Hatcher's team moved into the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 at No. "And he's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been." "Now it's moving on to a guy I know a lot about and a program I have a lot of respect for," Smart said of Hatcher and the Southern Conference's Bulldogs. One week after facing his former co-defensive coordinator, first-year Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Smart now will be looking across the field at another familiar face. It was hard for me to tell the difference from what I saw on tape from last year." "I think they're very similar to last year, they've just got different names on the back of their uniforms," Hatcher said ". Hatcher said Smart has reloaded on defense despite returning only three starters. "He was a tremendous coach at 24 years old when we were together, and he's built his team into a power, one of the best football teams that I've ever seen on tape and probably the best football team that I've ever played or coached against." "Kirby has done an outstanding job," Hatcher said. Hatcher was Valdosta State's head coach 22 years ago when he hired Smart to coach defensive backs for the Division II powerhouse in south Georgia. 11 Oregon in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia (1-0) lost 15 players to this year's NFL draft, including five first-round selections from its defense, but looked plenty strong in last week's 49-3 runaway win over No. 2 Georgia of the powerful Southeastern Conference faces Samford, a Football Championship Subdivision program coached by Hatcher, on Saturday its first home game since winning last season's national title. Chris Hatcher has good reason to feel proud of Kirby Smart's success in bringing a national championship to Georgia.Īfter all, Hatcher gave Smart his first coaching job. Richt told fans Monday he wants everyone to rally around the new coach when the announcement is made.ATHENS, Ga.
He has three years left on a four-year deal that includes a buyout thought to be in the range of $500,000. Smart became the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country in June when he received a $150,000-a-year raise to $1.5 million. Smart will bring in his own staff, but is expected to retain defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He played defensive back for the Bulldogs in the mid-'90s and was an administrative assistant on the 1999 coaching staff and the running-back coach in 2005. Smart has helped Alabama win three national championships and has strong ties to Georgia. Smart has spent the last eight years next to Alabama head coach Nick Saban as the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator. One Bulldogs assistant coach told Channel 2’s Zach Klein Monday that the feeling among all the coaches was that Smart would replace Mark Richt, who stepped down Sunday after 15 years at UGA. I'm honored and excited for the opportunity at Georgia and promise high energy, effort every day, and hard work every minute on the part of all our coaches, staff and student-athletes." I have been fortunate to spend 11 seasons with him as my mentor and have learned a tremendous amount from him as a coach and teacher. "I'm deeply appreciative of the faith President Morehead, Greg McGarity, and the Athletic Board Executive Committee have demonstrated in asking me to lead one of the truly great college football programs in the country. "It's an honor and privilege to return home to the University of Georgia and my home state," said Smart. "I am pleased to welcome Kirby, his wife, Mary Beth, and their three children back home to the University of Georgia, and I look forward to supporting him in his new role as our head football coach." "I interviewed Coach Smart on Sunday morning, and, following that interview, I accepted the athletic director's recommendation to hire Kirby," said UGA President Jere W. I believe Kirby Smart is the perfect fit for the University of Georgia." "Someone who understands the true meaning of a student-athlete by actually experiencing it himself - someone who competed at the highest levels on the playing field, was mentored by some of the very best in the game, and understood the specific ingredients necessary to excel at the highest levels of college athletics - Kirby Smart fits that profile. "It was critical to identify a person who would focus on a specific, defined process of developing championship football teams on and off the playing field," said McGarity. Smart will be introduced at a press conference in Athens on Monday.
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