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Tennessee football: Ranking Jeremy Pruitt and all other SEC coaches for 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images /

Record at Georgia/Overall: 32-10

Championships

National: 0

Conference: 1 

Division: 2

Postseason accomplishments

Bowl appearances: 3

Top 25 finishes: 2

Top 10 finishes: 2

Top 5 finishes: 1

If push comes to shove, Dan Mullen is probably a better hire than Kirby Smart. But given what has been proven so far, Smart gets the edge. He’s won back to back division titles, been in the running for the national championship in December, and joins Gus Malzahn as the only other coach in the league outside of Nick Saban to have an SEC Championship to his name.

Smart’s success his second year was so resounding that it made Jeremy Pruitt a selling point for Tennessee football. Hiring successful defensive coordinators, or assistants in general, for Nick Saban became popular again.

If not for a heartbreaking loss in the national championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Smart might be No. 2 on this list. You can’t say enough about three bowl appearances in three years and back to back top 10 finishes at his alma mater.

On top of that, Smart has taken recruiting at Georgia to the next level. He secured the greatest recruiting class of all time two years ago, and the program shows no signs of slowing down. Him already being in this top 3 is impressive.

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