Kirby Smart recruits for Georgia, coaches Alabama ahead of playoff
DALLAS – If you want to know what kind of hand Kirby Smart believes he's been dealt at Georgia, ask him what his recruiting pitch has been since the Alabama defensive coordinator was named head coach of the Bulldogs earlier this month.
The answer he gave to me Monday: "Do you want to play? Let's go. We need you to play."
Smart said he isn't throwing any shade at the Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail. Just making it clear that there is an immediate need for high-level players at his new place of employment, as opposed to queuing up behind the other four-star and five-star talent in Tuscaloosa.
"There's not a negative thing you can say about Alabama," Smart continued. "It's a great place. But if you want to play, let's go."
Don't let the hedges hit you on the way out, Mark Richt.
Everyone at Georgia respected and admired Richt, a classy guy who did very well but never sniffed a national title at a school that rightfully believes it should compete at that level. After being immersed in the championship culture at Alabama since 2007, Smart should have a very good idea what kind of talent it will take to win it all. And seems pretty sure that the Georgia roster needs an immediate upgrade.
The tricky part is that Smart is delivering that "Let's go" pitch while still working for Nick Saban at Alabama. He's not the full-time head coach at Georgia until the Tide's season is over – whether it ends here against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve, or in the College Football Playoff championship game in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 11.
The college football calendar creates these awkward arrangements. Late November and early December are when coaches get hired, but bowl games are played later than that. And now the playoff stretches all the way to the second Monday in January.
Every year, job-hopping coaches are faced with dilemmas: go to the new school immediately, or see it through at the old school before moving on. When little is at stake, the easy answer is to go immediately – which is why bowl season is rife with interim coaches and skeleton staffs. But when your old team is playing for something like a national championship, there are no easy answers.
It's been done both ways.
Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe left Tennessee for Mississippi before the 1998 BCS championship game, and the Volunteers still won the title. Same with Gerry DiNardo at Colorado back in 1990, who went to Vanderbilt before the Buffaloes won half a national championship, splitting it with Georgia Tech. (For the kids who don't remember the days of polls declaring champions: It was a complicated time.)
More recently, Urban Meyer kept Dan Mullen and Tom Herman long enough as offensive coordinators at Florida and Ohio State to win it all before they left for head-coaching gigs. And Saban had a similar situation with offensive coordinator Jim McElwain just four years ago, when he stayed on through the BCS championship game before heading to Colorado State.
But it's easier to hang on to a guy headed to Houston or Colorado State than a guy headed to Georgia – they recruit from far different pools in terms of geography and talent. In the amount of time it took Smart to agree to a deal at his alma mater, he went from being Saban's right-hand man to a major recruiting rival.
While primarily trying to devote himself to helping Alabama win yet another national title, those recruiting battles have already begun.
Linebacker Ben Davis, a five-star recruit considered by many the top prospect in the state of Alabama, announced earlier this month that Georgia is his top school. That's despite the fact that his dad, Wayne, is the all-time leading tackler at Alabama. The guy who was listed as his primary recruiter for the Crimson Tide: Kirby Smart.
There could be a Saban-Smart battle brewing for another linebacker from Alabama, Lyndell Wilson of Montgomery. And Smart will be trying to keep Georgia prospects like defensive tackle Derrick Brown of Sugar Hill at home, after previously trying to get Brown to leave the state for Tuscaloosa.
Smart said the conflicts are "not as much as you might think. For four or five kids, maybe, we're those kids' top two schools."
Four or five is enough, when you're dealing with the top of the recruiting food chain. Good thing Saban and Smart are close, because an arrangement like this could make for some very awkward times in the Tide football offices.
At the very least, it has been a sleep-deprived few weeks for Smart, trying to get up early and handle Georgia business before devoting a normal workday day to Alabama business.
"One day at a time, brother," Smart said. "There's light at the end of the tunnel, I keep telling myself. I want to do the right thing by both employers. To not coach in this game, I could not imagine. I had players come to me and say, 'I appreciate it. You didn't have to do this.' "
In figuring out how to wear two hats at once, Smart sought counsel of his former Alabama colleague McElwain, but more significantly Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn. Last year Quinn was the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, who stayed with the team through its Super Bowl run before heading to Atlanta. Quinn's advice could be more applicable due to the length of the NFL season for Super Bowl teams, and subsequent compression of the offseason schedule at the next job.
But here's the big difference: staying at the old job brings instant recruiting credibility for Smart. He's trying to sell rings and titles, at a place that has a history of falling short in those areas.
"There's nothing that's going to help me more at the University of Georgia," Smart said, "than winning a national championship at the University of Alabama."
Popular college football video on Yahoo Sports:
