Kirby Smart has long had a healthy respect for Buster Faulkner.

The Georgia Tech program certainly does as well, as Faulkner received a contract extension and raise per Chad Bishop of the AJC. The latter bumps his salary from $1,050,000 to $1,500,000 for this upcoming season.

Before becoming Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator prior to the 2023 season, Faulkner worked as an analyst at Georgia for three seasons. Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was very complimentary of how much Faulkner helped him grow as a quarterback.

Smart too has spoken very highly of the former Georgia analyst.

“Buster was incredible in terms of insight, ideas, work habits, recruiting,” Smart said of Faulkner before last year’s game against Georgia Tech. “He recruited really hard while he was here. He was very loyal. He didn’t try to overstep his boundaries, which when you’re in that role, sometimes as an analyst, which he was here, you have to be careful. You’re trying to assert yourself and prove that you’re a good coach, but you don’t want to overstep the other coaches. And his rules while he was here was to coach the coaches and help us. He did a tremendous job of that. He made me a better coach, and he’s also a great father and husband as well.”

Todd Monken was the offensive coordinator for the entirety of Faulkner’s time in Athens. When he left to become the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens following the 2022 season, Faulkner had already taken the Georgia Tech job.

In Monken’s place, Smart promoted another analyst from his offensive staff in Mike Bobo. He, like Faulkner, worked as an analyst on Georgia’s 2022 coaching staff.

Bobo has been the offensive coordinator for Georgia in each of the past two seasons. Bobo will make $1.503 million this season to be Georgia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Faulkner called perhaps his finest game against Georgia last season when the Yellow Jackets rolled up 563 yards of total offense. It was the most yards ever given up by a Smart coached team.

Georgia still found a way to beat Georgia Tech last season, squeezing out a 44-42 win in eight overtimes. But Faulkner and the Georgia Tech offense showed they’re plenty capable of making things difficult for Georgia.

Much was made this offseason of Smart electing to keep Bobo as the team’s offensive coordinator. The offense underperformed a season ago as it regressed even with second-year starting quarterback Carson Beck.

Smart elected to point to the importance of continuity as to why no staff changes were made. Now Bobo will get to work with a new starting quarterback, most likely Gunner Stockton at this point in time.

“I‘ve got a lot of confidence in this organization, the foundation we’ve built,” Smart said in March. “I’ve got the best staff in the country, and I have no doubt about that. I’ve got one of the most experienced SEC staffs there is, and to be honest with you, there’s a lot of confidence in that, and I have a lot of confidence in it.”

Faulkner, meanwhile, gets another year with Haynes King, who played a major role in shredding the Georgia defense last season. King battled injuries a season ago, but when healthy, he’s one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the sport.

For all the comparisons between Faulkner and Bobo, Georgia’s offense still ranked ahead in scoring offense, as the Bulldogs averaged 31.5 compared to Georgia Tech’s 28.5. And that is with Georgia playing an SEC schedule as opposed to the Yellow Jackets’ ACC slate. In two games against ACC foes, Georgia averaged 39 points per game last season.

Faulkner is undoubtedly a more popular name in the state at this point in time. That he previously worked on staff at Georgia has only fueled the desire but some in the fan base to see Faulkner receive Bobo’s job.

But the new contract extension, the largest ever for a Georgia Tech assistant coach, ensures that Faulkner will continue to be a problem for Georgia.

Regardless of how the offense develops with Bobo in 2025.