ESPN names Georgia's Kirby Smart the best head coach in college football

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has no shortage of accolades heading into the 2024 season as one of the singular strongest forces that exist in college football.

It's for that reason that ESPN unanimously voted Smart as the No. 1 head coach in the sport in the network's most recent poll. 

“The Bulldogs won an SEC-record 29 straight games before losing to Alabama last season in the SEC championship game,” ESPN’s Chris Low wrote. “In eight seasons at Georgia, Smart has built a juggernaut in terms of evaluating, recruiting and developing great players. He has produced 55 NFL draft picks, including 15 first-rounders, and could have as many as 10 more players selected in the upcoming draft.

“Smart is unbeaten against all active coaches over the past five seasons.”

Here's a look at the complete rankings from ESPN's 10 analysts who participated:

ESPN's Top 10 coaches in college football

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia
2. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
3. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
4. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
5. Mike Norvell, Florida State
6. Dan Lanning, Oregon
7. Steve Sarkisian, Texas
8. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
9. Lance Leipold, Kansas
10. Ryan Day, Ohio State

Smart holds a 94-16 record through 110 games serving in his current position and is one of only three active head coaches with a national championship. Clemson's Dabo Swinney and North Carolina's Mack Brown are the only other two coaches active with the same accomplishment under their belts.

With the new 12-team format making its debut in the College Football Playoff, Georgia enters the season as the team to beat with a very real chance at making a run at the national title game after very closely -- and controversially -- coming up just short of a place in the CFP for the 2023 season. 

Georgia will kick off the upcoming season on Aug. 31 when the Bulldogs face the Clemson Tigers on the road in what is sure to be an interesting matchup to open up the schedule.