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Kirby Smart burns the boats, leads Bulldogs to title

It's not often Hernán Cortés comes up in a college football press conference.

On Tuesday morning, basking in the glow of a national championship, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart brought up the 16th-century conqueror. He told the story of Cortés telling his men to "burn the boats", meaning there would be no turning back as they forged ahead with their conquest of Mexico.

Smart and the staff used that message with the Bulldogs leading up to Monday's national championship. Georgia had no choice but to go through Alabama if it wanted to bring home its first title since 1980.

The Bulldogs and company did just that, conquering the Crimson Tide 33-18 to snap the decades-long hex over the program.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Photo by Radi Nabulsi.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Photo by Radi Nabulsi.

Smart's first title as a head coach comes in his sixth year at the helm in Athens. While he felt the team had a ring in its grasp in 2017, he also recognizes the work it has taken to get to this point.

"You can't do it, but you take Alabama out of it, I think we've had the best team in the country probably two or three times, but the best team in the country doesn't win the national championship every year. The team that plays the best does," Smart said. "But I also know how hard it is to have the breaks and get the breaks and be able to win one of those. And it takes some really good breaks. And we got them this year. And certainly happy."

Georgia's head coach added he doesn't define his career by any certain timetable. Even if last night's game had gone the other way, he would have been happy with his family and the players he coaches.

As with any coach's family, the Smarts make sacrifices. Smart said he's wondered at times if he took the Georgia job "too early" because he wanted to be there more as his kids grew up. But with the support of his wife Mary Beth, Smart has become one of the top coaches in the game.

"These guys (the players) have been so good to them that I feel like they're part of our family," Smart said. "And if they couldn't be up there all the time, we didn't have that kind of working environment, it wouldn't be as pleasurable for me to be the coach at Georgia."

In his second title shot at Georgia, Smart once again faced off against mentor Nick Saban and the Goliath that is Alabama. The Bulldogs wanted the rematch after losing the SEC Championship Game to the Crimson Tide last month. Smart felt playing another team would have left "a pretty poor taste in our mouth."

"Let's be honest -- they've been the measuring stick," Smart said. "And I was a part of it for nine years and saw it. And I know the preparation that goes into national championship games. I mean, he doesn't lose many national championship games when he has that time to prepare. And he does a really good job. So to do it and beat them, that's special."

Meeting with the media Tuesday morning, Smart reflected on the whirlwind of the past 24 hours. He recalled seeing and speaking with so many Georgia people in his life, including former Bulldog coaches Vince Dooley, Ray Goff, Jim Donnan, and Mark Richt.

More than anything, Smart expressed joy and pride in the players for what they had accomplished. He's thrilled now, but he also knows the work starts now to stay at the pinnacle of college football.

"I don't know that our team our roster that's coming back is prepared for what they're about to see because there's a sense of entitlement, there's a sense of the disease that has always crept in at Georgia, is there's a huge anointment and entitlement that can affect your program," Smart said. "So now it turns for us to another attention of what we've got to do to keep it going."

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