His place in the bowl picture-be it with Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl or Alabama in the Playoff-hasn’t quite been nailed down, but clarity should come when the 39-year-old Smart takes part in an introductory Bulldog press conference on Monday.
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Now, it’s time to put the plan into action.
Smart, who has been Alabama’s defensive coordinator the past eight seasons, was officially hired as Georgia’s head coach on Sunday.
The Alabama coach added that his cross-division rivals have been cordial.
“It’s an honor and privilege to return home”, Smart said in a statement.
Interim coach Bryan McClendon will coach the Bulldogs for their bowl game, which is expected to be the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State in Jacksonville, Fla. He’s coached alongside Saban all but one year since then, when he returned to coach the Georgia running backs in 2005.
“I know what type of coach he is”, Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones said Saturday night.
Smart has received a lot of praise from coaches around the SEC. There also has been no confirmation of talks with Smart by Georgia officials. He was named team captain his senior year in 1998. He is married to the former Mary Beth Lycett of McDonough, Ga., a four-year letterwinner on the Georgia women’s basketball team from 2000-2003.
Smart played football at Georgia.
He began his tenure at UA as defensive backs coach, but was promoted to defensive coordinator after the 2007 season. Smart followed Saban to Alabama and coached defensive backs for a year before taking over the defense.
Since he took over the reigns of the defense in 2008, Smart’s unit has ranked first in the FBS in points per game, yards per game, yards per play and total QBR, according to ESPN. Several media outlets reported that Smart would be the choice just days after Georgia announced it was parting ways with Richt, who won two Southeastern Conference titles and almost 75 percent of his games in Athens but fell out of favor with many top boosters because of a perception that his team’s underachieved.
UGA President Jere Morehead interviewed Smart on Sunday morning and approved McGarity’s recommendation to hire Smart. He’s sound in how he goes about the things that we do, and we’ve worked together a long, long time. “He’s really, really appreciated for his hard work and the contribution he’s made to all of the success that we’ve had here”.
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The Bulldogs have failed to win an SEC championship in 10 years. They’ll have one in the fiery Muschamp, nicknamed “Coach Boom”.
