Kirby Smart’s Subtle Shade at Carson Beck’s $4M Decision After Controversial Claim on 2024 Squad

Kirby Smart is marking 10 years at Georgia in 2025. He has taken the Bulldogs to new heights and shaped its culture into one that commands respect. But despite such a big milestone in his coaching career, this year’s highlight came from Carson Beck’s move. Many have dabbled around whether Smart gave him the boot or whether Beck voluntarily decided to leave. Either way, the huge NIL factor is the crux of this development. The Bulldogs HC, true to his name, had some smart things to say about it.

Carson Beck will begin his final college season at Miami Hurricanes under a $4 million NIL contract. The decision turned heads. Because nobody thought leaving a coach like Smart just for money made sense. We don’t know if Beck had other motives for accepting Miami’s offer. But leaving the camp of such a legendary coach makes little sense, doesn’t it? Smart appeared on Josh Pate’s College Football Show on March 24 and spoke about a myriad of topics. One of them was large NILs, and what he thought about what should drive young players’ decisions about them.

Josh Pate said that it’d been sometime now since high-profile NILs have been happening (Beck’s included). He asked Smart if players are being affected if they study these “case studies” or if they are still driven solely by money. Smart said that these case studies are “getting there,” but it still depends on “who you’re having that conversation with.” He stressed that such huge deals create gaps across programs.

“[T]here shouldn’t be these inequities between what guys are going to get offered. They should be closer to the same.” They also affect the other priorities players should be looking at while choosing a program, like “education, coach[ing], longevity, and development.” Smart also said, “[I]t won’t primarily be money, number one, if things balance out some.”

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Now, it’s likely that Beck moved on from Georgia because Smart wasn’t going to go above Miami’s offer. $4 million is a huge deal, but what immediate benefit is it giving him other than simply adding to his public image? To us common folks, Miami seems to be the winner in this case because they’ve got a quarterback who’s shaped by Smart. Sure, they chipped in a lot of money. But when there’s veteran coaching experience at stake, does $4 million still matter?

But that does not mean Smart is against those who take up NILs based on an immediate need. “If someone’s in a situation financially that they think, ‘I have to take the most now’; disregard that case situation.” He knows that there are families who would benefit greatly from these contracts. “There’s families out there that are going to choose the larger number for that reason.” They also know that the “endgame” will not be as they wish with such NIL deals, says Smart. These urgent situations require prompt attention, and players in need should take advantage of them.

Kirby Smart thinks 2024 was his best job so far

2024 was an okay season for Georgia, which stands in contrast to the records it made during previous seasons. Yet, Smart said it’s the best season for Georgia he’s ever coached. “Best coaching job we’ve done by far. Ever,” he said. He admitted that they weren’t the best team compared to previous seasons. But they also had “twice the schedules” in 2024, as compared to the past.

He said that he didn’t care about what other people said, but he knew he did a good job. “I know the level of scheduling we had to play. I know the roster we did it with, and I know the injuries we had.” Again, Smart asserted, “By far and away, the best job that our staff and our organization has done, easily.” Beck himself had to be ruled out of the SEC championship game after suffering an injury. Rookie QB Gunner Stockton became an overnight hero for his game that night as he stepped in for Beck.

This comment comes despite him winning 2 back-to-back national championships and 3 SEC championships. One of them came this year, but he acknowledges their very advancement to the final as an “accomplishment.” Winning the conference championship was an accomplishment, too. Smart also outright says that their game was “below the standard, statistically.” “But a lot of that had to do with the schedule we played,” he said. They finished the season 11-3, and lost the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame 10-23.

We can only begin to imagine why Beck left a coach like Smart. Especially when he’s said the most logical things about the NIL culture. This is also a coach who’s looking back at a below-par year and still seeing the good in it. When you pit Miami against Georgia when it comes to coaching, there’s an easy winner. We’ll have to wait until this season to see how Beck’s life-changing decision plays out for him, knowing that he doesn’t have Smart by his side now.