Why Kirby Smart replaced Stacy Searels with Phil Rauscher as Georgia OL coach

ATHENS — Georgia won a national championship with Stacy Searels as the team’s offensive line coach. He turned multiple offensive linemen into NFL draft picks, with Monroe Freeling likely to be a first-rounder in next month’s NFL draft.

The offensive line, despite battling injury after injury last season, had a bounceback year. The Bulldogs went from 15th to fourth in the SEC in rushing offense while giving up five fewer sacks.

Coming off a successful season, Georgia still felt the need to make a change as the team’s offensive line coach. In January, Kirby Smart promoted Phil Rauscher to fill the role, moving Searels into an analyst role.

“He’s a different type of coach compared to coach Searels,” Freeling said. “Coach Searels is super old school. He’s got a lot of modern techniques, he has a lot to his game, a young mind. He’s given us a lot of new drills for us to run, like moving in space. Having his young energy in the O-line kind of helped us grow as a unit and rush for 190 a game last year.”

Rauscher was with the Georgia program last year, serving as an analyst focused on the offensive line. It was his first time working with a college program since 2014, when he was the offensive coordinator at Cal Lutheran.

Most of Rauscher’s coaching career has been spent in the NFL. He worked his way up the coaching ranks, first with the Denver Broncos before bouncing to the Washington Commanders. He was hired by the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, and in 2021 became the team’s offensive line coach. He then spent three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, serving as the offensive line coach for all three. In 2024, he added the title of run game coordinator.

His schematic background shows up in his coaching, particularly in his approach to understanding the offense beyond just blocking the mammoth defensive lineman in front of you.

“Coach Phil, he’s introducing a little bit more, you know, schematic things, stuff like running back angles and tracks and safety rotation and stuff like that,” offensive tackle Earnest Greene said. “Stuff you’ll be expected to know at the next level. So just giving us a little early introduction to that right now, I feel like it’s definitely helping us a lot in the run game and declarations and stuff like that.”

Rauscher will get the chance to put an immediate imprint on Georgia’s offensive line, as the Bulldogs have to replace Freeling and Micah Morris.

Greene is moving back to the left side of the offensive line, where he admits he feels more naturally comfortable. That creates an opening at right tackle, where Jah Jackson has emerged as an early name to watch.

At guard, Georgia feels very good about rising sophomore Dontrell Glover. He started 11 games for the Bulldogs last year, becoming the first true freshman to start double-digit games on the offensive line since Andrew Thomas did so in 2017.

Smart acknowledges there’s no position where coaching is more important than the offensive line. It’s often a position where it takes players years to get up to speed. Morris didn’t become a starter for Georgia until his fourth year in Athens.

That Rauscher had such a hand in getting Glover up to speed only further impressed Smart. He said he believes Rauscher can further mold a college offensive line, even if he’s never done it at an SEC level before.

“Guys do not come in here ready to play, so we need a lot of guys to help with those units to get them better,” Smart said. “And I know Phil will do that. He’s got great experience in the National Football League. He’s got a lot of good ideas for us offensively, especially in the run game. And he’s been a joy to work with, so I’m excited about that.”

Searels will still be around the program, even if he’s taking on a lesser role. Much to the chagrin of vocal Georgia fans who remember Searels’ first stint in Athens, Smart still has a ton of respect for what Searels brings to the program.

But the Georgia coach recognized the value of the new ideas Rauscher brought to the table. He wasn’t alone in that aspect, as the Las Vegas Raiders made a push to try to hire Rauscher this offseason. He ultimately elected to remain in Athens, wanting to build off the foundation he laid last year as an analyst.

Rauscher’s NFL background, combined with his fresh ideas for the running game, helped Georgia during his first year in the program. Now with a larger role for 2026, there’s a belief that Georgia’s offensive line can get even better and reach a new ceiling.