Head coach Kirby Smart doubled down on comments following Saturday’s win over Auburn that the crowd noise and atmosphere at Sanford Stadium could have been better.
“Yeah, you know, I think I said what I said, and I stand on what I said and feel that it could have been better,” Smart said. “But, you know, my job is to coach the football team, and I'm going to do the best I can in my power. And I've been in some really good places where, you know, there are times that you create a monster, whether it's when I was at FSU, when I was at Alabama, and you have to appreciate that, and you have to create home-field advantages.
“We’ve had coaches tell us that come here and play say that it was the best environment they played in the entire year. But I didn't think that was Saturday, and I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way. But, you know, my concern is with Mississippi State, not the other. I trust the people that are in charge of it to help and I trust our fans.”
Smart’s comments – which came both during his post-game press conference and again with sideline and Fox-5 reporter DJ Shockley – rankled the feelings of many fans on message boards and social media.
Georgia’s head coach denied that was his intention.
“I'm not like you're wanting to make this us against them,” Smart shot back at a reporter. “That's not really what this is about. We're a team. We're a unit, and I think it's okay to say how you feel and try to pull the family together and pull in the right direction, and you guys want to make it about Kirby said this. We're a team. We're a team. Let's do this together. Let's help each other, not make it about what he said and they said. I'm not into that. We need to all be together.”
Smart said he just wants to make it as hard for opposing teams to play as they can.
“(My comments were) all about pulling in the same direction, creating an atmosphere that's hard to play in. You win these games at home, and maybe you take it for granted if you win so many games at home, but I know this. It's hard,” Smart said. “These teams are going on the road all across the SEC. You make it hard on them by what you do and what you create, so it's not about a specific point in time. It's about us all pulling in the same direction.”
Offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild and linebacker Chaz Chambliss were Georgia’s player representatives during Monday’s session.
Both Bulldogs did their best to tamp down any hard feelings.
“Oh, I know everywhere we go, it's great support by fans. They always show up,” Chambliss said. “But I'm on the field, I'm not really big into all the juice and all that. I just want to focus on my assignment and getting communication across the field. You know, it's kind of just like a dead silence out there if you're really focused out there.”
Fairchild responded similarly.
“I'm normally fully locked into the game. One thing I notice is that our crowd travels well, you know. We travel so well,” Fairchild said. “I know we as players really, really appreciate that, you know. But Saturday, I mean, I was locked into the game, you know. I mean, I'm focused on what I have to do.”
Ultimately, Smart said he hopes his players will just worry about the upcoming opponent and take pride in their performance.
“You worry about what you can control. Our players, you know, have an opponent to play, and we're trying to make it harder on the opponent to play in our environment,” Smart said. “It’s just a simple last question - did we make it harder for them to play in that game? I don't know. But the pride in the performance that our fans take, that our programming takes, that Josh Brooks and his staff take, and our players take. It's a collective effort.”
