It wasn’t too long ago when Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin were coordinators for Alabama during the Crimson Tide’s 2015 national championship season.
Both coordinators became heavily sought-after candidates for head coaching jobs and will now face off for the first time as head coaches.
“They’ve got a great team,” Smart said after Georgia’s 30-21 win over Missouri this past Saturday. “Lot of respect for what Lane’s done and built there. They’ve got a tremendous offensive line, they’re playing good defense [and] it’s going to be a hell of a matchup, because they’ve got a really good football team.”
Smart was hired by Georgia following the 2015 season to succeed previous Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Smart didn’t take long to get rolling in Athens, as he took the team from 8-5 to 13-2 and made the College Football Playoff in his second head coaching season.
Since then, Smart’s led Georgia to the top of the SEC East nearly every year since 2017 and brought home Georgia’s first national title in 41 years in 2021. He followed it up with an undefeated 15-0 season in 2022 to defend the title for the Bulldogs.
Georgia is currently ranked No. 1 in the country according to the Associated Press rankings and is the last unbeaten team in the SEC. The Bulldogs are in prime position for another College Football Playoff appearance and a chance to three-peat as national champions.
Following Kiffin’s departure from Alabama, the former offensive coordinator became the head coach at Florida Atlantic. In his three years there, Kiffin posted two double-digit winning seasons, two bowl-game victories and a record of 26-13.
