ATHENS \u2014 Georgia won a national championship with Stacy Searels as the team\u2019s offensive line coach. He turned multiple offensive linemen into NFL draft picks, with Monroe Freeling likely to be a first-rounder in next year\u2019s NFL draft. <\/p>\n
The offensive line, despite battling injury after injury last season, had a bounceback season. The Bulldogs went from 15th to 4th in the SEC in rushing offense while giving up 5 fewer sacks. <\/p>\n
Coming off a successful season, Georgia still felt the need to make a change as the team\u2019s offensive line coach. In January, Kirby Smart promoted Phil Rauscher<\/a> to be the team\u2019s offensive line coach, moving Searels into an analyst role.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a different type of coach compared to coach Searels,\u201d Freeling said of Rauscher. \u201cCoach Searels is super old school, kind of a hard ass. He\u2019s got a lot of modern techniques, he has a lot to his game. A young mind. He\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Most of Rauscher\u2019s 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\u2019s offensive line coach. He then went to the Jacksonville Jaguars for three seasons, working as the offensive line coach for all three. In 2024, he added the title of run game coordinator. <\/p>\n His schematic background shows up in his coaching, specifically when it comes to understanding the offense beyond blocking the mammoth defensive lineman in front of you. <\/p>\n \u201cCoach Phil, he\u2019s introducing a little bit more, you know, schematic things, stuff like running back angles and tracks and safety rotation and stuff like that,\u201d offensive tackle Earnest Greene said of Rauscher. \u201cStuff you\u2019ll be expected to know at the next level. So just giving us a little early introduction to that right now, I feel like it\u2019s definitely helping us a lot in the run game and declarations and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Rauscher will get the chance to put an immediate imprint on Georgia\u2019s offensive line in 2026, as the Bulldogs have to replace Freeling and Micah Morris. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Smart acknowledges there\u2019s no position where coaching is more important than the offensive line. It\u2019s often a position where it takes players years to get up to speed. Morris didn\u2019t become a starter for Georgia until his fourth year in Athens. <\/p>\n That Rauscher had such a hand in getting Glover up to speed <\/a>only further impressed Smart. He believes Rauscher can further mold a college offensive line, even if he\u2019s never done it at an SEC level before. <\/p>\n \u201cGuys do not come in here ready to play, so we need a lot of guys to help with those units to get them better,\u201d Smart said. \u201cAnd I know Phil will do that. He\u2019s got great experience in the National Football League. He\u2019s got a lot of good ideas for us offensively, especially in the run game. And he\u2019s been a joy to work with, so I\u2019m excited about that.\u201d <\/p>\n Searels will still be around the program, even if he\u2019s taking on a lesser role. Much to the chagrin of vocal Georgia fans who remember Searels\u2019 first stint in Athens,<\/a> Smart still has a ton of respect for what Searels brings to the program. <\/p>\n