Georgia has had 26 head coaches since 1892, and four of them have won 100 games. Vince Dooley won the most with 201 across 25 seasons, Mark Richt 145, Wally Butts 140 and Kirby Smart 117 in ten. Smart’s .848 winning percentage is the best of any Georgia coach with more than a season’s tenure, and he has two of the program’s four claimed national championships.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Smart | 2016 to present | 117, 21 | National 2021, 2022; SEC 2017, 2022, 2024, 2025 |
| Mark Richt | 2001 to 2015 | 145, 51 | SEC 2002, 2005 |
| Jim Donnan | 1996 to 2000 | 40, 19 | None |
| Ray Goff | 1989 to 1995 | 46, 34, 1 | None |
| Vince Dooley | 1964 to 1988 | 201, 77, 10 | National 1980; six SEC |
| Johnny Griffith | 1961 to 1963 | 10, 16, 4 | None |
| Wally Butts | 1939 to 1960 | 140, 86, 9 | National 1942; four SEC |
| Joel Hunt | 1938 | 5, 4, 1 | None |
| Harry Mehre | 1928 to 1937 | 59, 34, 6 | None |
| George Woodruff | 1923 to 1927 | 30, 16, 1 | None |
| Herman Stegeman | 1920 to 1922 | 20, 6, 3 | SIAA 1920 |
| W.A. Cunningham | 1910 to 1919 | 43, 18, 9 | None |
The Early Coaches
| Coach | Seasons | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Dobson | 1909 | 1, 4, 2 |
| Branch Bocock | 1908 | 5, 2, 1 |
| George Whitney | 1906 to 1907 | 6, 7, 2 |
| Charles Barnard | 1904 | 1, 5 |
| Marvin Dickson | 1903, 1905 | 4, 9 |
| Billy Reynolds | 1901 to 1902 | 5, 7, 3 |
| E.E. Jones | 1900 | 2, 4 |
| Gordon Saussy | 1899 | 2, 3, 1 |
| Charles McCarthy | 1897 to 1898 | 6, 3 |
| Pop Warner | 1895 to 1896 | 7, 4 |
| Robert Winston | 1894 | 5, 1 |
| Ernest Brown | 1893 | 2, 2, 1 |
| Charles Herty | 1892 | 1, 1 |
James Coulter also coached part of the 1909 season. Pop Warner, who went on to win 318 games and is fourth on the all time coaching wins list, coached Georgia’s first unbeaten season in 1896.
Kirby Smart, 2016 to Present
Smart returned to his alma mater from Nick Saban’s Alabama staff in December 2015, reached the national championship game in his second season, and ended a 41 year title drought in 2021. The 2022 team went 15 and 0 and beat TCU 65 to 7 in the final, the only repeat champion of the playoff era. He has won four SEC championships, reached five consecutive SEC title games from 2021 to 2025, and produced a 33 game home winning streak that is a school record.
He reached 100 wins in 117 games, the fifth fastest in the sport’s history, with the milestone win coming at No. 1 Texas in 2024. His 117 and 21 record is a .848 winning percentage, and he has had nearly as many first round draft picks as losses. Our national championships page covers the 2021 and 2022 titles.
Vince Dooley, 1964 to 1988
Dooley won 201 games, six SEC titles and the 1980 national championship in 25 seasons, and had one losing year in all that time. He recruited Herschel Walker, whose three seasons produced the 1980 title and a Heisman, and he served as athletic director from 1979 until 2004. The field at Sanford Stadium carries his name. He is one of four SEC coaches to reach 200 wins, alongside Bryant, Saban and Spurrier.
Mark Richt, 2001 to 2015
Richt won 145 games and two SEC championships in fifteen seasons and never had a losing year, but was dismissed after 2015 having not reached a national title game. He went to Miami, and the Georgia job went to Smart. The tension of that decision is that Richt’s tenure would be considered exceptional at most programs and was judged insufficient at this one.
Wally Butts, 1939 to 1960
Butts won 140 games and four SEC titles across 22 seasons and coached the 1942 team that claims Georgia’s first national championship, with Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi. He is the only Georgia coach other than Dooley to last more than twenty years.
The Bottom Line
Georgia has had 26 head coaches, and four have won 100 games: Dooley with 201, Richt 145, Butts 140 and Smart 117. Smart has the best winning percentage, two national titles and four SEC championships in ten seasons, and is on pace to pass Dooley’s win total within a decade. Our most wins by a coach page has where Dooley and Pop Warner rank nationally.