Ulysees E. McGill
This season is for you Sweets
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Still think you would have to say it once a day to have a chance to overcome the opposite being said 20X a day.Last I'm saying about Freeze-- but UT wasn't hiring him, and the SEC was never on board. Sankey was clear about this and so was UT admin. Freeze had a pattern of behavior going back a decade that was unacceptable to UT and the SEC, UT and the SEC knew about it and was not going to go in that direction. A coach who ignores that or thinks he can do an end-run around his boss and his boss's bosses is not going to last long, so anybody claiming Freeze was Pruitt's top priority and Pruitt was pushing to hire him against top-down wishes better hope they're wrong.
I don’t disagree. In fact, we’re in agreement. I don’t think hires get rubberstamped by the board - which I believe you’re tangentially connected to in some way.No. I've said multiple times that UT didn't offer Freeze. IDK what Pruitt does or is doing. I'm not his confidant, and I'm willing to bet no one on this board is. The media certainly isn't. Former players, coaches and players aren't. He's running a tight search and confiding in a closed circle. Talking is one thing; interviewing is another. And hiring is in an entirely different realm, and Pruitt's not doing that on his own. There are people whose opinions matter more than his.
If you think Pruitt isn't accountable to people above him or doesn't operate within certain parameters, then you have no idea how UT is run. Or any business, for that matter.
It's also possible that he talked to freeze knowing he couldn't hire him so he was never really a candidate. Talking was more about information.I think there’s truth in the middle. We went to talk to him first so Pruitt clearly had interest. Your big hang up is that you want it to be made clear he was never offered the job. I believe that. And I don’t believe Pruitt pushed it very hard when he was told to take Freeze off the list.
But, he was the first guy. I don’t think that’s debatable.
There's about 5 or 6 posters on here, who seem to wake up each and every morning, saying, "I'm going to post more garbage, and outright sh*t, than anyone else in the RF today".We all were hopeful and excited when Pruitt came in at the end last year and flashed a lot of potential being able to recruit at the elite level. Lots of folks said "just wait for him to get a full year here to recruit and we'll be getting the big fishes in the boat"... We are going to get some really good talent in this class, but still realistically needed 3-4 more elite level guys to really get our program kick-started this fall. (assuming we are getting Wright)
I am optimistic that we do have a good coaching staff (although personally I still think it's dumb to have some staff coaching up positions they've never played before themselves- Weinke/RBs?) that will end up getting the most out of the talent we have. The issue is AL, GA, and FL continue to do a better job of pulling the talent needed, and we have to play all of them every year. The team culture and mindset must change for the upcoming season in order for us to really compete with everyone.
We will start to close the gap sooner than later, but I think it is going to take at least 3 more years to have a chance at getting to the SEC Championship game. It will be interesting to see how the staff sells/spins getting more elite talent after a 6-6/7-5 season, unless it is simply that we are moving up, but need their help to take the next step. I am still somewhat hopeful that Pruitt knows what he is doing with the OC search, and will bring us what we need. If he doesn't, and with the time that it has taken, it will probably be a huge red flag as to his ability to handle a power 5 head coaching position... we will find out soon enough on all fronts.
For now, we are a basketball school.
I never cared for his in game play calling either.That being said I think he is an excellent developer of qbs.No question about that.I think Chaney is average at best and no one will convince me other wise. I watched his offenses here for 4 years and there is a reason he has been a drifter and Georgia has stripped responsibilities from him and are slow playing him with a contract. I know I’m in the minority for that but that’s how i feel.
Barnes example is iffy at best. You need a core of 3-4 of those 3 to 4 year developmental guys for basketball. You need 10x that many for football. It's hard to develop 40 people in anything regardless of resources.
I've never been more confident Chaney will be the new OC.I think Chaney is average at best and no one will convince me other wise. I watched his offenses here for 4 years and there is a reason he has been a drifter and Georgia has stripped responsibilities from him and are slow playing him with a contract. I know I’m in the minority for that but that’s how i feel.
If we're still doing dogs, this is mine:View attachment 187406
Hate to jump in the middle but yea no way you can compare. Must recruit high level stars to win big in the SEC
Thanks for sharing. Seems Jimmy is hinting at Chaney...
Here’s what I think has transpired.
I think Pruitt was ready to hire an offensive coordinator in mid-December after interviewing Kendal Briles, Mike Yurcich and Hugh Freeze.
I think Pruitt prodded Briles for offensive ideas but didn’t offer. Briles has since been hired as Florida State’s offensive coordinator.
I think Pruitt wanted to hire Yurcich because Yurcich did more with less for six years as Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator. But Yurcich held out for the Ohio State OC job – which he got.
I think Pruitt wanted to hire Freeze but didn’t get the endorsement of athletic director Phillip Fulmer.
I think Pruitt talked to Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, a former OC at Tennessee, in December, but didn’t make an offer.
I think Pruitt then decided to focus on recruiting and re-start the process after Jan. 1.
I think Pruitt interviewed former Maryland interim head coach Matt Canada (former OC at LSU and play-caller for Nathan Peterman at Pitt) but didn’t offer and won’t.
I think Pruitt has contacted former USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin, who famously led Tennessee to the 1998 national championship.
I think Pruitt or someone representing Tennessee has talked to Steve Sarkisian, recently fired as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. Sarkisian and Pruitt worked together at Alabama in 2016.
I think Freddie Kitchens, Jim Bob Cooter and Jeremy Bates – all current or recent NFL coaches – are NOT in the picture.
I think Chaney is hirable. I didn’t think that in December. I think it now. But Pruitt might have to move relatively fast or Chaney might lose interest.
Chaney enjoyed his time at Tennessee (2009-12) and would probably like to retire in East Tennessee.
One long-time college coach with SEC experience told me Fulmer likes Chaney and Pruitt respects Chaney. How could you not, after what he did at Purdue with Drew Brees and at Tennessee with Tyler Bray and at Arkansas with Brandon Allen and Pitt with Nathan Peterman and Georgia with Jake Fromm.
“Chaney is the best play-caller in the SEC,’’ one source told me.
Of all the potential hirable candidates, I think Chaney has the best resume’.
Chaney would command a salary of at least $1 million a year and he has about a $500,000 buyout at Georgia. But he’d be worth it.
I think one other thing – Pruitt will hire someone within a week.
Or they could make a hire that pisses everybody off that surprisingly does ok because it’s a good fit with the staff.Right - the timing doesn’t matter. What’s worrisome is that there’s no proof of a plan or that this thing isn’t dragging on because the guys we want don’t want us and the guys who want us we don’t want.
The only thing that will change it is actually making a good hire. But that was always the case.
The “big picture” can go one of two ways. This thing can drag on, we make a subpar hire, and everyone acknowledges it was trouble from the beginning and we start questioning Pruitt and Fulmer’s ability to move forward.
Or we make a good hire, everyone is happy, and everyone thinks it’s obvious that Pruitt and Fulmer are stealth geniuses.