Here's the full release from Alabama...
Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced Monday that defensive coordinator Kirby Smart would remain in his current position with the Crimson Tide. Smart won the 2009 Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football. He just finished his third season at Alabama and the Tide ranked second nationally in total defense and scoring defense in 2009.
Quote from Head Coach Nick Saban
“We’ve very pleased and happy that Kirby is going to be staying here at the University of Alabama with us. 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.”
Quote from Defensive Coordinator Kirby Smart
“I think it was pretty well known that there was an opportunity to return to my alma mater as defensive coordinator. 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 Saban. I have learned so much in the time I’ve spent with Coach Saban, and every year I feel like I become a better coach.
“I’ve got a great deal of respect for Coach 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.
“At the end of the day, I just feel like this is where I am supposed to be and this is a special time to be at the University of Alabama.”
Monday, January 11, 2010
Smart, Saban Quotes
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30 comments:
You better love Tuscaloosa, because you HAVE NO HOME here any more.
You have just doomed yourself to failure and you betrayed your own.
Don't know about the failure part, but he has lost a lot of goodwill that could have been spared had he not shown any interest in the job to begin with.
Thanks for the kind words Kirbs, but in the end, it looks like we misjudged you. You keep running "Saban's defense" and good luck with that.
Hope it works well for him, I really do. But he is no longer a Georgia Bulldog in any respect.
We will be fine. Go Dawgs!
Bottom line now is this: Obviously none of the Bulldog Nation, as well as the press, knows what's going on with this search at this point. That is maybe a good thing. But the other thing is that recruits don't know what's going on either. That's definitely a bad thing. The 11th hour is upon us. Pull that trigger quickly now CMR.
Yeah good luck Benedict, uh, I mean Kirby. When daddy Saban leaves in 2 years for another challenge be sure to grab onto his tail because you will not be welcomed back here in Athens. If you loved UGA so much then why even consider the job if you weren't going to take it?
What a sorry SOB. For someone that supposedly loves his alma mater, he just gave them the finger and totally screwed Richt and the football progam. This is one PR headache that could have been totally and completely avoided.
I won't fault him for deciding that his place is at Alabama, but before entertaining the offer (if he truly loved the University of Georgia) he should have made a decision because this just looks like someone that took the offer and got his own deal sweetened. As The Realist stated, I don't know whether or not he'll be a failure, but certainly going forward you can count me among those that hope that this was the worst career decision ever and that he winds up being an abject failure with absolutely zero future as a head coach.
I hope CKS and CNS are still there in 2012 & 2013. If not, they'll both be freezing their arses off in East Lansing. Maybe Michael Moore can do a documentary on coaches salaries then.
Only a delusional fan base expects a coach to make a lateral--if not slightly downward--move to their school, just because it's their school.
The sentimental ties of an alma mater were almost enough to make an exception to the rule this time...but not quite. I'm not surprised.
David, any truth to DP comment that Kirby backed out after signing a term sheet?
Enjoy Saban's teet, there Kirb. It's sad that you love Athens so, because you can't show your unwelcome face here anymore. See you in the Dome.
Sorry, but I refuse to join in this petty vindictiveness toward Kirby Smart. He was one of my favorites from the teams Georgia had when I first got here for graduate school and was a player with a lot of heart.
I also think he gets a flier for being misplaced on our staff the year he was here.
He's a Dawg who is having success on a championship caliber team (much like Muschamp) and I would have been overjoyed to have him leading the defense next year (and the fact that Saban and Bama worked hard to keep him tells me it's likely he'd have done a great job), but he has to do what he perceives as right for him and his family.
I do think, though, at some point he's going to have to come out of Saban's shadow before he can get that head coaching job. You know, like Muschamp has done.
Good luck to Kirby until Dec 4th.
Will the low life, lateral move spouting idiots just crawl back where you came from. A place that is special to your heart is not a lateral move. Not everthing in this world is about money or success. It does seem like that is most important to Smart, but never fault people for expecting a little bit more.
Most UGA fans (which you are not) wanted Smart from the beginning because he was supposed to be one of us. We will be fine without him but he will never be welcome here again.
I'm kinda surprised, tbh. Thinking about it logically, I thought that it would make sense for Kirby to get out from Saban's shadow, but I suppose he's got a good thing going there, and I wish him luck at it.
I do wish he had been more decisive, rather than stringing UGA along essentially for more than a month. But I'm certain that Coach Richt has a plan 'B'-- the guy is just too smart to place all his eggs in one basket.
we look week
I don't think we look WEAK this WEEK or that we will look WEAK next WEEK
I refuse NOT to stay out of this petty vindictiveness toward Kirby Smart. Word is, he signed a letter. He teased the program for a month. He backed out, sweetened his deal, and decided to stay warm to Saban's bosom. Stay out of Athens, Kirby.
I am confident Richt will find the right guy, but just a little disappointed in the lack of integrity by some of these people looking for a raise. Kirby would have been a great fit because he was a former Dawg but who knows if he can actually coach by himself. I expect us to make a good hire soon and it might be someone from under the radar. Let all the haters bring it on. We run this state.
