Kirby Smart Finally Showing Signs of Change in 2020
$1.1 Million. That's what Georgia will be paying Todd Monken in 2020. That number makes him the third highest-paid offensive coordinator in all of college football behind only Steve Sarkisian at Alabama ($1.55M) and Jim Chaney at Tennessee ($1.5M).
This type of investment shows that Smart is no longer resting on his laurels as a defensive-minded football coach.
Since arriving at Georgia, he's not only revamped the recruiting structure at Georgia, winning the national recruiting title three out of the last four years, but he's revamped the defensive side of the football as well.
- 2016: 24.0 PPG allowed
- 2017: 16.4 PPG allowed
- 2018: 19.2 PPG allowed
- 2019: 12.5 PPG allowed
Apart from the 2018 season, you've seen a steady recession in the number of points per game allowed, including the nation's best 12.5 in 2019. Though it's been the offense that has hindered Georgia over the last three seasons in crucial football games.
That's subject to change it seems in 2020 for Georgia.
Smart's protege, Nick Saban said it best in the HBO series The Art of Coaching when he recalled a conversation that he had with Bill Belicheck following the 2017 National Championship in which there were 887 yards of total offense and 66 total points allowed in the football game.
Saban recalled telling Belicheck that it was astounding the number of points that college football teams were accumulating even against premiere defenses. And in typical Belichick fashion, he looked at Saban and simply said, "Well, I guess you're going to have to score more."
Smart appears to have finally come around to the notion that you can have the nation's best defense and still lose critical games against great offenses. So, how do you change that? You go out and hire one of the best offensive minds available in Todd Monken.
Not only that, but you also bring on one of the best young passing minds in Buster Faulkner as an offensive analyst. Oh and for good measure, you add on Jamie Newman as a graduate transfer and JT Daniels from USC as well.
Then you go out and you recruit the wide receiver position better in the class of 2020 then Georgia ever has. Bringing on 5 wide receivers, four of which are ranked in the Top-50 at the wide receiver position, and you add a 6'8 target in Darnell Washington to the mix as well.
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." Charles Darwin
Kirby Smart is changing. He's adapting to the times of college football where the best offenses more times than not beat the best defenses.
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