Kirby Smart vs Jim McElwain: Who will be the better Nick Saban protege?
By Jacob Yturri
There will be a ‘sibling-like’ rivalry emerging out of the SEC East next year with Kirby Smart and Jim McElwain vying to be the best former Nick Saban assistant.
From the start of the 2008 season through December of 2010, Alabama coordinators Jim McElwain and Kirby Smart worked together as a team, learning under one of the best head coaches of all-time in Nick Saban. This dynamic duo of Smart and McElwain won two SEC Championships (2009 and 2010) and the BCS National Championship during their time together.
Soon after winning the SEC Championship in 2010, on December 12th Jim McElwain accepted the head coaching vacancy at Colorado State. During his three-year tenure at Colorado State he amassed a 22-16 regular season record. Additionally, in the only bowl game he served as his team’s head coach, his team won.
McElwain’s coaching stint at Colorado State was quite impressive. The Colorado State Rams marched to a 4-8 record during McElwain’s first season as a head coach. By his third and last season, his Rams were a 10-2 team.
Although his Colorado State team never won the Mountain West Conference, every season he coached the Rams, his team’s performance improved drastically. In three seasons, Colorado State went from a sixth place finish in the Mountain West Conference to tied for second during McElwain’s final season.
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It was this type of season to season improvement that led to the Florida Gators to make McElwain their head coach. After what had been a rough four seasons for Gators, the school decided to fire Will Muschamp in 2014, who just like McElwain was a former Saban assistant.
Most analysts believed McElwain’s transition from the Mountain West to the SEC would take more than one season, but McElwain had other plans and let the Gators to the SEC East division title.
Now the 10-2 Florida Gators’ next game is against the best team from the SEC West, the Alabama Crimson Tide. This game will mark the first time that McElwain will face off against his former boss. Additionally, this SEC Championship game is the first time McElwain will coach against his former co-worker in Smart.
Smart accepted the head coaching job with the Georgia Bulldogs earlier this month, replacing Mark Richt, and sets up a fascinating rivalry between he and McElwain as they battle to prove who the best former Saban assistant-turned-head coach is.
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When McElwain joined the SEC after already being a head coach, Smart goes directly from being a coordinator to the head coach at a prestigious program. In the battle for ‘best former Saban assistant’, McElwain has a huge head start.
If Smart wishes to elevate Georgia back to elite status, then he will have to quickly learn the lessons Florida’s head coach learned in four seasons. Smart will be questioned on his ability to lead a team for the first time as he leaves the nest for the first time.
One of the first tasks Smart will have to succeed in is creating a staff full of experienced coaches, especially at offensive coordinator to complement Smart’s defense.
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Overall, it will take a few years to crown Smart or McElwain as the better Saban prodigy. Until then, fans of college football should just sit back and watch this amazing sibling-like rivalry that will be brewing in the SEC East.