Smart explains decision to reject UGA (updated)
Athens — Kirby Smart won’t be coming to Georgia as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, deciding after two days of deliberation to remain in the same job at Alabama.
Smart, a former Georgia player, explained his decision in written comments provided by Alabama:
“I think it was pretty well known that there was an opportunity to return to my alma mater as defensive coordinator,” Smart said. ”I wouldn’t even have considered discussing the position with any other school, but when it is a place I’ve spent some of my best years and had some great memories, I thought it was something I should discuss with my family and figure out what was best.
“After thinking about all the factors over the last couple days, we are going to stay at the University of Alabama. We love it in Tuscaloosa, have made some great friends here and I think we are building something special here at Alabama with Coach [Nick] Saban. I have learned so much in the time I’ve spent with Coach Saban, and every year I feel like a become a better coach.
“I’ve got a great deal of respect for Coach [Mark] Richt and the job he has done there, and the University of Georgia will also have a special place in my heart. Not only did I play there, but my wife played basketball there and we have a lot of friends at UGA.”
Smart had been considering a lucrative multi-year offer — reportedly for three or four years at around $700,000 per year — to return to his alma mater as defensive coordinator. His pending decision had been the subject of intense speculation among UGA fans over the weekend. Saban previously had expressed his disapproval of assistant coaches making lateral career moves.
“We’re very pleased and happy that Kirby is going to be staying here at the University of Alabama with us,” Saban said in a statement this afternoon. ”He’s done a fabulous job for us. He’s one of the finest assistant coaches in the country.
“You expect guys like Kirby to get lots of opportunities to do things, and we want to continue to help him continue to develop his career here so that when he leaves here, it’s going to be to be a head coach and probably in a very good situation. So we’re excited about that. We’re happy for him and his family. It’s very pleasing to us.”
Alabama is believed to have aggressively countered Georgia’s financial offer, but said it would not reveal Smart’s new salary until it is approved by trustees in the spring. Smart’s salary was around $360,000 in 2009.
Richt has been trying to hire a new defensive coordinator since the Dec. 2 firing of Willie Martinez and two other defensive coaches.
Georgia previously pursued two veteran defensive coordinators for the job, Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster and LSU’s John Chavis. Both opted to remain in their current jobs after having their contracts considerably sweetened.
Please follow me on Twitter for the latest UGA news and notes.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,397 comments Add your comment
we're so good
January 11th, 2010
4:52 pm
good god, i thought we were a top notch program. and now bama has rose from the grave. please fire saban and meyer. and bring back shula and zook so we can win the sec against arkansas, just like the dominating days. ya’ll remember don’t you?
cantondawg
January 11th, 2010
4:52 pm
I will applaud CMR on trying to get the best possible DC but i don’t blame these people for staying where they are. Why would you make a move for a lateral position and uproot your family when the university that you are at matches what UGA is offering.
larry
January 11th, 2010
4:53 pm
the reality is kirby is staying at alabama to win championships until he is offered a head coaching job with a respectable school. georgia wont contend for SEC and National Championships until richt is fired.
CaliDogg
January 11th, 2010
4:53 pm
Just noticed. Not only was Smart not able to man up enough to get out front on his decision, letting Saban do it for him, but his “statement” was released in writing.
Did Saban prohibit him from appearing in person and answering questions? Did Smart tell UGA before releasing the statement? Notice there has been no comment from UGA.
This is a circus. Orchestrated by the ringmaster, Nick Saban. I can hear him laughing. And Kirby folding socks in the athletic department laundry room.
And UGA. You know Kirby Smart. Mike Bobo and he are supposedly close friends. You do not put a written contract in front of this guy unless you’ve already taken his temperature and know he’s going to take the job. Who’s running the PR machine over there. You got jobbed by KS and his daddy Nick.
My advice. Check your phone messages. The person you want is among the stack of people who’ve told you they WANT this job and WHY they want it.
mikie g.
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
who cares? the only mistake CMR has made was to be loyal to his word. it cost us the better season that we wanted, but has left us on our solid foundation. CMR will “get his man” as apparently Saban is keeping his Boy.
Timmy Cries Again!!
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?
((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?((((WHACK!!!))))
Smart: Thank you, Nick! May I have another?
OrlandoDawg
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
How will patience pay off? Our recruits will be bailing and our team’s going to suck with 22 year old’s running the D.
The real winner here.............
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
Is anybody who didn’t wake up in Alabama this morning.
Adam
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
I told you stupid ga fans he wouldn’t leave. It was a demotion. You idiots think your program is some elite place. Here’s a newsflash. IT ISN’T.
