"I didn't know Kirby had that": When Pat McAfee was left stunned by Georgia HC's pregame speech to Bulldogs

ESPN host Pat McAfee is known for his ability to fire up the crowd at events or during his show, but Georgia coach Kirby Smart might be even better. If there was one time McAfee got fired up and ready to get back on the field, it may have been after listening to Smart's 2021 pregame speech.

After the Georgia Bulldogs’ 65-7 demolition of the TCU Horned Frogs in January 2023, McAfee was on his “The Pat McAfee Show” and reacted to Kirby Smart's leaked audio talking to the team.

“How could you not want to run through a wall there?” McAfee said (2:50). “I didn’t know Kirby had that. I think a lot of us didn’t think Kirby had that. I saw a video on (College) GameDay that they ran for a preview, and Kirby was standing up on, like, a locker, talking to the team before the game or something.

“He said, ‘They now got to see us for real’ or something like that, and I’m like, ‘Kirby's a dawg, you know?”

At the time, it was believed the monologue came before the College Football Playoff championship game. However, the coach eventually cleared the air and said the speech was made before an undisclosed previous game. While the oration had some NSFW language, it got Pat McAfee and fellow analyst A.J. Hawk fired up and ready to play a football game.

“You go out there with energy and enthusiasm,” Smart said in the leaked audio. “Ain’t nobody in this room should be cautious. Ain’t nobody in this room should be nervous about sh*t. Go out here and f*ck their a*s up! Don’t think about scoreboard. Don’t think about sh*t. You think about knocking the sh*t out of them.

“Punish their a*s on offense, and kick their a*s on special teams, guys. It’s about who the f*ck we are. I believe in you.”

Beyond the pregame speeches, Smart has turned the Bulldogs into a yearly national title contender, winning back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022, and back into the CFP this season.

Paul Finebaum is not concerned about Kirby Smart

Kirby Smart has won two national titles, but after a slightly less successful couple of years, some have questioned whether he could be in the hot seat in Georgia. However, one SEC Network analyst is not among them.

In his appearance on the “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” podcast, Paul Finebaum believes Smart would be safe for now, but any other early playoff exit could generate trouble down the road.

“I’m not alarmed by Georgia,” Finebaum said. “But I think a year from now, if they don’t do anything in the playoff next year, the questions will start being raised.”

Kirby Smart and Georgia will again have to go through multiple roster changes, including replacing quarterback Carson Beck and running back Trevor Ettienne, two of the most important players on the Bulldogs’ attack.

Georgia will open the season on Aug. 30 against the Marshall Thundering Herd.