Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt comment on Pruitt’s unusual double-duty work

Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt’s balancing act of coaching the Crimson Tide while preparing to become the Tennessee head coach is not unprecedented, as Georgia’s Kirby Smart did it two seasons ago. While there is common ground between the last two Crimson Tide defensive coordinators, Smart explained there was one major hurdle Pruitt faced that he did not.

Smart pointed to this year’s first-ever early signing day as a curveball that Pruitt had no choice but to take on. Despite only being hired on Dec. 7 and splitting time between Knoxville and Tuscaloosa ever since, Pruitt and his staff added 13 signees for the Volunteers.

“I’ll be honest with you, I sympathize with Jeremy,” Smart said. “I think he was in a worse situation. I did not have to deal with a signing day. The fact he had to deal with a signing day while he was there, I wouldn’t wish that (on anybody).”

Smart said his double-duty work coaching Alabama while prepping Georgia was probably the hardest month of his life. On one side, he was busy hiring new coaches and laying the groundwork for his new program; on the other, he was game planning and giving everything he had to the Alabama players who helped him land the new job in the first place.

Pruitt has learned the hard way how hard this balancing act is to pull off. In his mind, the hardest challenge has been accepting the fact there are only 24 hours in a day.

“To me, it’s a little bit of a feeling of guilt,” Pruitt said. “You almost feel like as I’m sitting here working on this game, should I be doing something to the place I’m about to go? Or the fact I’m trying to recruit for Tennessee or set up and hire somebody. Should I spend these 45 minutes trying to figure out how to stop Sony (Michel) and Nick (Chubb)? There’s really not a good answer to that, but I’ve tried to manage it the best I could.”

Pruitt explained his familiarity with Alabama head coach Nick Saban has helped in the situation. Because the two know each other so well, they each understand their own expectations for the job Pruitt would do during this time.

Even though Smart is working to ruin Pruitt’s Alabama farewell, he had nothing but high praise for the job Pruitt has done in the last month.

“I think he’s done a tremendous job,” Smart said. “He’s done it the right way. That’s why we do it as coaches. We do this because of the kids. He’s not (staying through the championship game) because of the loyalty to Nick. He’s doing it because he thinks it’s the right thing to do for their players.”

Saban, Smart and Pruitt are all tied together given the time they spent together with the Crimson Tide. Though Pruitt will soon be off to Tennessee, he acknowledged that one way or another, a former Alabama defensive coordinator will have reason to celebrate.

“We’ll either be happy in Knoxville, or Kirby will be happy in Athens,” Pruitt said.

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt comment on Pruitt’s unusual double-duty work."