Sonny Smart, Father of Georgia Coach Kirby Smart, Dies at 76 After Fall in New Orleans Before Sugar Bowl

Jan 4, 2025, 05:44 PM

Sonny Smart, the father of University of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart, died early Saturday morning at the age of 76 due to complications from hip surgery. The surgery was necessitated after Sonny Smart fell and fractured his hip while walking in New Orleans on New Year's Eve. The Smart family was in New Orleans to attend the Sugar Bowl, which was postponed by one day due to a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens more. Sonny Smart, a former high school football and baseball coach in Alabama and Georgia, was surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children, Karl, Kirby, and Kendall, at the time of his passing. The Smart family expressed gratitude to the Ochsner hospital and medical staff for their care and requested continued prayers for those affected by the New Year's Day tragedy.