There’s two obvious selections in front of Smart: Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney.
But after that, it’s a little more up for grabs.
I think you have to give Ed Orgeron the nod over Smart simply because of his national title last season. Even though Smart’s had a more consistent run over the last few years, Coach O did something Smart has not yet been able to do, bring home the title.
And then there’s Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. One of the great young minds in college football, Riley has had Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff in four of the last five years. Smart’s gotten Georgia there once since his arrival in Athens, but his team beat Riley’s and went on to the national championship. If I had to pick between Smart and Riley, I’m taking Smart. Sure, Riley’s been to the playoff a lot, but if you put Riley in the SEC, I don’t see him yielding the same results. (I’m ready for the comments I’m about to receive as a result of this statement).
Jimbo Fisher and James Franklin are guys that ranked ahead of Smart on Feldman’s list. Let’s start with Jimbo. He’s been at A&M for the last two seasons, and you get the sense that he’s getting closer and closer to finding success in College Station. But his teams of recent have been nothing special, including his final seasons at Florida State. But again, he has one thing Smart does not – a national championship that he won in 2013. When you look at Fisher’s individual seasons (he’s been a head coach for 10 years), he has only three seasons that you can really call elite. But, he’s got a ring that Kirby doesn’t.
As for James Franklin, yeah, I do not know about that one. He’s had a great run at Penn State despite a rough first two seasons. But has he done enough to rank ahead of Smart, who is also on the cusp of breaking through? I’m not sure.