Kirby Smart to the NFL? Paul Finebaum addresses the possibility
Kirby Smart could decide to join the NFL in several years.
ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum believed that Smart could test the waters in the NFL in the future. Smart just secured his 2nd national championship as Georgia’s head coach on Monday night. Finebaum indicated that a move from Smart would not happen immediately and he will remain at Georgia for the next few years.
Finebaum appeared on ESPN Radio’s Keyshawn, JWill and Max and did not rule out the possibility of Smart leaving Georgia for the NFL down the road (Via ESPN College Football):
“Keyshawn, for today he is staying Georgia,” Finebaum said. “You saw what he’s doing there and we just got through with watching it with Nick Saban and it’s similar. It’s a little more of a player-related approach because he’s younger. Saban couldn’t do some of the things Kirby Smart has done throughout the last 15 years.”
In his explanation, Finebaum pointed out the age difference between Smart and Saban. He also mentioned the possibility of Smart being ready to leave college football:
“There will come a moment where Kirby Smart, let’s assume he’s won a couple of championships, he may say, ‘You know what? I’m out,'” Finebaum said.
Finebaum also mentioned Smart’s past experience as an assistant coach on Saban’s staff with the Miami Dolphins. Smart could decide to join the NFL as a head coach.
“Kirby Smart to the NFL?”
No. And Paul Finebaum needs to shut his mouth sometimes.
The only advantage to coaching in the NFL is they don’t have to worry about recruiting. I guess sometimes coaches get bored and want a challenge, but most of the time the NFL thing is just a bad move between college gigs.
Kirby saw Saban go to the NFL, hate it and fail.
He’s not making the same mistake.
Saban, Spurrier, Meyer, and others famously found the NFL much different and more inhospitable than CFB. CKS also seems to fully embrace recruiting and the unique challenges it presents to college programs. You never know what the future holds, but my guess is there’s a fairly low probability that Smart leaves for the NFL.
He can make as much or more at UGA. So what is the lure of going to the NFL? Heck with the portal college even has free agency now.
The lure is the schedule, no recruiting and no NCAA rules. College football has turned into a nearly year around schedule for coaches. While the portal does give off a free agency vibe, most NFL contracts are 2 years or more. The other lure is in college – you are the entire organization. In pro football, there’s a GM that is going to remove most obstacles to let coaches coach. That’s attractive to some and to others who want more control, it’s not.
I just can’t see him going to the league. He’s a GEORGIA guy. A thousand years ago Coach Bryant was offered the Dolphins job, but, obviously, turned them down. When asked about it a number of years later he said he just couldn’t leave. Alabama meant too much to him. Just from what we’ve all seen, I think Kirby feels the same way about UGA.
Nailed it. I could see Kirby trying the league if he was anywhere else. I just can’t see him leave the place he knows he’d be most happy coaching, with everything he’s been able to build and do, knowing that if it doesn’t work out in the NFL (and history shows it probably wouldn’t), he couldn’t just come back home.
No way he goes to the nfl .. the man is born to be a college coach. He has dynasty going in Athens .
Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll are the only college coaches in recent memory to have any success in the NFL. And Pete yo yo’d between the two.
Smart will retire at UGA.
There are really only two reasons why successful college coaches go to the NFL; ego, or they really don’t like the recruiting aspect of the game. I think Kirby likes recruiting and winning. Getting to pick your own players is a really big deal, as many have found out. If Saban would have gotten his way and the Dolphins signed Brees instead of Culpepper, things would be much different in college football now.
You can never say never, but I’d be hard-pressed to see it happen. The one upside I see is that there’s no recruiting and NFL coaches have a real off-season. Kirby’s already making more than some league HCs, so money won’t be a motivator. Everything else I can think of is a con or a push, not a pro.
The real downside is that NFL owners are kinda over the hot college coach thing. It just hasn’t translated well. Any franchise that would consider an FBS coach for HC (without significant prior NFL experience) is likely in trouble, under-funded, and will have a short leash for the guy they hire. Not a good combo, especially coming from a place where CFB is far more popular than pro ball.
I don’t see it happening. Too many examples of it not working. And you can only eat one steak at a time.
Also, the NFL is off the “hire a successful college coach” trend and fully into the “hire a wunderkind” trend.
The only real wildcard in the equation is Mary Beth. There will come a point where she becomes more vocal about more time with family. Once his career hits 30 years — around 2030 — the conversations at home will get more serious.
NFL is a completely different beast, you can’t just buy the best players in the draft every year like you can recruiting classes every year.
A coach and program can’t just buy players in college when the playing field is Bama, OSU, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, ND, LSU, Oklahoma, Miami, FSU, Clemson etc. Lots of programs with deep pockets and one program cannot out bid all the others.
