CBS coach rankings more like favorites list, raises eyebrows in Georgia, around SEC

ATHENS — They just can’t put Kirby Smart No. 1, can they?

The annual coach rankings by CBS Sports and 247Sports panelists are the latest evidence that Georgia football still has work to do shifting the narrative.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is No. 1 in these most recent rankings, Smart is No. 2, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is No. 3, USC coach Lincoln Riley is No. 4 and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is No. 5.

This is where it’s important to note they only ranked the Power 5 conference coaches, or else Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell would sure be near the top.

At least, based on the most recent results, which I thought rankings were supposed to reflect?

Saban is a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of SEC football coaches alongside Steve Spurrier, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Gen. Robert Neyland.

But rankings and polls are typically about the “now,” and not the “then,” and Smart built a team for the ages.

It’s possible the voters overlooked Georgia setting a modern-era (12-game schedule) record for the fewest points allowed per game (6.9) in a regular season.

And, while winning is typically the most important criterion, recruiting and developing talent is another key metric, and Smart did that better than anyone over the past four-year cycle.

Georgia had a record of 15 players selected in the NFL Draft last year, including five first-round picks off its legendary defense.

This, after a USA Today panel of sports voters released a preseason All-SEC team last July that had no Georgia players on its first team offense or defense.

What’s really scary is Georgia football could have been even better if not for injuries to:

• its No. 1 quarterback (JT Daniels)

• its top two receivers (George Pickens, Jermaine Burton)

• its top run blocker (Tate Ratledge)

• two projected DB starters (Jalen Kimber, Tykee Smith).

It’s also worth noting two tight ends (Darnell Washington, John FitzPatrick) played injured, and the sacks leader (Adam Anderson) was dismissed in November.

The Georgia injuries and attrition were not talked about -- or apparently noted by those voting in coach rankings -- because Smart’s team was able to adjust with new players emerging and schemes adjusted.

Smart deserves credit for that, and he will soon be paid handsomely with a new contract extension believed to be worth in excess of $10 million a year.

But it takes time for the narrative to change, especially when there are coach rankings like this that rely on the status quo rather than acknowledging more recent results.

So instead of calling these “rankings” let’s just call them what they are: “favorites.”

Take Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, an ESPN favorite, being ranked ahead of Arkansas coach Sam Pittman.

Fitzgerald has gone 3-9 two of the last three seasons — including 2021 — while Pittman went from 3-7 in 2020 to 9-4 in 2021 in the SEC West Division.

For that matter, how does Jimbo Fisher go 8-4 (Texas A&M backed out of its bowl) and lose to Pittman and the Razorbacks head-to-head but get ranked of him at No. 5?

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is another media darling, to the extent, he actually moved up in the rankings, from No. 46 to No. 39, after going 5-7 and losing six of the Longhorns’ last seven games including a defeat to Kansas.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, meanwhile, ranked only 41st despite injuries forcing him to win games with four different starting QBs and a Gamecocks’ defense that led the SEC with 180.8 passing yards per game allowed and 1.15 interceptions per game.

The rankings are just opinions, but it’s interesting to note how slow or reluctant some can be to give credit.

Smart is probably just as happy not to be No. 1, as he’s always looking for an edge or a chip to add to his program’s shoulder.

It will be interesting if Tennessee coach Josh Heupel (ranked 33rd) feels the same after producing a 7-6 mark after losing 43 players to the transfer portal, only to find himself ranked behind first-year Florida coach Billy Napier (32nd).

Here’s where the SEC Coaches were ranked by CBSsports.com among the Power 5 coaches:

SEC coaches

Nick Saban (1)

Kirby Smart (2)

Jimbo Fisher (5)

Brian Kelly (7)

Mark Stoops (16)

Lane Kiffin (18)

Sam Pittman (22)

Mike Leach (26)

Billy Napier (32)

Josh Heupel (33)

Shane Beamer (41)

Eli Drinkwitz (46)

Bryan Harsin (48)

Clark Lea (57)

Other notables

Dan Lanning (54)

Geoff Collins (58)

Mel Tucker (24)