Kirby Smart not thinking about replacements for Fran Brown: 'We're not worried about anything past Alabama'
Syracuse tapped Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown as the next head coach for the Orange in recent days. And with Brown’s departure from Athens now coming, head coach Kirby Smart will need to eventually hire a replacement.
But he’s not worried about that yet. Brown will keep coaching with Georgia as the Bulldogs approach the SEC Championship Game this weekend against Alabama, a task Smart is keeping the focus on.
“We’ve been really focused on Alabama. That’s all we’re really thinking about. Those decisions that you’re talking about? They’re not important, right. They have no relevance, whatsoever, to this game. And our focus and energy is on this game. So I really don’t have to decide that right now and don’t even look to,” Smart said.
He added that, to him, Brown’s eventual departure isn’t really newsworthy relative to the chance to win the league and make another appearance in the College Football Playoff.
“I don’t even know why it’s newsworthy. What’s newsworthy is he got a hell of an opportunity and he’s done a tremendous job for us and we’re super happy for his family and for Syracuse to be getting someone of his character. But we’re not worried about anything past Alabama,” Smart said.
Smart is ultimately fixated on beating Alabama above all else
The possibility of the SEC being left out of the College Football Playoff in the event that No. 1 Georgia loses to No. 8 Alabama is a legitimate one, albeit unlikely. But Smart isn’t worrying about any playoff potentialities at this point.
With a tall task of toppling Alabama to win an SEC crown still ahead, Smart is keeping his focus on the task at hand. Even when asked directly about the possibility of missing the CFP, Smart demurred.
“As far as your other question, I really don’t want to get into. I want to focus on what we have to do to win this game,” Smart said.
Georgia won its last matchup against Alabama, a victory in the national championship game in January 2022. But prior to that, the Crimson Tide had been on a long run of wins over the Bulldogs, including a win in the 2021 SEC Championship Game.
SEC commissioner Sankey projected confidence that the league will not be left out of the four-team College Football Playoff field, no matter the result. In the nine CFPs to date, the SEC has had at least one team in the field.
Given that historical backdrop, and the resumes of the two teams that could make the field, Sankey remained assured the league he oversees will, once again, be represented in the playoff field. Sankey, speaking on a teleconference with reporters on Thursday, also highlighted the SEC success within the CFP, too.
“I’ll also point candidly, John, to the realities when the SEC teams have entered the College Football Playoff format, our success is unparalleled. It’s envied by everyone else. We’ve lost in the semifinal once to a non-conference team, to a non-conference team twice in the championship game. The only other losses we’ve experienced are to ourselves. That’s — the entirety of our record is the basis for the assurance that we will have a team in the CFP for the 10th consecutive year,” Sankey said.