Kirby Smart has won three SEC titles and a pair of national championships in back-to-back seasons.
That’s not all that glitters on his coaching resume. The ninth-year coach has built his program through elite recruiting, but he’s had to coach all those 5-stars and blue-chips up once they got to Athens.
Smart quickly became more than just a signing day hero at UGA.
He led the Georgia football program to the first of those SEC titles in just his second season. That marked the first SEC title for the Dawgs in 12 years. There’s also been a run since the 2021 season where the Dawgs have won 53 of their last 57 games.
There’s been a constant theme over the last four years where the UGA staff has basically had to reboot the roster in several key areas.
The Bulldogs have faced serious adversity this year and still found a way to earn the No. 2 seed in the first 12-team college football playoff.
It begs the question: Has this season been Kirby Smart’s best work at Georgia? If not, which one of his nine seasons of being pulled back to the sidelines by strength coach Scott Sinclair was his best?
That’s a good question for the DawgNation crew to discuss this week as the Bulldogs are now full-speed ahead into Notre Dame prep for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Where does this season rank among Kirby Smart’s best coaching jobs?
Brandon Adams: Not the best
Why: “Georgia has overcome seemingly all manner of adversity this season – including a historically difficult schedule. However, with all due respect for what the Bulldogs are trying to accomplish this year, nothing can top what UGA was facing in 2021 as Smart was trying to stop the slide of three consecutive seasons of diminishing results while also trying to rebuild his culture after the turmoil of the pandemic. That will likely always be Smart’s best coaching performance.”
Mike Griffith: The best
Why: “Off-field distractions, multiple overtime games, a murderous schedule, new position coaches, player suspensions, injuries on the offensive and defensive lines, the skill position players and the starting quarterback with a playoff spot on the line. But here they are SEC Champs for only the third time in Smart’s tenure and set to make a run to the CFP Championship Game as the No. 2 seed in the nation.”
Kaylee Mansell: This has been his best work at UGA
Why: “This is, without a doubt, Kirby’s best season as a head coach. This team feels like CKS’s worst team in years yet they still somehow found a way to win an SEC Championship despite all the adversity they faced this season alongside a general lack of elite talent.”
Connor Riley: Fourth, behind 2022, 2021 and 2017
Why: “Smart deserves credit for navigating a gauntlet of a schedule while juggling the challenges of the transfer portal and NIL. But the 2022 season saw Georgia go 15-0 after losing a record number of players to the NFL draft. That is probably never getting topped. Georgia won a national title and beat Alabama in 2021. As for the 2017 season, it was proof of concept that Smart was more than capable of turning Georgia into a program that is capable of contending for and winning championships.”
Jeff Sentell: Well ... job’s not done yet.
Why: “This can be seen as the most difficult schedule any UGA team has faced and still not be Smart’s best work. If Georgia wins it all, then yes. Especially with a backup QB. This team has a remarkable spirit, but it has lost two games. Smart’s 2017 team launched the program into national elite status. He still had Mark Richt’s roster that wasn’t head-and-shoudlers more talented on the lines of scrimmage. It wasn’t just the Rose Bowl win against the Heisman winner. Those Dawgs won in Jacksonville and at Notre Dame and Tennessee when UGA wasn’t accustomed to that. That 2017 team even did all of that with a true freshman backup QB.”
Do you have an opinion on this one? DawgNation welcomes you to join our huddle in the comments section below.
DAWGNATION HUDDLE THIS WEEK:
-- What has been the best moment of the 2024 season so far?
-- Which Bulldog has been the biggest surprise of the 2024 season?
-- Which UGA assistant has done the best coaching job so far this season?
-- Who has been the Georgia football MVP for the 2024 season?
