Rece Davis shares story of Kirby Smart maintaining anger after Alabama national championship loss
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day had a viral moment this weekend following the Buckeyes last-second win over Notre Dame, cutting his emotions loose in a post-game interview following criticism regarding the toughness of his team.
This sparked a conversation about the emotions and psychology that go into coaching on the ‘The College GameDay Podcast‘ between Rece Davis, Pete Thamel, and Ryan McGee, which Davis ended with an anecdote about Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
“In the national championship game for the 2017 season when Tua [Tagovailoa] hit DeVonta Smith and Alabama won it on the walk-off, in the aftermath I was doing various hits and Kirby Smart had given his news conference, and then Kirby stopped by and we talked,” Davis said. “And then when that was over we talked briefly and he was handling it like the consummate pro and gentleman that he is.”
“Obviously disappointed, obviously crestfallen at being that close to a championship and having it get away and he’s handling everything just as you’d expect from a coach of his caliber. Showing the disappointment but controlling the emotions.”
Losing a national championship game on the final play of the game in overtime can’t be a good feeling and one that warrants anger, frustration, and even sadness. All emotions that Smart chose not to show publicly and outwardly to the media in the aftermath of the loss.
“We finish our chat, he walks out of the room where we were, and there’s this big metal locker as he walked out of the room and there was kind of no one else around except me, my camera man, Kirby, and whoever was walking with Kirby,” Davis said. “And just before he exited the door to head back to the locker room, he turns and punches that metal locker. Gives it a big shot as if he has maintained, held it, held it, held it, knows when he takes a step outside that door he’s gotta hold it again and be the leader.”
Smart is known for holding his composure, always keeping things cool, calm, and collected for the most part throughout his career. Making Davis’ story about his private moment of anger even more intriguing.
“But that little moment, boom, hits the locker and gives it a good shot. Completely understandable, nothing wrong with it, absolutely human, but maintained the composure both before and after sort of like the consummate pro that he is,” Davis said. “Not that the other guys aren’t, I don’t say that to cast dispersions at the way anybody handled it this weekend. Just to amplify your point about the psychology and the emotions that go into all of this with all these guys.”
Every coach has a different style regarding how they psychologically process wins and losses and show emotion after them, but there’s no denying that Smart’s method has worked well for him as his Bulldogs are ranked the No. 1 team in the nation with their eyes on a third straight national championship.