College Football Coach Shows Reverence for Former Boss, Nick Saban

How back-to-back winning revealed to one coach what it means to lead teams to multiple national championship titles.

"Nobody has moved the game of college football more." University of Georgia coach, Kirby Smart, said in regards to Nick Saban. 

The University of Georgia won back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022 for the first time since 2012 when the University of Alabama once held that title.

When Alabama won this title, Smart was on staff for the Crimson Tide, alongside Saban, who taught him the ropes on leading a team to win consecutive championships.

For Alabama, their streak of championship wins was ended in 2013 when the Kick Six halted their undefeated season. Their loss sent Auburn to the National Title against Florida State University. 

Although this was the case for Bama, Smart plans to take his team to a three-peat this season with his past experiences from coaching the Crimson Tide.

Smart showed his reverence to Saban earlier this week when he appeared on the Paul Finebaum Show.

“Nick’s been tremendous for our sport. Nobody has moved the college football game more than he has,” he said. “He has done a tremendous job of changing the game. I mean, the SEC is the premier place, primarily because he started bringing national championships there when he came to LSU. So, he’s done a lot for this game.”

After leaving Tuscaloosa to coach at Georgia in 2016, Smart has been able to build a team as strong as the one that he left. Smart is obviously a talented and sufficiently mentored coach who has an incredible ability to produce national championships.

His reverence toward Saban shows his humility as a coach, one of the many reasons that the Bulldogs have such a strong team as the next potential dynasty team.