Pruitt's record as coach....

[GoVols64]

Nobody is saying UGAs defense is like the 85 Bears. But they are as elite as it gets in the college level. Stats prove that.

We have a good O-Line and they had their hands full all day long. Just looking at the UGA players there was a clear difference in athleticism vs. our D-Line which is proving to be serviceable. They are flat out impressive.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

We have a good O-Line and they had their hands full all day long. Just looking at the UGA players there was a clear difference in athleticism vs. our D-Line which is proving to be serviceable. They are flat out impressive.

I think there are a few different reasons. One is the loss of Fitz. Yes we promoted one of his under studies but it’s not the same. Also, the absolutely ridiculous contact tracing that TN is using. It costed us valuable practice reps.

 

[GoVols64]

Pruitt is 15-13 as a head coach.

That doesn’t mean he won’t turn it around and win a championship.

But it does mean that well into his 3rd season, he remains completely unproven and average-to-below-average as a head coach. Just as a relevant comparison, Will Muschamp was 21-8 after his first 29 games as a head coach.

Time will tell on Pruitt.

I don't think we can judge CJP as a head coach until later this year maybe, next year for sure. He has had to rebuild a roster, change a culture and compete w/top tier teams for recruits. All in all we are on schedule although it may not feel like it. The litmus test for this team is beating the competition we should and being competitive with the top tier teams. We did that for a half against UGA then the turnovers made the final worse than the talent gap. Proves we still have gaps and need to learn how to win against elite teams. That is WAY better than learning how to win against average teams.

You can keep Muschamp..... we have a far better coach than he's proven to be.

 

[hog88]

I believe he already holds the all time career record for most losses by 25 or more points.

 

[Rickyvol77]

Just for fun here is the record of every P5 team since Pruitt was hired as UT's coach:

ACC
Clemson - 33-1
Notre Dame - 26-3
Virginia - 18-11
Pittsburgh - 18-14
Wake Forest - 16-13
Syracuse - 16-13
Va Tech - 16-13
Boston College - 16-13
NC State - 16-13
Miami - 16-14
Duke - 14-16
UNC - 12-15
Florida St - 12-17
Ga Tech - 12-17
Louisville - 11-18

Big Ten
Ohio St - 26-2
Penn St - 20-6
Michigan - 19-7
Iowa - 19-7
Minnesota - 18-8
Wisconsin - 18-9
Mich State - 14-12
Indiana - 13-12
Northwestern - 12-14
Purdue - 10-15
Illinois - 10-15
Nebraska - 9-15
Maryland - 8-16
Rutgers - 3-21

Big XII
Oklahoma - 26-6
Texas - 20-11
Baylor - 19-10
Oklahoma St - 18-11
Iowa St - 18-12
Kansas St - 16-13
WVU - 15-13
TCU - 13-14
Texas Tech - 10-18
Kansas - 6-21

Pac-12
Oregon - 21-6
Utah - 20-8
Washington - 18-9
Washington St - 17-9
Arizona St - 15-11
California - 15-11
USC - 13-12
Stanford - 13-12
Colorado - 10-14
Arizona - 9-15
UCLA - 7-17
Oregon St - 7-17

SEC
Alabama - 28-3
LSU - 26-5
UGA - 26-5
Florida - 23-6
Auburn - 20-10
Texas A&M - 19-10
Kentucky - 19-10
Tennessee - 15-13
Mizzou - 15-13
Mississippi St - 15-14
South Carolina - 12-16
Ole Miss - 10-17
Vanderbilt - 9-19
Arkansas - 5-22

 

[BDP!]

Sorry, year three, you don’t give up 44 points to ANYONE. Pathetic. This excuse is no longer acceptable. Losing maybe, but not getting manhandled like we did. Talk about change in culture all you want, but giving up 40+ to GA in subsequent game is NOT TN football.
This was a loss by heart and passion. Period. And that is all on the Head Coach. Same problem as we had with Dooley and Jones. We have better athletes but they are still getting whipped and giving up.

I guess Saban didn’t get the memo....gave up 40 + this weekend

 

[Allstate]

Took over a 4-8 team (the worst record in UT's modern history) in his first year EVER as a HC

2018:
Best Wins:
1. @ Auburn (8-5) - W 30-24
2. Kentucky (10-3) - W 24-7
3. Charlotte (5-7) - W 14-3
4. UTEP (1-11) - W 24-0
5. ETSU (FCS) - W 59-3

Worst Losses:
1. @ Vanderbilt (6-7) - L 13-38
2. Mizzou (8-5) - L 17-50
3. *WVU (8-4) - L 14-40
4. Florida (10-3) - L 21-47
5. Georgia (11-3) - L 12-38
6. Alabama (14-1) - L 21-58
7. @ South Carolina (7-6) - L 24-27

2019:
Best Wins:
1. @ Kentucky (8-5) - W 17-13
2. *Indiana (8-5) - W 23-22
3. @ Mizzou (6-6) - W 24-20
4. Mississippi St (6-7) - W 20-10
5. South Carolina (4-8) - W 41-21
6. UAB (9-5) - W 30-7
7. Vanderbilt (3-9) - W 28-10
8. Chattanooga (FCS) - W 45-0

Worst Losses:
1. Georgia State (7-6) - L 30-38
2. BYU (7-6) - L 26-29
3. @ Florida (11-2) - L 3-34
4. Georgia (12-2) - L 14-43
5. @ Alabama (11-2) - L 13-35

2020:
Best Wins:
1. Mizzou (1-2) - W 35-12
2. @ South Carolina (1-2) - W 31-27

Worst Losses:
1. @ Georgia (3-0) - L 21-44

This isn't a defense or a criticism of Pruitt, but I think marked improvement each season is important. I see four games (highlighted in purple) that you could argue we should've won and didn't, and two of those were literally due to one broken play.

