CBS analyst said what Georgia fans have been thinking about Kirby Smart

Players make plays, but coaching matters. Of the many things that have gone right for the Georgia Bulldogs this season, it has not always been easy. At the start of the year, this team had an unproven starting quarterback and a porous defense that could not stop a nosebleed. Now, the Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff, and are one of only a handful of teams who could win it.

To best explain why it is the case, CBS Sports' Aaron Taylor has Kirby Smart as his coach of the year.

"I don't know if he'll win, but Kirby Smart, this may be his best coaching job. To take a team that's not nearly as talented as we've seen in the past with him. To have the front-seven be riddled with injuries and players that aren't of the caliber it used to be because of NIL, and portal, and all the backups that would wait their time to shine, are now on other rosters."

This is not a team that was dripping with the most amount of talent in Georgia teams from yesteryear.

"Kirby Smart created a team in his own words that is 'hard to kill'. They were thrust into the SEC Championship Game where maybe it wasn't better for them to play, and they found a way to win, over and over again, and now they're in the playoffs. And I think when you're just evaluating a job to keep a team motivated, on track and finding different, creative ways to win, Kirby Smart knocked it out of the park."

With how emphatic Taylor was that Smart was his coach for the year, this certainly speaks volumes.

Let's now unpack why this is undeniably Smart's greatest coaching job to date while leading Georgia.

Kirby Smart is doing his finest job to date of coach the Georgia Bulldogs

One area that this clearly shows up is Georgia's lack of first team players on the All-SEC team. Georgia had two in linebacker CJ Allen and long snapper Beau Gardner. Not even Ray Guy winner Brett Thorson earned First-Team All-SEC honors. Yes, there are quite a handful of second-team and third-team players, but it is clearly a sign coaching is working its magic in Athens in all three phases.

Add in the fact that offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is a finalist for the Broyles Award, as well as Glenn Schumann's defense having not allowed more than 21 points in a game since the mid-season victory over Ole Miss, this team is buying into its coaches. Smart said this earlier in the year ahead of the Charlotte game. He told the guys in the booth that this team's greatest strength is its execution.

That is pure coaching! Being able to deliver a play both clearly and concisely, and then having the 11 players on the field at any given time to perform it to the very best of their abilities. This is about putting players in advantageous situations to succeed. This is how good players become great. They build confidence by executing the simplest of plays at their most efficient level possible repeatedly.

So while Georgia may not have the shine of other teams entering the playoff, there is not a team in the country that is as well-coached as them. Indiana and Ohio State are probably not that far off, but there are levels to this. When push comes to shove, Georgia is going to find a way to make the necessary adjustments to win. This is because Smart is at the top of his game, now 10 years into this.

The best part is Smart is coaching for something he can share with his entire team: A championship.