When former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken left to go work for the Baltimore Ravens, most were able to safely assume that Mike Bobo was the man for the job in Athens.
A former Georgia quarterback, quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, Bobo was promoted to run the offense in February shortly after Monken’s departure.
Smart said he first began thinking about Monken’s replacement around the time of the national title game.
“Immediately after the game you’re thinking, ‘Well, if I lose this guy, who am I hiring?’ I was very comfortable at that point that if we lost Todd and he decided to go back to the NFL — because that’s the only thing I felt like he would leave for — that I would go with Mike because I felt very comfortable with his leadership in the room,” Smart said.
“I asked Monken his opinion [when he was] leaving what he thought, and I thought it was important to keep that dynamic in the room set. We weren’t losing multiple coaches.”
For Smart, who is a former teammate and colleague of Bobo, the decision looked like a no-brainer. Bobo was already on the UGA staff. He joined Smart in Athens ahead of the 2022 season as an offensive analyst after spending one year at Auburn.
Bobo built some fantastic offenses while at Georgia under Mark Richt. High scoring offenses that featured Matthew Stafford, Aaron Murray, Todd Gurley and AJ Green. Bobo’s final season in Athens, 2014, Georgia’s offense set a school record averaging 41.3 points per game. Monken came close to breaking that record last season, with his offense averaging 41.1 points per game.
Bobo left Georgia to become head coach at Colorado State following the 2014 season. He would remain with the Rams until 2019 before becoming offensive coordinator for South Carolina and then Auburn.
“I think Mike has grown a lot since he went out to Colorado State from the time that he spent here,” Smart continued.
“I went against him at South Carolina. I went against him at Auburn, which gave me ultimate confidence that he would get this job done. We played them with probably the most talented defense that I’ve been a part of, and they were on a 16-play drive there at Auburn against us in the opening drive of the game. Just have got a lot of confidence in his leadership skills and what he will be able to do offensively.”
Georgia running back Kendall Milton is familiar with Bobo’s past work at Georgia and beyond the hedges. Bobo’s offenses have produced some great running backs, including Gurley, who Georgia never shied away from giving the ball.
“It makes me want to just, you know, go out there and just keep balling out and just keep working hard because the opportunity’s on the table for me,” Milton said. “I feel like I’ve seen that just seeing how much he’s ran the ball and the stats in his past offenses. I’m excited for this year. I’m excited not just for myself but for the whole offense to be able to go out there one last time and be able to have fun with the guys.”
Wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who enjoyed a very season in 2022, believes Georgia has a chance to be even better with Bobo calling the plays.
“As far as Coach Bobo, he did a lot for us last year,” McConkey said. “He was helping us out, calling the plays, giving us the insight on how to run a route and everything like that. I am super excited that he is here and that he has taken over. I am looking forward to it. I feel like we could be better than ever.”
Bobo’s work as offensive coordinator begins at Georgia with a new quarterback, now that Stetson Bennett is off to the NFL. There’s big shoes to fill, as Monken was responsible for orchestrating back-to-back national title-winning offenses, but Smart is confident that Bobo is the man for the job.
