The last time Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart faced off against each other, the latter humbled the former by edging past Ole Miss with a 43-35 victory. Kiffin was still the head coach of the Rebels, and this was his only loss of the year. Months later, on a turf that’s quite different from the gridiron, Kiffin seems to have exacted his revenge on Smart.

The now LSU head coach took to X to share a video of a pickleball session with Smart. Kiffin was accompanied by his nephew, Cookie Kiffin, who was the lone kid in the quartet of the game. This young star took on Smart and his teammate and ended up winning a point after a short rally. The Georgia head coach hung his head in shame after the defeat, a sight Kiffin wanted the world to behold.

However, this was just some good old friendly competition between the two SEC rivals. Kiffin and Smart are actually quite close, having worked with each other at Alabama as assistant coaches. The LSU coach sees Smart as “college football’s best coach.” The duo had also been spotted together recently, before the pickleball clash.

Kiffin, the social media-savvy coach between the two, took a small dig at Kirby Smart when they were at a golf park. The LSU head coach shared a picture of himself holding a glass with the Georgia football logo, while the Bulldogs head coach gave a thumbs-up. 

LSU and Georgia will not meet in the 2026 season, which means these outings away from the gridiron are where they’ll get to compete against each other for now. As head coaches, however, the score is tied 2-2 between Kiffin and Smart. The two are set to play each other in the 2027 season, with Kiffin making the trip to Athens. Fans, however, were stoking the fire for their scheduled rivalry with that pickleball result itself.

LSU and Georgia fans quickly took sides in this pickleball clash

Even though Kiffin and Smart are buddies off the field, the LSU head coach isn’t a fan favorite in general because of his antics. A lot of them jumped to back the coach on the losing side, despite being bested by a younger Kiffin and the LSU head coach himself.

“Stop trying to get publicity off of Georgia dude,” a fan commented. Another turned cheerleader for the Bulldogs head coach, writing, “This is great!! Get’em @KirbySmartUGA.” “Epic,” commented another fan, liking Smart’s physical tenacity at the age of 50. Pickleball is a sport the Georgia head coach frequents quite a bit and is “highly competitive” in it, too.

One fan, however, was ready with a potential wager against Smart.  “I’ll take Kirby ML (+250),” they wrote. Kiffin gets pretty serious when playing pickleball, having outshone his own former quarterback, Jaxson Dart, in a 2024 game. The QB and his teammate, tight end Caden Prieskorn, had even hidden then graduate assistant Sawyer Jordan’s laptop to mess with them before the game. Pickleball sessions reached a “craze” at Ole Miss around this time, The Clarion-Ledger reported.

Moreover, Kiffin’s nephew is a brilliant athlete himself. “Kirby can’t handle Cookie,” an LSU fan commented. Cookie Kiffin is only 12 years old, which was probably why losing that point stung Kirby Smart.

One fan took the sarcasm route, calling Smart out for his fashion choices. “Kirby even wear that damn visor at night time 😂😂” wrote a sarcastic fan. The visor has become a constant in the Georgia head coach’s everyday apparel on the field. He does wear it every time – even at night games! 

Time off the field is over for Kirby Smart, as Georgia has already kicked off spring camp. Next time, he’ll be looking forward to another session with Lane Kiffin and leveling the pickleball score before they lock horns on the gridiron.