John Jancek, defensive coordinator at Central Michigan University, and Kirby Smart, secondary coach at LSU, have been named assistant football coaches at UGA by head coach Mark Richt.
Jancek will coach the linebackers while Smart, former All-SEC defensive back at UGA, returns to his alma mater to coach the running backs.
Prior to joining the Central Michigan staff as defensive line coach in 2003, Jancek served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Grand Valley State University, the 2002 NCAA Division II national champion. A 1991 graduate of Grand Valley and 1994 master’s degree recipient from Wayne State, Jancek was a three-year letter winner with the Lakers as a defensive lineman.
Before joining LSU’s football coaching staff, Smart served two years (2002 and 2003) as a graduate assistant working primarily with the defensive backs at Florida State. He spent the 2001 season as the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State and the 2000 season as the defensive backs coach for the Blazers. Smart’s 2001 defense at Valdosta State ranked second in the nation in scoring defense as the Blazers posted a perfect 11-0 mark during the regular season. After graduating from UGA, Smart signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts, spending the 1999 preseason with the NFL team. He began his coaching career as an administrative assistant at UGA in fall 1999, before moving to Valdosta State in 2000. A native of Bainbridge, Smart graduated from UGA with a 3.5 grade point average in finance. He received his master’s degree from FSU in 2003.
