A Mutual Respect and Appreciation
One of the keys to their friendship is the mutual respect and appreciation they have for each other. Saban hired Smart as his defensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007, and they won four national titles together. Smart learned a lot from Saban, and Saban praised Smart for his contributions to the program.When Smart left Alabama to become the head coach at Georgia in 2016, Saban wished him well and said he was happy for him. Smart also expressed his gratitude to Saban and said he would always be indebted to him.
Even after they became rivals in the SEC, they continued to show respect and admiration for each other. Saban called Smart “one of the best coaches in the country” and Smart called Saban “the greatest of all time”. They also congratulated each other after their games, and Saban shared some words of wisdom with Smart after the national championship game.
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"If we had to lose a national championship, I’d rather lose one to one of the former assistants who did a great job for us, and has done a great job with his program and his team,” Saban said. “But I think Kirby has done a really, really good job there, I congratulated him on the win. I’m really proud of him, and I’m proud of the way he’s been able to coach his team and the consistency that they’ve played with all year.”
“We texted before the game, we texted after the game, we texted about Jameson Williams, we texted about John Metchie, we texted about Brock Bowers, we texted about a lot of things,” Smart said. “We texted about our families, we texted about our kids, we texted about a lot of things. It’s a relationship that I value and appreciate.”
Smart also shared a hilarious story about a secret golf trip he and Saban took a few years ago, when they were both in Lake Burton, Georgia. Smart said they decided to play a round of golf together, but they had to sneak out of their houses and avoid being seen by the media or the fans.
“We had to go out the back door, we had to go out the back way, we had to go to a different golf course, we had to wear hats, we had to wear sunglasses, we had to do everything we could to not be seen,” Smart said. “And we had a blast. We had an absolute blast.”
Smart also said that Saban was very competitive on the golf course, and that he tried to use a mulligan on the 18th hole to tie the game. Smart said he did not allow that, and that he still claims he beat Saban that day.
"If we had to lose a national championship, I’d rather lose one to one of the former assistants who did a great job for us, and has done a great job with his program and his team,” Saban said. “But I think Kirby has done a really, really good job there, I congratulated him on the win. I’m really proud of him, and I’m proud of the way he’s been able to coach his team and the consistency that they’ve played with all year.”
A Text Message Exchange and a Secret Golf Trip
Another way that Saban and Smart keep their friendship alive is by staying in touch through text messages and occasional golf trips. Smart revealed that he and Saban exchanged text messages before and after the national championship game, and that they talked about their families, their teams, and their injuries.“We texted before the game, we texted after the game, we texted about Jameson Williams, we texted about John Metchie, we texted about Brock Bowers, we texted about a lot of things,” Smart said. “We texted about our families, we texted about our kids, we texted about a lot of things. It’s a relationship that I value and appreciate.”
Smart also shared a hilarious story about a secret golf trip he and Saban took a few years ago, when they were both in Lake Burton, Georgia. Smart said they decided to play a round of golf together, but they had to sneak out of their houses and avoid being seen by the media or the fans.
“We had to go out the back door, we had to go out the back way, we had to go to a different golf course, we had to wear hats, we had to wear sunglasses, we had to do everything we could to not be seen,” Smart said. “And we had a blast. We had an absolute blast.”
Smart also said that Saban was very competitive on the golf course, and that he tried to use a mulligan on the 18th hole to tie the game. Smart said he did not allow that, and that he still claims he beat Saban that day.