Dec 02, 2015 11:50 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Just days after firing Mark Richt, the University of Georgia appears to have an agreement in place that would make Kirby Smart the Bulldogs' next head football coach.

Citing unnamed sources, ESPN learned Georgia athletic officials have an agreement with Smart expected to become official after Alabama's SEC Championship game this Saturday.

A Montgomery, Ala. native, Smart played college football at Georgia and served as a defensive backs coach at LSU for the 2004 season, giving him deep SEC roots and a long history with Nick Saban.

He has been Saban's defensive coordinator at Alabama since 2008, but also joined his staff in 2004 at LSU and in 2006 when Saban coached the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

ESPN's sources indicated Georgia let go of Richt because he had not won an SEC Championship in the latter 10 years of his tenure, whereas he won two in his first five years. Meanwhile, Alabama has won three SEC and three National titles since Smart's first year there.

Though South Carolina was reportedly interested in Smart for its vacant head coach position, Georgia essentially treated the Alabama defensive coordinator as its primary and only target all along.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned Georgia is expected to make a formal announcement on Sunday and that Smart will be able to hire his own staff, which will likely consist of some coaches left over from Richt's staff.

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