For Kirby Smart, the sting of a playoff exit wasn’t a time for rest but a signal to immediately refocus his program on a singular, crucial objective. Georgia filled multiple roster holes through the portal. However, the roster addition was just one part of Smart’s offseason goals.

Retaining players during the offseason is a big task for any program. Players tend to look for and explore other opportunities, something that Kirby Smart wanted to avoid. During the transfer portal window, the Bulldogs saw 14 players exit the program. But at the same time, only one player exited through the transfer portal from the 27 players recruited in the 2025 class.

“We had a goal of keeping the players on our roster that we could, and we went through agents, players, parents, and meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting to try to retain our roster, which I think we won that battle,” Smart told Glory Flory’s Jeff Dantzler. “We were able to keep a lot of players we wanted to keep here. We’ve got the best retention rate among playoff teams. We’ve got the best retention rate in the SEC, so our guys want to be here, and we have to learn to want to be here.”

With the limited but quality transfers during the portal window, Kirby Smart was able to retain most of his starters, mixing experience and fresh legs within his roster. Running backs Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens made it clear they intend to return to the program for the next season, and Smart also revealed how he was able to retain Raylen Wilson, Lawson Luckie, and Gabe Harris.

“I think your culture creates whether your guys want to stay or not, right? So that was a big deal for us to be able to get guys that want to return,” Smart said. “Raylen Wilson, Gabe Harris. These guys call and say, ‘Coach, I’m staying. I want to be here. I want to have another great year next year. What do we have to do?’ Lawson Luckie also.”

At the same time, the Bulldogs brought in the likes of Dante Dowdell, Amaris Williams, Jae Lamar, Isiah Canion, Ja’Marley Riddle, and Khalil Barnes to their roster. With such a talented bunch, Georgia has a good chance at making a deeper postseason run next season. The quarterfinal loss to Ole Miss will sting for the program and for Smart, who has faced recent setbacks in the College Football Playoff despite winning back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.

With player retention handled, Smart’s focus now shifts to his coaching staff, as outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe is expected to depart for the NFL.

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Kirby Smart could possibly hire a former NFL player as new OLB Coach

Retaining players is one challenge, but retaining coaches is another. Kirby Smart now appears to be dealing with the latter, as outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe is expected to leave for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. After working with Uzo-Diribe for the past three seasons, finding a replacement has become a priority for Smart.

Among the names being linked to the role, one that caught some attention was former Miami linebacker Sean Spence, who is currently the edge rusher coach at Western Michigan. Dawgs Central’s Graham Coffey shared his opinion on X that Georgia should consider hiring Sean Spence as its next outside linebackers coach.

“If UGA is looking for a younger guy who checks a lot of boxes, I would consider Sean Spence, the edge rushers coach at Western Michigan,” Coffey posted.

With an illustrious football career that saw him shine at Miami and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Spence decided to shift his focus towards coaching at WMU, where the team showed good passing, a positive sign for Georgia if they acquire him.