Was Saban sending a message to Smart?
Just listened to audio of Nick Saban’s final press conference in Pasadena today before he and the national champions flew back to Alabama.
Thought you’d be interested in Saban’s comments pertaining to assistant coaches making lateral career moves.
You could certainly interpret the remarks as pointed advice to Kirby Smart that he shouldn’t leave the defensive-coordinator job at Alabama for the same job at Georgia.
Said Saban:
“I’m always happy and interested for our coaches to be able to advance professionally, especially if it is a professional advancement in terms of a guy being a coordinator who can go be a head coach in a situation where he has a chance to be successful. . . .
“I’m not pleased when guys make lateral moves because it’s a little bit human nature to think, like my dad used to say, the grass is always greener on top of the septic tank. You always think it’s better someplace else. You kind of let your ego get involved, and you make moves that you shouldn’t make and really aren’t in your best interests for a career standpoint. So I’m not happy when guys do that. But anybody on our staff who can move up, we would like to help them do that.”
There were reports Thursday, including one during the telecast of the national-title game, that Texas Tech planned to interview Smart for its vacant head-coaching job. But Texas Tech’s president and athletics director denied the reports Thursday and again Friday.
Click here for a blog from earlier today on how long it had been since Georgia was unranked in the final polls.
And please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
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425 comments Add your comment
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:25 am
Saying ‘NOT SO HARD DADDY”
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:27 am
Working day job at Varsity, then heading over to Waffle House for night job
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
11:28 am
Don’t pick on Ray Goff. He was thrown into an impossible situation generated by the Jan Kemp deal. He had no athletes & no scholarships. Talk about bad times as a DAWG, this year ain’t nothing
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:28 am
Getting there by MARTA or stolen car
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:29 am
Armed and mad
jawga boy
January 9th, 2010
11:30 am
GT Joe….. Athens a septic tank? Poo…. our students aren’t getting mugged, stabbed, gunned down. Today is Elvis’ biirthday…… and I can hear him singing……. IN THE GHETTO !
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:30 am
giving up football
Tech Real Fans Are..
January 9th, 2010
11:31 am
punks
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
January 9th, 2010
11:40 am
SABAN= LAME =SPERMIER= P. JOHNSON= URBAN ======
===============================================
===============================================
BIGGEST OF HATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
11:42 am
Gator Fans don’t even talk about coaching problems, do you have a head coach or not
keylargo
January 9th, 2010
11:56 am
O’Saban Bin Laden That’s what Saban was called down here in South Florida after he lied his azz off and told the Dolphins twice he was going to stay on as coach.
Saban shouldn’t be telling anyone how to make career choices.
South FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation
January 9th, 2010
11:56 am
reading some of the comments from GT and Bama fans make me laugh! 1st of all, if KS wants to make the move to UGA then we’d love to have him! if he decides to stay then there will be another qualified person standing right behind him who will come in and coach up our talent just fine…Coach Richt will bring in a staff that will get our D back where it needs to be. not too worried about it at all…the anticipation’s killing me, but i’m not worried about it.
Bama fans…congrats on the NC! it was a big win for the SEC, and UGA will enjoy the $ that comes from it! just as you did when UGA played in 3 BCS games over the past 10 years….I was thinking about the SEC Title games UGA played in…we played LSU, Ark, and LSU. where were you in those games Bama? if your the poster boy for the SEC? and arn’t we 3-1 vs Bama over that time, and didn’t we beat you twice on your own turf? and wasn’t one of them the first home game in your newly renovated stadium? yeah, that’s what i thought! everything’s a cycle in sports….and i’m glad that your on top for a bit. enjoy it…don’t gloat, it’ll taint the experience for you!
GT fans…i know your bitter! bitter you can’t beat us, bitter UGA has better school colors, a better campus, more and prettier girls, and just is better over all…i hope things get better for you in the near future! i really do, but the fact remains…GT will NEVER be a better option than UGA. the sooner you come to grips with that the less envy will be in your heart.
Lets Go Dawgs! lock down your new DC, solidify one of the top incoming 2010 freshman classes and let’s get to work! 2010’s going to be a great year! 2010’s going to be the year of the Dawg! How Bout Them Dawgs!
We dont have to shut up!!!!!!
January 9th, 2010
12:18 pm
Hey Bama Fan!!!! If you scroll to the top of the page, you will see that it says UGA Sports. You see, this is a blog about Georgia sports, on an Atlanta Newspaper’s site. We can say whatever the hell we want to about whoever the hell we want. If you dont want to read negative things about your coach, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! We don’t have to shut up! I really don’t understand why all these BAMA or FLORIDA or any other fans, for that matter, other than Georgia or Georgia Tech are even on here and even bother to read anything that is said or written. I can tell you I couldn’t care less about any Alabama blog or website and you certainly won’t catch me on there reading what their fans have to say. Now, all that being said, SABAN IS A JERK!! He can hardly crack a smile after winning the deadgum NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!! Why would you want to play for or coach under a guy like that?!?!?! Seems to be it would be a miserable existence. SCREW SABAN AND ALL YOU LOSER BAMA FANS WHO HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN READ BLOGS ON AN ATLANTA NEWSPAPER!!!
