Todd Monken's departure, Mike Bobo ascension is the biggest possible test to Kirby Smart's budding dynasty

Barring an unforeseen, all-out collapse, there was one thing that could potentially derail Georgia's budding dynasty. That one thing has now happened.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken has taken the same job with the Baltimore Ravens, the club announced Tuesday.

Monken ran Georgia's offense for three seasons, two of which ended in national championships. Having inherited a unit that rated 46th nationally in yards per play, Monken provided immediate improvement in the covid season of 2020, nudging the Bulldogs to 34th. In 2021, the offense became legitimately explosive, shooting to fourth in the nation at 6.98 yards per play, fourth in passing efficiency (168.57), 14th in yards per carry (5.26), seventh in 20-plus yard gains (80) and scoring (38.6 points per game). Georgia was even better this past season, improving to 41.1 points per game on 7.17 yards per play, both of which were fourth nationally.

Georgia's 2022 squad set school records for points, touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, passing attempts, completions and touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per game, yards per play, first downs, yards, and plays. Much of that can be attributed to the fact that Georgia played 15 games, but the common denominator is that Monken is the best offensive coordinator in school history.

Or, was the best offensive coordinator in school history.

Kirby Smart reportedly has has replacement in-house, activating a plan that has undoubtedly been in place for a while now. The program announced within minutes of Monken's departure that Mike Bobo is now the Bulldogs' OC. 

A former Georgia teammate of Smart's, Bobo is a former Bulldog quarterback who spent all but one season from 1999-2014 coaching for his alma mater. He returned to Athens as part of Mark Richt's original staff in 2001 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2007, remaining until 2014. When he left to become Colorado State's head coach in 2015, Georgia fans were... not sad to see him go.

Georgia's yards per play ranks from 2009-14:

2009: 34th
2010: 24th
2011: 56th
2012: 1st
2013: 13th
2014: 7th

Fair or not, Bobo had become tied to Richt as living examples of how Georgia, while good, would not become a great program under the leadership team in place at the time.

Those fans observers were ultimately proven correct. Georgia grew from a good-not-great program under Richt into the standard bearer and reining 2-time national champion under Smart.

Bobo will undoubtedly pick up exactly where Monken left off, in terms of scheme. He spent 2022 as an offensive analyst, no doubt at Monken's side preparing for this exact moment. 

Smart could have taken the job to market and hired the cream-of-the-crop among available and aspiring offensive coordinators at the NFL and college levels. He chose not to do that.

Will that prove to be the right choice? Well, Smart just bet his dynasty on it.