Kirby Smart has played arguably the most important role in building one of college football’s strongest powerhouses at the helm of the Georgia Bulldogs since he was named the team’s head coach in 2015.
A lot has gone into Smart’s success, and much of that comes from former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Smart and Saban have spent time together on more than just one team, too.
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After serving as an administrative assistant at Georgia (1999), the defensive backs coach (2000) and the defensive coordinator (2001) at Valdosta State and a graduate assistant at Florida State (2002-2003), Smart spent one year as the defensive backs coach at LSU under Saban, before returning to Georgia in 2005 as the running backs coach for the Bulldogs.
Then, he rejoined Saban in the only NFL coaching stint of Smart’s career to date as the safeties coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2006. He and Saban met once more in the college ranks after Smart headed to Alabama, where he served as the assistant head coach and the defensive backs coach for the Crimson Tide in 2007.
Smart was promoted the following year to defensive coordinator, and he held that position through 2015 before taking the job he now holds so well in Athens.
Kirby Smart Speaks On One Of The Biggest Lessons He Learned From Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
There are plenty of memories and recollections of things he learned from Saban that Smart has shared in the past. But the one the Georgia coach spoke of at SEC Media Days did not have anything to do with a playbook or on-the-field philosophy, per se.
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âI look at things through facts, and I look at things through my own two eyes,â Smart said of being under Saban. âI was blessed to work for the greatest college football coach in the history of all of college football, and I donât even think itâs arguable. I donât think you can even debate it.”
One of the most controversial things about Smart as of late is the way he has stuck beside offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who some Georgia fans have called to be gone sooner rather than later. But, if anything, Smart is doubling down.
Kirby Smart Stands Behind Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo
And he strongly substantiated his reasoning in the rest of his statement.
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“I learned from him (Saban) that you evaluate things from inside out, and I do think that football intuition is one of my strengths, and knowing that, I know we got the right offensive coordinator,” Smart said.
“What you guys want to write about is completely up to you because I look at the production heâs had, the success heâs had, the team success where he doesnât worry about stats, he worries about winning football games, and the way he coaches our players day-to-day is unmatched in this country.â
In an upcoming 2026 season in which the Bulldogs look to bounce back after falling short of a national title game appearance in the College Football Playoff, the expectations and standard Bobo, Smart and the rest of the coaching staff are held to will remain as high as they’ve ever been.
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