Yet with all that Smart has had to navigate in the past year, he still is viewed as the top coach in the sport by some people. By a wide margin, too, according to ESPN’s stable of writers.
In a group of 12 contributors, Smart received 11 first-place votes as the top college football coach in the country. The lone dissenter voted for Bill Belichick, whose success has come exclusively at the NFL level, with the dissenter voting Smart as second best.
“With more first-round NFL draft picks (20) than losses (19) in his nine seasons as coach of his alma mater and back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, it’s hard to argue it could be anyone other than Smart with Nick Saban retired,” ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote. “I don’t think Georgia’s program is going to slip anytime soon.”
Smart finished with 119 points of a possible 120 in the poll.
Through his nine seasons at Georgia, Smart has a 105-19 record. He needs only five wins next season to have the second most wins by a coach in his first 10 seasons as Georgia’s head coach. The record holder, Penn’s George Woodruff, won 124 games from 1892-1901.
Smart understands that great success brings even greater expectations. Despite winning the SEC a season ago, many people no longer see Georgia as a top-tier team entering the 2025 season.
The Georgia head coach, who has won three SEC championships and two national titles, knows what he needs to get out of each and every season. And he said that winning the last game of the season doesn’t define whether the Bulldogs had a successful year.
“Do I want to win a national championship? Absolutely,” Smart said in a recent interview with Paul Finebaum. “But that’s not going to be the be-all and end-all for us. We want to get the most out of every team we can.”
Georgia’s 2025 team will look considerably different from last season’s team. The Bulldogs lost 16 scholarship players to the transfer portal and had 13 players drafted in April.
Georgia likely will start Gunner Stockton at quarterback, while Smart tapped into the transfer portal to add talent at wide receiver and running back.
With another strong season in an ultra-competitive SEC, Smart has a chance to widen the gap between himself and his contemporaries. Of the coaches who ranked second through 10th on ESPN’s list, Smart has a record of 6-2 against them.
Many will judge Smart on whether he is able to win another national championship. Having won two, Smart understands that is the bar he set for himself.
He welcomes the chance to try to clear it again in 2025.
“I love the expectation. I embrace that,” Smart said. “I think that’s a good thing because if it’s not there, then what are you playing for, you know?”
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