Worth it: Kirby Smart
Smart’s salary of $3.7 million doesn’t look too bad compared to other SEC coaches, and he has the Bulldogs in the hunt for the College Football Playoff just two years into his tenure.
A terrific defensive back at Georgia from 1995-98, Smart bounced around as a defensive position coach for the next decade at stops ranging from Valdosta State to the Miami Dolphins under Nick Saban. Smart followed Saban to Alabama as a defensive backs and associate head coach in 2007, and was promoted to coordinator the next season, overtaking Kevin Steele.
The Crimson Tide consistently had one of the best defenses in the country from 2008-15 and won four national titles with help from Smart, who won the Broyles Award in 2009 as the nation’s top assistant. Replacing a successful longtime head coach with a coordinator usually doesn’t work out, but Georgia chose to replace Mark Richt with Smart prior to the 2016 season.
That decision has worked out, as Smart looks like the kind of coach that could produce an SEC East dynasty. After a shaky 8-5 campaign, Smart has the Bulldogs sitting at 11-1 and will be in the College Football Playoff with a win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game.
It’s still early in his tenure, but Smart is undoubtedly worth a $3.75 million salary that ranks 23rd in the nation, a relatively low mark for an SEC contender. Whether Smart can top Richt’s accomplishments by winning an elusive national championship for Georgia remains to be seen.