UGA Alumn
January 9th, 2010
12:18 pm
Unless you’ve walked through the Arches you can’t understand the love our alumni have for our Alma Mater. Kirby understands this love and I suspect that he wants to help his school get back on top. Money isn’t everything; loyalty is more important to some!
joe
January 9th, 2010
1:11 pm
“Alabama COULD match any offers but why would they?”
LOL! UGA could buy Alabama’s a**. UGA has more money than Bama can shake a stick at.
joe
January 9th, 2010
1:12 pm
So reading between the lines, Saban thinks UGA is a septic tank…hmmm.
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
1:18 pm
S, Fla Chapter, Couldnt have said it better myself
Ole Yeller Dawg
January 9th, 2010
1:18 pm
Our septic tank empties into the Chattahoochee River which flows south through Alabama and then into Florida.
Experts recommend that you need to drink 6-8 8oz glasses of water a day to stay healthy. Drink-up!
Alabama ever wonder why that water tastes so good?
Florida your water is just plain nasty!
I would not be laughing and pointing the finger about anything septic, especially since both states are down stream.
toofless in alabamer
January 9th, 2010
1:18 pm
Is Smart trying to send Sabear a message? Like; I don’t give a dam what you think!!
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
1:34 pm
Other schools gave raises to those DC they wanted to get & Saban (I can’t smile cause my plastic face might break) only gives Smart a Smart A__ comment. I’d be GONE if I got attitude like that.
coachgb
January 9th, 2010
1:38 pm
Be careful of what you wish for. Saben is the brains behind the Tide defense. Now that doesn’t mean our boy Kirby Smart isn’t ready to run a top notch defense, he might be, but being the Tide DC just means that he has seen it done right, it doesn’t guarantee he can do it all by himself. I think maybe we should look at some guys that have been calling the shots for a while but aren’t at a school where they can draw the talent Georgia can. Or maybe someone like the guy out in Dallas who has lead a defense before and would do a good job with Georia’s talent.
coachgb
January 9th, 2010
1:45 pm
If I were Smart I’d jump if I got the offer. He’s a good guy from a good football family and would fit right in at UGA. I just don’t know if the offer is coming and none of us can know for sure if he can handle it because of where he is right now. Saban is a genius football coach, and yes, he is also a control freak with his thumb on everything. He is also a complete __________! Feel free to include your favorite derogative ajective.
coachgb
January 9th, 2010
1:47 pm
Sorry, too cold to type today.
Rollllllllllll
January 9th, 2010
1:52 pm
Wow, the UGA insults are hilarious. Ahh, it feels good to be on top again. Keep insulting Bama while you stay a middle of the pack SEC football program.
National Champions…again. For those of you that were even born, I bet you long to be shat out of the womb of victory once again. Let me be realistic and tell you that it won’t happen while Mark Richt is there. That guy is a total p-word.
dawg gone it
January 9th, 2010
1:55 pm
Coachgb, I kind of agree with you. Smart is not a proven commodity. Especially at the price he’ll be asking now.
I believe UGA will be fine, with or without him.
dawg gone it
January 9th, 2010
2:00 pm
Also, didn’t Texas score 21 points with their second string qb in charge for most of the game?
Even with McCoy, TX could only score 13 against Nebraska.
Alabama has some good defensive minds, but nothing we can’t find elsewhere.
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
2:03 pm
NOT hating on the Tide just your head coach (for now) who WILL leave you high & dry when the next better comes. WHY, cause that’s his history.
90 SEC Wins in 9 Seasons-Richt is #1
January 9th, 2010
2:05 pm
Richt has done something Meyer or Saban cannot do. 90 SEC wins in 9 consecutive seasons. 90 SEC wins, in the #1 toughest ocnference.
coachgb
January 9th, 2010
2:05 pm
Hey Bulldawg, if you had ever been around team sports, much less actually played some, you’d know that to be a good position coach you don’t have to have played that position. Some body types are better suited to play different positions. That doesn’t mean that your brain can only absorb information while you actually perform that activity! If you checked the backgrounds of most successful coaches you’d find that most have played and coached a number of different positions.
Richt has Natl Champ Year 7 Times
January 9th, 2010
2:06 pm
Richt got FSU to the Natl Champ 5 times as OC.
2002 & 2007 Richt finished #1 ranked.
7 Natl Champ years.
Richt has no peers.
