Paul Finebaum Names Major SEC Coach Whose Fanbase Has Grown 'Uneasy'

Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Georgia Bulldogs are in an unfamiliar position.

They are still winning, still recruiting at an elite level, and still controlling the SEC in many ways. Yet for a program that once looked ready to take over college football entirely, something has shifted.

It is not dominance that defines Georgia right now. It is doubt.

Under Kirby Smart, Georgia built one of the most consistent and complete programs in the sport. Back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 established the Bulldogs as the standard, and it felt like the beginning of a sustained run at the top.

Since then, the results have been strong but incomplete.

Georgia has earned top-four seeds and first-round byes in each of the last two seasons. It has continued to win at a high level and remain firmly in the championship conversation. What it has not done is win a College Football Playoff game during that stretch.

That detail stands out because it contradicts everything else about the program.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shown on the field during the Georgia Spring football game. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” the SEC Network analyst pointed to a growing sense of uneasiness among the fan base, even as Georgia continues to collect SEC titles.

"Kirby Smart can't seem to win the Sugar Bowl. He's won two SECs in a row, four out of five... but there are some fans who are pretty uneasy about the last two seasons."

That reaction may seem extreme from the outside. Many programs would trade places with Georgia immediately. But at a place that has recently reached the top of the sport, expectations change quickly.

Winning the conference is no longer the goal. It is the baseline.

That is what makes Georgia’s current stretch so interesting. The Bulldogs have not declined in any traditional sense. They are still one of the most talented and disciplined teams in the country. Smart’s system continues to produce elite defenses and consistent results.

But postseason performance has introduced a different conversation.

The offense is at the center of that discussion entering this season. Quarterback Gunner Stockton returns after a productive year in which he threw for 2,894 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding 10 more scores on the ground. His dual-threat ability gives Georgia flexibility and the potential to evolve offensively.

The concern lies around him.

Georgia’s receiving corps struggled to produce consistently last season, and that issue has not been fully resolved. Only one receiver surpassed 360 yards, and that player is now gone. Without a reliable group of pass catchers, the offense risks becoming predictable in critical moments.

That matters most in the playoff.

Georgia has proven it can win throughout the regular season and navigate the SEC. The next step is proving it can execute against the best teams in the country when the margin for error disappears.

That is where the recent shortcomings have occurred, and that is why the doubt exists.

The opportunity to change that narrative is still there. Georgia has the infrastructure, the coaching and the talent to return to the top. Nothing about the program suggests a long-term decline.

What it does suggest is that the margin between being elite and being the best is smaller than it once appeared.

Georgia is still a contender. Whether it is still the standard is a question only the postseason can answer.