Georgia Legend Turns Against Kirby Smart After $130M HC Shows True Colors

The SEC spring meetings are going to lead to a major change in college football. It’s either going to be a tweak in the playoff format, or the transfer portal operations, or both. Coaches from multiple conferences are picking their sides of battles, while conference commissioners face off against each other. Kirby Smart is rallying with a coalition of coaches advocating for reform in the transfer portal. He wants its occurrences to cut down to one, and he wants a decision on this matter soon. After all, Smart is no outsider to the havoc the portal wreaks on the status quo of college football. A former Georgia star has his feet in two boats when it comes to Smart’s argument.

“The biggest decision that needs to be made in college football right now, by far, is when is the portal window and is it one or two,” the Georgia HC said. Smart and other SEC coaches are calling for a singular portal to occur in January, and also last for a shorter period. Carson Beck was the highlight of the winter portal this year, while Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava was that of its spring counterpart. Chaos ensued both times. NIL has become the single most dominating factor in the transfer portal, which can also potentially see some more regulations. Former Bulldogs DE and now sports presenter, David Pollack, has a mixed opinion about Smart’s argument.

The transfer portal definitely could use some curbs. In a June 3 episode of See Ball Get Ball, Pollack and co-host Brent Rollins brought up the Georgia HC’s cause. Rollins found Smart’s call to be surprising because he regarded the coach to be an adaptive figure who could maneuver around changes and stick to rules. Pollack, however, sided with Kirby Smart about the idea of a singular portal. “It’s got to change, you know. talking to these staffs and these guys, man, it’s just, it’s a nightmare… their calendar that used to exist in college football was so friendly, like compared to what they are now, and what they’re asked to do and how they have to recruit their own roster.”

However, he thought January was a bad window for this one-time portal. “I would want to make it May. I would, and I’m talking about if I’m building a roster, because if it’s January, your roster is going to get pillaged during the season. Hate that,” Pollack claimed. “[If] it’s May, those guys, those young guys, get a chance to now go through some spring, you know. Get through some off season, and other guys are gone, a chance to kind of prove themselves. Maybe step into that box, step into a window that didn’t exist. And then right there in May, now I kind of understand what my roster is.”

January comes right after the regular and postseasons end. It’s a period where rosters see a complete upheaval. Players either go to the draft, or some confirm whether they want to continue with their current teams. The transfer portal is a volatile space–nobody knows who can come in and poach whom. Smart is an HC who doesn’t quite make a lot of noise in the media. When Carson Beck transferred to Miami and pandemonium ensued in Athens, Smart held his calm. But the portal can get on coaches’ nerves. And who better than the Georgia HC to lead the front?

Kirby Smart is all in on bringing change to the transfer portal

Smart is getting antsy about the deliberations on the transfer portal. It’s showing. He told Paul Finebaum, “The timing of portal right now is really critical. It affects so many things.” “If it is one portal, when will it fall? That has become a really critical decision because it is going to affect people’s cap space,” he added. Smart has been in this game for decades now. He’s a genius when it comes to roster-building. The transfer portals have a direct impact on that and shape the way the team fares through the season.

“You could end up with some haves and have-nots out there, and ultimately, a team could drive prices and go buy a championship, like you’re talking about with super teams,” Smart said clearly. Transfer portals cause so much uncertainty for coaches while planning rosters. Players who adopt a ‘TBD’ mindset during portals upset the pace. Reducing the portal to once in the offseason helps solve these and so many other problems.

Kirby Smart is the richest HC in college football, slated to earn $130 million by the end of 2033. Georgia’s top brass is only giving him a paycheck this high because he’s one of the best coaching minds. They’re giving him the best resources to produce results. So when Smart argues for something this passionately, it’s got to bring some positive result. Whenever that singular portal may be, it’ll be a huge relief to coaches all across the sport.