Now go back to your gt, tebow, urban, kiffin, acc bashing. It’s all you can do.
7-5 again next year with another crappy bowl.
Bama is for Winners
January 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
BamaGrad hahaha. Look sport, Georgia has an economy over three times that of Alabama. And Alabama is a glorified junior college compared to UGA. Nobody outside of Alabama thinks of you as anything but Podunk.
__________________________________________________________
This is funny!! Congratulations on your economy. Am not sure what that has to do with football coaches but touche. You sir are a master debater!!
RTRnGA
January 11th, 2010
4:55 pm
As a life long bama fan i have always wished we had a little more polished fan base. However, it has become “CRYSTAL” clear that you georgia fans are the most delusional, misguided bunch a folks with a HIGHLY self-inflated idea about who you are and how your team should be viewed. Good grief, bama lost for years and years due to some idiots who displayed the same overzealous attitudes. That said, the idea that anyone compares georgia’s history and tradition with that of alabama is absurd. Come on, GT has won a NC more recently than your beloved dogs. Oh i know, you’ve beaten them a bunch of times. LOL. they’re GT. Bama has 2 NCs in the last 18 years, UGA has one: EVER. I know, i know, CMR won 90 games in 9 years. Dynasty. LOL. Boise St is the winningest program of the decade (112-160) but we are ordaining them the greatest program of the last ten yrs. Get over yourselves. no matter what, you’ve been florida’s bi*(& as long as i’ve lived here. Be glad you aren’t dealing with idiots who get your team on probation that punishes kids. Oh BTW: is it possible that CKS is not as concerned about HIS future as YOU are. MAyBE, just MAYBE, he prescribes to the notion (as do most coaches) that it’s about the program, not the individual. his time will come, if thats his goal. he might just like doing what he does. until now, after living in georgia for so long, i had become a closet dawg fan who only pulled against them when they played bama. after now, i’m leaning to adopting GT as my instate favorite. I’d be a little embarrassed to be seen in red and black after reading all your crap. LOL….uga fans are a hoot. oh well, guess i’ll head over to walmart to take some pics of our crystal ball…RTR. i’m sure u dawgs can find a 30 yr old pic of your NC trophy…lol.
Dylan
January 11th, 2010
4:55 pm
I give Richt two more years to take us to the SEC Championship game. Next year will be a reloading year with a freshman quarterback and if we don’t perform well I’ll understand, but I’m so tired of being average. It’s been 30 years since the last National Championship. Richt isn’t taking us there. He’s had the oppurtunities but they always dissapoint (i.e. 2004 and 2008). Two more years and then that’s it. Richt is an awesome guy and I respect him, but THREE defensive coordinators have turned us down in a little over a month and we don’t have time to wait on Grantham. Please do something, Richt!!!
Got 12?
January 11th, 2010
4:55 pm
Clevon,
Where the BCS trophy is displayed is solely the decision of the sponsor. Dr. Pepper chose to display it at Wal-mart. LSU and UF displayed theirs at Altells and Chevy dealerships. But I don’t think you guys will ever have to worry about it though.
Realist
January 11th, 2010
4:56 pm
Being a UGA fan looking at this objectively, I knew Smart wasn’t coming. But, you really have to wonder what Mark Richt is doing. Fake offers or not, that’s 4 DC’s that has said no.
So this is how I see it. If we can’t get top rate DC’s at UGA, then you have to wonder if the head coach is the problem. Richt is a hell of a coach, but 4 DC’s turn the job down especially after throwing more than half a million at one of them. Something has to be going on that we don’t know about. This is unacceptable.
Mark
January 11th, 2010
4:56 pm
Adam must be a bitter ACC fan
lawzoo
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Joe Lee Dunn
Smart explains decision to reject UGA (updated) « Football on the Brain
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
[...] Smart explains decision to reject UGA (updated) By cousinwalter Leave a Comment Categories: Uncategorized Smart explains decision to reject UGA (updated) [...]
dap01
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Orlandodawg: Get a hold of yourself. Smart probably made a wise decision for himself. He will be able to leave in one year for a head coaching job. But the way he handled it really screwed him old college team. Yes, Kirby and Saban screwed UGA.
Noleydawg
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Not that I thought he would come to Georgia, but how it all went down seems a bit odd. Saban’s got a tight leash! I’m glad CMR doesn’t have to win that way. Geez.
