Georgia’s Kirby Smart starts work, tabs Mel Tucker as defensive coordinator

The Associated Press

After preparing Alabama's defense for the Cotton Bowl and for Monday night's national championship game, along with the interviews that came along with it, Kirby Smart took over Georgia on a full-time basis Tuesday morning. — The Associated Press After preparing Alabama's defense for the Cotton Bowl and for Monday night's national championship game, along with the interviews that came along with it, Kirby Smart took over Georgia on a full-time basis Tuesday morning. The Associated Press After preparing Alabama's defense for the Cotton Bowl and for Monday night's national championship game, along with the interviews that came along with it, Kirby Smart took over Georgia on a full-time basis Tuesday morning.

By David Paschall January 13, 2016 3 min read

Kirby Smart is no longer a shared coach.

After working the past several weeks as Alabama’s defensive coordinator and as Georgia’s head football coach, Smart arrived in Athens on Tuesday morning to take over the Bulldogs on a full-time basis. Hours earlier, Smart and his Crimson Tide defenders survived Clemson’s brilliant quarterback, Deshaun Watson, in a 45-40 thriller at the title game of the four-team playoff in Glendale, Ariz.

Though the Tigers racked up 550 yards against Smart’s final Alabama defense, the new boss of the Bulldogs believes Monday night’s exposure will help him moving forward.

“Kids see it, and they identify with it,” Smart told reporters early Tuesday morning. “Me being on TV and being in the national championship did way more for me than, say, somebody who wasn’t. It helps, and it gives you a little bit of momentum, but at the end of the day you have to build your own.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart has hired Alabama secondary coach Mel Tucker as his defensive coordinator. He was defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears before taking the Alabama position.

“You have to win yourself and you have to get good players, so we have to build a good program.”

David Paschall

David Paschall has covered sports at the Chattanooga Times Free Press since 1999 and wrote for the Chattanooga Free Press in the nine years before that. David has mostly covered college athletics, with a focus on the University of Georgia from 2000 to 2019 and the University of Tennessee since 2020. He grew up in Chattanooga and is a graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received multiple writing awards and has served as a Heisman Trophy voter since 2003. He has also worked in radio in Chattanooga and has been on the SEC Network's "Classic Rewind" series since 2014. David and his wife, Kelly, have three children — Conner, Emily and Spencer.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.