Kirby Smart hears the outside noise.

You don’t need to remind the Georgia coach his team has a chance at a third straight College Football Playoff national championship.

During his time at the podium Tuesday at SEC media days in Nashville, Smart talked about dealing with complacency, first and foremost.

He said the first step is acknowledging it is a threat. When enthusiasm and ego start worrying about outcomes, he said, you have a problem.

To counter complacency, Smart said his program studied the New Zealand All Blacks, a team he says is “the most successful sports team in the history of teams. Over 100 years, they have had the highest winning percentage.”

It’s true. New Zealand has won 76 percent of its games.

“We don’t want complacency,” he explained. “They’ve done it better than anyone else.”

The Bulldogs have even taken on the All Blacks mantra: “Better Never Rests.”

“We believe that,” he said of the mantra. “Those are strong words now when you think about it. Think deep on it. Better Never Rests. Our kids understand it. Our kids have learned it.

“What drives us for this season is intrinsic motivation. We’re not going to be controlled by outside narratives and what people say and who is going to be the quarterback. The intrinsic motivation comes from within and what we decide we want to do. This team is still defining itself.”

So who are the All Blacks?

The All Blacks is the New Zealand national rugby union team. The All Blacks, to Smart’s point, have been regarded as the most successful sports team in history.

The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015, marking the first country to win the Rugby World Cup three times and the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup.

The All Blacks are undefeated against 12 of the 19 nations the team has played in its history. Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the No. 1 ranking longer than all other teams combined.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.