Does Georgia Football Have a Culture Problem? Paul Finebaum Weighs In

As much as Georgia has taken college football by storm winning two straight national championships, it's also been on the receiving end of some unwelcome offseason headlines and one major tragedy.

Players have been in trouble with the law and one died, along with a recruiting staffer, in a fatal car accident since the end of the season.

Those troubles have led some analysts to start questioning if head coach Kirby Smart has lost control of his program's culture.

Not so fast, according to Paul Finebaum.

Culture problem at Georgia?

"I don't think Kirby Smart owes anyone an explanation," Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.

"He did an interview the other day where he said he doesn't feel like they have a culture problem, and I believe him.

"I've read countless columns, blogs, Twitter posts over the last couple of days, 'Kirby Smart needs to clean up this culture problem.'

"He has the same problem at Georgia that Nick Saban has and that Billy Napier has and that Sam Pittman [has] — by the way, I'm not indicting these schools by mentioning it, I'm just saying that everyone has problems on their campus.

"I'll spare you the 'these are young people who do stupid things,' because we all know that and we all remember that, but they do."

Finebaum added, "In the Jalen Carter case, he was warned by the policemen. Other players were speeding. They disregarded it, and sadly and tragically we have the results that we ended up with, but I think that can happen anywhere."

More: 2023 Georgia Football Schedule

Georgia gets more attention, Finebaum says

Smart runs one of the premier programs in college football, according to the long-time college football commentator.

"The idea that somebody says, 'Kirby Smart needs to address this,' he addresses it every day of the year," Finebaum said.

"The difference here is when you have the No. 1 program in the game, you're going to catch this type of conversation more than someone else.

"I don't mean to be giving him a blanket defense here, but I don't think Kirby Smart's system at Georgia is any different today than it was six weeks ago, or six months ago.

"I just think a couple of things have happened, and the spotlight has shined on him even more. But it's something that Nick Saban has been used to now for his entire tenure, other coaches have to deal with. Except when you're the No. 1 team in the country, it just seems a little more dramatic."

(Finebaum)

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