The rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators is a tale as old as time and a matchup as filled with hate as possible, even though the Dawgs have completely dominated in recent memory.
Since taking over at Georgia, Smart has seen the coming and going of quite a few Florida head coaches, most recently witnessing the departure of Billy Napier and the entrance of Jon Sumrall.
Despite Florida's struggles to find wins or consistency at the HC position, Georgia never holds back its disdain for the Gators, and that's also true for the Bulldogs' head coach, Kirby Smart, even when it's uncalled for.
Kirby Smart doesn't cut Jon Sumrall any slack
When making a speech at the Ole Ball Coach Award presentation, Smart felt the need to drag Sumrall under the bus, despite Florida's new head coach having yet to step onto the field as the Gators' leader.
"You outta spend some time with Steve Spurrier because he won more conference championships at Duke than you have at Miami," Smart said, roasting the Hurricanes' head coach, Mario Cristobal. Then, as the entire crowd laughed, Smart turned and laid his focus on Sumrall.
"I don't know why you're over here laughing too, now, Coach Sumrall," Smart said.
Where was this at? It’s like a giant coaches roast party. I’m here for it
— Hoosier Doodle (@dough_bria57083) February 24, 2026
Sumrall has yet to coach a single game with the Gators, and just came off a two-year stint with the Tulane Green Wave, where he won two conference titles and led the team to a berth in the 2025 College Football Playoff (something Smart did not do with the Bulldogs last season).
Before that, he spent two years at Troy, where he also won two conference titles. In other words, Sumrall isn't a stranger to winning, and Smart's joke was uncalled for, even for a Georgia Bulldog.
To put it simply, Florida fans heard and saw Smart's need to roast the Gators and their new head coach, despite having yet to go toe-to-toe with Sumrall at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The Gators are not going to let this one go easily.
This season, the Gators and the Bulldogs are scheduled to play on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Florida has the perfect opportunity to show the Georgia head coach that he poked fun at the wrong guy.