The Athletic has live coverage of Texas vs. Georgia from Saturday’s college football action.
ATHENS, Ga. — Billy Napier didn’t get to coach against Georgia this year. He did get to watch the Bulldogs practice this week, and Kirby Smart said it was no big deal, just two old friends getting together.
Or perhaps it’s what Smart wants Steve Sarkisian to believe.
Napier was fired as Florida’s coach three weeks ago, in the bye week before the Georgia game. The Gators and interim coach Billy Gonzales gave a scare to the Bulldogs, who won 24-20.
This week, fifth-ranked Georgia faces No. 10 Texas, which has two losses this year — one of them to Napier. Florida beat the Longhorns in Gainesville, 29-21, running the ball particularly well: 159 rushing yards, averaging 4.3 yards per rush. Florida is also one of only two teams Texas didn’t get a sack against this year, the other being Ohio State.
Smart, however, said Napier dropping by on Tuesday was just about their relationship. The two coached together on Alabama’s staff in 2011, and Napier’s father was friends with both Smart’s late father and George Bobo, father of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
“Billy’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “We’ve coached together for years. I’ve known him. People don’t understand relationships and coaches. Coaches have a brotherhood and a fraternity together. And his dad was good friends with my dad. His dad was really good friends with coach (George) Bobo. We all grew up in the state of Georgia with our fathers coaching high school football, that were well-respected people. He’s been a friend for a long time. So he dropped by, yeah, but that was really it.”
It’s not unusual for Smart to invite outsiders to view practice, including former rival coaches. Geoff Collins, after he was fired by Georgia Tech, attended a Georgia practice, though that was the following spring.
During Smart’s first season in 2016, he also brought in Brian VanGorder, who had just been let go as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, as a consultant before Georgia played Georgia Tech. The next year, Tyson Summers, who had just been fired by Georgia Southern, joined the staff down the stretch run as a quality control coach.
In those cases, the coaches were in official capacities. In Napier’s case, he was just stopping by, according to Smart.
Sarkisian and Smart are also friends, Smart pointed out earlier this week. They never worked on a staff together — Sarkisian joined Alabama in 2016 right after Smart left — but know each other through coaching circles and SEC meetings the past couple years.
“He’s become a good friend of mine,” Smart said. “He does a tremendous job. He’s at one of the premier programs in the country. He’s been successful everywhere he’s been. He’s done a great job and I enjoy his friendship and look forward to another great matchup on Saturday night.”
