Kirby Smart on Lane Kiffin’s decision: ‘I don’t envy the position he was in’

The SEC coaching carousel isn’t over yet as Kentucky fired head coach Mark Stoops on Monday after 13 seasons.

Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss will all have new head coaches next season. Stoops’ departure also means Georgia’s Kirby Smart is now the SEC’s longest-tenured head coach.

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"It’s hard to sustain anything, and stay consistent and especially in this league where it’s really competitive,“ Smart said during his weekly media availability on Monday. ”And I don’t think a lot about the the tenured or the you know, the third person that’s been there the longest. I got a lot of respect for Mark and he’s a good friend."

The most notable coaching change happened Sunday. Lane Kiffin finalized his dramatic departure from Ole Miss and accepted the LSU job that he had been mulling over for weeks. LSU formally introduced him on Monday.

Before Smart took over the Georgia program, he worked with Kiffin on the same Alabama coaching staff for Nick Saban. He said he doesn’t envy the position that Kiffin was in and echoed what their mentor said.

“I think it’s a really hard position to be in and to navigate,” Smart said. “I think you know, Coach Saban addressed it best ... We’re in a time frame where ADs and people are making decisions in a timeline that’s not congruent with the season and the playoffs.”

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While Kiffin deals with the fallout moving from Oxford to Baton Rogue, Smart’s attention is on Atlanta. The Bulldogs will play in their fifth straight SEC Championship Game on Saturday and look to avenge their previous losses to Alabama.

Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 4 p.m. and the game will air live Channel 2.

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