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Dodd Trophy names Kirby Smart among 5 finalists for top coach award
By Crissy Froyd
Published:
The 2022 Dodd Trophy announced its 5 finalists on Friday morning, which included Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, in the company of Willie Fritz (Tulane), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Charles Klieman (Kansas State) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah).
“The Dodd Trophy is the sport’s most coveted coach of the year award because it fully takes into account what it means to be a coach, aside from just wins and losses,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & President in a release. “These five finalists not only succeeded on the football field this year, but also in the classroom and throughout their communities. It’s this mindset that sets our award apart, and why we only consider coaches who have been at their current programs long enough to truly establish their own foundation of success, as it relates to academics and community involvement.”
This marks Kirby Smart’s third selection as a finalist (2017, 2018), while Jim Harbaugh (2021) and Kyle Whittingham (2019 winner) were named finalists for a second time in their careers. Fritz and Klieman are both making their first appearance on the finalist list.
Three of the five finalists – Fritz (AAC), Harbaugh (Big Ten) and Smart (SEC) – won their respective conference’s Coach of the Year awards for this season and each of the 5 coaches won their conference championships earlier this month.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
