Continuing our coach debate series with two of the most successful coaches of the past decade in Georgia’s Kirby Smart vs. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
The case for Smart:
The Dawgs just became the first team to win back-to-back titles in nearly 30 years, and they did it with relative ease. And at this point, it’s hard to argue that Smart isn’t the best recruiter in the country, especially when it comes to stocking linemen on both sides of the ball. If UGA wins three of the next five titles – which is not too far of a stretch of the imagination – we could be talking about Smart’s Georgia squads as one of the greatest runs of all time.
The case against Smart:
UGA has had effectively zero competition in the East over the past handful of seasons. So although Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina have made more than a little progress, we haven’t truly seen the Dawgs tested in a few years outside of when they meet Alabama.
The case for Swinney:
Simply put, after Nick Saban, you can make a case that Swinney is the best coach of the past 15 years. He’s made six CFP appearances, four title games, and won two championships in the nine years of the College Football Playoff’s existence. Swinney has produced a litany of All-Americans on both sides of the ball, and they became one of the most dominant teams in college football under his guidance.
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The case against Swinney:
His stubbornness to stick with DJ Uiagalelei the past two seasons despite mediocre at best results is a bit puzzling. A very vocal critic of the portal, Swinney is also losing out on opportunities to improve his team every year because of his refusal to truly engage with the new norm of college football.
The verdict:
Right now, there’s not a better coach in college football than Kirby Smart. So even though Swinney is a top-3 coach in his own right, Kirby’s recent success and superiority on the recruiting trail make him the pick.
