I see we’re recycling one of Tuscaloosa’s greatest hits.
“It feels very calculated by Kirby Smart,” Suttles says. “It’s not the first time he’s done subterfuge with Alabama. He famously took a picture of their recruiting board when he left Alabama to work for Georgia and sent it to recruits to show them, hey, you’re not that high on Alabama’s recruiting board.”
Suttles mentioned how Alabama is in the middle of its Fourth Quarter program of offseason training, which was led by Cochran. He also noted how spring practices start soon.
You know, it’s hard to believe. After all, Kirby had a reputation for being one of the gentler souls on the recruiting trail when he worked the ‘Bama beat. It’s got to be a real shock for them to see such a different personality emerge once Nick stopped making him play nice.
Football recruiting, like politics, ain’t beanbag. Then again, I suspect the pearl clutchers already know that.
Get The Picture 
It would be so much easier to do my Snidely Whiplash laugh if we’d just beat them. Rings kinda hollow for now.
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The best part about this is that Bammer’s have to concede that Saban was lying to recruits for this to be true.
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The coaching transfer portal is always open. He waited until after signing day. What else do they want?
Kirby didn’t become ruthless when he left Tuscaloosa. If they are so upset at Saban’s Monster, they can give back the titles he helped them win out of principle.
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No one calls this buffoon on his claim about the recruiting board. I’ve heard this from Bamastanians since Kirby left and no one knows the source. What makes the claim ludicrous is that Kirby basically built that board and wouldn’t have needed to photograph it. Someone saw Kirby by a grassy knoll, I guess.
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This is the way I have always felt. It is all you need to say to disarm any discussion of Kirby, allegedly, taking a photo of that year’s targets. Who seriously thinks he needed help remembering the key players in that class? Mind blowing lack of clear thinking. And where is there photo of him taking that photo? Should we just take a Bama message board rumor, or Tide staff analyst’s word on this? Can’t understand how this Urban Myth silliness stays around for over 4 years.
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I agree. It’s a ludicrous charge.
All this outrage towards Kirby stems from a rise in competitiveness in our program. We’ve had them on the ropes two straight games, but couldn’t finish them off. They see Saban’s age and wonder if chinks are emerging in their armor. The thought of being dethroned in the SEC scares them.
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And if this actually happened, I would think any of the recruiting beat writers could’ve gotten some kind of verbal confirmation on this from recruits (especially the ones that didn’t sign with UGA) and reported something to the extent of ‘we’ve heard multiple recruits…’ But nope, this went from Alabama message board to accepted fact, apparently.
Even if it were true, it seems like a stupid recruiting tactic. I could only imagine the conversation would go something like:
“Hey Joe Recruit, look, you’re fourth on Bama’s board!”
“But Kirby, as an integral part of Bama’s recruiting aren’t you also at least partly responsible for ranking me fourth?”
“Uh, naw, I told everyone you’re number 1.”
“… OK”
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I would never take a picture walking out the door of a former employer and use that to try to steal accounts. It’s a shitty thing to do. We laud Pittman’s class for the way he handled recruits after he left. We can admit Kirby blew that one.
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Hate to be the one to break it to you, but Kirby’s long had a reputation of being one of the most ruthless recruiters in CFB. He was far from complimentary about his alma mater when he worked for Saban.
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Some of the stories I heard from those days made me reluctant to see him brought back to Athens, but all the wins have made it easy to forgive, I suppose.
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Negative recruiting Bama was a given the moment he took the job. No one is arguing that. From Bama or otherwise.z
This isn’t about not being complimentary. It’s about violating your place in your employer’s organization. If I, as an employee, copy a company email and then take that to a competitor and use that document to steal business, that’s shitty. Not the trying to steal the business part. The stealing from my former employer part.
We’d be livid if Pittman did the same, and we’d think less of him. We can’t post about what a stand up guy Pittman is for not doing something like that on the way out and then pretend what Kirby did was no big deal.
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Your argument rests on a couple of flawed premises IMO:
1. That a prospect has no free will as a decision maker.
2. That Georgia >>>Arkansas = Alabama>>Georgia
Pittman’s O-Line recruits didn’t slide over to Arkansas because (a) Arkansas is a god damn dumpster fire and (b) Pittman is a position coach going directly to head coach. Kirby was a 10 year coordinator going to a stable program that was already in the mix for “recruits he poached”
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Would you talk shit about your former employer in order to win accounts? Not trying to confront you or accuse you of anything. I am seriously asking the business ethics of doing that.
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yeah, when I left a firm some years ago, the first thing I did is call clients and tell them I was leaving and the 2nd thing I did is offer better service and fees.
That’s not dirty, it’s business
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No snark intended, but it seems a fine semantic kinda argument. My knowledge of my former employers services and fees I’m free to use, but a physical copy of those services and fees isn’t? Just seems a little hair splitty. 🙂
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Probably not but then again I’ve never been offered a nationally recognized job with a starting salary of $4,000,000 to replace one of the most successful executives in the history of that organization with the sole objective to beat my previous employer. A ruthless previous employer where I was valued for my ruthlessness.
