WATCH: Kirby Smart takes a ridiculous shot at Johnny Manziel during the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic

Kirby Smart took the stage at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic and decided to fire a random heat-seeking missile at Johnny Manziel. While breaking down a slide featuring Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, and Manziel, Smart asked the audience what they all had in common.

Someone shouted “Heisman.” Correct. Another person said “champion,” which led Smart to drop this:

Kirby Smart firing off the ZINGER at Johnny Manziel during the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic.

“He ain’t no champion. Champion of what? Champion of fireball!” pic.twitter.com/RntypzGmVW

— SEC Unfiltered (@SECUnfiltered) February 24, 2025

“Champion? He ain’t no champion. Champion of what? Champion of Fireball.”

Now Kirby, my guy, are we just erasing history now? Did the 2012 Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma not happen? Did Johnny Football not orchestrate a 21-point comeback to beat Duke in the 2013 Peach Bowl?

Not to mention, what kind of asshole says that at a Nike Coach of the Year Clinic? You think anyone in that room wanted you to make that statement about Johnny Football? I have serious doubts that would be the case.

Look, I get it. Georgia lives in a different universe these days, stacking national titles like they’re Chick-fil-A drive-thru points, but let’s not pretend Johnny Manziel wasn’t the most electric player in college football for two straight years.

Johnny Football: The Human Highlight Reel

Johnny Football: The Human Highlight Reel

Yes, Johnny’s post-Texas A&M career was a disaster. Yes, he’s spent the last decade reminiscing about his glory days on podcasts and Netflix documentaries. But let’s not act like this dude wasn’t a generational college talent.

Johnny Manziel defined College Football for 2 straight years

• The first freshman to ever win the Heisman.
• An absolute menace to Alabama, torching Saban’s defense in Tuscaloosa.
• The most electrifying player of the 2010s—a walking highlight reel with zero regard for defensive game plans.

Meanwhile, Kirby Smart was coaching Alabama’s defensive backs, probably watching Manziel run circles around his guys, wondering if it was too late to switch professions.

Kirby Smart Would Have Sold His Soul for a Johnny Manziel

Here’s the real truth:

If you handed Kirby Smart a truth serum and said, “One of your five-star recruits is going to get into the exact same trouble Johnny Manziel did in college—and nothing more,” he’d sign up before you finished the sentence.

Let’s not act like Johnny Manziel was that bad either. He partied a lot, was way ahead of his time in the NIL Department, and was the biggest “rockstar” that the world of College Football has ever witnessed.

But sure. Kirby Smart is out there cracking Fireball jokes and disrespecting greatness.

Put Some Respect on Johnny Football’s Name

Look, I get that Manziel’s NFL career was a trainwreck, but that has zero impact on his college legacy.

Kirby Smart can joke all he wants, but if Johnny had committed to Georgia, Smart would have two more national championships, and Georgia fans would have built him a bronze statue next to Herschel Walker’s.

If Johnny Manziel is just the “Champion of Fireball,” then congratulations to Fireball Whiskey for producing one of the most dominant college quarterbacks of all time.

Join The Chase