The offseason is one of the worst times of the calendar year in college football. Instead of focusing on the results on the field, analysts and fans love to talk about anything and everything as it relates to college football because there are no actual games to discuss.
This includes ranking the best head coaches in all of college football.
The No. 1 spot on that list should go to Kirby Smart, but not everyone agrees with that. Even if he has the best resume in the country people still like to act like he isn’t the best coach this sport has seen outside of Nick Saban.
Unfortunately Josh Pate, who runs one of the most successful college dootball podcasts, is one of those people who thinks someone else is better than Smart.
Rolling 3-year blend of the following…
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) February 23, 2026
- on-field results (lean to recency bias)
- talent acquisition + development
- culture + organizational strength
- slight predictive element
Josh Pate disrespects Kirby Smart in the worst way imaginable
According to Pate, Smart is the No. 2 head coach in the country falling behind Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. Being the No. 2 head coach in all of college football is a great honor, but being ranked behind Day doesn't make a lot of sense.
Day is a great coach who has won a national title more recently than Georgia has, so he does deserve his flowers fot that. But he has only won one title compared to the two that Smart has won at Georgia. On top of that, Day hasn't won the Big Ten since 2020 and is 1-4 agianst his biggest rival (Michigan) in their last five meetings. Smart on the other hand hasn't lost to any of his rivals in ages and has won the SEC two years in a row as well.
Pate does deserve some credit because other analysts have ranked Smart even lower this offseason, but he deserves to be No. 1 until someone matches his two National Championships.