Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is at the top of the short lists for a number of schools searching for a new head coach.

There’s no doubt Smart was once a hot commodity, but many now question if his stock has dropped in the last few years.

Smart began his career as an administrative assistant at his alma mater Georgia in 1999. After a year with the Bulldogs, he spent two years at both Valdosta State and Florida State before coaching under the one and only Nick Saban at LSU.

When Saban entered the NFL coaching realm the following year, Smart returned to his Bulldogs to coach their running backs. It was a single season before Saban brought Smart on with the Dolphins, and Smart has been Saban’s right hand since then.

So far, four of Saban’s assistant coaches have moved on to head coaching jobs. While Will Muschamp and Derek Dooley didn’t exactly flourish, Jim McElwain — who was Smart’s offensive counterpart in the Tide dynasty — and Jimbo Fisher are both doing pretty well for themselves at their respective schools.

The combined success of Saban’s disciples and the fact that Smart has spent 11 of the last 12 years with Saban add to Smart’s appeal.

In his nine years with the Crimson Tide, Smart has consistently kept the defense a force to be reckoned with, ranking in the top 5 for six consecutive years before dropping to No. 12 in overall defense last season. They are currently ranked No. 6 in overall defense after 8 games.

He has also led the Alabama defense to three national championships in his time there, and 25 of his former Tide players are currently active in the NFL:

  • 2009 draft – DB Rashad Johnson
  • 2010 draft – DE Brandon Deaderick, DB Marquis Johnson, DE Terrence Cody, DB Javier Arenas, CB Kareem Jackson and MLB Rolando McLain
  • 2011 draft – DT Marcell Dareus
  • 2012 draft – CB DeQuan Menzie, DT Josh Chapman, LB Courtney Upshaw, LB Dont’a Hightower, CB Dre Kirkpatrick and DB Mark Barron
  • 2013 draft – DE Quinton Dial, DT Jesse Williams, ILB Nico Johnson and CB Dee Milliner
  • 2014 draft – DE Jeoffrey Pagan, DB Vinnie Sunseri, DE Ed Stinson, FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and ILB C.J. Mosley
  • 2015 draft – S Landon Collins and DE Xzavier Dickson

Smart picked up the Broyles Award in 2009 as the top assistant coach, and he received the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2012 for his actions on and off the field. Adding to his coaching prowess is the fact that he is also consistently ranked as a top recruiting assistant in college football.

However, in the world of high-powered offenses, defensive gurus aren’t quite as attractive as those on the other side of the ball, like McElwain. This may affect Smart’s head coach appeal.

All right, so now we’ve determined Smart is definitely qualified for a head coaching position. But will he leave Alabama for one of those opportunities?

His name has already been mentioned for a number of head coach openings this year, including South Carolina, Miami, UCF and Maryland.

We already know Smart aspires to coach his own team, guiding other young coaches the way Saban has guided him, and in the past few years, Smart has interviewed for head coaching positions at Auburn, Arkansas and Southern Mississippi. But he has stayed at Alabama, and it looks he might be with the Tide a while longer.

“My career goal is to be a head coach,” Smart said. “Where that is, I have no idea. It’s not like I wake up every day trying to leave Alabama.”

That is good news for Alabama fans, given the amount of success Smart has had with the Tide.

At just 39 years old, Smart is the king of defensive preparation, and when he does fail, he owns up to it and put everything he has into making sure it doesn’t happen again.

After the loss to the Buckeyes in the 2015 playoffs, Smart and Saban reached out to former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman to find out how his team prepared for the Tide defense. They used this meeting to plan how to prepare for the 2015 regular season.

Even with all his accomplishments, Smart knows he is still getting invaluable training under Saban.

“My development to become a head coach will be much better working for coach Saban than necessarily going anywhere else because you learn every day that you’re [coaching under Saban],” Smart said.

Another aspect that may cause teams to shy away from Smart — and keep him in Tuscaloosa — is his salary expectation. Smart is currently the highest-paid assistant coach on the team and one of the highest-paid in the country. At $1.35 million a year, he actually makes more than many head coaches.

The financial security gives him the opportunity to be patient and picky when it comes to his next job, and it would probably take an even higher number to lure him away from Alabama.

And Smart won’t simply go to the highest bidder either. He wants to choose his team, just like his team chooses him.

“I want to be where I can win,” Smart said. “And I know you can win at Alabama.”

So it looks Smart will remain with the Tide for now, but don’t be surprised if he gets that head coaching job in the next few years. And don’t be surprised if his second head-coaching job is back in Tuscaloosa after Saban retires.

(Don’t worry, I don’t mean any time soon.)

Saban is aware of his defensive coordinator’s potential, but he is not worried about losing him right now.

“I think the quality of the character that we have in the coaches that we have here — they really do put the team first,” Saban said. “They care about the players, and I don’t think they would sacrifice doing a good job for their players or the program in terms of the pride they have in their performance because they were more focused on something else.”

For now, Smart will do just as Saban expects and focus on the 2015 season, and his next challenge will be winning against No. 4 LSU on Saturday. But if he can design a defense to contain Tigers RB Leonard Fournette, it will be a bold addition to his resume.