I know battered vol syndrome is a real thing and people here just want to feel positive about whatever they get at this point, but I don't feel that we've benefitted in any way by ignoring logic and facts over the years, so I figured I would point out why other schools weren't interested in Pruitt and why it won't work out here.
Let's tackle the "virtues" posters will reiterate ad nauseam:
1. "He's a great recruiter!"
Well, he has traditionally been at schools that have great recruiting. Has he really been the impetus behind it, or just part of a team?
Also, weren't we told the exact same about Dooley? Didn't Dooley come from a similar recruiting background?
Also, does it really matter so much that your head coach was a great recruiter as an assistant? If that were the case, wouldn't other Power 5 schools immediately go for the best recruiting assistants for their head jobs? Or are we just smarter than the rest of them? Does anyone actually believe that?
Haven't we gone down this road again and again? How many top recruits have we singed over the years that weren't properly developed or utilized? Haven't we learned, at this point, that a coach is much more valuable than a recruiter?
2. "He's just like Kirby Smart!"
Actually, looking at the differences between the two resumes is enlightening. Smart was Saban's defensive coordinator for 8 years. Pruitt has only been a defensive coordinator for 5 years total. He has only been Saban's coordinator for 2 years. So, we are certainly looking at less experience.
In fact, one looks at Pruitt's time as a coordinator, and the fact that he has never been at a school for more than 2 years, and you realize that he has very little experience developing personnel. This is a guy you want to rebuild with? By contrast, Kirby Smart was Saban's top assistant as he built the Alabama dynasty. That's far different than being a hired gun that is inserted into already established staffs and programs.
Do you really believe that every Alabama defensive coordinator will make an effective head coach just because Smart has done well this year? That doesn't seem like a good bet. We've seen plenty of successful coordinators fail over the years, guys with more consistent resumes and longer periods of production.
3. "He's a great defensive mind!"
Is he? He has had very good defenses. He's also always had a talent advantage.
The thing I don't understand about Tennessee is that, while the administrations' mouthpieces in the local media keep telling us how hard it is to recruit and win here against the likes of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, etc we never really try to hire a coach with a history of getting more out of less. Pruitt definitely continues that trend.
If you believe that he will be able to out-recruit the rest of the SEC, then I guess there is cause for hope. But hasn't that been what we've pinned our hopes on in coach after coach? Why would we think the result will be different this time?
One of the best measures of a coach is what they do in the big games and against teams of similar talent. Since Pruitt has never been the head guy, we have to go by his coordinator experience. In his biggest games (his two national championship appearances) Pruitt's defense has given up an average of 33 points (by contrast, Kirby Smart's defenses never allowed more than 21 points in the national championship game, and averaged 11.7 points allowed per NC game). That's not really the work of a defensive mastermind, especially considering the incredible talent he had at his disposal.
4. "We couldn't get anyone else!"
Well, that may be true. If so, though, that is due to the administration not the fans or the program. Accepting that result and supporting that administration does nothing to improve the state of the program. Haven't we learned anything at this point? Isn't "getting behind the new coach" and having patience the exact reason Dooley and Jones got big extensions, resulting in ridiculous buyouts?
If you truly couldn't get anyone who had a decent chance of winning here due to our administrative mess, wouldn't it be wiser to install an interim until we fixed the mess? Committing longterm to a weak hire simply doesn't make sense for anyone, save those hoping to continue bilking the fans while selling false hope. Sure, an interim would probably kill the recruiting class. But is it better to waste 1 year or 3-4 years?
5. "We got to give him a chance! He hasn't coached a game yet!"
Yes, we're back to that familiar point where the unknowable future is our new coach's best quality. Of course, no one can say for certain that Pruitt will fail, but given that there is so little evidence that he will succeed, it's a sucker's bet to think he'll ever be anything more than average here.
Let's tackle the "virtues" posters will reiterate ad nauseam:
1. "He's a great recruiter!"
Well, he has traditionally been at schools that have great recruiting. Has he really been the impetus behind it, or just part of a team?
Also, weren't we told the exact same about Dooley? Didn't Dooley come from a similar recruiting background?
Also, does it really matter so much that your head coach was a great recruiter as an assistant? If that were the case, wouldn't other Power 5 schools immediately go for the best recruiting assistants for their head jobs? Or are we just smarter than the rest of them? Does anyone actually believe that?
Haven't we gone down this road again and again? How many top recruits have we singed over the years that weren't properly developed or utilized? Haven't we learned, at this point, that a coach is much more valuable than a recruiter?
2. "He's just like Kirby Smart!"
Actually, looking at the differences between the two resumes is enlightening. Smart was Saban's defensive coordinator for 8 years. Pruitt has only been a defensive coordinator for 5 years total. He has only been Saban's coordinator for 2 years. So, we are certainly looking at less experience.
In fact, one looks at Pruitt's time as a coordinator, and the fact that he has never been at a school for more than 2 years, and you realize that he has very little experience developing personnel. This is a guy you want to rebuild with? By contrast, Kirby Smart was Saban's top assistant as he built the Alabama dynasty. That's far different than being a hired gun that is inserted into already established staffs and programs.
Do you really believe that every Alabama defensive coordinator will make an effective head coach just because Smart has done well this year? That doesn't seem like a good bet. We've seen plenty of successful coordinators fail over the years, guys with more consistent resumes and longer periods of production.
3. "He's a great defensive mind!"
Is he? He has had very good defenses. He's also always had a talent advantage.
The thing I don't understand about Tennessee is that, while the administrations' mouthpieces in the local media keep telling us how hard it is to recruit and win here against the likes of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, etc we never really try to hire a coach with a history of getting more out of less. Pruitt definitely continues that trend.
If you believe that he will be able to out-recruit the rest of the SEC, then I guess there is cause for hope. But hasn't that been what we've pinned our hopes on in coach after coach? Why would we think the result will be different this time?
One of the best measures of a coach is what they do in the big games and against teams of similar talent. Since Pruitt has never been the head guy, we have to go by his coordinator experience. In his biggest games (his two national championship appearances) Pruitt's defense has given up an average of 33 points (by contrast, Kirby Smart's defenses never allowed more than 21 points in the national championship game, and averaged 11.7 points allowed per NC game). That's not really the work of a defensive mastermind, especially considering the incredible talent he had at his disposal.
4. "We couldn't get anyone else!"
Well, that may be true. If so, though, that is due to the administration not the fans or the program. Accepting that result and supporting that administration does nothing to improve the state of the program. Haven't we learned anything at this point? Isn't "getting behind the new coach" and having patience the exact reason Dooley and Jones got big extensions, resulting in ridiculous buyouts?
If you truly couldn't get anyone who had a decent chance of winning here due to our administrative mess, wouldn't it be wiser to install an interim until we fixed the mess? Committing longterm to a weak hire simply doesn't make sense for anyone, save those hoping to continue bilking the fans while selling false hope. Sure, an interim would probably kill the recruiting class. But is it better to waste 1 year or 3-4 years?
5. "We got to give him a chance! He hasn't coached a game yet!"
Yes, we're back to that familiar point where the unknowable future is our new coach's best quality. Of course, no one can say for certain that Pruitt will fail, but given that there is so little evidence that he will succeed, it's a sucker's bet to think he'll ever be anything more than average here.
