ATHENS — In about the same amount of time it took for Georgia coach Kirby Smart to act the part of jumping, screaming, fist-pumping teenager in the aftermath of the Bulldogs’ exhilarating 54-48, double-overtime win over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl (which lasted all of about two minutes) he was back to his stoic self on Tuesday afternoon.
But, he had plenty of insight for reporters on a teleconference call in the first media interaction in the lead up to Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Smart and the Bulldogs are preparing for the program's first National Championship game since 1982 against big, bad, perennial title winner Alabama. Georgia has not won a title since Herschel Walker led them to the crown in 1980 with a 17-10 victory over Notre Dame. By contrast, the Tide are looking for their fifth title in the last nine seasons.
The storylines are plentiful:
- There is the master vs. the pupil angle. Smart is a long-time former assistant at Alabama (9 years) under Nick Saban. However, Saban is a perfect 11-0 against his understudies over the years.
- It is the first time since the creation of the CFP four years ago that two teams from the same conference will play for the title. Was it any wonder both came from the Southeastern Conference?
- Georgia is the first team to play for a national title in its home state since LSU in 2011 (Superdome in New Orleans). The Tigers lost to, you guessed it, Alabama in the BCS title game.
- Jake Fromm, the fabulous freshman quarterback for Georgia that has helped lead the Bulldogs to this point, was a former Alabama-commit until Smart was named the Georgia coach. Fromm flipped to Georgia not long before signing day.
Smart offered up some interesting observations in his nearly 34 minutes with reporters, several in regards to Saban and his time in Tuscaloosa.
QUESTION: Is it difficult to maintain friendships in the cutthroat world of college football? (Many of the reporters probably were expecting some negativity surrounding Saban.)
SMART: I think that me personally, the way I was raised and been around coaching is we take care of each other. We take care of each other's kids. We hire them. Coach Saban has hired probably 15 to 20 different coaches' kids that have either worked for him or he knew, and I'm the same way now that I get my opportunity.
The cutthroat part is more for media attention. Maybe you feel that way in recruiting or you feel that way to beat somebody. Yeah, you want to win the game for your players and your program, but I mean, it's not personal for me and their staff. I have a lot of friends on their staff. I respect their staff. It's not really cutthroat to me.
The competitive nature is to go win, but outside of that, they're good people.
Q: What do you recall from when you first went to work for Nick Saban and got that job all those years ago? Do you remember what was going through your mind at the time and how badly you wanted that job?
SMART: I really don't remember much about that...whatever year it was I went to LSU, '04 maybe. I just remember the interview in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, and Coach Muschamp, a good friend of mine, Will, connected us, and we met in the airport and visited. I had a lot of respect for the program that Nick had put together at LSU. I remember wanting the job, but I wanted the job because I was a GA (graduate assistant). I didn't want the job because it was Nick Saban. I wanted the job because I didn't have a job, and it was my first career SEC job, so it was a great opportunity for me.
Q: Is there something about working on a staff under Coach Saban that is different than other coaching jobs in college football?
SMART: I don't know that there is. I've been on a couple other staffs. I've been on an FSU staff, a UGA staff, an Ohio State staff, and I think all staffs got great continuity, at least the ones that won. Winning makes you happier. I've been on some really pleasant staffs because I've been very fortunate to coach at places that have a chance to win. But I wouldn't say it was any different than those staffs I've been on.
Q: Does having coached with Nick Saban for as many years as you did give you any advantages as far as knowing his tendencies and how he prepares for games?
SMART: I don't know that it's an advantage. You know, his tendencies and his strengths are recruiting really good players that are really big and really fast, and then you have to block them, or you have to be able to run the ball against them, or you have to be able to defend the wide-outs and the corner -- it comes down to a lot more than his tendencies because his tendencies are very similar to a lot of good coaches: Smart, good decisions, protect the ball, play great defense, kick your butt on special teams. There's not a lot of tendencies that he has that are just going to be ground-breaking to allow us a benefit. The bottom line is our players have to go out and we've got to play a really good football game to stay with these guys.
Smart also addressed the ramifications of his team coming off such an emotional rollercoaster ride that was the semifinals. But, he was also asked about his own “emotional tank” as they steamroll toward Monday.
SMART: Oh, I'm good. I was ready to get out of (Los Angeles) as soon as the game was over. I was running across the field as fast as I could to shake his hand so I could leave. I was ready to get back. Emotionally I'm excited about the opportunity. You can coach a long time and not get opportunities like this, and I've been blessed to be part of games of this magnitude before; obviously never as a head coach, but I know that every minute and every second counts, and that's what's important to me, and I want to make sure these players understand that, because a lot of them don't. They don't understand that 20 minutes with the media, 45 minutes waiting on a bus or two hours waiting in traffic, those all add up and what's important to me is to lead these young men in the right direction so they have the best opportunity at success as they can have.
