ATHENS – Mike Cavan was given the job of introducing Kirby Smart to the Macon Touchdown Club two weeks ago, and Cavan decided to use part of his remarks to talk not just about Smart, but the nine men he hired as his assistants.

“You’ve got the best staff I’ve seen at Georgia in a long time,” Cavan said.

Perhaps it’s just what you say about a new coach, particularly one Cavan works for now in the title of special assistant to the head coach. Or perhaps Cavan, who was an assistant coach at Georgia from 1977-85 and returned in the early 2000s in a fundraising role, was speaking from a position of sincere expertise.

Still, it raises the question of whether he’s right. It’s hard to quantify how good a staff truly is, especially before it’s coached a game. Vince Dooley, for what it’s worth, said his first staff in 1964 was probably his best, and history would show that Mark Richt’s first staff in 2001 was also his best. Dooley and Richt’s staffs laid the foundations for two SEC titles in their first five years.

Richt’s final staff ended up not being good enough, at least to keep his job. But if you look at where everyone on that staff ended up, it compares pretty well with Smart’s first staff, at least in terms of their previous jobs.

That all in mind, here’s a look at where Smart’s assistants came from and where each of Richt’s final staff members ended up – along with where Richt’s other assistants at Georgia are now:

WHERE SMART’S STAFF WAS LAST YEAR

RICHT’S FINAL STAFF — WHERE THEY ARE NOW

RICHT’S OTHER ASSISTANT COACHES AT GEORGIA – WHERE THEY ARE NOW