Georgia head coach Kirby Smart explains why he's coaching Alabama in postseason

Kirby Smart might be the head coach at Georgia but he wanted to finish what he started at Alabama.

The Crimson Tide are in the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive season and Smart will perform his defensive coordinator duties for them this postseason. Alabama will play Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

Smart said he had the full support of university president Jere W. Morehead and athletics director Greg McGarity in doing so.

"It's very important to me that I finish things the right way over there," Smart said. "A lot of these young men playing for the University of Alabama I sat in their homes three, four, five years ago and convinced them to come to the University of Alabama. And I don't think it would be doing justice to turn and walk away from those kids."

Smart will actively coach and recruit for Georgia now and until the next seven or 10 days, according to Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Once the recruiting dead period arrives on Dec. 14, Smart will focus his attention on Alabama’s playoff game.

Smart acknowledged the challenge of doing two jobs at the same time, which is what former Georgia head coach Mark Richt did when he was hired away from Florida State in 2000. It’s likely one reason why Richt changed his mind about coaching Georgia’s bowl game once he took the Miami job.

"Regulating your time will be very critical in the next probably month while we get ready for this game, and also recruiting is in an active period right now," Smart said. "So it will be a challenge, but a challenge I'm up to."

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Georgia head coach Kirby Smart explains why he's coaching Alabama in postseason."