Kirby Smart’s legacy as a college football head coach is set in stone. For the most part that is a good thing because of all the success he has found. From the National Championships, SEC titles and countless big victories along the way, his tenure at Georgia has been nothing short of magnificent.
But unfortuantely there is one part of his legacy that is tainted, and there is nothing he can do about it. And it all has to do with his struggles against Alabama.
Alabama will forever haunt Kirby Smart
Smart is a future college football Hall of Famer, no one can deny that. But there will always be one asterisk next to his name because of his inability to overcome Alabama.
Smart’s latest defeat to the Crimson Tide came Saturday night. This was Smart’s first time playing Alabama at home, so it gave him arguably his best chance to beat the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately he and Georgia came up short as Alabama pulled off the 24-21 upset victory behind a dominant first half performance.
So even though Georgia has won two more recent National Championships, Alabama will always be viewed as the dominant program from Smart’s tenure. And even over the course of the rest of his time at Georgia, there really isn’t anything Smart can do to change that.
Smart would have to go on a similar run against Alabama just to eliminate the reputation he has against the Crimson Tide. He would likely need to rattle off three or four wins a row just to erase this stain on his legacy. Based on the past it’s hard to imagine a world where that is possible, especially considering Georgia travels to Alabama again next season.
Smart will get a lot more cracks at Alabama throughout his career, and there’s a chance he could play them later this season still. But it goes without saying that he needs to beat Alabama the next time he plays them or his legacy will continue to suffer.