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Georgia Bulldogs head football coach Kirby Smart is cashing in on his national championship win with a 10-year extension, the school announced Thursday. According to ESPN’s Chris Low, the total value of the deal is $112.5 million, making Smart one of the highest paid coaches in the country.
Smart, 46, became the head coach at Georgia in December 2015 after eight seasons as defensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide. After the Bulldogs recorded an 8-5 record in Smart’s first year, the team has finished top 10 in the AP Poll in each of the last five seasons.
Last year, Georgia was undefeated in the regular season before losing in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. The Bulldogs were still selected to go to the College Football Playoff, where they blew out Michigan in the Orange Bowl, 34-11, and beat Alabama, 33-18, in a rematch in the CFP National Championship.
“Coach Smart’s impact on the University of Georgia extends far past his significant accolades as our head football coach,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said in a statement. “He and his wife are Bulldogs through and through, and it is evident that Athens and UGA mean as much to him as he means to us. I am excited for our football program’s continued success under his direction.”
Smart played defensive back at Georgia in the ’90s before a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia in 1999 and later spent one season as the team’s running backs coach in 2005. He has earned SEC Coach of the Year honors twice during his tenure at Georgia.
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