{"id":6661,"date":"2026-07-21T19:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661"},"modified":"2026-07-21T19:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:34:42","slug":"kirby-smart-knows-his-voice-as-the-dean-of-sec-coaches-only-gets-heard-if-georgia-keeps-winning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661","title":{"rendered":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 He\u2019s the dean of Southeastern Conference coaches who also has two national titles on his resume, so what Georgia\u2019s Kirby Smart says about the state of college football is bound to resonate far outside his own state.<\/p>\n

Read more NFL training camps set to open with 10 new head coaches, several QB changes and plenty of hope<\/a><\/p>\n

On Tuesday at SEC media days, Smart made clear that to become dean of SEC coaches and win those national titles, he\u2019s had to focus on the little picture more than the big one \u2014 because it\u2019s the only thing he truly can control.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had questions about expansion, more SEC games, portal, college and federal legislation to navigate the NIL era we\u2019re in. Players leaving, coaches leaving. That\u2019s all people want to talk about,\u201d Smart said. \u201cWhat we focus on in Georgia is what wins football games, and that\u2019s my passion and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

At stake for the Bulldogs in 2026 is a chance to defend their SEC title \u2014 Smart has four in 10 years between the hedges \u2014 and to make a run at another natty, where both Georgia and the SEC as a whole have been shut out for the last three seasons.<\/p>\n

To reach either goal, the coach will need to find answers for an offensive line that lost two starters to the NFL draft and a receiving corps that got Isiah Canion from the transfer portal (Georgia Tech) but needs more to replenish a position missing four of last year\u2019s top five pass catchers.<\/p>\n

The constant will be Gunner Stockton, the quarterback who heads into his redshirt senior year as Georgia\u2019s highest-profile player.<\/p>\n

In a team-building moment bound to take on a life of its own, especially if Georgia plays well this year, Stockton found himself at the front of the raft on a whitewater trip with team leaders earlier this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, \u2018OK, who\u2019s going to be in the front of the boat?\u2019\u201d Smart said. \u201cThey explained this might be the most risky position. You may fall out. When you go over a rapid, you may be the first to fall into that water. But he chose to jump into that seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stockton said that, indeed, he got wet that day, but it was a chance worth taking.<\/p>\n

Regarding his coach, and the way he deals with name, image and likeness payments, one of the many elements disrupting college sports while also reshuffling pecking orders in locker rooms across the country, the quarterback said Smart keeps it real.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe basically tells us the truth, which is that once you\u2019re out on the field, it doesn\u2019t matter how much someone makes, or doesn\u2019t make, everyone has to prove themselves,\u201d Stockton said. \u201cOnce you\u2019re on the football field, nobody really cares how much money you make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Tebas: Infantino should resign for \u2018destroying the football industry\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Smart hasn\u2019t shied away from weighing in on his sport\u2019s biggest issues<\/h3>\n

For the record, Smart has had much to say about all the changes upending his sport. At a memorable appearance less than two months ago at the SEC annual meetings, he sounded off on several topics, including the backroom conversations about the league breaking off from the rest of the NCAA if college sports can\u2019t align behind a single set of rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a huge advocate that if we can\u2019t find the rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own. I\u2019m not afraid of that,\u201d he said at that time.<\/p>\n

On other topics he discussed at the meetings:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Smart wonders if the new nine-game league schedule will really produce gains in strength of schedule that the SEC is touting.<\/p>\n

\u2014 He loves the SEC title game but recognizes it might have to go if the College Football Playoff is expanded beyond 12 teams: \u201cWhen you take that revenue stream out, can we make it work? Is it sustainable to do without it would be my biggest concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2014 He\u2019s not against players getting money, but he recognizes that college sports could be on an unsustainable path if it doesn\u2019t find some guardrails: \u201cWe\u2019re going to lose that if we keep spending because not everybody can spend at the rate that we\u2019re spending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading into his 11th season with the Bulldogs, Smart has settled into the role as the league\u2019s elder statesman once held by his mentor, Nick Saban, who left following the 2023 season after 17 years at Alabama and 22 in the SEC.<\/p>\n

The 50-year-old Georgia coach recognizes he is in a changing industry and wants to play a role in shaping it. But at SEC Media Days, with the start of practice looming and the first game (against Tennessee State) only 46 days away, Smart felt his focus should be directed elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind talking or speaking to it,\u201d he said. \u201cAll I\u2019m saying is that at events like this, it eats the air and takes away from what actually wins and loses football games.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP college football: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/college-football<\/p>\n

Read more ESPN starts layoffs tied to NFL Network acquisition, memo says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 He\u2019s the dean of Southeastern Conference coaches who also has two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 He\u2019s the dean of Southeastern Conference coaches who also has two...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661\"},\"wordCount\":898,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661\",\"name\":\"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=6661#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 He\u2019s the dean of Southeastern Conference coaches who also has two...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning","datePublished":"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661"},"wordCount":898,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661","name":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-21T19:34:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/487d03985cc4cb97cddfddffabc785e9.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6661#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}