Every college football fan agrees that Kirby Smart is the best active head coach in all of college football right? Think again, because ESPN's Bill Connelly just ranked two coaches ahead of Smart entering the 2025 season.
Kirby Smart ranked 3rd best head coach in college football
So who could possibly have been ranked above Smart entering the 2025 season? Coming in at No. 1 is Ohio State head coach Ryan Day who is coming off his first National Championship with the Buckeyes. While there is a decent argument to put Day on the same level as Smart, it does seem strange to put him at No. 1 after watching he and Ohio State lose to their rival Michigan four straight years now.
Day being above Smart however isn't the biggest problem because at No. 2 in these rankings is Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Huepel has been at Tennessee for four years now and has lost to Georgia by at least 14 points each of these four seasons. On top of that, Georgia has won two National Championships and two SEC titles during the past four years as well, so putting Heupel above Smart makes no sense.
There is no denying that Heupel isn't a good head coach. He had a good tenure at UCF and has now led the Vols to a solid 37-15 record as their head coach, but his failure to get over the hump even once should automatically disqualify Heupel from being above Smart.
This is just another example of the media giving Georgia a lot of motivation entering the 2025 season. Not only does Smart now have a reason to work harder than he ever has before, but so too does Georgia's entire team after the SEC media voted rival Texas as the favorite to win the SEC.
Thankfully the season begins in a little over a month, because Georgia once again has a lot of people they need to prove wrong this season.