Kirby Smart the new "Big Kahuna" at Spring Meetings

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – With Nick Saban no longer patrolling the hallways at the Sandestin Hilton Golf and Beach Resort, Georgia’s Kirby Smart is the new Big Kahuna at the SEC Spring Meetings.

“Kirby took over and is in the lead now,” quipped Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin during his appearance in front of the media Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Smart was asked if he felt like he was stepping into Saben’s shoes from a leadership perspective at the annual event.

“I think he’d been in the SEC longer than anybody, he had sat in those meetings more than anybody, and when you add the LSU and Alabama time together, it was very valuable,” Smart said. “I think people relied on him for experience and knowledge, he’s very thoughtful in terms of what he comes up with and ideas to make football better.”

Actually, Smart is not the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.

That title belongs to Kentucky’s Mark Stoops who has been the head coach of the Wildcats since 2013.

Smart has been Georgia’s head coach since 2016, but it’s what his Bulldogs have done on the field that has him held in such esteem.

Winning two national championships and one runner-up finish in eight years carries a lot of weight.

That can especially be true at get-togethers like the SEC Spring Meetings where coaches on Tuesday discussed various topics, many of which could shape the sport moving forward.

“I always respected the fact that whether I was an assistant coach for him or head coach alongside him in there, it was never about what was best for his team, it was about what was best for the game of football,” Smart said. “Sometimes people lose sight of that with self-preservation."