For some reason a new narrative about Kirby Smart has been dominating the college football world this offseason. Analysts and fans have been sharing their top 10 rankings of college football head coaches heading into next season, and Smart somehow has not been at the top of any of these lists.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Indiana's Curt Cignetti are the two coaches being ranked above Smart the most often. While they both deserve to sit near the top of this list there is one glaring reason why neither should be awarded the No. 1 spot ahead of Smart
Kirby Smart deserves to be looked at as the No. 1 head coach in college football
Day and Cignetti have won the two most recent national titles, so that is likely why people are favoring them over Smart on this list. But who won two national titles right before these two? That's right, it was Smart who led Georgia to back-to-back National Championships.
Day and Cignetti both deserve to be celebrated, but they have not yet accomplished everything Smart has at Georgia. Not only have they won only one national title, but they haven't won even close to the number of conference championships that Smart has. Ohio State hasn't won the Big Ten since 2020 and Cignetti has only done it one time at Indiana.
And it's not like Smart has been bad in recent years either as he has led Georgia to back-to-back SEC Championships the last two years. This brings his total to four SEC titles during his tenure which is something both Day and Cignetti can only dream of.
No one can deny that Day and Cignetti are both great coaches, but they need to prove it for much longer if they want to be in the same conversation with Smart.