SEC Football: Meet Kirby Smart, Defensive Coordinator for Alabama Crimson Tide

Every Monday, The SEC Blog will feature an assistant coach in the SEC. This week, we feature Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.

By now, you've heard plenty about Kirby Smart. For the last few years, he's been the hottest assistant coach on the market, but has yet to make the jump from coordinator to head coach. Alabama head coach Nick Saban rarely lets assistants speak to the media, so despite the hype, we don't know much about Smart.

Let's change that.

By now, you know his past. He played and coached at Georgia, and has coached on Saban's staff while Saban was with LSU, the Miami Dolphins and Alabama. Clearly, Saban and Smart trust each other

Under Smart's leadership, Alabama's defenses have either led the SEC or tied for the lead in total defense in each of the last four years. In 2011, the Tide rode the nation's No. 1 defense to the national title. Just how good was that defense? It led the nation in total defense (191.3 ypg), scoring defense (8.8 ppg), passing defense (116.3 ypg), rushing defense (74.9 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (83.9 rating).

Alabama wasn't just a great defense in 2011, it was one of the best defenses in college football history.

But just how much of Smart's success can be credited to his head coach and mentor Nick Saban? Detractors will tell you that it's really not Smart's defense and that Saban's hands are all over it. It's true that Saban has plenty of influence—after all, he has spent his career coaching defensive backs—but Smart still has plenty of say.

Saban is a control freak. That personality trait has been pointed out, discussed and beaten to the ground for years. But he's still the head coach of one of the most prolific college football programs in the country, which, by definition, means that he can't have his fingers all over the defense.  

Saban may blaze the path for the defense, but it's up to Smart to execute, which he has done at an extremely high level for the last four years.

There's a reason that Smart's name has been tied to several head coaching jobs, including recent openings at Texas A&M and Southern Miss. People in the know recognize that he's a rising star, and it's only a matter of time before Smart lands a high-profile head coaching job.