By all accounts, Kirby Smart is currently holding his dream job as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. The chances Smart leaves Georgia for another job are probably very slim at most. But considering how much success Smart has had in a short period of time at a program that continues to pump out NFL talent through the draft process, it is easy to understand why Smart may have his name attached to various NFL coaching rumors at some point during his coaching career. Now, it turns out, the NFL coaching rumor mill has latched on to Smart’s name.
In a story about the interest some NFL coaches have in Alabama head coach Nick Saban published by CBSSports.com NFL reporter Jason La Canfora, the idea that former assistants under Saban may be drawing similar interest from NFL suitors was presented. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers “would be interested in speaking to Georgia coach Kirby Smart,” according to La Canfora. Fortunately for Georgia, the conversation about their head coach being a potential NFL coaching target seemed to end right there.
Would Smart even consider leaving Georgia for the Bucs? Obviously, that is a question only Smart could ever answer for sure. But it is worth remembering Smart is a former Georgia football player who started his coaching career as an administrative assistant for the Bulldogs and it had been presumed he had been waiting for a head coaching vacancy to come open at Georgia when he could have potentially had a handful of other opportunities to be a head coach prior to leaving Alabama for Georgia in 2016. He has already lifted Georgia to being a legitimate SEC and playoff contender in just a couple of years, and the future continues to look promising for the Dawgs with Smart at the helm.
Smart has never given a hint that he was interested in coaching in the NFL, but of course, what college coach does? But this may be nothing more than a brief murmur in the NFL coaching circles this offseason. Such is life in college football as a successful head coach.
