College Football Coaching Changes: Ranking the best hires

Dec 4, 2015; Atlanta , GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart works with his players during a walk through practice at Georgia Dome. The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Saturday. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

6. Georgia Bulldogs – Kirby Smart replaces Mark Richt

This is a risky move to fire a coach who wins 10 games every year for a coach with zero head coaching experience. It’s risky, but it’s got the chance to pay off in a big way. I wouldn’t have fired Richt, but replacing him with Kirby Smart who played at Georgia and coached running backs in Athens in 2005 is the best possible hire for that program.

He’s coached under Nick Saban for one year at LSU, one year with the Miami Dolphins and ever since Saban returned to the college game with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Can you ask for a better mentor to learn defense than Saban? He’s also a great recruiter and if he can lure some of Saban’s assistants to follow him to Georgia, it’ll be even better.

The key thing for Smart is hiring a brilliant offensive coordinator to complement what should be a good defense, but if he swings and misses on his offensive coordinator, this has the potential to mirror what happened to Will Muschamp at Florida.

Next: Mark Richt