Despite the rising trend of college football programs appointing general managers to manage roster changes and NIL developments, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart recently confirmed his team won’t follow suit.
While major programs like Oklahoma and Alabama have hired GMs to oversee player retention, recruiting, and revenue-sharing strategies, Smart insists on maintaining personal involvement in these areas.
Kirby Smart Dismisses Need for GM Role in Georgia Football
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Smart recently addressed the growing trend of hiring general managers in college football, making it clear that his program has no immediate plans to follow suit. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Smart emphasized his belief in Georgia’s current structure and his responsibility for the team’s performance.
“Not specifically,” Smart said when asked about whether Georgia could change its organizational structure. “We’ve got a lot of people in charge of roster management – including myself, including our football ops staff is involved, our operations/player development, player personnel staff. Everybody gets involved in that. It’s a team effort.”
Smart explained that Georgia has already made internal adjustments, redistributing responsibilities within the staff. However, he remains committed to staying actively involved in roster decisions rather than delegating those duties to a dedicated GM.
“We’ve reorganized and restructured some things in terms of what falls under whose duty and whose aspects. But at the end of the day, I’m not ready to run off and go hire somebody that’s just going to make all the decisions for what goes on on the football field. I think I’ve got to stay involved in that heavily. We’ve got the capacity and the quality of people in the areas that I think we need. So I think we’ll be fine in that world as it changes.”
Meanwhile, other programs have taken a different approach. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer brought in Courtney Morgan from Michigan to serve as the Crimson Tide’s GM.
Oklahoma followed suit by hiring Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy as its GM, partnering him with Brent Venables to manage scouting and recruiting.
This GM trend aligns with the pending House v. NCAA settlement, which, if approved, will allow schools to directly allocate up to $20.5 million to athletes starting in 2025.
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Despite these changes, Smart’s focus on staff stability and internal development remains central to Georgia’s strategy.
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