Mark Richt and Kirby Smart were each coordinators on highly-ranked teams when they were first mentioned as candidates to be the head coach at Georgia.

But with each passing year — and championship — Smart is slowly moving away from his old boss from more than a decade ago.

Two years ago, Saturday Down South listed five issues Smart needed to address in light of the mark his predecessor left on the program. As this is the week Smart was hired at Georgia in 2015, we review those issues and discuss how they’ve unfolded.

1. How public will Smart be about his moral compass?

What we said then: Because Mark Richt was open and public about his Christian faith — even referencing scripture in Matthew at his farewell news conference — many fans will want to know about Smart’s faith, and how open or not he will be about it.

How it’s unfolded under Smart: When Smart returned to coach his alma mater, it also meant he and his wife, Mary Beth, would return to the town where they got married at St. James United Methodist Church. But Smart has remained largely focused on issues that relate to on-the-field matters, and has not openly revealed many personal convictions.

Even when the national anthem protests drew headlines, Smart deflected it by saying in September, according to the Athens Banner-Herald, that it’s not been an issue outside of player leadership meetings.

“Haven’t talked to them about it much this year,” he said. “We let those guys bring it up and talk about things when they need to and address it as a team, but that’s not one that’s come up regularly. Of course, we’re not out there during the national anthem anyway.”

The team, though, made at least one visit to a local church in 2016 when it rolled several buses to Watkinsville First Baptist Church. Chaplain Thomas Settles contacted the church and explained that Smart wanted to bring the whole team to worship, according to the Oconee Enterprise.

2. Will the Alabama staff infusion continue?

What we said then: While Jeremy Pruitt is the highest-profile assistant on Georgia’s staff under Richt to have previously worked on the Alabama staff, the program had at one time four former Alabama staffers including Mark Hocke, the director of strength and conditioning. Now there are reports that Smart would bring in Scott Cochran, who would be the fourth strength and conditioning coach in Athens since 2001.

How it’s unfolded under Smart: The Cochran hire didn’t materialize as Nick Saban sweetened his deal in Tuscaloosa. But assistants with previous ties to Alabama include defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann.

3. How will Smart address discipline issues?

What we said then: While player arrests have been on the decline this year at Georgia, Richt’s handling of discipline issues and kicking players off the team drew national attention. Zach Mettenberger, Nick Marshall and Isaiah Crowell are three of the biggest names to get in trouble, transfer and play for other teams.

How it’s unfolded under Smart: Six players were arrested in the first six months of Smart’s tenure, including Chad Clay and Chauncey Rivers, who were dismissed. Last year, pass rusher Jonathan Ledbetter served a six-game suspension after two alcohol-related arrests.

Recently, starting inside linebacker Natrez Patrick, who previously served a four-game suspension this season, was charged with possession of marijuana of less than an ounce in nearby Barrow County following the SEC Championship.

Smart has faced his fair share of tough discipline decisions to key players, like Richt, and he’s proven that he’ll lean toward athletics department resolutions rather than preferential treatment.

4. Can Smart avoid ugly losses?

What we said then: While beating the likes of Alabama is the goal, nearly as equal in importance for some Georgia fans is avoiding ugly losses like Florida in 2014, Missouri in 2013, South Carolina in 2012, Boise State in 2011 and Tennessee in 2007. Many of those examples derailed chances to get to Atlanta and the SEC Championship game, a baseline for many fans.

How it’s unfolded under Smart: The 2016 season was no different under Smart than the Richt years, something the passionate Richt supporters openly pointed out as Georgia struggled to beat Nicholls State at home en route to an 8-5 record. Losses to Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech were especially difficult to swallow for many fans.

Of course, this season has been different as Georgia had the one clunker at Auburn, marked by just 46 rushing yards, but avenged that defeat to win the SEC title.

5. Can Smart stop the run of inexplicable mistakes?

What we said then: The botched squib kick against Georgia Tech last year, the tipped pass in the 2012 SEC Championship Game and the fake field goal-turned-touchdown for Florida in 2014 are a few of the examples that led to questions about preparation and in-game adjustments. There was also the 2011 SEC title game against LSU when Georgia led 10-0 and then dropped a pair of would-be TD passes.

How it’s unfolded under Smart: This season has certainly eliminated many of those issues, and this team even has overcome some of them, such as the long touchdowns surrendered against Missouri.

The penalties in both Auburn games this year fall into this category — whether they were legitimate or not — but most of these type of incidents under Smart came in 2016. The Hail Mary loss against Tennessee, a late Jacob Eason interception against Georgia Tech, and the failed fourth-down conversion against Vanderbilt will be most remembered.