Kirby Smart’s next offensive coordinator is going back to the future for Georgia.
Mike Bobo, the former Georgia quarterback and offensive coordinator, will take over for Todd Monken, who returned to the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens after three seasons and two nationals titles with the Bulldogs. Smart announced in a statement Tuesday morning.
“We are extremely thankful and appreciative of the three years Todd and his wife, Terri, have spent with our UGA family,” Smart said. “We wish them the best as he moves on to the Ravens organization. I am excited to name Mike Bobo our next offensive coordinator. Mike has a decade of experience as a successful SEC play-caller and over 20 years spent at UGA, both as a player and coach. Mike was an excellent addition to our staff last year as an analyst, and we are looking forward to his expanded leadership on the offensive side of the ball.”
Smart is betting on Bobo being able to keep the momentum going from back-to-back national championship seasons with Monken calling the plays. Bobo last was offensive coordinator in 2021 at Auburn.
Bobo, who turns 49 in April, spent the past year as an offensive analyst at his alma mater, spending the season working with Monken whose offense rivaled Bobo’s under Mark Richt statistically in the program record book.
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Georgia averaged a school record 41.7 points per game in Bobo’s final season in 2014. Monken’s offense this past season averaged 41.1 points per game and a school-record 501.1 yards per game, both fifth in the nation.
Bobo had health issues in 2018 with an autoimmune disease while serving as Colorado State head coach, but he was on the road recruiting for Georgia in January.
Like co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Bobo is a former Georgia teammate and close friend of Smart.
“Mike Bobo’s heart is at Georgia,” Monken said before the Peach Bowl .”Will Muschamp’s heart is at Georgia. I’m a vagabond. I love it at Georgia. But I’m not born (here), that’s not who I am, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean I don’t give everything I can to the University of Georgia. But their heart is here.”
Bobo played quarterback at Georgia from 1994-97 on teams where Smart was an All-SEC safety.
He spent 14 seasons on Mark Richt’s staff before leaving for Colorado State after the 2014 season. He went 28-35 in five seasons as head coach. His 2017 Colorado State team set the school record for yards per game at 492.5.
“He’s an old-school, hard-nosed coach,” Richt said in 2013. “He’s very tough, but he’s very smart and he’s great at prep. And he’s got the nerve to call big games. He’s got the nerve to do it.”
Bobo coached 2009 NFL No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford and SEC all-time passing yardage leader Aaron Murray who was quarterback when the offense set a school record by averaging 484.2 yards per game in 2013 and put up 467.4 yards in 2012.
His return to the SEC as offensive coordinator brought more middling results. Auburn in 2021 was 62nd in the nation in scoring at 29.1 points per game and 63rd in total offense at 405.6 yards per game and South Carolina in 2020 was 98th in scoring at 23.5 and 96th in total offense at 355.1.
His Colorado State offense ranked as high as 11th in total offense in 2017 and 28th in scoring in 2017 at 35.3.
Georgia’s offense will be breaking in a new quarterback—Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton are returnees at the position—after Monken won back-to-back national titles with former walk-on Stetson Bennett.
Bobo took a behind-the-scenes role a year ago at Georgia where his son, Drew now is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for Georgia.
“Mike Bobo has drawn cards for us,” Monken said at the end of last season. “He’s drawn cards like a 22-year-old who’s said I’m going to embrace this role of doing red zone. I can’t take everything the guy say as a suggestion, and yet the lack of ego, and just wanting to do things has been unbelievable.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia hires Mike Bobo to replace Todd Monken as offensive coordinator