Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart explains new role for assistant coach Dell McGee
Last week, it was revealed that Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee had added the role of assistant head coach. On Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart explained the Columbus native’s new responsibilities with the Bulldogs.
Smart spoke about the former Carver High School head coach Tuesday at SEC Media Days. Smart applauded the approach of McGee, who enters his third season on the Georgia staff after joining the staff from Georgia Southern.
“I think Dell’s proven himself as a leader of young men,” Smart said. “He’s done it throughout his career. This guy did it in the Columbus area for a long time, and I had the great fortune of recruiting his high school for a long time and signed some of his players. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Dell because he knows how to lead young men.”
As far as McGee’s new role, Smart explained that McGee will have a bigger role as a sounding board for the coaching staff.
“With that role, it’s an increased position of being able to bounce things off, whether it’s recruiting ideas, how we should do something or ways he’s done things at other places,” Smart said. “Dell’s invaluable for me because I know that he can see things through a set of eyes I can’t always see them through. I appreciate what Dell’s done for our staff and what he’s done for our program.”
McGee is coming off a season in which his running backs helped Georgia finish ninth in rushing yards per game and capture the team’s first SEC championship since 2005. In addition, McGee played a crucial role in Georgia landing the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in 2018, serving as the lead recruiter for five-star quarterback Justin Fields, five-star running back Zamir White and five-star defensive end Brenton Cox.
McGee’s work earned him Recruiter of the Year honors from 247Sports and Rivals. This offseason, he received a raise that now pays the Kendrick High School alum and former Auburn player $550,000, making him the fifth-highest paid assistant coach on staff.
“He doesn’t [lead] in a loud, boisterous kind of way — he does it in the kind of the way you want your son to represent the University of Georgia,” Smart said of McGee. “He has a tremendous family. He is a father, and he does a great job for the team.”