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Kirby Smart, Georgia prep the same for Kalen DeBoer-led Alabama

Jeremy Johnsonby: Jeremy Johnson09/22/25JeremyO_Johnson
Kirby Smart, Georgia
(Brett Davis)

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban have spent nearly 10 years on the sidelines coaching together. They were together at LSU for a year. Smart followed Saban to South Beach, where he coached the Dolphins.

They were together at Alabama from 2007 to 2015. It’s hard not to really know and understand a man in a decade.

Smart learned a lot from Saban. He’s taken a lot of the things that worked for Saban and implemented them into what Georgia does.

That made things a little different when preparing for Georgia’s six matchups against the Saban-led Alabama teams. The Bulldogs were facing a program that ran a lot of the same schemes, particularly defensively, and was built on a lot of the same principles.

Georgia went 1-5 against Saban-led Alabama teams. Saban retired following the 2023 season. The Crimson Tide won the SEC championship that season, beating Georgia in Atlanta before going on to the College Football Playoffs.

The new age of Alabama and how things are changing for Georgia in the rivalry

Former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer was the man tapped to replace Saban. DeBoer had no SEC coaching roots and nothing that connected him to the Saban coaching tree. Alabama is now led by a completely new mindset.

Georgia will host Alabama in Athens for the first time since 2015. The Crimson Tide team coming into Athens could be different, as DeBoer has had more time to recruit his players and implement his culture and schemes. The Crimson Tide has also made the move to Ryan Grub as the offensive coordinator after a year with the Seattle Seahawks. Grub worked with DeBoer at Washington.

Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was in place last season as well.

For Smart, the preparation is similar, but he can see the changes in Alabama’s tendencies because of the change in personnel over time. Georgia is locked inward when it comes to preparation.

“We prepare for every team the same,” Smart told reporters. “We don’t go, okay, we’ve got to prepare for Tennessee differently than we prepare for Alabama. We’re going to prepare by doing what they do and trying to do it better than they do it, in terms of the look we give our guys, which is really hard to simulate…They’re a really good football team with really good players. They’ve changed, they’ve changed defensively and they’ve changed offensively. They’ll change every year as their personnel changes.”

The Crimson Tide will look different at quarterback. Ty Simpson has replaced Jalen Milroe, whom the Bulldogs faced the last two seasons. Milroe was a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks.

“Milroe is different than Ty, but they’re both tremendous athletes,” Smart said. “Our preparation is where we’re trying to remain consistent.”

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