Kirby Smart debates whether transfer portal, NIL created parity

Georgia has won the last two national titles and is poised to make the College Football Playoff this season under head coach Kirby Smart. Still, around the Bulldogs, there appears to be more parity in the sport than there is typically.

Much of that parity has been attributed to NIL and the transfer portal, which have allowed for player movement to new teams more possible. Smart explained that he thinks those things have certainly played a role in the parity, but did note that both the transfer portal and NIL are still too new to be able to definitively say they’re the cause.

“I think so. I don’t know,” Kirby Smart said. “I don’t think we’ll know the totality of NIL and portal until we look back from a five to ten-year window. You can’t really have enough substance to judge that, but there seems to be more parity. I don’t know. Teams don’t have as deep of rosters as we used to.” 

There are plenty of teams that have used the transfer portal much more heavily than Georgia. That includes the Bulldogs’ next opponent, Ole Miss. There, head coach Lane Kiffin has consistently built his roster through the portal, to mixed results in the last couple of seasons, going 8-5 in 2022 while sitting at 8-1 this season.

Kiffin recently explained that it’s tough to succeed in the portal.

“It is challenging, kind of like free agency in professional sports,” Lane Kiffin said. “It sounds great when you sign these guys but then you’ve got to mesh them together and you’ve got to get everybody to play really well together as well because everybody wants to get the ball or be the star.”

So, things like the transfer portal are going to be beneficial to some teams that use it smartly. However, as Kirby Smart did point out, there is still a lot to learn about its impact on the game.

Kirby Smart talks about relationship with Lane Kiffin

This weekend, Georgia will take on Ole Miss in the first ever head coaching matchup between former Alabama assistants, Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin. Ahead of that game, Smart praised Kiffin and opened up about their relationship.

“I have a lot of respect for Lane, I’ve told you that. He and I shared seats next to each other at Alabama for two years, I guess it was, maybe three. I don’t even know how long we were there together because it all runs together, but a lot of respect for him as a coach,” Smart said.

“He was a head coach at a really young age. He taught me a lot of things about what he believes in being a head coach and doing it your way. He’s certainly had a unique experience in terms of the places he’s been able to work as a head coach, and he draws on that. There’s times we share ideas or GPS numbers or whatever, but there’s nothing outside of just a really good friendship and respect.”