Kirby Smart reflects on what he's enjoyed most about back-to-back championships
Kirby Smart is no stranger to championships and the culture that comes with them. He was a part of four during his time as a defensive coordinator at Alabama and since coming to Athens to be the head coach at Georgia has won two more. However, that’s not to say that championships come easily. They require hard work, dedication and tons of time committed to the quest. All that results in emotion that makes the success that much sweeter.
For Smart, he’s felt that the last two years. After going 41 years without a National Championship, Georgia finally won one in 2021, taking down Alabama to do so. The Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide, who had ended their run at an undefeated season in the SEC Championship just a month before, 33-18 on the back of a strong defense, timely execution on offense and incredible leadership. Then, the Dawgs did it again, this time going 15-0 while replacing so many of the stars from the first run.
“Easily the feeling of accomplishment on the field, in the locker room and after for those two teams. The two teams that won a championship, there’s no greater feeling of accomplishment than to raise that trophy, hug the neck of someone who you know sacrificed so much, and you get to see them after the game, in the locker room after,” Smart said when asked what he’s enjoyed the most about the last two championships during an appearance on The Growth Project podcast. “The group that won it in 2021, Nakobe, Jordan, they came back. That feeling is probably the greatest satisfaction that there is in all of sports, maybe all of life. Doing something really hard, setting out to accomplish it as a group, we sacrificed for each other and we achieved what we wanted to accomplish.”
That’s not all though. Smart, as he expressed this spring when asked why it is that he decided to publish a book detailing the 2021 championship season, said that he’s been able to see the joy that the championship brought other people. That too has given him something to rejoice over.
“The other gratification I’ve gotten is, going out and speaking at booster events, raising money for the University of Georgia and hearing the stories of the people who have passion for the University of Georgia and how thankful they are,” Smart continued. “People tear up and say, ‘I was at the game in 1980, I was seven years old and now I’m this. I never thought I would see Georgia win another championship. It’s been so long.’ Those people are what got us through those years because they supported Georgia through and through for 40 years without a championship. Now they’re kind of getting some self-gratification too. ‘Hey look, Georgia’s done a great job. They’ve won two championships in a row.’ That makes me proud because it is my alma mater.”
Continuing on about those two teams, Smart said there’s been a difference. The players bought in to the culture that Smart and his coaching staff created. They believed in what the outcome could be if they were to do the little things along the way.
“It doesn’t matter what you say or what you do, these programs that you put in and implement, if you don’t believe in them. The people in this organization? They believe that it matters how you talk to players, how much time you spend with players and how much the players reinvest in themselves,” Smart said after being quick to credit others – both inside and outside of the Georgia Football building – with helping him create the culture. I think the biggest difference in those two years has been the players themselves believing in each other, buying in and connecting. I can’t say that the other teams weren’t connected. They had good buy in and culture, but the last two were just different. So when you see that difference, it might be three players different in terms of leadership, not talent because we’ve had talent, but the leadership that we’ve had internally and what we’ve done with them as a staff to bring that out, we’ve given them a platform to lead. We’ve let guys get up in front of the team to talk. We’ve immersed ourselves in sacrificing time away from football and investing in the person, and I think we’ve gotten really good return on investment these last two years seeing them grow as young men and into really good leaders.”
Georgia has seen 25 players get drafted since the first championship season (15 in 2022 and 10 in 2023). The Bulldogs will without a doubt add to that total in the coming years too, but fans and Smart alike certainly hope it’s not without more hardware in the trophy case.
