“That always sticks with me”: Kirby Smart once shared one of his favorite Nick Saban dialogues

Kirby Smart worked under Nick Saban for 10 years. He had spells under Saban for one year at LSU, one year with the Miami Dolphins, and eight years at Alabama.

Smart eventually got his first head coaching job at Georgia in 2016. Two years later, in August 2018, the Bulldogs coach recalled some of Saban's nostalgic sayings that he used to train his players in an interview with ESPN. Smart said (1:08):

"One of his favorite sayings, he always says, and I use it sometimes, he usually beat our players with it so many times: What you do speak so loudly, I can't hear what you say. Basically, your actions louder than your words. That always sticks with me, because it's so true.

"It's so true in all we do. And what you do speak so loudly, I can't hear what you say. So many players come up to you and tell you, 'Well, I'm gonna do this this year, Coach, I'm gonna, I'm gonna lose weight this year, Coach, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this,' but your actions speak louder than your words."

Smart first worked under LSU coach Saban in 2004, when he was hired as the team's defensive backs coach. He then joined Saban with the Miami Dolphins as a safeties coach.

Smart also worked under Saban at Alabama from 2008 to 2015. He was initially hired as an assistant coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in February 2008.

Kirby Smart and Nick Saban won four national titles together at Alabama

Nick Saban (L) and Kirby Smart - Source: Imagn

Nick Saban and Kirby Smart won four national titles together at Alabama. Their championship success came in the 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 seasons.

Since Smart began his head coaching journey at Georgia, he has led the program to two national titles.

In the 2018 national title game, Saban's Alabama beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime.

However, when the two teams met in the 2022 national championship contest, Georgia came away with a 33-18 win over the Tide.

In the 2023 championship game, the Bulldogs beat the TCU Horned Frogs by a score of 65-7. The 58-point victory for Kirby Smart's Georgia was the most lopsided win in a College Football Playoff game and the largest margin of victory in a title game.

Saban, on the other hand, won seven national titles across his head coaching career. He won six at Alabama after winning his first championship at LSU in 2004.

Saban retired from coaching in January 2024. He had a 292–71–1 all-time record as a coach at the collegiate level and a 15-17 record in two years coaching the NFL's Dolphins.