Kirby Smart is looking for a new running backs coach after long-time lieutenant Dell McGee was announced Friday as the new head coach at Georgia State University.

McGee’s decision leaves defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann as the lone remaining assistant who was part of Smart’s original staff at Georgia when he was named head coach of the Bulldogs in December of 2015.

McGee's son Austin is a freshman cornerback on the Panthers.

His decision to accept the position certainly comes as no surprise. During an interview two years ago with Bulldog beat writers, McGee acknowledged that he wanted to be a head coach.

McGee served as the interim head coach at Georgia Southern at the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl before joining Smart’s staff at Georgia.

“I definitely have aspirations to be a head coach,” McGee said prior to the start of the 2022 season. “But, right now, my whole focus is on doing the best job I can here at the University of Georgia this season, and kind of let things fall where they may when those times and opportunities present themselves.”

A graduate of Auburn, McGee’s success on the recruiting trails for the Bulldogs is well-documented.

In his eight seasons at UGA, McGee has coached four 1,000-yard rushers: Nick Chubb in 2016-17; Sony Michel in 2017; D’Andre Swift in 2018-19; and Elijah Holyfield in 2018. Chubb and Michel finished their careers as the Nos. 2 and 3 rushers in UGA history, amassing over 8,400 combined yards and 87 touchdowns. Chubb, Michel, Swift, as well as recent alums James Cook and Zamir White, were all taken in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft.

Rivals named McGee the 2018 National Recruiter of the Year after the Bulldogs signed the nation’s No. 1 class.

Prior to joining the Georgia Southern staff, McGee served one season at Auburn, his alma mater, where he worked as an analyst in 2013 when the Tigers reached the BCS Championship Game.

With McGee moving on, Smart’s search for a new position coach begins immediately.

One name to possibly keep an eye on is Arkansas running backs and Associate Head Coach Jimmy Smith.

Ironically, Smith served as an assistant at Georgia State, and before that served for six years as the head coach at Cedar Grove. Smart recently spoke with Smith per our sources.

Read more about Smith here.