When head coach Kirby Smart envisioned the Georgia Bulldogs having a super-duper season, his dreams hit a snag. He is the highest-paid coach in college football, agreeing to a new 10-year contract worth $130 million. But even then, he is in hot water — all thanks to the Bulldogs’ wide receiver Rodarius “Rara” Thomas, who tampered with the coach’s and the program’s reputation by getting arrested.

Hence, to save the sinking ship, Coach Smart had to take matters into his own hands. He suspended Thomas to instill peace and discipline in his squad. Even then, it did not save him from the media’s wrath.

A legal storm hits Smart’s program

July 26 ushered in bad news for the Bulldogs squad. The WR was brought to the Athens-Clark County Jail on Friday morning. Smart’s program was in extreme legal woes. And Smart just had to go full-on bodyguard mode for his program. As confirmed by UGASports.com analyst Anthony Dasher, “Story updated with a team source saying Thomas has been suspended indefinitely by head coach Kirby Smart.”

Why wouldn’t he? After all, this is Thomas’ second arrest in two years. Last year, on January 23, the Mississippi State transfer was arrested by the University of Georgia police based on a felony charge. Somehow, Smart feels let down by Georgia’s culture. Even though Thomas was yet to be arrested at the SEC Media Days, the Bulldogs HC confessed, “The incidents that we’ve had off the field are not something that we condone.” The media are on a rampage to strip off the coach and the program.   

Media and analysts put Smart on the hot seat 

On the 24/7 College Sports Talk podcast page, Big Game Boomer launched a brutal jab for Smart’s program. Bad history is all it takes to launch attacks; as the media house wrote, “The Culture at Georgia is truly a joke.  This is disgusting.  Kirby Smart must be held accountable.” Going by the reports, at least 29 people, staff, and players included in the Bulldogs program were involved in arrests related to reckless driving or driving under the influence since January 2023. Last year in January, Georgia OL Devin Willock and staff member Chanler LeCroy passed away in a tragic car accident. The issues spur out of lack of discipline continue, leaving the analyst to drop a question, “Does Kirby Smart only care about winning?”

For the famous College Football Media personality Brandon Walker, Smart came off as a hypocrite. The analyst threw shade at the Georgia HC. “Holy f*cking sh*t. Kirby Smart has players arrested by the dozens and we are the bad guys for saying damn Kirby has a lot of players arrested.” In July, other than Thomas, Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon and offensive lineman Bo Hughley were arrested on driving charges. Another big shot analyst also believes that it’s the HC’s failure not to steer the program correctly, “Kirby Smart needs to be held accountable.”

But should Smart be put on the grilling rack? Since he is already doing what he can, he has banned the player indefinitely. Is the Bulldogs HC going to have the same fate as Florida Gators’ Urban Meyer, whose record of 65 wins and two SEC championships was ruined after a staggering number of at least 31 players were arrested? Let your opinion pour in!