When Kirby Smart was hired at Georgia back in 2016, it was not like the program was in shambles like some programs are when hiring a new head coach. Smart took over for a team that went 10-3 during the 2015 season, but the Bulldogs wanted a new face of the program; hence why they let Mark Richt go, and Smart was hired.
Smart came in as a coach under Nick Saban, learning from probably the greatest college football coach in the history of the game. Smart learned a lot from Saban, and it is very clear that he is a great head coach with what he has been able to accomplish at Georgia in under 10 seasons.
CBS Sports released a ranking of the top 25 head coach hirings of this century, and Smart was ranked No. 5 on the list, but does he deserve to be higher?
.@ShehanJeyarajah ranked the top 25 coaching hires of the past 25 years 📈
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) June 17, 2025
Do y’all agree with the top 10?
Full 1-25 breakdown 🔗 https://t.co/yXY1qWQ1F2 pic.twitter.com/GOeC9INht2
Kirby Smart was ranked a little too low on CBS Sports' CFB head coaching hiring list
It makes all the sense in the world that Saban would be ranked No. 1 with all that he accomplished at Alabama; however, the coaches ahead of him may not deserve to be there.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is ranked two spots ahead of Smart at No. 3, and while Swinney has been very successful with two National Championships and nine ACC titles, let's face it, the competition in the ACC is not nearly as tough as the competition in the SEC. So Smart's two National Championships and three SEC titles do seem to hold a bit more weight than Swinney's accomplishments, and Smart did it all in less time.
Swinney also has struggled in this new era of college football, while Smart has been able to adapt and still keep his team in contention each season. Swinney is a great head coach, but he definitely did not deserve to be higher than Smart.
The other two head coaches ahead of Smart are Pete Carroll, when he coached at USC, ranked at No. 4, and Urban Meyer, when he coached at Florida, ranked at No. 2. Carroll can stay ahead of Smart, but there could be a debate when it comes to Meyer.
Both Meyer and Smart are great head coaches, but Smart has shown absolute dominance in coaching. There is something that could just set Smart ahead of Meyer, as the Georgia head coach has a 105-19 record in his stint in Athens, when Meyer lost almost as many games in a shorter amount of time in Gainesville with a 65-15 record in five seasons at Florida.
Not every ranking is going to be perfect, but it certainly seems like Smart could have and should have been higher on this list.