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Just like many people around the country, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was shocked when he found out Alabama legend Nick Saban is retiring.
“Little shocked when it came about, but it’s one of those things that’s inevitable for all of us,” Smart said on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta. “We’ll all walk away, and sometimes you walk away on your own terms and sometimes you don’t. I thought it was pretty cool he got to walk away on his own terms.”
After sharing his initial reaction to Saban’s retirement, Smart raved about the type of character his mentor is – on and off the field.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a coach, as a person, and as a man,” Smart said, via Dawgs Daily. “What he and Mrs. Terry have meant to, really the game of football. But especially to Tuscaloosa, they’ve been incredible. He’s put a lot of coaches through his coaching factory, I can assure you of that.”
Kirby Smart comments on the retirement of Nick Saban https://t.co/1lA1ziM2wA
— Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA) January 11, 2024
Smart worked with Saban at LSU and Alabama. He was also on his Miami Dolphins staff in 2006.
Out of all of Saban’s assistants, Smart has been the most successful, winning back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022.