Where Mark Richt, Kirby Smart rank among the 2000s top college football coaches
Where Mark Richt, Kirby Smart rank among the 2000s top college football coaches
The Athletic released their top 25 coaches of the 21st century and the Georgia Bulldogs had two of their three coaches from the 21st century earn spots on the list. Georgia coaches have garnered 258 wins since 2000, the fifth most wins of any team in the nation behind Oklahoma, Boise State, Alabama and Ohio State.
That's not to mention the amount of drafted players Georgia has had in the 21st century. Both of Georgia's highly-ranked coaches (Mark Richt and Kirby Smart) have ushered in eras of impressive growth and domination.
Where Georgia Bulldogs coaches rank in The Athletic's top 25:
Record: 145-51
Richt was hired by the Georgia Bulldogs after six stellar seasons as Florida State's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He took a Georgia team struggling to meet expectations and while he never made a national championship with Georgia, he raised the expectations tremendously. In 2007, the Bulldogs finished as the No. 2 team in the country, and in 2012, they were only five yards and potentially one play away from winning the SEC and going to the national championship. It's a shame he only coached with Georgia for two years of the College Football Playoff era.
He also earned props for his time at Miami, coaching the Hurricanes to two top-20 finishes and the No. 2 ranking at one point in 2017.
"The only thing holding Richt's resume back was never winning the Big One," said Chris Vannini of the Athletic.
Accomplishments: Two SEC championships, eight top-10 finishes, four BCS/NY6 appearances, 18 bowl games
No. 4: Kirby Smart (2016-present)
Record: 109-19
It speaks to how good Kirby Smart is that the odds are in his favor to reach 100 wins in his tenure before reaching 20 losses. Kirby is the highest active coach on this list for good reason. In just eight years with Georgia, he transformed the team from perennial teases to championship contenders. He led Georgia to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, which is an unbelievable feat considering the history of Georgia Bulldogs football and Georgia sports in general.
His biggest flaw as a coach was usually failing to win against his old team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and his old coach, Nick Saban. However, Smart got the best of Saban in the 2021 national championship, officially cementing him as one of the best coaches of not just the 21st century, but all time.
Smart is ranked behind just Pete Carroll (No. 3), Urban Meyer (No. 2) and Nick Saban (No. 1).
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