saban ( Jimbo Fisher, a former assistant at

and the head coach at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, was the first after his unranked Aggies team upset the Crimson Tide earlier in the season). Smart was named SEC Coach of the Year for the 2021 season.

2022 season

In July 2022, Smart and Georgia agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth $112.5 million, making him the highest-paid coach in college football. Georgia started off the season with a #3 ranking in the AP Poll. The team started with a 49–3 victory over #11

. After the Oregon victory, Georgia earned the top spot in the AP Poll and reeled off seven more victories to set up an undefeated matchup against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, who was #1 in the College Football Playoff rankings and #2 in the AP Poll. Georgia defeated Tennessee 27–13. In the 2022 season, Georgia finished 12–0 once more in the regular season before defeating

in the SEC Championship game, 50–30. Georgia defeated Ohio State in the Peach Bowl 42–41. In the National Championship game, Georgia defeated TCU 65–7, making Kirby Smart a back-to-back national championship-winning coach, the first one since Nick Saban did so with Alabama in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

. Smart was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and the third time overall.

2023 season

Before the beginning of

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Georgia was ranked #1 in both the AP and coaches polls. Following a 49–21 victory over UAB, Smart's record as head coach of Georgia increased to 85–15, which became the highest total of wins and the highest win percentage achieved by an SEC coach through their first 100 games in history. Smart additionally led the Bulldogs to an SEC-record 29-game win-streak with a 31–23 win over in-state rival Georgia Tech in Week 12 of the regular season, finishing it 12–0. The win also resulted in the most recent instance of 3-consecutive seasons of undefeated in-conference SEC play, with the second most recent also being Georgia from 1980-82. The win streak ended with a loss to

in the SEC Championship Game, 24–27. As a result of the loss, Georgia was not among the top four ranked teams that made the College Football Playoff, and instead played Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Georgia defeated Florida State by a score of 63–3, the largest point differential in Orange Bowl and FBS bowl game history, the latter breaking the record set in the previous year's National Championship game.

2024 season

In May 2024, Smart and Georgia agreed to a ten-year contract extension worth $130 million, once again making him the highest-paid coach in college football history. Smart earned his 100th career win as head coach in a 30–15 victory against #1

. Georgia finished with a 10–2 regular season record to qualify for the SEC Championship Game. In a rematch against Texas, he led the Bulldogs to a conference title with a 22–19 overtime win, clinching the #2-seed and a first-round bye for the College Football Playoff. In the

against Notre Dame, Georgia lost 23–10.

Personal life

2023-0109-CFPtitlegame-Kirby Smart-Family

Smart is married to Mary "Beth" Elizabeth Lycett, who played basketball for the University of Georgia. The couple have three children. Smart's father, Sonny Smart, died on January4, 2025.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

Georgia Bulldogs bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Kirby 1975 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches American football defensive backs Florida State Seminoles football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football players LSU Tigers football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches Valdosta State Blazers football coaches Florida State University alumni People from Bainbridge, Georgia Sportspeople from Montgomery, Alabama Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Montgomery, Alabama Sigma Alpha Epsilon members