Based on CKS' statements I believe that he was happy at Bama and(a) would not have left for anywhere other than UGA, and (b) really struggled with this decision. Why does that make him an awful person and coach?
My take is that CKS did nothing to humilate us or betray us. Both sides were attempting to go through the negotiations honorably without the scrutiny of the national media and two rabid fan bases. All the media speculation was just that...media speculation. Now, if he signed and then bolted, thats a different story.
I dont see why we have to resort to petty name calling. It is what it is. Alabama at this point is a better program than our beloved program. It was lateral move and by the looks of it Smart thought long and hard about it. I have full faith that CMR will find the right coach for the team. Which one of y'all would quit a current job and move to a lateral position without an upgrade.
Clearly most of you have never had a good job and been offered a good job.
He wasn't leading us on. He never openly campaigned for the job.
We went after him. he considered it. we made an offer, He decided otherwise.
He's welcome back in Athens - at least the little parking spot I "own" every Saturday.
Hopefully this situation is causing the fire to burn within CMR. UGA needs to show the world the next couple of years that this year was a fluke.
No one knows exactly what transpired over the last month and a half between Georgia and KS, but the fact remains that we have a football team to put together for next year. Lick your wounds . . it's time to throw everything we have at the wall and see what sticks. A quick hire (from this point on) and some measurable improvements on defense will go a long way to calm the bulldog nation.
Just an observation.
Charlie Strong has made his rounds as an established DC in numerous reputable schools, including one very comparable to Alabama. His defenses are very comparable to Saban's, I mean Smart's, at Bama.
Strong most recently accepted the Head Coaching job at Louisville (a mid to lower level Big East school). Strong is a much more proven and experienced coach as well as a better recruiter, so where does Smart think he will end up? I can't imagine a Mid-Level or better BCS school taking a chance on CKS. There will always be better names out there than Smart (for a head coaching job), if only for the fact you don't know what you are getting in Smart. In my opinion, he should have jumped at the chance to become UGA's DC b/c
1. Money
2. A chance to prove himself and get out of Saban's shadow
3. Have more control over his position. I.E. Being able to talk to the media, hire your own coaches, etc.
4. Be closer to family & friends (his & his wifes)
5. Return to your Alma Mater.
THE REASONS ARE THEIR, I DON"T THINK RICHT DID A GOOD JOB OF SELLING THIS TO SMART. RICHT DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ONE.
Oh Well, we would have been overpaying anyways. Hope Smart gets a chance to be a HC at UAB or Central Florida in two to three years.
I think this says more about the perception within the coaching community of the situation at UGA than anything else. By that, I don't mean the UGA football program in general, but with the way it is being run at this time. My hunch is that top level coaches are in a 'wait and see' attitude to see if the current coaching staff can weather the current storm.
Kirby, you are still a bulldog! Guys, you have got to be kidding me with the negative comments. This is a man who is looking out for his and his family's best interest. Don't give Georgi a bad name. You are whining!
Kirby Smart is a traitor and should be hanged from a UGA goal post. A person who commits treason is known as a traitor. This is high treason which is punishable by being hanged.
Rot in hell, Kirby Smart
80Dawg,
How is Kirby still a bulldog?
He coaches for a rival team in the SEC. He was offered the same position at his alma mater, and he turned it down. He WAS a bulldog. Now, he's a coach. He'll likely be a coach for maaaany more years than he was at UGA, so, like Dooley coming from Auburn, it is far more likely that his legacy will be his coaching stops and not his playing days.
He doesn't share the same passion about this place that the rest of us do. It's the nature of the coaching profession. It's a business to them, while our loyalties are often multiple generations deep.
Hopefully we get an answer soon from Granthom if we offer him. At this point I don't think its too much to ask for. I respect that the guy still has games to coach but we are going to loose recruits if thing is not done soon.
I don't think the cowboys are going to crumble because a position coach has decided to leave after the playoffs.
I'm glad that some folks have happy memories of Kirby Smart as a Bulldog player. That's a nice thing. This little episode shouldn't take those away.
However, I think it's clear that Kirby Smart's no longer a member of the Bulldog family. If a Bulldog wants to have a coaching career, at some point he's probably going to have to work elsewhere, even for a rival. These things happen. We've even seen some good Dawgs work for Tech. But, the second that a Bulldog is offered a job at home, with the family, and it's not a step down in rank, nor money, and is in fact a step UP in money, and that coach doesn't come home, then they're no longer interested in being a Bulldog. It's just that simple. So, Kirby's Crimson Tide now. Or, more accurately, Kirby's a Saban-ite. He's no longer any part of us, and he never will be again. I hope he's genuinely happy, because I firmly believe he's burned his bridge back to Athens. If you don't want to come home to Georgia, even, I'm sure some folks would overlook it. But, the fact is, you stringed us along for a long time, and in the end, you made us look bad. So, screw you, Kirby.
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