Georgia Football: Kirby Smart snubbed in top coaches lists

The case for Kirby Smart

So, with all that said, do these coaches deserve to be put ahead of Smart and what he has done for Georgia football? Let’s look at what Kirby has done over his last three seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.

Smart has a record of 36-7 over the past three seasons as Georgia football head coach, including a 2-2 bowl record. He has won the SEC East each year and won the SEC in 2017. Smart has led his Bulldogs to three straight SEC Championship Games and led them to the College Football Playoffs in 2017. He even led them all the way to the championship, something only one other coach, besides Saban and Swinney, on these lists has done.

Over the last three years, Georgia football has finished No. 2, No. 7, and No. 4 in the final AP polls. In Smart’s last three years recruiting at Georgia, he has averaged a No. 2 ranking, landing the No. 3 class in 2017, the No. 1 class in 2018, and the No. 2 class in 2019.

So let’s break this down:

• Smart and Riley are the only two coaches with 36 wins over the last three years.
• Smart’s 2-2 bowl record would be the third-best among these four coaches.
• Smart has more division wins than the other three coaches (the Big XII doesn’t have divisions)
• Smart has won his conference, something that only Riley has done and more often.
• Smart’s teams have averaged a higher finish than the other three.
• Smart’s recruiting is far superior to the other three.