The Georgia Bulldogs fanbase is split right down the middle. And the culprit? Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Kirby Smart’s squad, it seems, is having a serious case of internal discord, with a lot of fans struggling to make peace with Bobo, especially after the 2024 season’s hiccups. That Sugar Bowl loss against Notre Dame? That’s Exhibit A for the anti-Bobo crowd. While Bobo will get to enjoy (maybe, or maybe not) the hot seat in Athens, college football analysts shared their feelings on the current situation. Meanwhile, Kirby Smart finds himself in a tight spot, with the calls to fire Bobo getting louder by the minute.

Now there has been a trend in the Georgia program. Every offseason one of Georgia’s position coaches or coordinators gets poached. It was Will Muschamp and Bryan McClendon who swapped wagons in 2024. This time, a lot of Bulldogs fans might have wished that it was Bobo. Sadly, their prayers landed in the spam box. That’s because their offensive coordinator will be in Athens for a little longer, as Bobo has signed an extension. As per the reports, the one-year contract extension puts the veteran coach through the 2026 season. His current salary of $1.403 million will go up to $1.503 million on July 1, 2025. It will increase to $1.603 million on July 1, 2026. This might result in fans letting out a big ‘Oh no!’ But analyst Daniel Monroe painted the real picture.  

On the Locked on Bulldogs podcast, he stated, “If Georgia wants to fire Mike Bobo after this season they will fire Mike Bobo after this season….they don’t care; it’s one year; they’ll just buy it out. If Georgia wanted to keep Mike Bobo for 10 more years, they would still just re-up his contract a year at a time.” In that way, the extension means nothing to people who hate or love Mike Bobo. The issue with Bobo here is how Georgia’s offense struggled under him. In 2024, they averaged nearly 10 points less per game. But maybe Smart wants to give him one more chance.

After all, the offensive coordinator had played a big role as he drove the Bulldogs’ offense to lead the nation. They averaged 40.1 points per game, which ranked fifth in the country. Not just his contribution to the offense. Bobo is known for his X-factor, which gives him the edge in the recruiting race. “Whether you like Mike Bobo or not, Mike Bobo is out there recruiting guys,” Monroe added. You name them—Ryan Puglisi, Gunner Stockton, Jared Curtis—all were taken into the roster, thanks to the OC. Now for those who are in doubt that Smart is protecting his pockets by not getting rid of Bobo, here comes the reality check.

“Please tell me Georgia doesn’t have enough funds in the old check-in account to let Mike Bobo walk?” asked the analyst. It’s just that Smart holds on to Bobo for the future recruits; after all, he has now become the face of the Bulldogs. However, this ESPN analyst is not okay with Smart’s decision. 

Kirby Smart and Mike Bobo are under fire

Now when it’s controversial, we often expect a comment from THAT SOMEONE. Yes, you might have guessed it by now. It’s none other than Paul Finebaum. When it’s about the most criticized man in Athens, how can he remain quiet? However, Finebaum did not wait for Bobo’s contract extension news to hit before breaking the silence. He had addressed the issue right after the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl loss.

Not just Bobo, Smart too got some side-eyes from Finebaum. After all, the OC has been the HC’s old pal. That’s why he did not take much time to replace Todd Monken with Bobo. Even though Monken helped Georgia to land back-to-back national championships. “He’s Kirby Smart’s best friend, they were roommates. And many believe that Kirby Smart has looked past reality and simply respected and honored a friend who used to work for Mark Richt at Georgia and then moved on and failed as a head coach.”

Finebaum then continued, “I think Kirby Smart, for as great as I believe he is and I know you guys agree, is being way too loyal to Mike Bobo and I would get rid of Bobo today.” Now that this narrative comes into play, Kirby Smart is likely to face a double-edged sword. The head coach’s in a tough spot—he doesn’t want to ditch his friend, but he also needs to keep the fans happy. In this situation, Bobo can help the HC resolve this difficult issue by devising a formula to restore the lost spark to Georgia’s offense.