Kirby Smart is eager to blaze new trails as the head football coach at the University of Georgia.
Smart also realizes he has to adhere to standards already in place.
Less than 36 hours after serving as Alabama's defensive coordinator for the final time during the Crimson Tide's 45-40 win over Clemson in Glendale, Ariz., Smart met with the media Wednesday in Athens. Smart was quick to exclaim that he's thrilled to be back at his alma mater and thrilled to have just one job, and he made it clear that a change in culture is needed.
"I think culture is important any time you take on something new," Smart said. "Not that anything was completely broken here before, but this culture has to be created by Coach Smart and Coach Smart's staff, and we're doing that right now. We're doing that in the weight room, and we're going to make sure that every kid understands that it's going to be a tough, competitive culture done through our eyes and our window.
"That's what we want to establish in the offseason, and it's the whole point of the offseason. We want to create toughness and make kids comfortable being uncomfortable, and I think that's important to do."
Smart is replacing Mark Richt, who was fired in late November following a 15-year run with the Bulldogs that included a 145-51 mark with five Southeastern Conference Eastern Division championships and two league crowns. Richt's last SEC title was in 2005, and his 2015 team was heavily favored to win the East but blew a 21-point lead in a 38-31 loss at Tennessee and inexplicably used its third-string quarterback in a 27-3 shellacking against Florida.
Though Richt won 74 percent of his games at Georgia and 76 percent his last two seasons, Smart arrives from an Alabama program guided by Nick Saban that is 98-12 since the start of the 2008 season. Monday night's win clinched a fourth national championship in seven seasons, a feat matched only by the Notre Dame powerhouses of the 1940s.
Moving on from the Richt era could result in some player departures, and Smart would not be surprised by that.
"I think you take it as it goes, but you accept that's probably going to happen," Smart said. "Our job is to convince them that we're here for them, too. They chose to come to the University of Georgia for a reason, and we want those reasons to be the same, but is it inevitable? I do think it is when you change the culture, because sometimes people don't fit and may elect to leave.
"It can affect your APR (academic progress rate) and graduation rate, but at the end of the day, they've got to decide what's best for them, and we can't sacrifice our goals and culture."
The only player to leave since Smart's hiring was announced in early December is freshman safety Johnathan Abram, who did not make the trip to the TaxSlayer Bowl due to personal reasons. Abram is reportedly transferring to Jones County (Miss.) Community College.
Estimating he knows 30 to 40 percent of Georgia's roster through recruiting, Smart will hold individual meetings with each returning player, with most of those scheduled after signing day on Feb. 3. The NCAA's "dead period" for recruiting is now over, so Smart and his assistants will be on the road recruiting from now until Jan. 30.
Smart recognizes there could be some logistical concerns during his first year due to the construction of Georgia's indoor practice facility, and he is taking over a program that has one of the strictest drug policies in the country.
"I'm understanding of it, and it's ultimately something that falls beyond my control," he said. "I realize it's not exactly a level playing field across the board, but we come in knowing that and knowing what the issues are. The kids know what they are, and if you break the rules of the program, you'll be punished for it.
"I think they have a pretty good understanding of that here."
Smart was Georgia's running backs coach when the Bulldogs last won an SEC title. He has since been learning from Saban, which could continue despite the change in locales.
The two visited in the wee hours of Tuesday morning before going their separate ways.
"He told me he would help me any way he could, and he wants to keep that relationship open," Smart said. "He's always been that way."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6524.