Kirby Smart went back to Georgia’s past to find the Bulldogs new offensive line coach: Stacy Searels.

A veteran coach of 30 years, Searels coached the past three seasons at North Carolina, one of numerous stops he’s made since coaching at Georgia from 2007-2010.

Georgia confirmed the hire Monday afternoon.

During his previous tenure in Athens, the Bulldogs ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed three times, including ranking sixth and leading the SEC in 2009 with just 12. In 2010, Georgia finished the season ranked 30th in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 32.1 points per game.

That included a seven-game stretch to end the regular season where the offensive line helped the team average 41 per contest. During that time, the Bulldogs scored no fewer than 31 points and topped the 40-point mark five times. Senior Clint Boling led the line and was named to the Pro Football Weekly All-America Team, along with being a first-team All-SEC selection.

Searels left Georgia after the 2010 season to become the offensive line coach at Texas (2011-2013), before taking similar jobs at Virginia Tech (2014-2015), Miami (2016-2018) and North Carolina (2019-2021).

Last year at North Carolina, despite the departure of four NFL Draft picks, the Tar Heels posted 35.2 ppg (19th NCAA/3rd ACC) and 468.2 ypg (10th NCAA/3rd ACC), while leading the ACC (17th NCAA) in rushing yards with 2,763.

It marked the second consecutive season that UNC led the ACC in rushing yards. Searels and the offensive line have helped produce the most 1,000-yard rushers nationally over the last three seasons with five. The Tar Heels tied for seventh nationally with 80 plays of 20-plus yards, tied for fifth with 42 plays of 30-plus yards, and tied for 10th with 13 plays of 50-plus yards.

Carolina ranked fourth nationally with 107 runs of 10-plus yards and tied for first with 31 runs of 20-plus yards. Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan led the offensive line and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors.