Kirby Smart reveals how it personally felt to bring a national championship to Georgia

Kirby Smart helped Georgia reach the summit last season with a win in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Bulldogs went 14-1 to win their first title since 1980. After five seasons being the head man in Athens, he got the job done in 2021.

In an appearance on the ‘Crain & Company‘ podcast, Smart says the win wasn’t about him, though. He says while he felt the gratification, the win was for all those who also put everything they had into his program.

“It was gratifying because you do it for all the others. You do it for the families of the staff, you do it for everybody in the organization,” said Smart. “It was self gratifying for myself because we had never won one when I was here. It was something that we always wanted to achieve and we want to go achieve it again.”

Smart achieved the ultimate goal after multiple years coaching as an assistant at multiple spots. Achieving a goal like that, though, can sometimes leave people complacent. That’s not the case for Smart and the Bulldogs. He knows everyone in his program is ready to make a run for a second straight title.

“For me, it was what you do your job for. You do it really hard, you try to be the best at what you do, and we were able to accomplish that last year but the minute it’s over as a coach and a competitor, there’s no competitor that’s not thinking about the next at bat,” Smart said. “The next shot you get and how you can do it better. That’s what we’ve done here. Our staff has turned the page and we’re trying to bet better for the next one.”

Kirby Smart doesn’t want to wait another 41 seasons inbetween titles. He and his team want to be back with an opportunity in the College Football Playoff in 2022. With plenty of veterans returning from the title team and those supporters still behind them, they’ll have as good a chance as anyone to be in Los Angeles at the end of the season.