As I have said for years now, it IS pointless to compare the 2 coaches. The resources at each others disposal is light years apart. If people cannot see from the past decade - MONEY BUYS CHAMPIONSHIPS in college football nowadays.
I have never said that Richt, had he recd the same support as Kirby, would have won a national title (albeit he came close a couple of times) but I will go on record in saying that Kirby, had he recd the same level of support that Richt had, would NOT have performed any better. Remember his first year when we lost to Vandy, GT, UT, and almost to Nichols State (all of them at home)!!!! And we had Chubb & Michel in the backfield too. Winning is much easier when you have the talent/depth we have now.
Richt didn't have to compete with Saban for his first 6 seasons. That is why it's not fair to compare Richt's first 6 seasons with Smart's.
You are right about the media doging Kirby with the comparisons. They never do that to Saban. It is intentional and aimed to hurt recruiting. But then again those guys are also scum bags doing the networks liberal left brainwashing as best they can. Even the Biden/Harris commutative coin commercial is trying to brainwash our nation. Sickening and as far as college football it is killing the sport. Who wants to listen to a political poison during a football game broadcast.
Well, I didn't listen to the podcast today, but here's my take on the comparison between Richt and Smart... although Richt was a good recruiter, Smart is a far better recruiter and coach than Richt. I also prefer the fire and passion that Smart shows on the field compared to the mild-mannered approach to almost everything Richt shows in his coaching style. Different styles have produced different results. Smart is 10-6 against Top 10 teams which is significantly better than Richt's record against top competition. However, Smart definitely still has room for improvement in both coaching and in-game decision making. And I'm not sure he has a real grasp on QB selection and development. We'll certainly see how he handles the development of Daniels and the added Brock/Beck QB competition this Spring.
Bottom line: Smart is a very good coach and a healthy improvement over Richt in both coaching and recruiting. However, his results have been somewhat disappointing after 5 seasons considering the talent he has had to work with...think about this: the Dawgs 2017 trip to the playoffs was with Richt's recruits. 2021 is a pivotal year for Smart's program.
You're spot on most of the time BA, but any defense of Booger McFarland as a color football analyst is completely without merit. The guy is a cliche machine and brings little information of interest to a broadcast. Go Dawgs!