Count Georgia head coach Kirby Smart as a huge fan of new Bulldog athletic director Josh Brooks.

“I’m excited to work with Josh,” Smart said. “I’ve known Josh for a long time. He’s worked really hard for this opportunity. I know he’s excited. I’m excited about working with him, and his staff upstairs has done a tremendous job.”

The feeling is mutual.

During his introductory press conference in January with reporters, Brooks spoke about his working relationship with Georgia’s head football coach.

The 40-year-old said it’s his job to give Smart and the program as much help as he possibly can.

“When you talk about the relationship with head coaches—l’m the AD. I’m the boss. I’m the one who is ultimately responsible for this athletic department,” Brooks said. “But I understand there are coaches who are stars. If this were a movie set, I’d be the director and they’d be the actors, right?

“We have to find ways to make them successful, and we’ve entrusted Kirby to lead this football program. He knows what he needs to be successful. It’s our job to support him, and that goes for every coach.”

Over the past 10 years, Georgia has spent $300 million on facility enhancements, most notably the west end zone project at Sanford Stadium, the new indoor practice facility, and the new football building currently under construction.

“It’s not just Kirby; it’s every single coach on our staff. We’ve hired them to do a job to lead their program, so it’s our job to help guide them and to give them the resources they need to be successful in every facet of it,” Brooks said. “Of course, in this process, and especially in a year like this, there are going to be some ‘Nos’ and some things we can’t do. But as long as you have a great heart and you communicate with people, why, you can work through those things.”

Smart said he’s confident in the job Brooks and his staff will do.

“Greg (former athletic director Greg McGarity) did a great job of leaving this situation in [good] shape, and he’s got a really good senior staff he works with,” Smart said. “He’s surrounding himself with a lot of really good people. We’re looking forward to working with all those guys.”

For Brooks, the feeling is mutual.

“My humility is first and foremost, so I never think I’ve got to come in and pound my fist on the table, saying, ‘This is the way it has to be.’ I came up as a student manager, so that’s not my mindset. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not,” Brooks said. “But I do understand our role, and at the end of the day, we all serve this institution. This institution has been here before us, and it’ll be here after us. So we always have to keep that in mind in any role we have, whether it’s AD or any other spot I may have had.”