Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have a special relationship. with the now Georgia head coach working with Saban over the course of 11 years at various stops.
The most famous of those came at Alabama, where Smart was Saban’s defensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide handed Smart’s Georgia team a loss last Saturday, beating Georgia 41-34. It was the first regular season loss for Georgia since 2020.
But Saban wasn’t looking to rub Smart’s nose in the defeat. In fact, the former Alabama coach had a positive message for Smart.
“This is not the worst thing that ever happened. Most of our best teams lost a game somewhere and they responded the right way,” Saban said.
To that point, four of Saban’s six national championship teams at Alabama had a regular season loss. The 2011, 2012 and 2015 national championship teams, which Smart worked on at Alabama, all dropped games in the regular season.
Even Smart’s first national championship team suffered a loss prior to the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs lost 41-24 to Alabama in the SEC championship game but were able to rebound and win it all.
“I think when you have a loss and when players are disappointed, it’s just human nature that everybody responds better when you have a thunderbolt, something bad happens,” Saban said.
“Everybody is willing to make the changes they need to make to make it right. I think Goergia will respond in a positive way.”
Georgia will get its first chance to respond to the loss on Saturday when the Bulldogs take on Auburn. Georgia is a heavy favorite but in this rivalry game, Smart knows anything can happen.
“They’re hard to stop, guys,” Smart said of Auburn. “I mean, you’re going to say, everybody’s going to say I’m crazy, but they’re physical, they’ve got good scheme, good plays, experienced quarterback, talented wideouts, great backs.
I mean, the tight ends, they’ve got to play forever. Those guys have been there playing football forever. So it’s not like the moment’s too big for them.”
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