In a letter provided to The State, Spurrier reasoned his retirement truly was better for the team, that the team played better without him around and that his presence would’ve generated speculation that would have suffocated the rest of the season. It was assumed that sitting head coaches might be on the table, with the most obvious choice being Houston’s Tom Herman, just as Virginia Tech quickly moved to land Memphis head coach Justin Fuente.
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Smart, 39, has been an SEC man throughout almost his entire football career. I’m sure he’ll know how to run it and get things done.
The market for good offensive minds is tapped out at the moment because of so many OCs and offensive position coaches being promoted to head coaching jobs…unsuccessfully many times.
Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart directs a drill during NCAA college football practice at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. Pruitt and Smart worked together on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama as late as 2012.
The Alabama defensive coordinator was one of the first names highlighted when the Richt announcement came out. He jumped at the chance to join nearby FSU’s staff as a graduate assistant under Bobby Bowden in 2002, and that move eventually paid off in spades. Miami was 4-3 when Al Golden was sacked, and the interim head coach went 4-1. Smart, who will be coaching the Tide in the 2015 SEC Championship Game versus the Florida Gators on Saturday in Atlanta, can not officially sign with UGA until after the game has concluded.
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“I would like for our guys to stay focused on what they’re doing here right now”, Saban said. What other coaches he brings is not immediately known. Smart’s success in guiding Alabama’s defense has made his boss think he’ll be a successful head coach down the road. “I have no reason to believe that anybody isn’t totally focused, because for us to play well at whatever they’re responsible for is certainly going to be helpful to any opportunities that they can create for themselves (in the future)”.
