A mic’d-up Nick Saban and Kirby Smart showered each other with praise ahead of SEC title game

Despite being competitors, Nick Saban and Kirby Smart are still old pals.

While Alabama toppled Georgia in Saturday’s SEC championship game, there is clearly no love lost between Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart and Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

Smart was a longtime assistant under Saban, and the two met at midfield before the SEC title game to catch up and shower each other in praise.

If you’re a die-hard Bama fan, you’ll always have to remember what Smart did for your team when he was the defensive coordinator. If you’re a huge Georgia fan, you’ll always have to be thankful Saban played a big part in Smart getting to Athens and winning two-straight titles.

Even if these two teams can’t stand each other in general, their coaches are both indebted to each other for various successes.

It’s clear these two have plenty of respect for each other, as this mic’d-up moment just supports the idea that even when the master tops the pupil (and vice versa), there’s always goodwill before and after the opening and final whistles between these two.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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