Link: Kirby Smart won't leave mentor Nick Saban until he has opportunity for success

B1GTide said:

Wow! So it isn't about championships? You hate your rival more than you want to win? I really do not understand SEC fans.

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Kirby is the DC, but this is Nick Saban's defense. Kirby does a great job calling plays, but CNS breaks down hundreds of hours of film every year, and works on scheme, and alignment on a week to week basis. I'm not trying to minimize what Kirby does, but the 3-4 over/under scheme we run is the same as Saban ran when he was with Dolphins and based on what learned working for Belichik in the 90's at the Browns. Saban has never went out and hiring an established DC. He usually promotes from within and names a bright young coach to run his system. If Saban was relying on a DC to come and put a defensive system in place, Muschamp nor Smart would have never been hired. They were green and pretty much unknown when they were hired by Saban. IOW, I think we'll survive...

Notre Dame's DC, Bob Diaco, has interviewed with Boston College and word is he is BC's early favorite too. They have a defensive tradition up there over the last decade: playing a 3-4 defense like Diaco implements and seemingly always have a high quality ILB. I think BC is a good fit for him.

B1GTide said:

Has a coordinator ever left a team before a national championship game without coaching his team through that game?

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I want to say that it happened just a couple of years ago but I can't remember off the top of my head who it was and which school.

TideFan in AU said:

Kirby is the DC, but this is Nick Saban's defense. Kirby does a great job calling plays, but CNS breaks down hundreds of hours of film every year, and works on scheme, and alignment on a week to week basis. I'm not trying to minimize what Kirby does, but the 3-4 over/under scheme we run is the same as Saban ran when he was with Dolphins and based on what learned working for Belichik in the 90's at the Browns. Saban has never went out and hiring an established DC. He usually promotes from within and names a bright young coach to run his system. If Saban was relying on a DC to come and put a defensive system in place, Muschamp nor Smart would have never been hired. They were green and pretty much unknown when they were hired by Saban. IOW, I think we'll survive...

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I think the highest amount of trust was put into Smart. Muschamp hasn't even used a 3-4 base in his career. Some of Saban's concepts are there but Muschamp has always been more about front 4 pressure and coverage with the back seven. My point being that Saban probably gave Muschamp less reign over the defense given the looks he prefers post-Saban are not exactly similar.

Here's the thing. If they offer him a boatload of money, which they obvously would, he'd almost be a fool not to take it. One contract and his family, his kid's family, his grandkid's family, is set. We say our players would be fools not to take the money by coming out early, why would Kirby be any different? And if it doesn't work out for him, reckon he might still be able to be gainfully employed and earn a decent wage going forward?

If I'm sitting on $10 large in the bank at 40 years old, you think I care what you think of me? Pfft.

Who knows? Maybe it will come down to whether he'll be allowed to coach in the big game. Hopefully Kirby will demand it; Dye won't allow it. I really don't see Dye allowing him to stay through BCSCG, and I REALLY don't see Kirby leaving his players without that opportunity. I just don't.

Smart will be making at least 3-mil a year at Auburn. Alabama is paying him the most of any DC in America and he'd still be making at least 3x the money. If he completely washed out at Auburn, he could go back to a DC position and earn near what he was already earning at Alabama. Financially speaking, he can't say no to the Auburn position if they hand him an offer.

I'm really not concerned with all of this bluster. I would feel much worse for Kirby Smart than Alabama were he to take this job. It would be career suicide, IMO. There are, and will be in the future, much better opportunities. But as for Alabama's sake, this ship is Nick Saban's. Everything is his system, on offense and defense. Yes, he's heavily involved on the defensive side, but don't think for a second that the offense is just left to the OC. It's not. His parameters, his design, and you work within that system if you are on his staff.

It would be a loss, no doubt. But not catastrophic. It would be catastrophic for Smart's career, IMO. If Auburn were in good shape... If Chizik was simply retiring after a good career, then that would be one thing. But that is a dumpster fire down there right now and then you've got to compete directly with Nick Saban, Mark Richt, oh and Will Muschamp has a 2 year head start on you? Just not a good move. We'll see.

rgw said:

Smart will be making at least 3-mil a year at Auburn. Alabama is paying him the most of any DC in America and he'd still be making at least 3x the money. If he completely washed out at Auburn, he could go back to a DC position and earn near what he was already earning at Alabama. Financially speaking, he can't say no to the Auburn position if they hand him an offer.

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Yep if it's all about the money you're right, and our time with Kirby is over. I have to hope it's about more than money though.

TIDEnGA said:

Who knows? Maybe it will come down to whether he'll be allowed to coach in the big game. Hopefully Kirby will demand it; Dye won't allow it. I really don't see Dye allowing him to stay through BCSCG, and I REALLY don't see Kirby leaving his players without that opportunity. I just don't.

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This seems a likely chain of thought. Cannot see Smart walking away from young men that he has committed to during a time like this. If Auburn demands it, it says a lot about them. Would he really want to be a part of something like that? He doesn't need the pay raise that badly. His time will come.

at some point Kirby will leave for a good HC job but the Barn is a disaster right now. I could understand UcheaT or the Hogs or Texas (if it opens) or maybe even Boise (if Peterson goes to Ark) but no way the plains...

would rather not have any distractions for the next 5 weeks but if you take into account that Coach McElwain took the Col State job mid-Dec that worked out just fine for us

I always figured that Smart would go to another conference like Urban Meyer, who is poised to absolutely rock the Big Ten for the next few years. The Big Ten would probably be a good fit for Smart...what we do is very "Midwest football" with a good deal more talent.

B1GTide said:

Has a coordinator ever left a team before a national championship game without coaching his team through that game?

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I am not sure, but Dan Mullen had accepted the Mississippi State job before their national championship and he still coached. Here is a good article about the decision to coach. So maybe Kirby still would...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/sports/ncaafootball/04mullen.html?_r=0

TideMom2Boys said:

I am not sure, but Dan Mullen had accepted the Mississippi State job before their national championship and he still coached. Here is a good article about the decision to coach. So maybe Kirby still would...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/sports/ncaafootball/04mullen.html?_r=0

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Seems like Mark Richt accepted the Georgia job and did not coach the NC game for Florida State when they lost to Oklahoma 13-2 after the 2000 season.

trenda said:

Awesome!

I can't fault anyone for trying to improve their position, make more money and accomplish career goals. That said, I can't imagine a scenario where Kirby Smart thinks the Auburn job is worth taking.

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they might offer 3+ million reasons that he wiould consider it...

I couldnt fault him if they offered and he accepted, thats too much of a pay increase.

Money aside, I just don't see how Auburn in its current state provides the "opportunity for success" that this entire thread is based on.

Kirby is an excellent DC, probably the best in the country right now. But, is a first-time HC really going to be able to manage that mess down there long enough to have any success? Doubtful...