ESPN's Peter Burns calls for Kirby Smart to fix off-the-field issues

ESPN’s Peter Burns called for Kirby Smart to fix Georgia’s off-the-field issues while the team is at the peak of college football.

Speaking on SEC This Morning, the host said Smart has the ability to “nip it in the bud” and make sure his team’s act is cleaned up moving forward. 

“With great power comes great responsibility right,” Burns said. “If Kirby Smart has already shown on the field, you win back to back national championships in a college football playoff, you have everything rolling and nobody’s having a better time doing it. You got Mike Bobo there right, that’s his boy. Will Muschamp’s there.

“You went to school there, like there’s no better time to be on top of the mountain top than when Kirby Smart is that right now. That’s why I think it’s imperative that he nip it in the bud about everything that is or is not going on off the field.”

Burns called for a zero-tolerance policy moving forward. If Smart enacts that, he won’t be affected with his team’s on-field performance due to previous success.

Essentially the argument is Smart is a powerful enough coach to lay down the law, back it up with success, and do what’s best and right for the program and the team by following the letter of the law.

“Especially with the speeding of the driving, like now there should be a zero tolerance policy,” Burns said. “I don’t care if it’s a mile over the speed limit, I don’t care if it’s a parking ticket, I don’t care if you look at a yellow light different, playing football at the University of Georgia or the SEC is not a right, it’s an absolute privilege. And there are 5000 players that would crush to go out  and play for Georgia.”

This is the only issue hanging over Georgia at the moment because most won’t question the quality of the program in terms of skill level and success.

“And so if there is one issue that’s not Kirby doing enough at some point to me. It doesn’t matter what your name is. If you run afoul of it on this driving stuff anymore, you should be dismissed from the team. I’m dead serious because at that point, you are putting your foot down, going this is an absolute privilege to play football for (us). He is on a rare occasion where he’s one of the coaches that could do that.”