“Let’s help this Georgia boy”: $50M worth Kirby Smart makes a heartfelt request for 'American Idol' contestant

After a rollercoaster 2024 campaign, Georgia coach Kirby Smart presided over a frantic offseason, as the Bulldogs have been active in the transfer portal as they attempt to bolster their roster ahead of next season. On Monday, Smart took the time to root for Georgia native Slater Nalley, a musician who has dazzled audiences with his singing ability on "American Idol."

Smart, who has a net worth of $50 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), tweeted his support for Nalley while asking fans of his program to vote for him to make the top three.

"Dawg Nation, let’s help this Georgia boy out! Vote for Slater! #GoDawgs," Smart wrote.

Nalley sang "You've got a friend in me" from the "Toy Story" movie and "Born to be wild" from the "D3" movie. However, despite Smart's intervention, Slater did not receive the required number of votes and was eliminated before the finals.

Kirby Smart continues busy off-season schedule

With the evolving landscape of college football, the coaches' load has gotten heavier in the NIL era, and most elite football programs, including Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels, are hiring NFL-style general managers to share in the tasks.

Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has avoided taking the GM path, and he reiterated during a press conference after the spring game that he would continue to shoulder the workload of a coach. In a clip posted on X, college football analyst David Pollock hailed Smart's hands-on approach to coaching, which encompasses all the duties of a manager.

"There's not a coach in America that's more hands-on," Pollack said in March. "There might be some that are close. Kirby is in special teams meetings, answering questions. I'm not lying. He's in special teams meetings in the front row or close to it, and he's dialed in, listening. Because it's important to him, and when it's important to you, it's important to your players.

"I think he's one of those guys who has a pulse on every single thing, offense, defense, special teams. He's sitting on the sidelines with a headset, and he's talking and he knows formations. If somebody is supposed to be on, supposed to be off, he's yelling at them. That's not normal."

Since he took over the Bulldogs, Smart, who hails from the Nick Saban coaching tree, has continued to embrace the old-school, hands-on approach that was favored by his mentor, who revealed that one of the reasons for his retirement was the scope of the NIL era in college football.