Kirby Smart to Become New UGA Coach

Kirby Smart, the 39-year-old defensive coordinator from the University of Alabama, will become the new head football coach at the University of Georgia.

The AJC is reporting that an announcement naming Smart as Mark Richt’s replacement could come as soon as Sunday or Monday.

Smart has been mentioned as a leading candidate to replace Richt as soon as the university announced that Richt would not return for the 2016 season.

Smart is from Bainbridge and lettered for UGA from 1995 to 1998.

The Bulldogs finished the 2015 season with a 9-3 record but went 5-3 in the SEC, in what is widely considered to be a down year for the conference’s Eastern division.

Under Richt, the Bulldogs went 145–51, the best winning percentage by a coach in school history.

Georgia won six SEC East titles and two SEC championships in Richt’s 15 seasons but hadn’t won the conference championship since 2005.

The Bulldogs came within seconds of beating Alabama in the 2012 SEC championship, where they were playing for a spot in the BCS national championship game.

Richt will coach Georgia in its postseason bowl game, while Smart and the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide will face Florida in the SEC title game at the Georgia Dome.