It's almost impossible to deny that Kirby Smart is the greatest active head football coach in the SEC. With two National Championships, three conference titles, and six SEC divisional titles, the guy clearly knows how to coach ball.
However, at the most recent SEC Media Days, Smart wasn't touted by his fellow coaches for his prowess and his dominance on the football field.
No, instead, most of the SEC head coaches simply said that Smart would be the first guy they would list as their emergency contact.
Kirby Smart is the go-to guy in the SEC
Oklahoma's Brent Venables, Texas's Steve Sarkisian, Auburn's Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss's Lane Kiffin, and Arkansas's Sam Pittman all said that they would list Smart as their emergency contact over any other head coach in the conference.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz received three votes, Kiffin received two votes, and Texas A&M's Mike Elko received two votes. Sarkisian and Kiffin voting for Smart isn't all that surprising; the three of them were each college assistants under the greatest coach of all time: Nick Saban.
Not to mention, Sarkisian has quickly worked his way up the SEC food chain to go toe-to-toe with Smart for the conference title, just one season into the Texas Longhorns' Southeastern Conference tenure.
Smart is reliable, both on and off the field. He has not only led the Bulldogs to an incredible 105-19 record since taking over the program, but he is also the second-longest tenure coach in the conference, only trailing Mark Stoops, who has been at Kentucky for 13 years.
Last year, in May 2024, Smart agreed to a 10-year, $130-million contract extension, which means he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Yes, Kirby Smart knows how to win football games, but he also knows how to build trust. This "poll" is just the latest example of the Georgia head coach's greatness.