Analysts Claim Kirby Smart Has Been Dethroned As the No.1 Coach in College Football

As the 2026 season approaches, some college football analysts are beginning to claim that Kirby Smart is no longer the top head coach in the sport.

Since the retirement of legendary head coach Nick Saban at the conclusion of the 2023 college football season, the over-arching sentiment around the college football was that Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was the best coach in the sport.

But while Smart and the Bulldogs have certainly been one of college football's best teams in that time, some experts believe that the head coach has been replaced as the No.1 coach in the sport. According to multiple outlets, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti has now claimed the afformentioned title.

Cignetti has led the Hoosiers, a program known for not preforming very well, to a pair of College Football Playoff appearances, and is fresh-off the only 16-0 national championship season in college football history.

The Bulldogs have been far from slouches over the past two seasons, but have also not been nearly as successful as they once were. For this reason, Cignetti's recent successes appear to have supplanted Smart as the nation's top head coach.

"It’s a testament to Smart’s dominance that the past two seasons felt like mild disappointments, despite the Bulldogs going 23-5 and winning consecutive SEC championships," wrote The Athletic's Stewart Mandel. "That’s only because he went 42-2 and won two national titles in the three seasons before that. Georgia remains the crown jewel of the SEC."

Is Kirby Smart Still the Best Coach in College Football?

Georgia coach Kirby Smart kisses the National Championship trophy while celebrating after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Indianapolis, on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Though, Georgia has not competed for a national title in three seasons, there is no denying that the Bulldogs are still one of the best teams in the sport. The Dawgs past three seasons have resulted in a trio of conference championship appearances (with two victories), multiple first round NFL Draft selections, and a pair of College Football Playoff appearances.

As mentioned by The Athletic's Stewart Mandel, the biggest hindrance to Smart's current ranking, is that he had been that much more successful in the past. However, Smart and his staff are still more than capable of achieving the standard of excellence he set years ago.

Smart and the Bulldogs will look to continue their dominant run throughout the sport, and are hoping to win their third national title since the turn of the decade. Georgia will begin its 2025 season on Saturday, September 5th, when it hosts Tennessee State.