Kirby Smart had plenty to talk about after Georgia’s 41-13 win over Oklahoma. The atmosphere, the performance, and the way the Bulldogs handled an SEC opponent. But before getting into any of that, he paused. There was someone else on his mind. Ray Lamb, the longtime Georgia high school football coach and former Georgia staff member who had been part of his life for decades, had died Thursday at 90. 

During his postgame conference, Kirby Smart brought him up without being prompted, making sure the moment did not get buried beneath another Georgia victory.

“I would like to mention a good friend of ours, good friend of the program,” he told reporters, via DawgNation. “He was there a long time with me, passed away at 90 years old, Ray Lamb, on Thursday.”

There’s a big reason why Kirby Smart calls Ray Lamb “a legend in our state.” He coached for 22 seasons at Commerce and finished his high school career with 249 wins, 11 region championships, and three state titles. His teams won back-to-back championships at Warren County in 1965 and 1966 before he led Commerce to its first state title in 1981. But Lamb’s reach went well beyond the win column.

“He’s very near and dear to our hearts, Coach Lamb, and he meant a lot to us,” Smart added. “So, I want to think about his family and the passing they had here recently.”

That relationship ran deep. Ray Lamb had known Kirby Smart since he was a child through his friendship with Smart’s father, Sonny, another longtime Georgia high school coach. When Smart eventually became a Bulldogs player, Lamb was already a familiar figure around the program.

Ray Lamb joined Georgia in 1993 as the coordinator of high school relations, a position he held until 2011. That put him in contact with coaches all over the state and made him an important bridge between Georgia’s high school programs and the university in Athens. For Kirby Smart, though, Lamb was more than a staff member.

He was one of those people who had been around long enough to see the different versions of you. Before the Georgia head-coaching job and the national championships, before Kirby Smart became one of the biggest names in the sport, Ray Lamb was there.

Ray Lamb’s impact was recognized well beyond Athens. He was inducted into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and later entered the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2021.

His influence also carried straight through his own family. Both of his sons played for him at Commerce. Bobby Lamb was the QB on the 1981 championship team, while Hal Lamb played WR. Both eventually became head coaches. 

Bobby coached at Furman and Mercer before taking over at Anderson University in South Carolina. Hal built his own successful coaching career at Calhoun. The next generation followed, too. Taylor Lamb became a QBs coach at Virginia, while Tre Lamb became the head coach at Tulsa.

Bobby Lamb confirmed his father’s death Thursday night, remembering him as more than a coach.

“Yesterday, we lost a gentle giant,” he wrote. “My dad was so much more than a football coach – he was a people person. He had a gift for making people feel valued. His impact and investment in the lives of others was immeasurable. He poured so much of himself into his family, his friends.”

Ray Lamb’s legacy was never just the wins. It was the people he left behind. That’s why Kirby Smart stopped after a 41-point win and talked about the legend instead of football. Some people are simply bigger than the game. RIP Ray Lamb.