ESPN analyst David Pollack weighs in on Kirby Smart, Mark Richt
By Nick Cole
Published:
David Pollack is in a unique position to comment on the Georgia coaching change.
The former All-America pass rusher played under Mark Richt at Georgia, and is a fellow Bulldogs alumnus like Kirby Smart.
He also has the perspective from his job as a national college football analyst for ESPN to assess what the new roles for each coach will mean in the bigger scheme of things.
So when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Seth Emerson caught up with Pollack, you knew there was a likelihood that he’d have something interesting to say about the recent changes at Georgia.
Pollack had this to say about his former coach’s firing and his new role as head coach at Miami:
“I think it worked out great for the school and for coach Richt, honestly. I think it’s the best thing that could’ve happened. How cool is it he gets back to go home now to Miami, where he played football, his alma mater, a whole new body of people that he gets to touch and show how great a person he is, and coach them. And I think he’ll have a chip on his shoulder too about being fired. I think he’ll have that competitiveness and toughness back, and making sure that he proves people wrong, which would be awesome to see.”
He also had this to say about new Georgia coach Kirby Smart:
“Kirby was very patient with where he wanted to go, and it paid off for him. How many guys do you see jump at the first job that they get. Sometimes it’s successful and sometimes it’s not. He sat back, continued to collect championships with Saban, learned from the best coach in college football, one of the best coaches in the history of the game. And he got to spend nine years with that cat, learning and growing. So I can’t imagine that that time was wasted. I imagine that he kept learning and seeing how the master did it. Now I think he’s even more equipped to go, not just to any job, but to go home, where he grew up, to where he played, where when you were at an age where you were probably the most impressed the most. So I think it’s pretty dad-gum cool.”
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