PapaDawg
January 9th, 2010
2:07 pm
Dawgs unless something changes K. Smart is going to be someones Head Coach & not DC at UGA.
Big L
January 9th, 2010
2:15 pm
Saban to USC anybody?
ugaman
January 9th, 2010
2:16 pm
HEY ROLLLL. NOT ONE PERSON IS DEBATING WHO HAS HAD THE BETTER PROGRAM OVER THE LAST 50YEARS.CMR IS NOT A P-WORD. CHRISTIAN MAN WHO HAD TWO CHILDREN AND ADOPTED TWO.WANTED NOT JUST TO GET A GOOD GIG BUT ALSO A PLACE TO RAISE HIS FAMILY.YOUR COACH IS GIVING ADVICE THAT HE HAS NO RIGHT TO GIVE. NOT BEING A JERK DOES’NT MEAN YOU ARE WEAK. NOW I AM BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE TROUBLE YALL HAVE BEEN IN WITH THE NCAA. WHACKED OUT OF YOUR MINDS,YOU CAN’T WIN GRACIOUSLY. BESIDES THIS IS A UGA BLOG. I HAVE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF BEING ON A ALABAMER BLOG. THEN I WOULD BE A REAL P-WORD.
MichaelM
January 9th, 2010
2:16 pm
Georgia fans, I hate to say it, because I bleed red and black, but we will never win a national championship with Richt here. I’ve said that since the day they hired him. He doesn’t have the fire that the Dawgs need. Yes, he has two SEC championships and has played in three BCS games, but let’s be honest: shouldn’t he have done more with the talent he has recruited? The two SEC titles came in down years for other schools. You know it’s true. Look at the seasons. Now that the Alabamas, Floridas, Auburns, LSUs and even Tennessees of the conference are either back or headed on the way up, how quickly are we going to get back to the top? I love Georgia and always will, but until we quit dreaming about the glory days and start creating new ones, we are going to be referred to as a “septic tank.” Yes, the comment makes me angry, too, but what are we going to DO about it? Continue on the same path we’re on or get better and make Saban and the Tide eat those words?
Big L
January 9th, 2010
2:24 pm
Betcha Saban is prayin that this Pete Carroll to the Seahawks thing hurries up. Next job, next photo opp.
He Hate Gator
January 9th, 2010
2:24 pm
“To say that Mich st to LSU is not a job promotion is just asinine. And LSU to a plum pro job like the Dolphins is not a promotion. Sorry dude but I know of no one who wouldn’t consider a jump from college to pro a job promotion.”…Not necessarily step ups….just different, an increase in pay is not necessarily a promotion…going from Miami to AL was not necessarily a step down either…
Dap01
January 9th, 2010
2:38 pm
How could any sane person from Alabama rip on any other state? Alabama?
01HAWK
January 9th, 2010
2:39 pm
POOR Ben Jones…………………………………. must feel awful that he grew up 45 minutes away from Tuscaloosa and played at Bibb County High and Nick Saban did not even recruit him. He should have walked on at BAMA if he wanted to win. I bet when he goes home to visit in Centreville, Al. they will be on his case. Well, he will get over it eventually. Actually he is a starter with UGA, but that does not mean much when you will not win an SEC Championship.
Well, plenty of SEPTIC TANKS in and around that area of Athens. Last I checked Georgia had more Mobile Homes than Alabama had. Maybe he can do that show “Dirty Jobs” and clean septic tanks.
Could have gone to the PENTHOUSE, but looks like he is in the “OUTHOUSE”.
joe
January 9th, 2010
2:44 pm
“Well, plenty of SEPTIC TANKS in and around that area of Athens. Last I checked Georgia had more Mobile Homes than Alabama had. Maybe he can do that show “Dirty Jobs” and clean septic tanks.”
LOL! You didn’t check very much then you toothless Alabama douche. He didn’t want to go to Bama because it’s the biggest cheater in college football. They may get major sanctions place on them again.
Grass is Always Greener for Saban
January 9th, 2010
2:44 pm
The grass is always greener on the other side of the septic tank for Saban. That’s why he made laterla moves every 1-5 years over his career.
Saban didn’t take his dad’s advice too well.
joe
January 9th, 2010
2:45 pm
““To say that Mich st to LSU is not a job promotion is just asinine. And LSU to a plum pro job like the Dolphins is not a promotion. Sorry dude but I know of no one who wouldn’t consider a jump from college to pro a job promotion.”…Not necessarily step ups….just different, an increase in pay is not necessarily a promotion…going from Miami to AL was not necessarily a step down either…”
Dude stop. Nick Saban has no credibility on this issue.
