On Thursday, Brad Crawford of 247Sports released his list of the top-25 coaches in college football.
Give credit to Crawford — he took on this story knowing that it would receive mixed reviews from across the country.
Here was his top-five:
1. Nick Saban, Alabama
2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
3. Ed Orgeron, LSU
4. Kirby Smart, Georgia
5. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
I don’t think there’s any question about numbers one and two. Saban and Swinney have taken turns ruling college football for the last decade.
But after those two is when fans start to think their coach should occupy that #3, #4 or #5 spot.
I’m not here to bash Crawford’s ranking of Smart at #4. Instead, I 100% agree with it. How can you not?
I saw a story that stated Georgia fans should be offended by Smart’s ranking on this list. It mentioned recency bias as the main reason Orgeron was put at #3.
I’m not on board with that. Some can call it recency bias, but I call it a national championship win, meaning he’s accomplished something that Smart has not. Meanwhile, they were both playing in the same conference, and LSU kicked Georgia’s butt for the second straight season. At one point, you have to tip your cap to Coach O.
Smart’s time will come where he’ll eventually pass Coach O, but that won’t be until he wins a title. He’s doing everything else right. He’s getting his team to the big games, he’s recruiting better than any coach in America, he catapulted Georgia back into the national spotlight and he’s producing NFL talent.
All that’s left is a ring. That may be a very simplistic way of looking at it, but in the end that’s how success is measured. Have you not been watching the Jordan documentary?
Had Georgia beaten LSU last season in the SEC Championship Game, then we would be having a different discussion. But Georgia did not just lose, it got pounded by a final score of 37-10. The year before, Georgia got spanked in Baton Rouge 36-16. In Smart’s last two games vs Orgeron, his Bulldogs have gotten beat by a combined score of 73-26.
So no, Georgia fans have no right to be offended about the #4 ranking for Smart. If anything, we should be celebrating the fact that Georgia has the fourth best coach in America.
I loved Mark Richt as much as the next guy, but come on, he was never a top-five coach in America. Maybe not even top-10.
Kirby’s time will come.
A few other notable names on the list:
#8 – Florida head coach Dan Mullen
#9 – Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher
#13 – Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn
#15 – Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops
#21 – Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt