Smart is king in recruiting the state.
Fk Eason if he goes. Another coming of Casey Klausen.
Depending on who is hired.....UGA will be the next power house.
Smart / Muschamp will be the nastiest D the SEC has ever seen....all about the OC at that point.
UGA needs to take their time. They have the best coaching position come up in a long time....or since Urb was hired at OSU.
Fk Eason if he goes. Another coming of Casey Klausen.
Depending on who is hired.....UGA will be the next power house.
Smart / Muschamp will be the nastiest D the SEC has ever seen....all about the OC at that point.
UGA needs to take their time. They have the best coaching position come up in a long time....or since Urb was hired at OSU.
Smart is leaving Alabama. Jimmy Sexton is the King of raises.....already linked Smart to South Carolina, and has released a dream job article today on Mullen and UGA. Don't jump on the 1st bites......they are always ploys to get 3-4 coaches more money for one opening.
Also people should lay off LSUPete.....pretty obvious by the expressions that a "Jetgate" was taking place in Baton Rouge and was halted by administration. If Miles was smart.....he would quit and say screw you. Buyout might prevent that, but his days at LSU are numbered. I'd rather be where I was wanted and happy than stick around people trying to keep me in misery.
Also people should lay off LSUPete.....pretty obvious by the expressions that a "Jetgate" was taking place in Baton Rouge and was halted by administration. If Miles was smart.....he would quit and say screw you. Buyout might prevent that, but his days at LSU are numbered. I'd rather be where I was wanted and happy than stick around people trying to keep me in misery.
ATHENS — As much as Mark Richt’s dismissal was about what went wrong with him at Georgia, it was also about who might be available to replace him. And by all accounts, the primary target is Kirby Smart.
Word in the coaching ranks is this is the year that Smart, Alabama’s longtime defensive coordinator, is finally ready to leave the shelter and comfort of Nick Saban’s coaching staff for a head coaching job of his own. He had been approached by Virginia Tech about its vacancy — recently filled by Justin Fuente of Memphis — and, in the last couple of weeks, has become a primary target of South Carolina.
In all, there are more than a dozen head coaching vacancies in the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks. It was not until late Saturday night that it was determined that Les Miles would be back at LSU. But significant movement is expect in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Smart is a UGA alumnus and football letterman. He played defensive back for the Bulldogs from 1995-98, serving as team captain his senior season. He was running backs coach at Georgia for one season for Richt (2005) but has been at Alabama with Saban since 2007, the last eight seasons as defensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide has won three national championships during that time.
A native of Bainbridge, Smart has long recruited the state of Georgia with great success and is familiar with the SEC. At 39, he is at the optimum age to make the transition to being a head coach. Persons close to the Georgia football program who are acquaintances with Smart said the Bulldogs could not afford to sit by idly as “one of their own” took another head coaching job, possibly with a rival program.
Said one source with knowledge of the situation, “this was all about Kirby.”
Should Smart choose to come, it’s thought he might bring some other UGA lettermen with him. Travis Jones is assistant head coach and defensive line coach with the Seattle Seahawks. Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp reportedly could be approached about returning to Athens.
But there’s no guarantee the Bulldogs would get Smart.
If Smart chooses to stay at Alabama or goes elsewhere, there are several other candidates to whom the Bulldogs could turn:
Word in the coaching ranks is this is the year that Smart, Alabama’s longtime defensive coordinator, is finally ready to leave the shelter and comfort of Nick Saban’s coaching staff for a head coaching job of his own. He had been approached by Virginia Tech about its vacancy — recently filled by Justin Fuente of Memphis — and, in the last couple of weeks, has become a primary target of South Carolina.
In all, there are more than a dozen head coaching vacancies in the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks. It was not until late Saturday night that it was determined that Les Miles would be back at LSU. But significant movement is expect in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Smart is a UGA alumnus and football letterman. He played defensive back for the Bulldogs from 1995-98, serving as team captain his senior season. He was running backs coach at Georgia for one season for Richt (2005) but has been at Alabama with Saban since 2007, the last eight seasons as defensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide has won three national championships during that time.
A native of Bainbridge, Smart has long recruited the state of Georgia with great success and is familiar with the SEC. At 39, he is at the optimum age to make the transition to being a head coach. Persons close to the Georgia football program who are acquaintances with Smart said the Bulldogs could not afford to sit by idly as “one of their own” took another head coaching job, possibly with a rival program.
Said one source with knowledge of the situation, “this was all about Kirby.”
Should Smart choose to come, it’s thought he might bring some other UGA lettermen with him. Travis Jones is assistant head coach and defensive line coach with the Seattle Seahawks. Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp reportedly could be approached about returning to Athens.
But there’s no guarantee the Bulldogs would get Smart.
If Smart chooses to stay at Alabama or goes elsewhere, there are several other candidates to whom the Bulldogs could turn:
- Mike Bobo, the Bulldogs’ longtime offensive coordinator, who just completed his first regular season as head coach at Colorado State (7-5);
- Dan Mullen, the Mississippi State head coach, who has a relationship with Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity from their time together at Florida;
- Charlie Strong, the Texas head coach, who has struggled some with the Longhorns but who also has a relationship with McGarity from Florida;
- Tom Herman, the first-year Houston head coach out of Ohio State.
UGa is a BIG jump for a first time HC. But McGarrity is a good AD and probably good to work with if he learned anything from Jeremy Foley. UGa is a top 10 type of job and let's hope for the sake of CFB that they take their time and make a good hire. Having that program be successful is not just good for the SEC, but for CFB overall.
This has obviously been in the works for a while w/ McGarity. Having worked under Foley for the Zook & Meyer hires at UF, I wouldn't be surprised if Herman is a top candidate. It seems Smart would be the obvious choice, but McGarity may want to hire from the Meyer tree vs. the Saban tree.
Smart has stayed at Bama for 2 reasons: to get the Bama job (after Saban leaves/retires) or wait out UGA and Richt. Looks like Saban isn't going anywhere, so this may point to Smart at UGA.
Really interested in seeing where this goes.
Where is all of the public outcry for this decision? I don't see Georgia catching heat for firing a successful coach. Richt was very successful, great winning percentage and his dismissal is barely a blip on the radar.....whereas Les Miles potential dismissal drew a week-long media explosion.
Couldn't agree more.