More than signing elite players – college players have to be developed and matured.
Oh, well, Finebaum ruled it out? I guess that settles it, since he knows Kirby so well, and has such influence over Kriby’s decisions.
Lol.
Kirby can make whatever he wants at UGA dealing with kids….not NFL divas.
He saw Saban flop in the NFL and is built the same way as Saban….maybe even better as he’s ahead of him at this point in his career.
Saban is about to be put out to pasture by the monster he created.
Kirby will rule for the next 20yrs if he wants to and still retire 3yrs younger than Saban is now.
Paul is just talking. I don’t buy the Kirby leaving Georgia for an NFL job!! He’s just stirring the pot now that Georgia is at the top! It helps his ratings and he wants Georgia fans to get mad and CALL IN!!!!! If it were Tennessee, south Carolina or Florida. He would likely say the same thing!!!!
Kirby is a COLLEGE COACH! His ideas wouldn’t work in the NFL based upon the fact. Players get their way too much in the NFL. Plus you don’t recruit, you draft!!!!!! Kirby wins based upon college recruiting and development of players!!!! The NFL is a good way to wreck his career and reputation!!!!!!! The way he talked about the NFL, didn’t sound like he enjoyed it……
I think Paul is just using Kirby Smart and Georgia as a talking tool for ratings. If Alabama was in the same place. He would be stirring the pot with Alabama fans. Actually he is right now…..
PS. He’s piggybacking off angry Alabama fans and angering Georgia fans or to get us to do what we are doing right now!!!!!
I like Paul but he’s THE MOUTH OF THE SOUTH!!!!!! LOL
Negan
Finebaum said “There will come a moment where Kirby Smart, let’s assume he’s won a couple of championships…..”
Pawwwwllllll pawllll pawllllllllll pawlll pawl…uhh, he has won a couple of championships.
A lot of college coaches are leaving for the NFL because the lifestyle is so much easier than at the college level. College coaches live in the grinder and never really escape it. That said, if Kirby leaves some day, it won’t be soon. It certainly won’t be while he is on top of the world. He gets to live in Athens and spend time with his family.
I also think it is important to note that his style of coaching works well with 18-22 year olds. But it won’t translate well in the NFL. He understand work, and the x’s and o’s… but that temper won’t fly. Look at Saban, Spurrier, Holtz, Petrino. College success does not guarantee NFL success.
Paul needs to study Kirby a bit more than ESPN headlines….He is a Georgia boy, wife is a Georgia girl, kids are all Georgia born and bread….there is absolutely nothing the NFL can offer that would move them away from Athens….other than creating an NFL team in Bainbridge, GA and naming him HC.
Kirby is accustomed to the Saban train. Find a team that can build u a dynasty and put your name on the map and you stay with them. Idk why Kirby would leave if he was 2-4 more championships. Wouldn’t he stay to try to earn the goat status? Same thing with monken. They’ve both found a team in a spot in their careers where it wouldn’t make sense to just up and leave a program that pays higher than NFL and gives you more success probability than any team in the NFL. I love Paul but he’s an idiot for this one.
Kirby to the NFL ? Not even in the realm of possibility.
Kirby, like Saban and Urban Meyer is a great college coach because of his ability to micro-manage 18-23 (+ a 34 y.o. stetson) year Olds. It is a terrific approach for college but it does not translate to the NFL. Kirby has already seen this with Saban (and Meyer). I do not see that happening unless he gets truly warn out by the grind of cfb…
As a huge UGA alum & grad and a lifelong DAWG, I can’t see Coach Smart ever leaving his Dream Job at his alma mater UGA or his home state of Georgia for more challenges or $$$ in the NFL. That won’t happen UNLESS or UNTIL he fails to get for UGA top 5 recruiting classes each year or is unable to hire great assistant coaches to replace assistant coaches who do leave UGA for head coaching jobs at other schools or as NFL assistant coaches. I thank Coach Saban (who is NOT a native Alabamian or former Bama player) for his revival of Bear Bryant’s legend and the Bama tradition/culture for which Bama is known. He passed on to Coach Smart what he knows and also what Bear Bryant’s legend and Bama fans taught him on how to excel at the highest level of college football. GO DAWGS and keep Rollin’ Tide. Change is coming with further dilution of the SEC by Texas and Oklahoma and an 18 team league with no East and West divisions anymore. I agreed with South Carolina joining the SEC years ago , but not with Arkansas, Mizzou and Texas A&M. Clemson, FSU, and the U woulda been OK. But rather than Texas & OU being rescued now, I think Clemson and FSU woulda been better & truer SEC teams.