Kirby Smart Can Shed Mark Richt Comparisons in 2021
Kirby Smart's Georgia football coaching record is very similar to that of former head coach Mark Richt.
Through five seasons, Smart's record is 52-14 with three SEC East Titles, one SEC Championship, and one loss in the National Championship Game. Richt's record through his first five seasons was 52-19 with three SEC Titles and two SEC Championships.
Smart's detractors use this as an indictment of Smart, believing his career at Georgia will be no more fruitful than Richt's. Those who believe in Smart are quick to remind the detractors that Richt wasn't fired because of his first five years.
Year six will be used as validation for one side because that's the year Richt's slow decline began.
2006 began in quarterback controversy as Richt chose senior Joe Tereshinski over the talented freshman Matthew Stafford. Injuries to Tereshinski forced Stafford to start, but he clearly wasn't ready, averaging less than seven yards per attempt, and ending the year with 13 interceptions and just seven touchdowns.
On defense, Georgia expected to break sack records after reaching the quarterback 35 times in 2005. Instead, the Bulldogs' pass rush didn't improve. Without its two best defensive backs from the year before, Georgia struggled in pass defense.
The result was a 9-4 final record with all four losses coming in a five-game stretch in the middle of the season, including losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Georgia entered the 2006 season as one of the favorites to win the SEC East. However, Florida dominated the conference and went on to win the National Championship.
Smart has Georgia's offense in a much better position entering his sixth year at the helm. For starters, there is no quarterback controversy. JT Daniels is the leader of this offense. The Bulldogs also have a better corps of receivers, tight ends and running backs entering 2021 than Richt had entering 2006.
The defense is where the worry is for Georgia history buffs. Just like in 2006, Georgia believes its pass rush will be stellar in 2021. Adam Anderson and Nolan Smith have the same expectations Quinton Moses and Charles Johnson had 15 years ago.
Also, like 2006, Georgia is replacing its best defensive backs. In 2006, it was Tim Jennings and Greg Blue. This year it's Richard LeCounte, Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell.
However, besides the Tennessee game, Georgia's defense wasn't the cause of the teams' decline. That was on the offense that averaged 2.4 turnovers per game and just 2.5 touchdowns per game. With all of its weapons, Georgia's offensive output this year should blow the 2006 team away.
If there was ever a year for Kirby Smart to ditch the Mark Richt comparisons, it's this year. The Bulldogs have perhaps the best roster in the SEC and a coaching staff full of former and future head coaches. At least on paper, a collapse similar to what Richt and the Bulldogs experienced in 2006 seems highly unlikely.
