Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
University of Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s father, Sonny, died early Saturday from complications from hip surgery he underwent after a fall in New Orleans before the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the school announced. He was 76 years old.
Sonny Smart was a longtime high school football coach in Alabama and Georgia.
He died at 12:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children, Carl, Kirby and Kendall, the University of Georgia said in a statement.
“Sonny fell while taking a walk during the New Year’s Eve day in New Orleans and fractured his hip,” the school said in a statement. “He was admitted to the hospital and underwent hip surgery, but unfortunately complications arose. He fought bravely but was unable to overcome the injury.”
Kirby Smart spent part of New Year’s Day with his father in the hospital after the Sugar Bowl was postponed to Thursday due to a terrorist attack in which a pickup truck driver killed 14 people and injured dozens on Bourbon Street. .
The Georgia coach returned to the hospital shortly after the Bulldogs’ 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the CFP quarterfinals on Thursday.
In a statement, the Smart family thanked the staff at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.
“We also ask that you continue to pray for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day,” the statement said. “The Smart family has everyone’s thoughts and prayers in mind and we ask for God’s comfort, strength and guidance at this time.”
University of South Carolina coach Shane Beamer expressed his condolences to X, saying, “My heart breaks for the Smart family.”
Sonny Smart played football at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the football coach at Holtville High School in Alabama, where he led the baseball team to the state title in 1982. He then coached at Bainbridge High School in Georgia, where safety Kirby Smart was in charge, and Rabun County High School in northern Georgia.
“He taught me a lot about how to handle things, the right way and the wrong way,” Kirby Smart said of his father in January 2023. I always saw the way he prepared our team and staff in high school.
“He was a very smart guy and a guy of few words. I tried to follow his beliefs as a coach. I’ve certainly evolved from coaching for other people, but… A lot of my core beliefs came from the way he ran our program in high school. ”
