Kirby Smart and Georgia Poach Longtime Alabama Strength Coach Scott Cochran

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs just got a lot stronger, and in more ways than one.

According to Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman, Smart and the Dawgs have hired Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran to an on-field position.

BREAKING: Longtime #Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran is expected to join the #UGA coaching staff, as an on the field coach. Huge move by Kirby
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 24, 2020

Cochran has been a part of Nick Saban's coaching staff since 2007, earning the Samson Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year Award in both 2008 and 2011. These accolades attest to his reputation as one of the top performance coaches in the country, and he's now taking his act to Athens.

Smart had previously pursued Cochran in 2015, but he chose to stay with the Crimson Tide, earning a pay raise that saw him earn $595,000 in 2019.

Scott Cochran is universally believed to be the best strength and conditioning coach in the sport. But serious question: If he isnt actually serving in that role at Georgia, is this really that big of a coup for Kirby Smart?! https://t.co/syvD7cURDv
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) February 24, 2020

Previous to his time in Tuscaloosa, Cochran served as the strength coach for the Charlotte Hornets from 2004-2006, and coached at LSU, his alma mater, alongside Saban from 2001-2004.

There are questions surrounding Cochran's outlook as an on-field coach considering the only positions he's ever held were performance-related. However, Smart is also a product of the Nick Saban tree, an item anyone in the college ranks would love to have on their CV. He figures to be a big-time addition for UGA.