Kirby Smart expands on text exchange with Nick Saban after loss

Relationships in football can go a long way, and Kirby Smart has built some strong ones over the years.

In a pinch, he can lean on those relationships. For advice. For motivation. For support. And after suffering a heart-breaking loss to Alabama two weeks ago, Smart did just that, tapping in with former Alabama coach — and former boss — Nick Saban.

“I mean I love Nick, I reached out to him after our game,” Kirby Smart explained. “I initiated the contact, I told him, ‘The sun’s still going to come up tomorrow’ because that was the saying he always had before the game to make you realize that it’s so big to us as coaches but it’s a game. It’s a game of football.”

In other words, the show goes on.

Georgia still had plenty to play for the rest of the season, so there was no use dwelling on that loss in Tuscaloosa. It was a tough one, but it was just one game.

Plenty of teams have come back from one loss and still had a tremendous year. Won championships afterward, even. Kirby Smart’s been part of some of them.

With a team that boasts a top 25 scoring and total defense and a top 25 passing offense, Georgia has some pieces in place to make a run. The Bulldogs are counting on it.

Last weekend was the bounce-back, a comfortable win over Auburn that washed the losing taste out of everyone’s mouth and got the guys amped up again. As Kirby Smart put it to Nick Saban, time to move on.

“Sun’s going to come up,” Smart said. “And I told him Sunday morning, I said, ‘Sun’s still coming up.’ He said, ‘You’ve got a great team. They play really hard and they should be proud of the way they played. Keep getting them better.’ I appreciate those comments.”

Georgia will look to turn one win into two this weekend when it takes on struggling Mississippi State in the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium. It should be another opportunity to get right for the Bulldogs, who are right back on track thanks to Kirby Smart and his management of an excellent program.