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Georgia and Oklahoma Fans Should Be Offended by 247 Sports Coach Rankings

By Jerry Trotta

Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart
Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart / Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Outside of 2021 recruits announcing their commitments -- and the occasional bleak update on the state of the upcoming season -- the college football news cycle has all but dried up amid the coronavirus pandemic.

That has forced a plethora of content publics to deliver an outpouring of lists, which almost always come with controversy.

The same can be said for 247Sports' shocking CFB coach rankings. If we're being honest, Georgia and Oklahoma aficionados should be offended.

Behind Alabama's Nick Saban and Clemson's Dabo Swinney falls LSU head coach Ed Orgeron at No. 3. Georgia skipper Kirby Smart and Oklahoma boss Lincoln Riley round out the top five.

We love Orgeron, but him being ahead of Smart and Riley is everything that's wrong with recency bias. LSU was already an SEC power before Coach O arrived in Death Valley. In fact, in the three seasons prior to his appointment, the Tigers were a combined 34-6. It's duly noted that Orgeron led LSU to an undefeated season that was capped with a national championship, but any sound HC would win it all with the talent littered across LSU's roster. Folks, every draft-eligible player on the Tigers' roster in 2019 is now in the NFL.

Then there's Smart, a recruiting wizard that has turned Georgia into a flagship program in terms of landing top prospects. Under Smart, the Bulldogs have become the bullies of the SEC East.

Riley, meanwhile, is arguably the greatest offensive mind in the sport. He's produced two of the last three Heisman winners in Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield. If not for Joe Burrow's immaculate 2019 campaign, Jalen Hurts' would've made it three-straight for the Oklahoma head coach. On top of that, Riley gets NFL calls after every season. How close was he to replacing Jason Garrett on the Dallas Cowboys?

There's no denying that the list got the top-five correct in terms of the coaches it featured, but having Orgeron ahead of Smart and Riley is offensive to what they've accomplished in Athens and Norman.