Has Georgia's Kirby Smart Been Dethroned as the Best Head Coach in College Football?

Has Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart been dethroned as the best head coach in college football?

The college football offseason is a time of great anticipation and brings forth a plethora of discussion points that frequently evolve into full-fledged arguments among fanbases and passionate fans. These arguments often fuel the fire of excitement ahead of the next season.

But as this year's offseason rages on, there is a new talking point that has occupied the minds of the college football world. The discussion revolves around which head coach currently holds the title of "best in the sport."

For many years, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban rightfully held the title. But his retirement following the 2023 season resulted in many anointing Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart as the new leader of the pack.

Smart strongly lived up to his title during that time, leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated regular season that resulted in an embarrassment of Florida State in the 2023 Orange Bowl. Then, following it up with an SEC Championship victory and College Football Playoff appearance in the 2024 season.

But the results of the 2025 college football season have led to a new candidate for the best head coach in college football, and have many arguing that Smart is no longer at the head of the table in the coaching world.

That candidate is, of course, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti. Who, in the past two seasons, has turned one of college football's losingest programs in history into undefeated national champions with a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

Cignetti's accomplishments have been greatly praised and have led to some to argue that the Hoosier's head coach is now the best in football, given his accomplishments with a much lesser program.

So is Cignetti the new top-dawg in the sport? Or does Kirby Smart still deserve the title as the best head coach in college football?

Is Curt Cignetti a Better Head Coach Than Kirby Smart?

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti holds up the coaches trophy on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, during the Indiana Football College Football Playoff National Championship celebration and parade at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To begin, there is no denying that Curt Cignetti's efforts in the 2024 and 2025 seasons are one of the most impressive coaching feats in college football history and should absolutely be viewed as such. And the head coach's prestige from other programs, such as JMU, Elon, and IUP, only adds to his credibility.

It would also not be egregious to claim that Cignetti's 16-0 season with Indiana is a more impressive feat than what Kirby Smart was able to do with the Bulldogs winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

But Cignetti is relatively new to the head coaching world in the power four, and has not yet established that his success is sustainable for long periods of time. Indiana's recent accomplishments could simply be a result of an extremely fruitful transfer portal class and a bit of luck (though that does not make them any less impressive).

Kirby Smart, on the other hand, has had the Bulldogs consistently inside the top-10 for nearly a decade now, and has shown his ability to master roster turnover and coaching losses, all while jugglign the ever-changing dynamics of the sport.

So the answer to this debate boils down to more of an opinion than a basis of fact. Which is more valuable to you personally? A brief period of unimaginable success that almost no other coach could achieve? Or, a decade's worth of consistent, championship contending football that has also resulted in championships seasons.

No matter which side of the Cignetti-Smart debate you are on, there is no denying that the two head coaches are some of the best in the sport and are both fantastic leaders of their respective programs.