Georgia has made a staff move, with the Bulldogs promoting Andrew Thacker as the team’s nickel coach. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports was the first to report the news.
Thacker’s X, formerly Twitter, bio notes that he is Georgia’s “Nickel/Stars coach.”
Thacker joined the Georgia program last year, serving as an analyst. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Georgia Tech. Thacker is from the state of Georgia, as he was born in Cartersville, and played collegiately at Furman.
Georgia has made no formal announcement on the hire, but coach Kirby Smart did speak glowingly of Thacker in November.
“Yeah, he does a great job. He’s got a lot of energy, enthusiasm,” Smart said before the team’s game against Georgia Tech. “Defensively, he’s been great for our defense in terms of energy, excitement. Players really like him. He does a great job of knowing his role, of defining his role, and being very helpful, and he’s been a big asset for us.”
Georgia already has 10 on-field coaches, and Thacker is expected to remain an off-field coach. Georgia had Travaris Robinson work as the team’s safeties/co-defensive coordinator last season and Donte Williams work as the team’s cornerbacks coach. Both were hired following the 2023 season.
While serving in an off-field role, Thacker cannot recruit on the road. But because of changes from the NCAA before the 2024 season, he can work with players in a hands-on way during practice.
Smart also works with Georgia’s defensive backs during practice, taking a very hands-on approach. Georgia also had former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp working as an analyst last season with the Bulldogs.
Joenel Aguero and Malaki Starks both primarily played the star role in Georgia’s defense last season. Starks is off to the NFL, while Aguero will be back with the team in 2025.
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