After Georgia’s second straight early exit from the College Football Playoff, national media figures are reexamining Kirby Smart’s place among elite coaches. Smart has built a consistently high standard at Georgia. In his 10 years with the program, he’s won 117 games, four SEC titles and two national championships. But recent postseason results have shifted the conversation from dominance to expectations.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt added fuel to that conversation with recent comments questioning Smart’s standing at the top of the profession. Klatt stated that Smart is not the best coach in college football right now. Instead, he argued that Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti deserves that distinction. Klatt explained his reasoning during an appearance on The Next Round podcast, citing Cignetti’s ability to maximize results with limited resources.
“Yeah,” Klatt said when asked if he could make an argument for Cignetti over Smart. “Some would disagree. But by the way, Kirby hasn’t even been in the final four in the last three years. Three years is a long time. That’s basically a whole cycle of college players. We are approaching very quickly a roster full of kids at Georgia who have never even played in the final four.”
Klatt spoke on how the SEC is no longer the dominant conference in college football. That used to be the ground on which Smart stood. But now, not so much, says Klatt.
“That leads into this idea of like ‘Kirby’s the best coach in college football.’ Well, no, he’s not. He hasn’t even played in the final four in the last three years. With good teams, by the way. In some cases, based on the composite, the most talented team.”
Klatt then discussed Indiana, which is 15-0 and set to play Miami on Monday night in the national championship. In Klatt’s eyes, Cignetti is the top dog in college football right now.
“So Curt Cignetti is doing more with less than anybody and he’s doing it on a stage and a pace right now that is fairly unprecedented,” Klatt said.
Cignetti, who coached under Saban at Alabama from 2007-10 alongside Smart, is in his second year in Bloomington. In those two seasons, he’s accumulated a 26-2 record. He’s completed one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the sport, as Indiana is historically one of the worst programs in college football.
Klatt goes on to say, “He did it at Indiana. Indiana is likely to win the national championship. That blows my mind.”
Why I disagree with Joel Klatt on Kirby Smart
Each school is just a logo at this point. Throw out every program’s history and look at the teams that are having success in the transfer portal. Those are the schools that will compete in this new era of college football. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see the Indianas and Vanderbilts of the college football landscape being able to raise their program expectations in this new era.
According to On3’s transfer portal rankings, Indiana has ranked No. 10 in 2024, No. 13 in 2025, and No. 4 in 2026. That’s how Indiana is building its roster. By adding seasoned veterans who are looking for an opportunity at another school.
Klatt argues that Kirby Smart has failed to reach the final four with “good teams” over the last three seasons. He bases that claim largely on the team talent composite. Recruiting rankings do not define roster quality by themselves. Experience matters, especially in postseason play. Georgia carried the most talented roster on paper, but youth dominated that roster. First and second-year players made up 54 percent of the team. The Hoosiers’ situation looks different. Their starting 22 averages 21 years of age. They also rostered seven players older than 23. That experience gap matters when evaluating results.
