Continuity in coaches on Georgia's side for 2023

ATHENS, Ga. — Continuity like the coaching staff of Georgia Football has is rare. After the Bulldogs won the title in 2021, four assistants moved on to other jobs. That included defensive coordinator Dan Lanning leaving to become the head coach at Oregon. While offensive coordinator Todd Monken makes a move to the NFL to join the Baltimore Ravens following a second straight title, he’s the only assistant that has to be replaced. It ties Georgia with Tennessee for fewest in the SEC, and Kirby Smart even managed to make that hire from within.

For fans on the outside, it makes it easy to understand who is in charge of what areas. For players on the inside, well, it does the same, giving them one less thing to think about when they’re out on the field.

“I think it’s huge,” Georgia offensive lineman Xavier Truss, who was working with a new coach in his position group last season, said. “Like, last year, Coach Searels, I thought it was awesome he gets to come in first year and we get to accomplish something great like that. I think Coach Searels did an amazing job at, you know, helping toward building that connection in the o-line room because it’s not always easy for a coach to come into a new place — even though he’s been here before, it’s a new group of guys. He’s got to make sure that we can trust him and vice versa. I think he did a really good job of building that relationship with us last year and just carrying it over this year.”

Kamari Lassiter and the Georgia cornerbacks dealt with a similar situation in the secondary last season. Fran Brown came to Georgia from Rutgers and was tasked with getting to know his guys and how they best operate.

“Coach Fran, he taught me a lot, man. Coming in last year, I had two DB coaches already (Charlton Warren who recruited him to Georgia and Jahmile Addae as a freshman in 2021), and he was going to be the third. You know, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, here we go again,’ but he’s come in and he’s treated me and the rest of my guys like family, you know? He really cares about us, he loves us,” Lassiter said. “He’s willing to go the extra mile, whether it’s in the film room, getting up early every day to help us with our technique, watching film or just getting that extra work after practice. We had a year together, so I really know what he expects from us. He knows how to get me to go whenever everyone has those days. He knows what to say to get me going. He knows how to lead the room.”

“Just trying to get to know everybody on a personal level outside of football,” Lassiter added. “You know, that’s what it really takes: just trying to get connected with your players and with your teammates. You can’t really just be connected on the field. You’ve got to do stuff outside. You’ve got to get to know guys whys, and you’ve got to really talk to people.”

Searels and Brown aren’t the only two second-year assistants entering their second year. Outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe and wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon are doing so too.

“You know, it brings comfort to all of us,” outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss said about the overall continuity on the coaching staff from season to season. “It’s not like you’re having to learn a brand-new system or not knowing what’s going on in the offense.”

As for the lone addition to the staff, Mike Bobo was promoted from within. That was a move made with continuity in play-calling and terminology in mind according to Kirby Smart. Turnover in coaching staffs feels inevitable in this day and age of College Football – especially for a team at the top like Georgia – but the Bulldogs have their fewest new assistants since 2017. They won the SEC Championship that season, ironically just as they did in 2022 with the most turnover since Smart took over as head coach.

So, continuity, or lack thereof, doesn’t come with guaranteed results on the field, but it certainly helps to have it. On top of talent accumulated from years and years of recruiting, Georgia’s got continuity on its side for 2023, and you won’t hear any complaints about that in Athens.