Grass is Greener, so is Money
January 9th, 2010
2:46 pm
Saban forgets that the grass is greener, especially because money is green.
ugaman
January 9th, 2010
2:47 pm
MICHAEL M. DUDE RICHT IS LIKE THE TOP 5 IN WIN % SINCE HE ARRIVED. UGA HAD’NT WON AN SEC TITLE IN A LONG TIME. HE ACCOMPLISHED MANY GOALS. JUST NOT THE ONE IMPORTANT ONE. BUT IF UGA CAN GO TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AT LEAST EVERY 2 OR 3 YEARS THAT’S ALL YOU COULD ASK FOR. BE CONSISTANT. THAT’S ALL ONE CAN DO. HOW DID YOU KNOW WHEN UGA HIRED HIM HE WOULD NEVER DO WELL. THE ONLY THING YOU KNEW WAS HE WAS OC AT FSU. IT ACTUALLY HAS A BETTER WIN % THAN VINCE DOOLEY RIGHT NOW. DOOLEY WON 1 TITLE IN 24 YEARS THOUGH HE PLAYED IN 3.UNLESS HE HAS BACK TO BACK 6 WIN SEASONS HE WILL STAY.
01HAWK
January 9th, 2010
2:53 pm
JOE BLOW……………………..Ben Jones was a late bloomer actually. You do not know anything about even your own players. He did well at a Georgia Tech and Georgia camp and that is when Georgia got interested. Get your facts straight. If BAMA would have offered I am sure he would have accepted. Georgia and Georgia Tech offered him scholarships but BAMA DID NOT !!!!!
Know your facts before you speak.
Dap01
January 9th, 2010
3:00 pm
He Hate: Your logic seems to indicate that a move for money is a promotion. If that is the case then Saban’s logic is flawed. His statement smacked of hipocrocy and self centerness.
Jump Ship- autobiography of Nick Saban's career
January 9th, 2010
3:00 pm
Hey Bama fans. Congrats on the NC that you wanted and earned. Seriously, congrats.
Now? Reality must set in and you know that there are only a handful of college jobs that would be “better” than Tuscaloosa. One such is USC and I am not talking about the job Columbia,SC.
What do you think? When Nick talked to his assistants ( Kirby Smart) about greener pastures, he was telgraphing his feelings, which are ” mission accomplished and on to Malibu and Hollywood and The Real USC. They can top anything that the Crimson Tide can offer. Money and LIFESTYLE and World Class shopping and dining are far better than Dreamland Bar B Q ( I love it however ) and Gayfer’s at McFarland Mall and the Indian mounds in Moundville, Al. Don’t you aqgree?
Such is the reality in dealing with Mephistoples. Live by the sword and die by the sword. Get it? Men of Troy use swords.
You heard it here first.
DieHardDawg
January 9th, 2010
3:01 pm
Lol, did Saban imply that UGA is a septic tank? Kind of a funny, sneaky jab, even if it’s against my school. The only way I see Smart coming back to UGA is if his salary is increased dramatically. That’s the only logically reason for him to leave, unless of course he gets a head job somewhere, but that is unlikely.
fair and Balanced
January 9th, 2010
3:01 pm
Lot of good stuff here. Some smart comments – some questionable. But “coach in waiting”??? Who are you guys kidding? Richt may not be the best coach in the land, but might become that. Dooley was not the best in America but became one of the best and won a national championship. Richt has that capability and knows from his his experience at FSU what the main goal is. He has come close too! No doubt we would have beat LSU in the SEC championship and would have destroyed Ohio St for the national championship had TN lost one game in ‘07.
Richt is too young and too smart to name ANYBODY “coach in waiting”. He has a lot of years left at GA and a lot of championships to win too. It will happen. He has been a head-coach for only 9 years and has clearly caused the Dawg Nation to NEVER be satisfied with mediocrity. He won’t rest until GA gets it right. He has too much integrity and determination to compromise. Someone said that he is “loyal” to a fault. Not so. He fired people rather than making lateral moves with them and keep them in the program. Maybe his delay was due to loyalty, but I would rather have a loyal HC than a use-’em and throw-’em-away kind of a guy.
His only mistake is in trying to take a potential coach and make him better rather than hiring proven talent. I think he sees this now and is going for proven talent that will also be loyal to GA.
I would think that a coach with integrity would prefer coaching at GA than some other SEC schools. Whoever said that Smart would have to go somewhere else to make a name for himself is certainly right. There ain’t no room for any other names at Alabama!
fair and Balanced
January 9th, 2010
3:06 pm
Saban talking about ego? Huh? Say what? Ok, if I’m smart and if I’m Smart – I’m gone somewhere. Kirby is welcome here as far as I’m concerned!
fair and Balanced
January 9th, 2010
3:10 pm
Oh, but one more thing: “Coach in waiting”? Huh? How long you think anybody would have to wait? How do you put that in a contract at this point? Nah! That ain’t happening – and shouldn’t happen. Richt has a lot of coaching left in him and his word is good. He will not rest until he gets this thing right has GA back where it belongs.