The last time Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart and his team won a semifinal game — the celebration was large and quite vocal. Which the way the Dawgs beat Oklahoma, that celebration wasn’t out of the ordinary because, man, it was an epic win.
He was a second-year head coach and still learning what it meant to lead a team through the playoffs.
Even though celebrating is okay, there is a time and place for it. A semifinal win is huge, but that first playoff victory should make the team even hungrier when the goal is to win a national championship.
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart learned from his mistakes and now has what it takes to win it all.
While there is nothing wrong with having a passionate coach excited about winning the schools’ first-ever playoff game, Smart learned from that year and has made it a point to let people know they don’t just want to make it to Indianapolis — they want to leave with the trophy.
Smart refused to allow his players to drench him in Powerade after demoralizing Michigan 34-11. He almost got mad about it, which some may think is too much, but to us, it shows how serious he wants his guys to take this year’s playoffs.
In his postgame interview with Holly Rowe, he mentioned how that game wasn’t the time for that kind of celebration. Smart and the team know the job won’t be complete until they win a national title, and until then, the celebrating can wait.
He has grown so much since 2017 and learned how to properly lead a team to where this Georgia one is right now. Smart is the man for the job in Athens, and no one else would have the Dawgs where they’re at right now other than him.
After his team beat Michigan by 23 points, Smart was proud of his guys, but the mentality that the job is far from done should excite the entire Dawg nation. That determination of not quitting until the goal is complete proves he will be the next head coach to win the national title.
Some believe that if Georgia doesn’t win it all this year, it will never happen again, but Smart’s determination says otherwise. This year very well could be “the one,” or it may not because winning a national championship is flat-out hard work, no matter what Nick Saban has made it look like the last few years.
It may not, but one thing is evident, Smart will not stop until Georgia does win it all, and he will be the next SEC coach to hoist the College Football Playoff Championship trophy. Smart has the makings of a great coach and is already proving to be a damn good one through six seasons, so it’s only fitting to assume he will win a title.
His actions after the Orange Bowl prove that he is one determined coach and his players follow suit. Determination plays a big role, and it seems like this group won’t hesitate this time when Alabama shows up for war.