Nick Saban dishes on his 'long-term' relationship with Georgia's Kirby Smart

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is getting ready to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game. On the other sideline will be a coach he knows well in Kirby Smart.

During his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban opened up about his relationship with Smart, praising the job that he’s done at Georgia in the process.

“Well, it’s great — I think,” Nick Saban said. “We don’t do much talking during the season. I don’t spend much time on the phone during the season. I don’t think he does either, besides recruiting. But I think there’s a tremendous admiration and respect.”

Kirby Smart first coached under Nick Saban at LSU in 2004. He later spent a season with the Miami Dolphins under Saban before following him to Alabama. From 2008 to 2015, he was the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator.

“I mean, Kirby worked with us for what, 10, 11 years, and came up through the ranks as a really good assistant coach to become a coordinator to getting a head coaching job. In each one of those venues of his responsibility, he did an outstanding job. I mean, he did a great job when he was here. You’ve got a guy with you for that long, your wife’s in the hospital with his wife when she’s having kids. I mean, it’s a long-term relationship that you’ve got to play against each other,” Saban said.

“He’s a great competitor. I respect that and we have a tremendous admiration and respect for each other, and I truly like Kirby and I really appreciate what he did to help our program be successful for so many years and certainly respect what he’s been able to accomplish as the head coach at Georgia. I mean, winning 29 games in a row, that is unbelievable. I mean, really.”

29 straight wins is a new SEC record, breaking the 28 games that two separate Alabama teams previously held. However, Nick Saban hasn’t been able to touch that mark.

“We won 19 games in a row twice here, and that was really, really hard to keep your players doing the things they need to do. To not allow any complacency and all those things to creep into their preparation and how they go about their work. He’s done a phenomenal job. Friendship is great but respect professionally is even greater.”

Nick Saban credits growth, impact of Jalen Milroe ahead of SEC Championship

Nick Saban has seen a ton of growth in starting quarterback Jalen Milroe who helped Alabama to get to this point in the season.

“Well, I hate to use the term that he was ever benched. I think it was an opportunity to see what other players could do. He responded the right way and worked on trying to become a better player at his position to be able to distribute the ball to the players so they could make plays,” Saban said.

“I think that he just had to make plays. He’s a great ad-lib guy when it comes to the play breaking down. He is a great athlete, he is fast, he is physical. But he has got a great instinct for that. That’s what makes him most dangerous.”