Georgia's Kirby Smart says recent firings are part of 'boom or bust' nature

Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart reacted to the news that LSU fired Brian Kelly on Monday, calling it a reflection of the unforgiving nature of modern college football.

“It’s the world we live in,” Smart told reporters. “At this time in the middle of the season, I think there’s so much built around the playoffs. It’s like everything is boom or bust, and you can’t have a normal season.”

Kelly became the latest SEC head coach to lose his job this fall after LSU’s 49-25 home loss to No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday night. The Tigers have dropped three of their last four games, falling to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC. Kelly, who signed a 10-year, $100 million contract in 2021, finished his LSU tenure with a 34-14 record and one SEC Championship appearance.

No one would know better about the expectations in Baton Rouge than Smart. He served on Nick Saban’s staff at LSU in 2004, and was given sound advice at the time. 

“I know it’s high expectations,” he said. “I coached at LSU, and a guy once told me, ‘That office you’re in, that’s not your office. You’re borrowing it.’ And I knew right then, if you didn’t win, you wouldn’t be there long.”

Now in his ninth season at Georgia, Smart is the SEC’s top coach. He’ll lead the fifth-ranked Bulldogs into Saturday’s rivalry game against Florida in Jacksonville. Like LSU, the Gators are another program who made a mid-season coaching change after firing Billy Napier earlier this month.

LSU’s vacancy joins Florida and Arkansas, which dismissed Sam Pittman in September, among the league’s three open jobs. “It’s just part of the business now,” Smart said. “That doesn’t make it right, but it’s the reality we’re all dealing with.”

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