Foothills football fan
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Let’s see… D.C. for national champs with very real possibility of winning conf. championship and M.N.C. next year and make +700,000 dollars OR… D.C. for 3rd best team in the east..Sounds like Kirby did the Smart thing…It will look better on the resume.
I Run This State
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Gardner, Richt and the two grad assistants should continue running D…they shut down the #5 offense in the country.
Adam
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
I can’t seem to get Saban’s cork out of my mouth. Uh oh…here comes the protein. (gulp, gulp, mmmmmmmm).
coachgb
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Look, Smart probably made he right career decision for himself. He still has as good a chance to be the HC one day at UGA if he wants it as he would have had if he came to UGA now as defensive coordinator. Getting great experience at Bama under Saban. Richt’s not going anywhere soon anyway. I still say, a DC with more experience, (not having Saban looking over your shoulder) is what UGA really needs at this point.
SuperB
January 11th, 2010
4:57 pm
Unlike any other DCs the Dawgs may have had discussions with, Smart was a different deal. If he did not want to leave Alabama, he should have told Richt that at once– ande not use UGA just to get more $$ out of the Tide. Some alum, huh?
tbomachine
January 11th, 2010
4:58 pm
i’m gald so many of y’all are optomistic. i think this is really gonna hurt us. not the fact that we didnt get Smart, but the fact that its taken over a month and still nothing. i gotta feeling the dawgs are in trouble(hope they prove me wrong) Go Dawgs
tbomachine
January 11th, 2010
4:58 pm
glad—–sorry
DawgFan
January 11th, 2010
4:58 pm
Kirby:
I’m sorry but you’re dead to me!
only the best
January 11th, 2010
4:59 pm
This always happens when you go after the best! theres gonna be rejection at 1st because programs are going to compete and do what they can to “keep” their best around! If anything this should show just how hard they are trying to get this program (or defense) up and running again. If it takes losing a couple of recruits in the process, so be it! everyone needs to calm down! things happen for a reason! we will get the best!
RTRnGA
January 11th, 2010
4:59 pm
as well, when will u people figure out that the policy of KS’s employer is to NOT allow assistants to have direct contact with the media? It’s not HIS fault. He’s still getting paid and as such is conforming to what his current employer’s stipulations are…
Don
January 11th, 2010
4:59 pm
David Pollack is an idiot. He talks like a moron too.
Bruce
January 11th, 2010
5:00 pm
If CMR comes out after hiring the new DC and says he got who he wanted all along I will lose all respect for him. He should man up and admit we are having to settle for our 4th, 5th, 6th or who knows what choice. No one else mentioned as a possibility will be impressive to the players, fans or recruits. I hope he is a work horse since he obviously won’t be a show horse.
jerry
January 11th, 2010
5:00 pm
Everyone has his price. Don’t blame Smart, blame UGA, they didn’t make him an offer he COULDN’T REFUSE. It doesn’t make Richt look bad, hell, he tried. Blame the Board of Regents, they wouldn’t cough up enough moolah, never have, never will. If they want Richt out of there, just keep giving him Willies and Bobos. They can be proud, they did their fiduciary duty to a T.
SuperB
January 11th, 2010
5:00 pm
Unlike the other DCs the Dawgs may have spoken with, Kirby Smart should not have used the Dawgs to squeeze more $$ out of Alabama. He used his alma mater and let them dangle for a few days of critical recruiting time– all to the advantage of the Tide. Some alum, huh!
Draggin' Fly
January 11th, 2010
5:01 pm
Got12? The Bama NC trophy is REALLY at WalMart??? All this time I thought that was a story from the Onion. Good Lord!
Smart No Mo
January 11th, 2010
5:02 pm
Georgia should have offered Smart a lot more money. I heard they only offered a little more than he’s making now! Damon Evans needs to hold a presser to explain how he bungled this hire—it should have been a slam dunk–offer him a million per year plus benefits and he would have quickly taken the job. The dawgs went cheap and got nothing. Now, they’ll be stuck hiring some castoff D coordinator from some medicore program. It looks like years of more minor bowls for Ga.
Gatorguy
January 11th, 2010
5:02 pm
What about your Gymnastics?
Flo-Ri-Duh!
January 11th, 2010
5:02 pm
I told you this morning that Smart was the popular choice with the fans but that Todd Grantham would be a better coach and recruiter. UGA went with Smart because he was through with the bowls and Grantham is still in the NFL playoffs…… they want to get someone as soon as possible to get the pressure off of them. If the can get Grantham then this will be better in the long run. Smart is looking for a head coach job in a year or two and not a long term commitment…. that is why he turned UGA down. Saban trained Smart to coach defense. It is Richt’s job to train his assistants to be top of the line and if he can’t do thast then maybe Smart will be UGA’s next head coach.
