Not recruiter. Not motivational pregame speaker. Not elite staff hirer (we know mistakes have been made here, but also some REALLY good ones). Not “press conference winner.”
Kirby Smart is a great football coach. This hit me yesterday at two different points:
1. His interview with Jenny Dell coming out of halftime. In the past, you’ve been able to see through the calmness and realize, “I need to say a prayer for those kids. He’s about to go in there and rain fire down.” Yesterday, I saw a coach that knows that this team did not believe that they were as good as they have been, so the WHOLE TIME we were down, he remained calm and encouraging. The SECOND we went up 20-17, you could see him change his temperament to, “WE’VE GOT TO DO IT RIGHT!” (Not what he said, but this is a family site…sometimes…).
2. In the 4th quarter, Brad Nessler painted us a picture, and I don’t know if you guys caught it. “Carson Beck just looked over to the sideline and Kirby Smart was giving him two thumbs up, as if to say, ‘This is the time you’ve been waiting for.’” At the risk of sounding cheesy, this is like the scene in the movie where the kid looks over to his dad/coach/mentor before hitting the big shot in slow motion with the dramatic music.
He knows full well that this particular, 2023 team may not believe they are worthy of the mantle that they hold. So, Kirby Smart, being an elite football coach and manager of people, is holding onto the handles of the bike, breaking into a jog.
Yesterday, when that clock hit 0:00, I think you saw the moment where he let go of the handlebars.
Kirby Smart is a great football coach. This hit me yesterday at two different points:
1. His interview with Jenny Dell coming out of halftime. In the past, you’ve been able to see through the calmness and realize, “I need to say a prayer for those kids. He’s about to go in there and rain fire down.” Yesterday, I saw a coach that knows that this team did not believe that they were as good as they have been, so the WHOLE TIME we were down, he remained calm and encouraging. The SECOND we went up 20-17, you could see him change his temperament to, “WE’VE GOT TO DO IT RIGHT!” (Not what he said, but this is a family site…sometimes…).
2. In the 4th quarter, Brad Nessler painted us a picture, and I don’t know if you guys caught it. “Carson Beck just looked over to the sideline and Kirby Smart was giving him two thumbs up, as if to say, ‘This is the time you’ve been waiting for.’” At the risk of sounding cheesy, this is like the scene in the movie where the kid looks over to his dad/coach/mentor before hitting the big shot in slow motion with the dramatic music.
He knows full well that this particular, 2023 team may not believe they are worthy of the mantle that they hold. So, Kirby Smart, being an elite football coach and manager of people, is holding onto the handles of the bike, breaking into a jog.
Yesterday, when that clock hit 0:00, I think you saw the moment where he let go of the handlebars.
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