ATHENS, Ga. - Tennessee's Butch Jones was hired to rebuild a struggling Southeastern Conference football program, as was Bret Bielema at Arkansas and Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss.
Kirby Smart was introduced as Georgia's new head coach Monday afternoon under very different circumstances.
The Alabama defensive coordinator is replacing Mark Richt, who recently was dismissed by athletic director Greg McGarity despite winning 74 percent of his games the past 15 seasons and 76 percent the past two. Smart's margin for error may be the most minuscule in the league since Les Miles took over for Nick Saban at LSU after the 2004 season, so no pressure, right?
"No greater pressure than I put on myself, I can promise you that," Smart said. "That's the way it should be. You put pressure on yourself and you demand excellence from everybody in your organization. We're going to go out there and have the intent to win in every game we play."
Smart has been part of an Alabama program that has won 88.9 percent of its games since the start of the 2008 season, a run that includes four SEC championships and three national titles.
There were university officials, media members and players present at Monday's event held inside the Mahler Auditorium of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The players met Smart for the first time Sunday evening, but they also had encountered him in early October, when Alabama traveled to Sanford Stadium and applied a 38-10 thrashing.
"He was always lining up his defense to what we were doing," tailback Sony Michel said.
Smart did not offer many specifics or timetables when discussing staff hires during his nearly 30 minutes at the podium, and he shot down a hypothetical question asking how long Georgia was from competing for national titles.
In a briefer gathering with reporters that followed, Smart did not confirm or deny reports that Crimson Tide strength coach Scott Cochran would follow him from Tuscaloosa. Smart did say Alabama associate director of player personnel Glenn Schumann will join Georgia's staff in some capacity, potentially in a role on the field.
The biggest response Smart drew from Bulldogs supporters was when he was asked about Richt regretting being more hands-on with the offense the last several years.
"I'm hands-on with the whole program," Smart said. "I'm going to be involved with everything. One of the biggest strengths I think I have as a coach is managing the whole thing - being involved in special teams, being involved in the offensive and defensive sides and being involved with coaches.
"The big thing is making sure everybody's on the same page. Demand excellence out of everybody and make sure you get that. If you don't, you've got to make a change."
Smart hit the recruiting trail after the news conference and is scheduled to visit with heralded quarterback commitment Jacob Eason of Lake Stevens, Wash. He will work with Georgia until early next week, when he returns to Alabama as the Crimson Tide begin preparations for a Cotton Bowl matchup against Michigan State on New Year's Eve.
Georgia will play Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2. The Bulldogs will be guided in that game by receivers coach Bryan McClendon.
The SEC East now has five head coaches with defensive backgrounds. An hour before Smart spoke, another former Bulldogs safety, Will Muschamp, was being introduced as the new head coach at South Carolina.
"For me, it's just how it happened," Smart said. "It could change in four years and go back the other way, but for the most part I've always thought of the SEC as a defensive league. It's a tough, physical league, so you want to play good defense. Historically, the teams with the best defense have been near the top of the conference."
Said outside linebacker Davin Bellamy: "This is a physical league, and you have to stop people. The proof is in the pudding every year with Coach Smart, because his defenses are up there. We're definitely excited to have him."
McGarity opened the news conference by welcoming Smart and urging Georgia fans to unite after a turbulent stretch. Smart then followed and had several people to thank, including each of those who have gone before him.
"There are several coaches that had a great impact on my life here," Smart said. "Coach (Vince) Dooley has meant a lot to me in this community and is a great man, and Coach (Ray) Goff brought me here. I wasn't a very good player, and that's probably the reason he's not here. Coach (Jim) Donnan has been a great asset to me as I've grown as a coach.
"I'd also like to thank Coach Richt for the opportunity he gave me as an assistant here in 2005, and also for laying a foundation of integrity at this university."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.