Sonny Smart, Dad of Georgia Head Football Coach Kirby, Dies After Complications from Hip Surgery: ‘He Fought Valiantly’

Sonny Smart, the father of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, has died due to complications from hip surgery. He was 76.

Sonny died on Saturday, Jan. 4, days after falling and fracturing his hip on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, where he was set to watch Kirby’s team play in the Sugar Bowl, according to ESPN.

“He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose. He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries,” the University of Georgia said in a statement, per the outlet.

The statement noted Sonny was surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children — Karl, Kirby and Kendall — when he died at 12:15 a.m. ET.

PEOPLE reached out to the University of Georgia for comment and did not immediately receive a response.

According to ESPN, Kirby, 49, spent a portion of New Year’s Day with his father at the hospital after the Sugar Bowl was pushed back day due to the Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street.

In the statement, the Smart family also expressed their gratitude for the Ochsner Medical Center and thanked their staff in New Orleans “for the exceptional care provided to Sonny.”

“Additionally, they ask for your continued prayers for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day, “ the statement said. “The Smart family treasures everyone’s thoughts and prayers and now prays for God’s comfort, strength, and guidance.”

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Sonny was a well-known high school football coach in Alabama and Georgia. Sonny played football at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., and he went on to become a football coach at Holtville High School, per ESPN. He also led the baseball team to a state title in 1982. He later coached at Bainbridge High in Georgia, where Kirby played safety for him.

“He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way,” Kirby told WJBF ABC 6 News in January 2023. “Control the controlables. The moment’s never too big if you’re prepared.” 

He continued: “And I always watched the way he prepared our teams and our staff in high school. He was a very wise man, a man of few words. I tried to follow his mantra as a coach.”

Others have expressed their condolences and paid tribute to Sonny. 

“Sonny Smart touched many people in his life and we are saddened to learn of his passing,” wrote SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on X (formerly Twitter).  I had the privilege to visit with Sonny many times and enjoyed every conversation. Our sympathies go out to Kirby Smart and his family and to all who knew his dad.”

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer offered his condolences on X, saying his “heart hurts for the Smart family,” and adding, “We’re sending prayers to all of them. God Bless them all.”