Georgia took a calculated risk on Kirby Smart.
Though the program was successful under Mark Richt, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame coach repeatedly fell shy of the sport's pinnacle. Despite his 145-51 record and two SEC crowns in 15 years, the Bulldogs hadn't won a league championship in a decade and never celebrated a national title.
Bridging the gap between very good and elite is incredibly difficult. Richt kept Georgia in the national discussion each season but could not summit the mountain.
This, however—another year atop the college football world thanks to a 65-7 annihilation of TCU in the national championship game—is exactly why UGA rolled the dice on Smart.