According to a University of Georgia press release, Sonny Smart, father of Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, died Saturday in New Orleans.
He was surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children, Kendall, Karl, and Kirby.
Sonny was in New Orleans to support Kirby, who was coaching the Bulldogs against Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve and fractured his hip. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery when complications arose. Though he fought valiantly, he was unable to overcome his injuries.
“The entire University of Georgia community expresses our deepest sympathy to the Smart family following the passing of Sonny Smart,” the release stated. “He and his wife Sharon have been a constant and supportive part of our Bulldog community, and we will miss Sonny’s faithful presence on the sidelines of UGA football games. We are holding the Smart family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Sonny Smart was a legendary high school football coach in Georgia. He began his head coaching career from 1988 to 1994 at Bainbridge High School, where he led the Bearcats to two Region 1-4A championships and a semifinal appearance in the state playoffs in 1994.
Sonny Smart was named head coach at Rabun County High School in 1995, the same year Kirby started playing football at Georgia. He took the job to be close to Kirby. Sonny coached the Wildcats from 1995 to 2003, making two playoff appearances, including a Region 8-A championship and a trip to the quarterfinal round in 1998.
During his coaching career, Sonny crossed paths with Eatonton native Charles Winslette, another longtime high school football head coach in Georgia. Winslette said he met Sonny in the mid-‘90s when he was head coach at Tift County. He considered him a friend.
“I was at Tift County, and he was at Bainbridge, where I got to know Sonny best,” Winslette told The Eatonton Messenger. “We were in the same league playing each other in the quad-A league. The year we played for the state championship, he was a tremendous help for us because Sonny and I helped each other out.”
Winslette’s son, Matt, is about the same age as Kirby Smart. Matt played at Georgia Southern, which was recruiting Kirby before he ended up in Athens playing for the Bulldogs under Jim Donnan.
“Connections are weird,” Winslette observed.
Throughout the years, Winslette and Sonny remained close friends, just like their sons. The Smart family owns a house on Lake Oconee, where Winslette recalled playing golf and spending time with Kirby and his dad.
“Sonny was a quiet guy. Sonny was a guy of few words,” Winslette said. “He never said a whole lot, but he was like Kirby and his mother, Sharon. He was as smart as a whip. You sit down and talk to Kirby, and he can talk about a bunch of different things. He’s got knowledge of a lot of things, and Sonny was the same way.”
Winslette said he understands how much of a loss Sonny’s passing is for the entire Smart family.
“It’s just one of those things that you didn’t expect; that sort of hit everybody like a ton of bricks,” he said.