Kirby Smart is the only active coach in the SEC to know what it is like to win the SEC championship.

And if his comments on Thursday come to fruition, he might well be the last coach to win the SEC championship game.

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne made headlines on Thursday when he shared he’d be in favor of eliminating the SEC championship game.

As it turns out, Byrne is not alone in the matter. Kirby Smart spoke with Chris Low of On3 and shared a similar opinion on the matter.

Especially if the College Football Playoff were to expand.

“Where we are right now with 12 teams (in the playoff), I don’t necessarily agree that it needs to quit being played,” Smart told Low. “But if it gets to 16 or 24 and we’ve got to move the end of the season up and we’ve got to get everything done by the second week of January, then I’d say it probably has to go.

“The important thing is we need to gain something, meaning we’re playing that weekend in the first round of the playoff when the SEC championship game is normally being played and playing the season out like an NFL playoff system. But if we’re going to leave it where it is now, with 12 teams in the playoff, I’m not for removing the SEC championship game.”

The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for this upcoming season after the conferences could not agree on an expanded College Football Playoff format.

Smart has come out in support of having an expanded College Football Playoff field, though he has not shared a preference on which particular model he would prefer.

Smart previously raised concerns about the future of the SEC championship game following last season’s 28-7 win over Alabama in the game.

In 2026, SEC teams will play a ninth conference game after historically playing only eight. That would mean that a conference championship game would be a 10th SEC game.

“Those two teams were beat up tonight. That was the ninth game of the year. We’re looking at next year having another game,” Smart said in December. “I mean, the coaches in our league are concerned about it — very concerned about it. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t speak my piece and say it’s concerning.”

Georgia lost pass rusher Gabe Harris to a toe injury in the SEC championship game and he was unable to play against Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff. Neither Georgia nor Alabama advanced past the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

The last SEC team standing in last year’s College Football Playoff was Ole Miss, who did not play in the SEC championship game.

Smart has always revered the SEC championship game, frequently stating it’s often more difficult to win that game than a national championship. Georgia has won the SEC four times under Smart, including three of the last four seasons.

In Smart’s 10 seasons in Athens, Georgia has played in the SEC championship game eight times.

“We’ve seen it both ways, but I will never apologize for winning an SEC title,” Smart told Low. “I think it’s the hardest thing to do in sports, winning the dang SEC title in almost any sport, because our conference is so hard. And when we went to 16 teams in our league, it only made it harder.”

The SEC championship game is still set to be played in Atlanta this year, with the game set to be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 5.