Billy Napier reveals what Kirby Smart taught him as a coach

The Florida vs. Georgia game is always a big one on the college football calendar. But for Kirby Smart and Billy Napier, it has a little more meaning.

Smart and Napier worked together at Alabama from 2013-16 — Smart as defensive coordinator and Napier as wide receivers coach. Now, Napier is in his first year as the head coach at Florida and Smart is coming off winning a national championship at Georgia, and they’ll face off as opponents for the first time on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Those days at Alabama under Nick Saban had quite an impact on both coaches. But, according to Napier, he might not have gotten that experience without Smart’s influence.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“I wouldn’t have been at Alabama if it weren’t for Kirby,” Napier told reporters this week. “Our dads were high school coaches in Georgia, there was some familiarity there and certainly, his influence with Coach Saban. He had a lot to do with me being there. I’ll always be thankful for that.”

Although they were on different sides of the ball, Smart still taught Napier a few things. Even since Smart left for Georgia, Napier took notice of what he was building. He pointed to Smart’s ability to look at the big picture after the season, which is part of the recipe for a championship.

“Kirby’s a heck of a football coach, man,” Smart said. “I think about what he’s done at Georgia, going back and kind of evaluating each year. Year seven, what was year one, two, three, four, five for him like?

“He’s done a fantastic job. I told him that the first time I saw him at the SEC coaches’ meeting. He’d just won the national championship. It’s pretty well-documented all that goes into that, right? He’s a competitor and certainly a ton of respect.”

Billy Napier on lessons learned from Kirby Smart: ‘There’s no shortcuts’

As Napier continues to build Florida back up, he’s pulling from lessons he learned from Smart and Saban at Alabama. After all, it took Smart six years to win a national championship — the first for Georgia in 40 years.

That’s why Napier continues to preach patience in Gainesville.

“There’s no shortcuts,” Napier said. “The same things I’ve said about where we’re at, what we need to do. It gives you good perspective about what’s required. It doesn’t happen overnight.

“I think the key here is it’s one day at a time. … Don’t get discouraged by continuing to make good choices and decisions and create good habits and systems in-house. Keep going about it the right way, make sure you’re sound in what you’re doing. One thing at a time, one person at a time. Ultimately, that’s what we’re doing.”