There may be one clear difference that separates current college football head coaches from those who just got sacked: a history of winning.

At least, that's according to Georgia's Kirby Smart, one of the winningest coaches of the last decade.

During Monday's press conference, Smart weighed in on Brian Kelly getting fired by LSU in the wake of the Tigers' 49-25 blowout loss to Texas A&M. Kelly was sacked after LSU dropped to 5-3 on the season and saw their once-potent national championship aspirations fade in yet another disappointing campaign.

Smart admitted he didn't know too much about Kelly's situation at LSU and made some sweeping generalizations about the state of college football, calling it "the world we live in." But Smart also offered a telling anecdote about his short-lived time with the Tigers, when he served as defensive backs coach under then-LSU head coach Nick Saban in 2004.

"I know [they have] high expectations, I coached at LSU," Smart said. "A guy once told me, 'That office you're in, that's not your office. You're borrowing it.'

"I knew right then that if you didn't win, you wouldn't be there long."

Kelly, who notoriously left Notre Dame in hopes of finally winning a national title, capped off his Tigers' stint with a 34-14 record (and a 5-11 record against ranked opponents), which comes out to a .708 winning percentage. Kelly's early successes may have been eclipsed by LSU's disappointing woes of late, with the 64-year-old coach failing to reach the national championship after four years at the helm and seemingly taking a step back this past campaign. Four years might not seem like a lot of time, but it was enough for Kelly's predecessors: Ed Orgeron, Les Miles and Nick Saban all won a national title in their first four years as LSU head coach.

While LSU athletic director Scott Woodward acknowledged that Kelly found some degree of success with the Tigers, Woodward also said of his decision to fire Kelly: "Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize."

It's all about winning, as Smart made clear in his matter-of-fact response to Kelly's firing. And now, it's back to the drawing board for LSU.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Georgia’s Kirby Smart Had Ruthless One-Liner on Brian Kelly Getting Fired by LSU.