Kirby Smart Shares Hilarious Lesson Learned From Nick Saban

ESPN's Marty Smith and Ryan McGee posed a question to Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart ahead of the 2024 college football season.

What is the best lesson he learned from coaching legend Nick Saban?

Smart served under Saban for nine seasons, including eight as defensive coordinator, and helped lead the Crimson Tide to four national championships during his tenure at Alabama. The Georgia graduate took over the Bulldogs in 2016 and proved he had learned a thing or two under Saban, leading UGA to back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.

Smart picked a comical story from a staff meeting in Tuscaloosa.

"We were sitting in a staff meeting once," Smart said . "Nick was asking the staff if we thought the players were tired. 'Like, we look tired. Y'all think their legs are tired? You think they're tired?' He's asking and asking. Nobody is really saying anything. And this coach beside me starts drawing a little figure... It looked like similar to the United States map. And I said, 'What is that?' He said, 'That's a pork chop.' He said, 'He's dangling a pork chop to see if one of y'all will bite on that pork chop.'"

While Smart "didn't say a word," one junior coach unfortunately took the bait.

"Man, he (Saban) went off," Smart said. "He lit him up. It was great for a young coach to sit back and shut your mouth."

Georgia-Alabama has developed into one of the fiercest rivalries the sport has to offer. It will look much differently without Saban on the sidelines when the Bulldogs visit Tuscaloosa on Sept. 28 to welcome new Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer to the SEC.

Related: Paul Finebaum Reveals Favorite Moment Since Joining SEC Network 10 Years Ago