Kirby Smart opens up on relationship with his late father: ‘An unbelievable role model’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Kirby Smart and his father, Sonny, shared a close relationship on and off the football field. But the 2025 season will be different: it’s the first since the passing of the elder Smart, who passed away on Jan. 5 just days after Georgia’s appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
“He was an unbelievable role model. I miss him daily. I’m going to continue to miss him,” the Georgia head coach said on Thursday. “But I know he’s proud of the accomplishments of all his grandkids and kids.”
Sonny Smart coached his son in high school, but Kirby Smart said on Thursday that when he became an adult, he and his father didn’t talk about football all that much, at the elder Smart’s request.
“He didn’t want to spend time on that. If I wanted to talk about it, he was more than happy to, but he didn’t bring football up a lot,” Smart said. “He talked about my kids — his grandkids. He talked about his golf game and my mom and his relationship.”
Sonny and Sharon Smart would have been married 53 years “a couple days ago”, Smart noted.
“She’s the one I’m concerned about,” Smart said of his mother. “My dad’s in a great place. He’s done a wonderful thing for so many people while he was here on Earth, including me and my brother and sister … So, my focus right now has been on my mom and her wellbeing.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
