What Georgia Football is Looking for in Their New Outside Linebackers Coach

What the Georgia Bulldogs are looking for in their new outside linebackers coach.

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart looks on during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

What the Georgia Bulldogs are looking for in their new outside linebackers coach.

The Georgia Bulldogs are on the hunt for filling a position on the coaching staff. Earlier in the week, it was announced that outside linebackers coach Chiedra Uzo-Diribe would be taking the same position with the Dallas Cowboys. Uzo-Diribe had been with Georgia since the 2022 offseason.

So what exactly is Georgia looking for in their new outside linebackers coach?

Sources have told Bulldogs on SI that Georgia will be targeting someone who specializes in pass rush. It's an area that the Bulldogs have struggled in as of late and something head coach Kirby Smart has mentioned the team needs to get better at.

That's not to say Coach Uzo-Diribe was bad in that area, but it's more that the Bulldogs will really be focusing on it during the hiring process.

What Georgia is Looking for in Their New Outside Linebackers Coach

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks toward the field during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Other things to take note of in regards to who Georgia will hire are that it will likely be someone who has had crossover with Kirby Smart or another member of the staff at some point in their career. That's not just a Georgia thing either; that's college football coaching in a nutshell. If you have previous connections with a coach, odds are they might be interested in hiring you at some point if you are taking care of business.

This will likely end up being the first hire outside of the program for Georgia this offseason. Offensive line coach Stacy Searels changed roles earlier in the year, but his position was filled by Phil Rauscher, an offensive assistant who was brought on to the staff last offseason.

Some good news about the timing of Uzo-Diribe's departure is that it occurred after the transfer portal closed. In previous years, there was also a spring transfer portal window, so if this had happened in those times, Georgia would have had to worry about hanging on to its outside linebackers room. Now that there is only one window and it has already passed, the Bulldogs don't have to sweat about losing players off the roster.

Who Georgia will end up hiring to fill the position is still up in the air, but it's safe to say it will be someone who has crossover with the Georgia staff and has a history of developing productive pass rushers.