The Georgia Bulldogs are on top of the college football mountain seemingly ever since Kirby Smart arrived in 2016. After his first season in 2016 where the Bulldogs went 8-5, Smart has had double digit wins aside from 2020 where teams had a shortened schedule due to the pandemic.
Smart’s reign has included three college football playoff appearances, and back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023. The only other coach that comes close to the success Smart has had during his time as the head man with the Bulldogs is the late Vince Dooley. Dooley himself led the Bulldogs to a national championship in 1980.
Not all Georgia coaches however have had the same level of success. Names like Mark Richt had some, but comparatively speaking to Smart and Dooley it was moderate. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some had hardly any success at all since the SEC was formed in 1933.
Who are the worst coaches in the history of Georgia Football?
Johnny Griffith (1961-1963)
Griffith only coached the Bulldogs for three seasons. And for good reason- his combined coaching record was 10-16, with an SEC conference record of 6-12. Griffith only continued the downward trajectory that his predecessor Wallace Butts had started before him, and was quickly ousted from his head coaching position.
James Wallace “Wally” Butts (1939-1960)
Butts managed to coach the Bulldogs for 22 years and had six wins or less in 13 of those seasons. Many ups and down through his tenure however did see some positives, including four SEC titles and one undefeated season. The successes were spread apart it seems at just the right spacing for Butts to keep his job for 22 years.
Other names worth mentioning before the Bulldogs joined the SEC were Charles Barnard (1904) and Marvin Dickinson (1905) who each led the Bulldogs to 1-5 records in back-to-back seasons.