SEC Football: The similarities between Saban and Smart
By Abbey Giese
This year’s national championship game is between two SEC coaches whose early days with their respective teams have been eerily similar so far.
On New Year’s Day, the Georgia Bulldogs won the Rose Bowl and the Alabama Crimson Tide won the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal games. The two SEC teams will meet in Atlanta on Monday for the national championship game.
The two head coaches in this game are extremely familiar with one another. Both are two of the best defensive minds in college football. Kirby Smart was a defensive coordinator under Alabama head coach Nick Saban from 2008 until Georgia hired him as head coach in 2015. Smart was also on Saban’s staff at LSU.
One major storyline has naturally been the mentor vs. mentee narrative, especially since Saban is undefeated against former assistants.
The most overrated stat you will hear in the next few days is that Saban is 11-0 against former assistants, only 1 of those had a formidable team talent wise and that’s Jimbo
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) January 4, 2018
However, Smart’s and Saban’s first few seasons with their respective teams share a lot of similarities. There have been a lot of eerie coincidences to how their early days of running each of their programs has played out.