Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Dear Georgia Fans, It’s Time to Trust Kirby

Dear Georgia Fans:

The talk from media outlets about Georgia making the right decision hiring Kirby Smart is getting out of hand.

This is a letter to the fans; a statement explaining why Smart is the man for the job and why to trust him.

Some of the fans have bought into Smart’s ways and reasoning, others have not. It’s time to fully embrace the Kirby Smart era.

When it all Changed:

Last December, Georgia hired Kirby Smart as head football coach. Change finally happened and it was something Georgia fans hadn’t seen in 15 years.

There had been a plateau at Georgia. The team would win 10 to 11 games a season. This impressed some fans, but not all. The recruiting was still good but not great.

They had seemingly lost their will to win and fight for the SEC title.

The entire Bulldog Nation remembers in 2012, when Georgia made it back to the Georgia Dome for the conference championship game to play Alabama. They were six yards away from beating Alabama, but ultimately lost the game.

The mentality was not there, and it was something that Georgia struggled with constantly in recent years.

Mark Richt was one of the best to coach at Georgia. Yet there was still something missing.

Recruiting

In his first 60 days, Smart helped seal the deal to keep three five-star recruits coming to Georgia. This was the first time in school history this happened.

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He’s also on track to have a top five recruiting class for 2017, something that Georgia hadn’t seen since 2011. This alone, should perk Georgia fans up, yet, it doesn’t seem to be enough.

Recruiting is one of the biggest aspects to being successful in the SEC as well as head coach, but to listen to Bulldog fans over recent years, Georgia coaches were not doing enough.

Smart is trying to get creative in a short period of time. He urged fans to show up for the scrimmage so that the stadium might be full for the G-day game. Smart got his wish, there were over 93,000 fans that day. He also brought in rapper, Ludacris before the G-day Game to sing. Can’t hurt to have some entertainment value added to your football. It also sparked the attention of a lot of recruits.

To be successful with recruiting you have to think outside of the box, and he already has. Smart is a great recruiter and the results are already there in less than a year at Georgia.

Changes for the Bulldogs:

Smart brought in multiple changes since arriving. He changed G-day, he changed how “Fan” day is run.

There are also changes in how the team dresses. Instead of wearing jerseys for the “Dawg” walk, the players wear suit and ties.

He has made these changes for the better. There is a no nonsense mentality with discipline and focus being the new norm.

Georgia fans have been concerned about an seeming lack of discipline on the team for years. Smart knew that when he took the job and has made some tough decisions when it comes to punishment for players not following his rules. It has not always been a smooth road but it comes with putting your own stamp on the program.

Restricting the Media:

There are certain ways that Smart likes things to be run around the team and restricting the media, is one.

By narrowing the access the media has, it’s giving the team more privacy. It makes the media question everything Smart does more. It makes reporters, who have been in the business for years, uncomfortable.

When Richt was at Georgia, there was plenty of access for the media. Now, that isn’t the case.

The reporters may request players, but that never guarantees they’ll get them. The media is allotted 10 minutes per day. This 10 minutes is for them to watch practice.

There were multiple articles from well-known reporters that criticized Smart for this approach.

The media needs to respect Smart’s wishes. Granted, this is coming from a media standpoint, but it’s coming from someone who respects what he’s doing at Georgia.

It’s something that he picked up while coaching at Alabama. Smart respects the media, but doesn’t want them to know too much, which is genius.

The Negativity Needs to Leave:

Georgia fans need to realize a few things before overly criticizing the head coach.

For starters, he knows more about coaching than the fans. He knows who works the hardest in practice. The control he has is there for a reason. He wants to make this team successful.

Change was needed to make Georgia into an even more successful program than it already was.

Yet, fans are never completely happy and them making snide remarks about him and what he is doing isn’t going to change anything.

He has been on staff with one of the winningest teams in the last eight years. Smart has more national title rings, as a defensive coordinator, than Georgia does total.

 

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He has excellent coaching pedigree, and he executes it well. However, first year coaches all have their struggles. They are trying to implement their new system with some of the players remaining from the previous coach.  And yes, Georgia has struggled at points.

They have struggled because of lack of significant recruiting at different areas by the previous staff. Add that to coaching staff changes on both sides of the ball and you can see where time and patience are needed.

It was a team that wasn’t down when Smart arrived on campus. However, it was ateam that needed to find its identity.

Luck:

Luck is something in football that every team needs to have along with all the winning qualities.

However, after three games this season, it seems that Georgia has found its luck.

In years past, there was always that one game that came down to the wire, and Georgia just couldn’t close the deal.

Winning the big games just wasn’t in the cards for Georgia the last five years. It was always something.

Some blamed it on being out-coached or out-played. However it was luck, something that Georgia didn’t have much of.

The luck seems to have shifted this season.

The last minute drive against Missouri and closing it on a touchdown pass was a sign. It was a symbol that Georgia could finish a close game and win. It showed the entire Bulldog Nation that this team wasn’t going to give up when they are down. They will fight until they win.

Luck was finally on the Bulldogs’ side.

Smart knew they didn’t play the best game. He knew they got some breaks to have the turnovers happen and that last minute drive.

The ability to win the big game and having the luck to win the big game is crucial.

It’s Time to Rally:

The time is here, Georgia fans. It’s the era of accepting the change that Smart is bringing to Georgia.

And to the fans who didn’t want change, well it’s time to let that go and turn the page to the future.

Smart is bringing in a winning formula that the Bulldog Nation needs to buy into.

There will be growing pains, and adjustments, but the support needs to be there.

Smart has the ability to coach this team to the playoffs and a national title.

He has the capability to make the decisions. Smart may be a first-year head coach on paper. However, the fact he was there since the beginning with Saban, should say enough.

He was under one of the greatest coaches in modern football. Smart recruited for them and produced top five classes each year.

Georgia has one of the best up-and-coming head coaches in the game. By rallying together and giving the support he needs, he could turn Georgia into an Alabama caliber team.

So put aside the differences, and let the man run his team.

It’s time Georgia fans, it’s time to get smart and trust Kirby.

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Savannah Leigh

Savannah Leigh

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