Georgia Bulldogs soccer team head coach Kirby Smart is cashing in on his national championship win with a 10-year extension, the school announced Thursday. According to ESPN’s Chris LowThe total value of the deal is $112.5 million, making Smart one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
Smart, 46, became head coach at Georgia in December 2015 after eight seasons as the Alabama Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator. After the Bulldogs recorded an 8-5 record in Smart’s first year, the team has topped the top 10 in the AP Poll for each of the past five seasons.
Last year, Georgia went undefeated in the regular season before losing in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama. The Bulldogs were still selected for the College Rugby Round, where they beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl, 34-11, and beat Alabama, 33-18, in a rematch in the CFP National Championship.
“Coach Smart’s impact on the University of Georgia goes beyond his considerable accolades as head coach of our football team,” said Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks. said in a statement. “He and his wife are Bulldogs and it is clear that Athens and UGA mean as much to him as he means to us. I am delighted for the continued success of our football programme. I am under his direction.”
Smart played defensively in Georgia in the ’90s before a brief stint with the Indianapolis Colts. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia in 1999 and then spent a season as the team’s backrunner coach in 2005. won the SEC Coach of the Year title twice during his tenure at Georgia.
