Kirby Smart is a great coach, no question about that. But I keep hearing these comparisons to Vince Dooley and I have to stop and laugh. Dooley built this program from nothing, won a national title in 1980 with players who actually stayed four years and learned what it meant to wear the silver britches. Kirby walked into a program that was already stocked with talent from Mark Richt's later years and then had the benefit of the 247 composite rankings and all these recruiting services telling every 17 year old that Athens is the place to be. Dooley had to beat teams with grit and preparation, not just out-athlete everybody on the roster.
Look at what Kirby is dealing with now. He has to rebuild the roster every single year because half the kids are looking at the transfer portal or the NFL Draft the second they get a starting job. Dooley never had to worry about that nonsense. You got your spot and you earned your playing time over three or four years of grinding in practice. The 1980 team had Herschel Walker as a freshman sure, but the rest of that roster was full of guys who had been in the system and knew the schemes inside and out. Now we have to hope that some five star kid from the 2026 class can learn the playbook by September because the guy ahead of him just jumped to the portal.
Dooley had to deal with the Auburn and Florida and Tennessee rivalries every single year with no conference championship game to fall back on. Kirby has it easier with the SEC Championship game giving us a mulligan if we drop one regular season game. I respect what Kirby has done with the two national titles but let us not pretend he is in the same conversation as the man who literally built Sanford Stadium into the cathedral it is today.