Adam
January 11th, 2010
5:03 pm
I am so full right now but my breath isn’t very pleasant at all.
Flo-Ri-Duh!
January 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
Adam you are one strange pervert … we don’t have any interest in your stomach or your breath.
Got 12?
January 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
SOLUTION:
Saban offers a defensive coaching camp every summer. Send Richt there this summer and let him serve as the HC and DC in 2010.
Problem solved. Leaving work. Heading home.
RTRnGA
January 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
As a life long bama fan i have always wished we had a little more polished fan base. However, it has become “CRYSTAL” clear that you georgia fans are the most delusional, misguided bunch a folks with a HIGHLY self-inflated idea about who you are and how your team should be viewed. Good grief, bama lost for years and years due to some idiots who displayed the same overzealous attitudes. That said, the idea that anyone compares georgia’s history and tradition with that of alabama is absurd. Come on, GT has won a NC more recently than your beloved dogs. Oh i know, you’ve beaten them a bunch of times. LOL. they’re GT. Bama has 2 NCs in the last 18 years, UGA has one: EVER. I know, i know, CMR won 90 games in 9 years. Dynasty. LOL. Boise St is the winningest program of the decade (112-160) but we are ordaining them the greatest program of the last ten yrs. Get over yourselves. no matter what, you’ve been florida’s bi*(& as long as i’ve lived here. Be glad you aren’t dealing with idiots who get your team on probation that punishes kids. Oh BTW: is it possible that CKS is not as concerned about HIS future as YOU are. MAyBE, just MAYBE, he prescribes to the notion (as do most coaches) that it’s about the program, not the individual. his time will come, if thats his goal. he might just like doing what he does. until now, after living in georgia for so long, i had become a closet dawg fan who only pulled against them when they played bama. after now, i’m leaning to adopting GT as my instate favorite. I’d be a little embarrassed to be seen in red and black after reading all your crap. LOL….uga fans are a hoot. oh well, guess i’ll head over to walmart to take some pics of our crystal ball…RTR. i’m sure u dawgs can find a 30 yr old pic of your NC trophy…lol.
Bruce
January 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
Why does everyone assume Grantham will be a good DC? He has been a position coach in the NFL except for his time with the Browns which ended with him being fired.
WE RUIN THIS STATE
January 11th, 2010
5:05 pm
How could Kirby have turned down the golden opportunity to turn down “the sweet, sweet grass of home” ? He must be a jerk because anyone who has ever turned down UGA in the past has been one.
The Koolaid drinkers drank a little too much this time. Even a half-wit would never have expected a guy to give up a chance at two consecutive nat champs. Now, can someone get serious over there ?
Earth to UGA ! Reality does make its visits.
Vince's Dooley
January 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
Damon, I guess we will have to put this on Monster.com after all. This never would have happened to me.
WE RUIN THIS STATE
January 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
I’m just going to slit my throat.
Piling On
January 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
*******************************************BREAKING NEWS********************************
Georgia:
FootballCoachScoop sources tell us that Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart, this season’s Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant, has just been given an offer that is double the $360,000 base salary Smart earned this past season at Alabama. According to our sources, Head Coach Mark Richt should be announcing Smart as the new Defensive Coordinator at Georgia very soon.
Alabama:
Sources tell FootballCoachScoop that Head Coach Nick Saban has interviewed Todd Grantham (Dallas Cowboys Defensive Line coach) for the soon to be vacant Defensive Coordinator position.
Please Donate to our site. We specialize in FREE entertainment based on the silliest conclusions that can be drawn from Internet rumors and musings……Hell, sometimes we just make $h!T up! And we can’t continue to do it without your support.
DawgFan
January 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
Oh, and NO way will he ever be Head Coach at Georgia. Don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining. You can’t turn your nose up at DC and years later say NOW I’m ready to be your HC. No “F”ing way
memphisdawg
January 11th, 2010
5:06 pm
“Smart still has a chance to be head coach at UGA one day”
No way. He burned that bridge today. He will never even be considered. UGA fans have and will turn their back on him as he did us. Not to say he would ever want the HC job at UGA mind you.
Gratefuldawghead
January 11th, 2010
5:07 pm
Georgia tralking to Muschamp so Muschamp will get a raise from Texas and turn the job down!
sirluciouscp
January 11th, 2010
5:07 pm
To hell with Kirby! How could u love it in Tuscaloosa, give me fucin break. Just say u dont want to come moron.