Georgia Bulldogs Football Close to Making Big Contract Decision on Kirby Smart

Kirby Smart could be signing a big contract very soon. According to ESPN, the Georgia Bulldogs football head coach is expected to sign a long-term contract extension that will make him among the highest-paid coaches in college football. This comes a few months after Georgia defeated Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship. 

"It's just going through the process, taking your time," Georgia athletics director Josh Brooks said in a statement Thursday. "This is an important contract for him (Smart) and for us, so it's just all the little details. It's typical stuff, nothing out of the ordinary. We've worked closely with his agent, and it's been a great process."  

Smart was hired as the Bulldogs' head coach in December 2015. In May 2018, Smart agreed to a new seven-year $49 million contract extension. That was just a few months after Georgia played Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship, but in that game, the Bulldogs lost. ESPN says Smart's current annual pay is $7 million which ranks sixth among head coaches in the SEC. 

"I think what we said is accurate," UGA president Jere Morehead told reporters on Thursday. "It will be commensurate with what you would expect compensation to be for a national championship coach, but we're close to finalizing those arrangements. I don't think anybody will be surprised."  

In his seven seasons at Georgia, Smart has posted a 66-15 record and a 40-9 record in the SEC. He has won four SEC East titles, one SEC Champion and a national championship which was last season. In 2021, the Bulldogs finished the season with 14 wins, which is the most for a single season in school history. And their national championship is the first since 1980. It was also the first time since the Associated Press started in 1936 that a college football team won the AP National Championship after losing their respective conference championship in the same season. 

Smart played college football at Georgia from 1995 to 1998 and began his coaching career in 1999 at Georgia as an administrative assistant. He then worked at Valdosta State from 2000 to 2001 before joining Florida State in 2002. Smart then worked for LSU in 2004, back to Georgia in 2005, joined the Miami Dolphins of the NFL in 2006 and then Alabama in 2007 where he became the team's defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2015.