Kirby Smart shares reaction to Brian Kelly’s firing, recalls story from his days as an LSU coach
By Mark Kern
Published:
Kirby Smart spent the 2004 season as the defensive backs coach at LSU for Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban. While he was there for only one season, he learned a lot during his time there.
On Monday, he was asked by a reporter about LSU parting ways with Brian Kelly on Sunday, and Smart told a story about what coaching at LSU entails.
“I think there is so much of it built around the playoffs,” Kirby Smart said. “Everything is boom or bust and you can’t have a normal season. People got to make decisions earlier based on how someone does. I don’t know enough about it but I know there are high expectations. I coached at LSU and a guy once told me, ‘That is not your office, you are borrowing it’. I knew right then if you didn’t win, you wouldn’t be there long.”
Smart left following that season to go be the running backs coach at Georgia, which is where he played his college football.
This is the new climate of college football, as schools are going to be more impatient with their coaches. Florida, Penn State and LSU are three of the bigger jobs in college football, and they are all starting to look for their coach in the middle of the season.
While he has been incredibly successful as the Georgia coach, Smart knows that things can change quickly if your team isn’t contending for a national championship.
The Bulldogs will be back in action against one of those schools without a head coach, as they take on the Gators in the annual rivalry game. Kickoff will be on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be on ABC.
