“Better Never Rests.” This slogan, adopted by Coach Smart from the New Zealand National Rugby Team, looks to be the season mantra as the Bulldogs begin their quest to become the first three-peat champions in college football in nearly a century.
Kirby Smart took the podium in Nashville for SEC Media Days yesterday, with much of the focal point surrounding the Bulldogs’ attempt at a third straight national title. In his opening statement, Coach Smart made it a point to address “dealing with the threat of complacency.” Kirby acknowledged the idea that complacency is, in fact, a threat, but one that can be stomped by surrounding the UGA football program with individuals “who love football and embrace being part of something bigger than themselves.” This idea of complete selflessness is what Kirby believes is critical in building a culture that will sustain success for years to come.
In addition to Coach Smart’s recipe for building a winning culture, Kirby made it a point to inform the media that every full-time coach on this year’s staff was on last year’s National Championship staff as well. “Tell me the last time a National Championship team can say that. The same strength and conditioning coach, Scott Sinclair; the same player development coach, Jonas Jennings; and the same athletic trainer, Ron Courson, has been at our place for eight consecutive years, the entire time I’ve been there.” When questioned regarding the keys to staff retention, Kirby answered like the great leader he is. “I want to make it enjoyable for our coaches so that they feel good, and they want to stay and they can bring their family to every event we have and let their kids run around and enjoy it. That’s important to me because I want my kids around, as well. The retention part is letting them do their job and making their job more enjoyable.” Coach Smart offered ample praise to his staff and made an emphasis that this retention is the key to sustaining success.
Kirby also touched on the ever-evolving scene regarding college recruiting and what that landscape looks like in the future. “I think so much used to be built on your facility and how can you show them how you can develop them… So much has now become directed towards NIL, and I think that’s some of Commissioner Sankey’s frustration of trying to make that at least somewhat uniform so that we’re not operating under different rules state to state.” When questioned about the university’s plans for NIL revenue sharing models, Kirby referenced Athen’s Classic City Collective, acknowledging that the firm “has been on the cutting edge of sharing information, trying to get best practices, [and] trying to find a better way.” Kirby looks to the future, encouraging the university to “figure out the best practices of [revenue sharing] so we can get some uniformity among them and try to grow it that way.”
As expected, Coach Smart was peppered with questions concerning the potential for a three-peat. “I don’t care about the three-peat, the two-peat, or the one-peat. I care about complacency.” Aligning with the theme of the interview, Coach Smart’s number one goal this season is to combat complacency and satisfaction. “All we’re thinking about is the next 24 hours. We expect to be good at the University of Georgia. We want sustained success. So, we have to do that by winning every day. That’s not going to change whether we win it or not this year.” As the Bulldogs’ home opener is only 45 days away, the Georgia faithful can most be confident in the state of the program and the man at the helm in Kirby Smart.
Kirby also touched on the ever-evolving scene regarding college recruiting and what that landscape looks like in the future. “I think so much used to be built on your facility, and how can you show them how you can develop them… So much has now become directed towards NIL, and I think that’s some of Commissioner Sankey’s frustration of trying to make that at least somewhat uniform so that we’re not operating under different rules state to state.” When questioned about the university’s plans for NIL revenue sharing models, Kirby referenced Athen’s Classic City Collective, acknowledging that the firm “has been on the cutting edge of sharing information, trying to get best practices, [and] trying to find a better way. Kirby looks to the future, encouraging the university to “figure out the best practices of [revenue sharing] so we can get some uniformity among them and try to grow it that way.”
As expected, Coach Smart was peppered with questions concerning the potential for a three-peat. “I don’t care about the three-peat, the two Pete or the one Pete. I care about complacency.” Aligning with the theme of the interview, Coach Smart’s number one goal this season is to combat complacency and satisfaction. “All we’re thinking about is the next 24 hours. We expect to be good at the University of Georgia. We want sustained success. So we have to do that by winning every day. That’s not going to change whether we win it or not this year.” As the Bulldogs’ home opener is only 45 days away, the Georgia faithful can most be confident in the state of the program and the man at the helm in Kirby Smart.