Kirby Smart Ranked Right Behind Dabo Swinney in Best CFB Hires List
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ATHENS - It did not take long after hiring Kirby Smart in December of 2015 for the Georgia Bulldogs athletic department to know that it made a great decision. In just his second season as the head coach, Georgia made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship game and barely fell to Alabama in overtime.
Almost 10 years later, Smart is widely considered as the best head coach in college football. Georgia is one of the premier football programs in the country that is competing for national titles and No. 1-ranked recruiting classes.
He is as close to a perfect fit for a coaching job as there is out there. A dedicated former Georgia football player himself that loves the Dawgs and continuously wins on the recruiting trail is a no-brainer hire. Was it the best hire this century? CBS Sports made an attempt to rank the best hires in college football since 2000 and Smart was very high on the list.
Top 10 of CBS Sports’ List:
10. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
9. Chris Petersen, Boise State
8. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
7. Gary Patterson, TCU
6. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
5. Kirby Smart, Georgia
4. Pete Carroll, USC
3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
2. Urban Meyer, Florida
1. Nick Saban, Alabama
There is no arguing that Saban was the best hire. He turned Alabama into a dynasty. Six national championships and nine conference titles is a feat that may never be accomplished again in this sport, especially with all of the rapid changes.
The next tier of this list is ranked 2-5. Those are the coaches who helped bring home two national championships to their schools. Sorting out the order between them is more of a “pick your poison” type of situation.
In six seasons at Florida, Meyer won two titles and two conference titles along with coaching Heisman winner Tim Tebow. In eight seasons at USC, Carroll won two national titles and seven conference titles along with coaching two Heisman winners.
Two of them are still at that job: Smart and Swinney. Swinney turned an average Clemson program into a perennial national title contender. Smart awoke a sleeping giant in Georgia.
You can make the argument that Swinney changing Clemson is more impressive than Smart elevating Georgia. That is likely why he is ranked higher on this list. What is true for both of them is that they still have time to climb the ladder.