ESPN names Kirby Smart as the 'clear' No. 1 head coach in college football even after Ohio State's championship run

Ohio State's Ryan Day may have won the national championship this past fall but that doesn't make him better than Georgia Bulldogs' Kirby Smart. 

ESPN recently ranked 10 college football head coaches and coach Smart came in clearly at No. 1 overall. 

Smart received 11 of 12 first place votes for the top coach in college football, marking the second straight year that he secured the top spot. 

Can Smart come in at No. 1 overall next year, too? ESPN's Marck Schlabach thinks so. 

With more first-round NFL draft picks (20) than losses (19) in his nine seasons as coach of his alma mater and back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, it's hard to argue it could be anyone other than Smart with Nick Saban retired. I guess if Ryan Day guided Ohio State to a second straight national title or Dabo Swinney captured his third at Clemson this season, you could make the case they're better. I don't think Georgia's program is going to slip anytime soon. -- Mark Schlabach

Since taking over as head coach in 2016, Smart has compiled an impressive overall record of 94–16 (as of the end of the 2024 season), including a national-best 42–2 record over the past three seasons. He guided Georgia to back-to-back national championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the school’s first titles since 1980, and has secured three SEC Championships (2017, 2022, 2024). 

Under Smart's leadership, Georgia has finished in the top 10 of the final AP Poll in six of the last seven seasons and regularly boasts top-3 recruiting classes. Smart’s elite defensive units, marked by multiple first-round NFL Draft picks, and his ability to develop talent across the board has made him one of the most successful and respected coaches football.

According to ESPN, Smart needs just five wins to move to second all time in wins through the first 10 seasons of a coach's career. Entering the 2025 season, he trails only Chris Peterson (107 wins from 2006-15 at Boise State and Washington), Bob Stoops (109 wins from 1999-2008 at Oklahoma) and George Woodruff (124 wins from 1892-1901 at Penn).