![]() One that is looking more like vintage Alabama than Alabama does right now - physically imposing, stingy on defense and possessing a relentless attitude that's a reflection of its head coach. With Saban and the Crimson Tide sitting at two losses and outside the playoff, Smart appears to have built the sport's next budding dynasty. The Bulldogs went undefeated during this year's regular season, beat LSU by 20 points in the SEC championship game and advanced to play Ohio State in Saturday's College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta (8 p.m. Fifteen players were drafted off that team, including a record-setting five first-round picks on defense, and nothing changed. Fittingly, Georgia beat Alabama to win its first championship under Smart this past January. Smart took what he learned under Saban, put his personal spin on it and created a powerhouse underpinned by toughness, competition and top-shelf talent. He then looked down at his watch and said, "As a matter of fact, I'm ready to go right now." At his introductory news conference, Smart told reporters he wanted to use every minute he had toward recruiting. 7 class in the country - a culmination of an all-out effort that began the moment Smart took the job. Michail Carter, whom Smart visited days later, picked Georgia over Alabama, and the Bulldogs signed the No. Smart said he was giving himself only five hours before he moved on to the full-time job of turning Georgia into a playoff contender. Saban could have his so-called 24-hour rule, enjoying the championship for one day before flushing it and moving on. You have to win yourself and you have to get good players and we have to build a good program." "But at the end of the day," he said, "you have to build your own. In a word, it was everything.Īlthough it might have been stressful to pull double duty at Alabama, Smart said he thought winning a championship would help Georgia with national signing day rapidly approaching. He'd also take the secrets to evaluating and recruiting at the highest level. "He lives, sleeps and breathes football." "Nobody realizes how much mental effort, execution and ideas this guy puts into it," Smart said. Smart seemed in awe of his mentor, specifically a "hell of a call" to go for an onside kick with the game tied in the fourth quarter, but more broadly what it took to win four championships since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007. This was the end of 11 long years together. But a win's a win, and no one turns down a trophy. For two former defensive backs, allowing 40 points was a mortal sin. His boss, Alabama coach Nick Saban, had the same fundamental aversion to satisfaction. ![]() "It would have been perfect if we shut 'em out," Smart said. It wasn't a perfect ending, as one reporter suggested. He looked exhausted, happy and anxious all at once. A private plane would take him to Athens, Georgia, early the next morning. 11, 2016 - a 40-year-old getting ready to tackle his first head-coaching job, which happened to be at his alma mater. ![]() Smart's hair was still wet from a postgame shower when a group of reporters crowded around him after the 45-40 victory on Jan. And it wasn't a train, it was a jubilant Crimson Tide locker room in Arizona, having just beaten Clemson to win the national championship. But a promise was a promise, and he kept it, reminding himself during sleepless nights that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Staying on as Alabama's defensive coordinator for a month after becoming the head coach at Georgia was more stressful than Kirby Smart had imagined. How Kirby Smart built Georgia into another Alabama You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
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