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Georgia

Kirby Smart shares how his wife helped prepare for national championship

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•01/07/22•

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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

Kirby Smart is prepared for just about everything that could come his way in Monday’s national championship game against Alabama. But there was one thing he didn’t account for.

The temperature in Indianapolis, the site of the College Football Playoff Championship, is well below freezing. With his focus mostly on the game, Smart prepared to pack himself a coat. Thankfully his wife, Mary Beth, had him covered.

“I just brought a sports coat, I didn’t even have a jacket,” Smart said in a Friday media availability. “Luckily my wife brought this jacket for me because she was prepared.”

Smart and Mary Beth are both former athletes for the Bulldogs. Smart played defensive back for the football team while Mary Beth was a sharpshooter for the Lady Bulldogs hoops team. The two met in 2005 when Smart was working as a defensive backs coach at LSU. He called Georgia’s athletic office to inquire about a job opening and spoke with Mary Beth, who was working there. The rest is history.

Fast forward more than 15 years later and Smart is in his sixth season as the head coach of Georgia football. He has the team in the national championship for the second time since he took over in 2016. To do so, he’ll have to get through Alabama, the same team that beat the Bulldogs in the 2017 championship.

Revenge is certainly a big narrative entering the contest, as the Crimson Tide also defeated Georgia in this year’s SEC Championship. Alabama made a statement in that victory, dropping 41 points and more than 500 yards of offense on the nation’s top-ranked defense.

It wasn’t just the defense that struggled, however. Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett also threw two interceptions in that game, including a costly pick six.

Georgia enters Monday’s contest as a slight underdog according to Vegas Insider. Given the results from earlier this year and Alabama’s recent dominance, this isn’t surprising. The Bulldogs also haven’t won a national title since 1980.

But the talent on their roster, especially defensively, is undeniable. And if there is anything Kirby Smart has going for him heading into the national championship game, it’s the support of Mary Beth.