Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has been coaching since the past decade and has witnessed the evolution in college football, especially with the complexities around Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation.
Athletes are no longer committing to seeing where they can learn in the best possible way but rather where they can earn the most. However, this isn’t the pitch Smart is selling when athletes come to him.
During the SEC Media Days, Kirby Smart addressed the harsh reality of NIL even impacting the coaches and their way of teaching.
“I want them to get paid and not effect how they go about their business,” Smart said. “A lot of coaches don’t want to confront or demand anymore for fear of losing a player.”
Kirby Smart on the balance of players making money, while also actually being coached
"I want them to get paid and not effect how they go about their business…A lot of coaches don't want to confront or demand anymore for fear of losing a player"
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) July 15, 2025
“We sell relationships over transactions,” Smart added. “We don’t believe in just being transactional. When you’re transactional, you cannot reach your ultimate goal w/out relationships.”
Georgia's Kirby Smart: "We sell relationships over transactions. We don't believe in just being transactional. When you're transactional, you can not reach your ultimate goal w/out relationships"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 15, 2025
While Smart isn’t against players earning while in college, but he sees the relationship as more than just transactional.
Kirby Smart Weighs In On Nick Saban Return Rumors
Over the weekend, college football analyst Greg McElroy said that he has heard that Nick Saban may unretire and return to being the head coach of the program. Saban, a seven-time national champion, retired in January 2024 from the post of head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
“A very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around and just really, really admire, they seem to think Nick Saban is not done coaching,” McElroy said on McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning pocast. “He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.”
When Kirby Smart was asked what he thinks about Saban returning, the Georgia coach said:
“That’s not happening, I don’t think Nick’s coming back. I think he’s too happy where he is. I think y’all are lacking buzz and they needed some buzz yesterday. That was the only thing that could generate some buzz besides Lane and Hugh (Freeze) feud over the internet. There’s just not a lot there.
“It’s one of those things that if he wanted to he’d be unbelievable at it, but he’s overqualified for our positions.”
It will be interesting to see if Saban returns to the world of coaching. He’s already 73 and he can take inspiration from UNC coach Bill Belichick, who’s coaching his first season in college football at a similar age only.
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