Not being snarky but we are talking about a game where college educated folks pay thousands to watch PE coaches make millions by getting 20somethings to move a football up and down a field 12-15 times a year. A game that requires said PE coaches to convince sometimes borderline illiterate 17 year old kids to come to their institution of higher learning to play for free while everyone else makes millions. Normal rules don’t apply.
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business “ethics”
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Talking shit about a former employer doesn’t work with adults. Maybe a few, but negative sales was at best a short term gain and a long term loss. You won a sale but lost some credibility in the bargain.
That said, this isn’t about negative recruiting for me. It’s the taking a pic while an employee there and then using that. That’s just flat out stealing. My head knowledge was fair game. Taking documents with me out the door? Nope. And I’d never hire someone who did that because they will be doing that to me at some point. No, Kirby isn’t going to harm his alma mater that way. Still shitty, and something I personally would never do.
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Kirby was the top recruiter at Bama. There’s no need to take a pic. He built the damn recruiting class.
ASEF, this accusation was posted by some toothless redneck in the Bama chatroom with AOL dial up internet.
Neither Bama or UGA have been struggling with recruiting over the past five years. Logically, the accusation doesn’t make any sense.
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ASEF, I get your points and mostly agree. But, where is your proof Kirby took the picture? Where is anyone’s proof? It’s all an internet rumor and you’re ranting about the ethics of an unproven accusation.
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Thank you for a thoughtful answer to my question.
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https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=lKnPWB0t&id=EBE460BE3E92FB1CB7A2CC9AE34A902C83C3300B&thid=OIP.lKnPWB0tAC8YSqzMTKlDWgHaD5&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saturdaydownsouth.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F06%2FCHTfw5IWwAEUsRZ-650×342.jpg&exph=342&expw=650&q=picture+of+alabama+urinals+pissing+on+georgia&simid=608015975343653535&selectedindex=0&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=bc445d44-d551-4120-bac2-921a08ea3ac4&shtk=VUdBIHN0cmVuZ3RoIGNvYWNoIHRyb2xscyBBbGFiYW1hIHdpdGggdXJpbmFsIHBob3Rv&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIHNhdHVyZGF5ZG93bnNvdXRoLmNvbQ%3D%3D&shhk=E5NHVYIvB5mPL5AQTC8pE7CdV4Kww3T5AcOYpylSd4c%3D&form=EX0023&shth=OSH.6HNkv92JJnIB%252FixTgotNIA
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Remember Bama, if you shake it more than twice you’re playing with it.
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Stuff like this is what makes everyone else hate Bammers. As Elsa would say to them,
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Kirby’s work ethic is second to none. I believe this is the characteristic that will eventually get him that NC. When needs arise, he leaves no stone unturned. I don’t think it is as much a ruthless intent as it is attention to detail in the needs he desires. The ruthless part is just the byproduct. He saw a need, saw what he wanted, then put in the energy to make it happen.
The CEO coaching maturity will come and it doesn’t even have to be perfect to win the NC when you have the talent he is amassing.
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Love, war, recruiting, dealing with Keith, all ruthless and sometimes ugly.
Wish I knew how to post the wonderful song “Ruthless People”….
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You da man, Senator. Actually, the song and movie are both pretty awful!
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Why should Bama care if Kirby took a picture of the recruiting board? Did they have something to hide? Were they lying to the recruits?
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This narrative of how Kirby sent in a navy seal unit to abduct Cochran at gun point in Tuscaloosa is hilarious. Never mind the actual journalism reports that have Saban on record saying that Cochran had been wanting an on-field role for a while and it simply wasn’t available at Alabama. Kirby and Cochran are very close. Was Kirby supposed to seek martyrdom by turning him away from UGA?
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If Cochran flamed out as STC, it would still be worth the deal just to watch the Gumps lose their shit over Kirby taking him.
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These pictures of the recruiting board that were supposedly sent out to recruits have never surfaced anywhere on social media. But we all know how kids like to keep their recruitment private and never post anything on their social media accounts. What’s more impressive is that Kirby was able to keep even the kids that stuck with Bama from revealing the clandestine pictures.
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Yes- very shrewd of the lot of them…
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Ha ha. FUCK BAMA.
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And the sheep they cuddle with on those cold nights when their cousins got locked in their trailers for safe keeping….crootin’ is the life blood of your program (no matter the sport),kirbs has a way/style/process for which business is conducted in the home and on the field…business niceties talk is all good till it comes to signing on the dotted line
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I’ve really enjoyed reading the comments on the Bama boards over Scott Cochran. Best mass melt down of a fan base since Kiffy drove out of Knoxville in the middle of the night. The notion Kirby “stole” Cochran as if he’s a Tiffany lamp is preposterous. Cochran wanted to advance his coaching career and Nick wasn’t willing and/or able to give him a shot and he got tired of waiting. Blame Nick for not taking the steps to keep him; don’t blame Kirby for giving him the chance he wanted. That feeling that Kirby was calculated is nothing more than regret and Dawg paranoia. It’s okay to be a monster as long as you’re a Bama monster.
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Bama fans…we don’t care what you say about Kirby…just make sure you get the name right.
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Can someone please source this story? I’ve never once scene a source for this story other than internet trolls
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