Kirby Smart says college football coaches not trying to leave: ‘There’s no crying out there on my end’

ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart pushed back on the narrative that he and fellow coaches are frustrated and trying to leave college football. That includes Nick Saban, who was Smart’s mentor, and whose reason for retirement is being inaccurately blamed on the changing landscape, according to Smart.

“I think there’s been a lot of media portrayal that had something to do (with him retiring). The man was in his 70s,” Smart said Monday night, while speaking before the Macon Touchdown Club.

Saban, 72, retired in January, and last week appeared at a Congressional roundtable when he shared concerns over players leveraging the transfer portal to get more money through name-image-likeness. Saban indicated the changes may have been a contributing factor in his departure, but didn’t outright blame it.

Smart worked under Saban for nearly a decade before becoming Georgia’s head coach in 2016, and has since won two national championships.

Amid the changes in college sports, and frustration over roster management and the timing of the transfer portal, an emerging narrative was college coaches trying to bolt.