College Football: Ranking 10 best head coaches from past 5 seasons
By Ryan Kay
5. Kirby Smart (Georgia)
Kirby Smart took over as the head coach for Georgia in 2016.
In his first season at the helm, the Bulldogs had a decent season by the high standards already set in place for the football program. Georgia won their first three games of the season but he and his Bulldogs lost four of the next five games that season. However, Smart won four of his last five games that included an upset over No. 8-ranked Auburn and a Liberty Bowl victory over TCU.
The next season would be one to remember for him and his team.
Smart and his Georgia team played very well to start the 2017 season by winning their first nine games that earned them a No. 2 national ranking. Even though they lost their 10th game of the season at Auburn by 23 points, they would win their next two games and win the SEC East. In the SEC Championship Game, Smart led his Bulldogs to an impressive 21-point victory over Auburn to claim the conference title and earn a berth in the playoff.
In the College Football Playoff that season, Georgia defeated Oklahoma in a high-scoring game that went into double-overtime. Smart, with the victory, had his team competing in the national championship game against SEC rival Alabama where he was previously a defensive coordinator for seven years.
Georgia had a very impressive first half and looked to potentially win the national championship. Unfortunately for Smart and his Bulldogs, he and his team would lose to the Crimson Tide in overtime and come up short by three points. Overall, Smart had a very successful second season where he and his team won 13 games, the SEC conference, Rose Bowl and nearly had won the national title.
In 2018, Georgia had more than an above-average season even by their program’s high standards but he and his team did not accomplish what they had done the previous season. The Bulldogs were once again very successful on the field to begin the season as they won their first six games in 2018. At that point in the season, Smart’s team was ranked No. 2 in the country entering their game on the road against LSU. They ended up losing by 20 but they bounced back in a big way once again like when they had lost on the road to Auburn last year.
Midway during the 2018 season, Georgia would defeat two top-11 ranked teams back-to-back and then they went on to win the SEC East for the second straight season. They ended up winning 11 of their first 12 games of the season but then the season didn’t end like the previous year. Georgia played well against Alabama in the SEC title game but ended up losing by a touchdown.
Then his Bulldogs played Texas in the Sugar Bowl but lost by a touchdown like they had done the previous game. The following season would not bring the same success as did in 2017 for Smart and his team but better than in 2018.
Georgia once again played well to start the season winning their first five games of the year. Then, on the sixth game of the season, Smart had something happen to him that had not occurred since his first year as the head coach of Georgia which was being upset at home by an unranked team. South Carolina went into overtime with Georgia and defeated the Bulldogs by a field goal in a very close and competitive game. However, Georgia responded once again and defeated their next six opponents to earn their third straight SEC East title.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost in the SEC title game again. Though he and his team didn’t make it to the College Football Playoff like last season, Georgia, unlike the previous year, won the Sugar Bowl by defeating Baylor and ending the season with 12 wins.
The Georgia program is in good hands with Smart as he is beginning to build a dynasty in the SEC East.
Having won three straight division titles and having a 21-3 record in SEC regular season games over the past three years is impressive, to say the least. Smart has won 11 or more games the past three seasons and looks to have his Georgia team competing for a national title again next season.
Point breakdown for Smart
- 0 National Championships: 0 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 40 points
- 1 regular-season conference title: 30 points
- 3 division titles: 60 points
- 3 bowl wins: 30 points
- 5 bowl appearances: 25 points
- 3 seasons with 10 or more wins: 15 points
Total coaching points: 200
Coaching highlights over the past five seasons
- Smart led the Bulldogs to the national title game in 2017
- 3 SEC East titles (2017-19)
- 1 SEC title in 2017