Kirby Smart's drive to coach remains strong entering 2024 season

DALLAS — Kirby Smart opened SEC Media Days on Tuesday with a joke at the expense of recently retired Alabama coach Nick Saban. The Georgia head coach got into the event without any issue. It’s more than his mentor could say after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told reporters Saban was denied entry for not wearing his credential.

Light hearted in spirit, the joke certainly is telling of where the two are in their careers. Saban was sitting in the back of the room, ready to speak on the happenings of the day for SEC Network. He rests easy at night with his seven National Championship rings and 11 conference titles. Meanwhile, Smart was up front for reporters to barrage him with questions ahead of a big season for his Bulldog squad, seeking revenge for a missed opportunity last year and solidified status as a College Football dynasty with a third National Championship in four seasons.

There’s plenty of commonalities between the two championship winning coaches, and in many cases, its lessons Smart learned from Saban himself.

“The demand for excellence is met by none other than him (Saban). That standard that he set for me, day in and day out, he met himself,” Smart said. “Every coach that ever worked with him or for him will tell that you he does it all himself as well. He doesn’t hold you to any different standard than himself.”

“A lot of the success I’ve had I give credit to him and thanks,” he added. “I know he’ll being critiquing me today, so I am looking forward to that as well. But he has started responding to texts. I told people the other day, that’s the first time ever. Either somebody has his phone or he learned how to text. That makes all of us in his circle of friends proud because we get to reach out to him.”

Saban’s newfound free time to respond to texts comes with his exit from coaching. It can be hard to find time for others outside your program when work requires as much as it does to compete at the highest level of the sport, like Saban did for so long and like Smart has done already.

Asked if he has the same drive in 2024 as he did earlier on in his career, Smart was quick to say he thinks the hunger has actually grown for him. Despite being a head coach now for nine years, his passion for spending time with his players is as strong as its ever been.

“I never was chasing a championship. I hate to say it, and I know that’s disappointing for you to write. I don’t chase championships. That’s really not what drives me,” Smart said. “The hunger probably has grown in me from wanting to be with my team more. For dealing with all the things you deal with now, the portal, NIL, and all the things you don’t enjoy as a coach, my passion and energy for my players, being around these guys yesterday, being on the field with these guys, this team, every minute you get with them is that much more valuable. That’s what I enjoy. I love that.”

There’s no doubt its an exhausting job, both on and off the field. Dealing with as much as he does, Smart doesn’t ever really feel “disconnected” from the program. It’s a part of who he is every day.

“I don’t think that exists for any head coach truly. When you say disconnect, I’m constantly worried about a player making a mistake or somebody doing something off the field. What can we do to prevent it? You talk about sleepless nights, that gives me a lot more sleepless nights than who we’re signing or whether we win or lose a game. It’s the things that you can’t control,” Smart said. “I think you’ve got to do a really good job as a head coach of not losing too much sleep over things you can’t control, because if you do, it will wear you down. It’s not easy … All the other things you have to do outside of it is what exhausts you. It takes more of your time and energy away. So the passion of being with the players and this part of it, we’re getting ready to start, I love that part.”

Along the way, Smart has learned a lesson or two, and he tries to get better with it every season. He’s found different ways to get to know his team, to delegate responsibilities and keep Smart comfortable for years to come.

“We have people in charge of every area. If you want to call a general manager for us, it would be the football ops person for us is over tops for everything,” Smart said. “… So there’s a lot of things that are overseen by other people than me, but they report to me. I think me, starting in year 9, much more comfortable in delegating the offense, the defense, the special teams, the recruiting asset, the off-field, the on-field, all the duties that are out there, I’m in a much better place with oversight in terms of me feeling like it doesn’t have to be me making the decisions.”

“Just had a media member hit me with this and I wanted to share it. Seth Emerson, one of the national writers, just hit me a few minutes ago. We were talking about the nine years, and he had a great line from the Indiana Jones movie I watched growing up. My brother Carl always loved Indiana Jones. The great line was: It’s not the years, it’s the mileage. And I tell you, being an SEC head coach, that’s a true statement,” he added at the podium. “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage, and itt’s been a great nine-year run for us at Georgia.”

Georgia, the National Championship favorite according to Vegas oddsmakers and likely preseason top-ranked team, opens fall camp for its 2024 season in just over two weeks. The Bulldogs kickoff the season against ACC favorite Clemson in Atlanta on August 31st.