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

CapstoneTider

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Coach Smart will consider leaving only when he gets a prime offer.

A very good article on Coach Kirby with background from our Joe Kines his defensive coordinator at Georgia. The article makes some good points. 1. That the defensive coordinator job at Alabama and under coach Saban is one of the top coordinator positions in the country. 2. He has some serious clout and will be picky in choosing.
Coach Kirby was roommates with Mike Bobo and Will Muschamp at Georgia and has been with coach Saban since 2004.

The article is based on Joe Kines recollection as Kirby's former coach as DC at Georgia, but unless I missed it, they failed to mention that he held that position at Bama too, which this article is partly based on. Big omission.

http://espn.go.com/colleges/alabama...e-coordinator-kirby-smart-destined-head-coach
 

Ole Man Dan

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Great article about a fantastic coach.
Coach Kines knows him well and knows the quality coach that Kirby has became.
Eventually Coach Smart will leave to run his own program, and Coach Saban will
have the task of trying to find someone to fill Kirby's shoes. Hard job.
(It's difficult to find someone who thinks like you do, and makes the same decisions you
would have made.)
 

Isaiah 63:1

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Probably at 35k or in an airport somewhere
This part made me laugh: "Kines ... can recall a game against Florida when the Gators had fourth-and-inches on Georgia, and Smart, then a sturdy defensive back, lined up over the center. Kines yelled at him, 'You've got the tight end!' and Smart replied, 'Not on a quarterback sneak.'"
 

TideEngineer08

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I may be wrong, but I think Kirby Smart will only leave for a select few jobs. It will only be a job where the program is ready to succeed. Not a program riddled with probation or controversy. And I doubt very seriously that he will take a job that has him competing directly with Nick Saban and Alabama. The only way he'd do that, IMO, is if the Georgia job somehow came open.

I do think that the possibility exists that he's waiting on the Alabama job. Whatever the case, he's in a prime position to be very selective and I think he will be.
 

tidefanbeezer

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Sep 25, 2006
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Great article. Confirmed what I had suspected all along.

Smart is a patient man and will select the right opportunity when it comes along. Good move on his part.
 

RJ YellowHammer

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I hope he takes over when CNS decides it's time to go to the lake. (Hopefully not real soon though)
Imo He needs to prove himself as a HC somewhere else first. CKS is a fantastic DC, but being a head coach is another matter altogether. And Alabama is no place to learn on the job.
 

jps1983

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Imo He needs to prove himself as a HC somewhere else first. CKS is a fantastic DC, but being a head coach is another matter altogether. And Alabama is no place to learn on the job.
We're getting to the same issue as when Bear was nearing retirement. If I remember correctly, Bear supported Gene Stallings strongly, but it took a decade (a bit less) to give GS a chance and he succeeded. I'd give a lot of consideration to what CNS recommends; if its CKS, I'd say we gamble on an unproven HC; if he recommends Bobo, then I'd say go after him (again unproven as HC). The AD doesn't see a staff work every day like CNS does. The recommendation of an elite HC should carry significant weight imho.
 

crmsntd91

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People continue to say CKS should go get some head coaching experience before we give him a shot....why? Because Coach Shula failed?

Florida is doing just fine with Coach Muschamp and he had no experience as a HC.

It can work with the right guy and with the right foundation in place. If we somehow fall off a cliff, yes I want a HC with some experience. If CNS leaves us at the top of CFB, as I expect he will, experience won't matter as long as you have a scheme that will work.
 

BamaMoon

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I've said "Bama is no place to learn to be a head coach" but CKS might be the exception to that rule IN A FEW MORE YEARS.

Hopefully CNS stays and IF CKS stays with him all this time, while turning down other decent opportunities, I could see Bama MAYBE doing this.

As you can see I'm unsure but if we did this with anybody IN A FEW YEARS I could see it being with Smart.

If CNS says he's like him and recommended him, it might be the SMART thing to do especially if we've added a few more championships to the case.
 

MOAN

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Well I think Kirby would take a job at somewhere say like Clemson and if he does good and the Bama job were to open up later he would jump to return. He knows the tradition and knows the support he would get so I think if he ever was to leave he would relish the chance to come back. :)
 

BamaMoon

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Well I think Kirby would take a job at somewhere say like Clemson and if he does good and the Bama job were to open up later he would jump to return. He knows the tradition and knows the support he would get so I think if he ever was to leave he would relish the chance to come back. :)
I would feel more confident in this type of scenario. But if he stays till CNS leaves it will be the great debate of the 21st century about what should happen.
 

twofbyc

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JMO, but....I think KS should go to USM.
He couldn't do anything but improve the program
He has a lot of talent to draw from
Other coaches have had success at USM
If he went there, he would be there until CNS retires, thereby....
Coming back to Bama

I know, I can dream... :cool:
 

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