Pruitt had never been a HC before and I believe is still learning on the job a little, however, anyone who has been a fan of this program for 30-40 years or more can see the difference in the attitude and recruiting and play of this team vs. the 2017 team for sure.

Yes he still is behind Fla, UGA, and Bama but these teams are 77-14 during the past three seasons as well, so let's wait and see what he does the rest of the year before we ignorantly cry about it. A 7-3 season or better would be great, 6-4 would be expected, 5-5 or less would be disappointing IMO

I think most fans that have been here and thru the the ride from Coach Majors till now, are "Liking" the way the ship is directed. It's not a overnite(mike leach) haul. It's long term.
Just to keep up with the thread, the scrimmage from sunday, after the uga game, might have an * for importance of our record this year.

 

[Jaws]

Um Will Muschamp as HC

at Florida
7-6 (3-5) - 0-5 against ranked SEC teams
11-2 (7-1) - good season but needed 4 close wins including a punt return to beat La-Lafayette at the end of the game)
4-8 (3-5) - lost to Ga Southern, Vandy, etc.
6-5 (4-4) - Beat UK and UT on questionable last second refs calls

at SC
6-7 (3-5) - beat Vandy, ECU, UMass, UT, Western Carolina in close games
9-4 (5-3) - decent season
7-6 (4-4) - beat Mizzou, UT, Ole MIss in close games which was good
4-8 (3-5) - Lost to everyone BUT UGA in fluke game
1-2 (1-2) - Loses to Pruitt again

I wouldn't put too much stock in this comparison or the situation Muschamp inherited at Florida being the same as Pruitt did here...

Pruitt does have a lot to prove but I wouldnt be bragging about the Chump's record as proof

Im not bragging about Muschamp, nobody knows better than me how extremely average he is as a head coach. Pruitt and Muschamp have almost exactly the same win %, .534 and .536.

Muschamp has enough of a sample size that you know what he is and you’re certain he’s average to below average. Pruitt is average as well, but he deserves more time and a larger sample.

 

[BeardedVol]

Im not bragging about Muschamp, nobody knows better than me how extremely average he is as a head coach. Pruitt and Muschamp have almost exactly the same win %, .534 and .536.

Muschamp has enough of a sample size that you know what he is and you’re certain he’s average to below average. Pruitt is average as well, but he deserves more time and a larger sample.

If I were a Florida fan, I'd want UT to keep a coach who is currently on par with Will Muschamp as well.

 

[GetEmVols]

He is 0-7 for games that according to him are how we judge the UT coach.

 

[McDad]

I believe he already holds the all time career record for most losses by 25 or more points.

As much a statement about where everybody else is and where we were (are) as it is a statement about his ability to coach.

 

[hog88]

As much a statement about where everybody else is and where we were (are) as it is a statement about his ability to coach.

That’s just the UT career record, we’d have to look at other teams for it to be any comparison. Might be worth looking at Mason’s first 2 years at Vandy and compare.

 

[McDad]

That’s just the UT career record, we’d have to look at other teams for it to be any comparison. Might be worth looking at Mason’s first 2 years at Vandy and compare.

It might be a good comparison against common opponents.

 

[Elhanan]

2020: I think he’s safe with 5-5 and even 4-6 this season. COVID hides all.

2021: I see Fulmer giving him more time even with another 7-5 if we are able to hang just a quarter more with the big three next season. This may hinge on JGs coming back or not.

2022: This will begin Pruitt’s actual pressure from the administration to start winning games against UGA, UF, and/or Bama. If he goes 8-4 easily with close ones against the other two he’ll get an extension.

2023: This will require a 10 win season (including the bowl) with hopes of winning the East lingering for a bit.

 

[TC 83]

BYU and Georgia St were bad losses. Unless Pruitt takes a few more of those type losses he's safe for probably at least another two years. His clock is about to start though. He has a roster that he should be able to least compete with the big boys now, except probably one position..

I don't view the BYU and GA State losses as being the huge upsets they were made out to be—especially after each made it to a bowl and seeing how the Sunbelt has beat a couple Big 12 teams this year too. But its great to see us stop GA twice on pivotal 4th and 1's and reflect to BYU bullying their way to our endzone to win the game last year. That's a huge improvement IMO.

 

[volbound1700]

First seasons are always painful, Saban lost to UL Monroe in his first season. Pruitt had a lot of staff changes in year 2 which made it like a first season part 2. Still the Georgia State and BYU losses were ugly.

However, I don't see anything that makes me think we are not heading into the right direction. We could use a solid RB and QB to turn things around and improvement on the O line. Keep in mind that Georgia has been a top 5 team the last 4 years and looked like it again on Saturday. Hard to compete with UGA right now.

 

[volbound1700]

2020: I think he’s safe with 5-5 and even 4-6 this season. COVID hides all.

2021: I see Fulmer giving him more time even with another 7-5 if we are able to hang just a quarter more with the big three next season. This may hinge on JGs coming back or not.

2022: This will begin Pruitt’s actual pressure from the administration to start winning games against UGA, UF, and/or Bama. If he goes 8-4 easily with close ones against the other two he’ll get an extension.

2023: This will require a 10 win season (including the bowl) with hopes of winning the East lingering for a bit.

I think the key is staying at least #3 in the SEC East and recruiting well. This means Pruitt needs to continue to beat Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Vandy. As long as he does that, he is fine for the moment. Remember we still have a great chance to even beat Florida as well and finish well.

 

[VolForLife83]

1. Ole MIss' coach was OC at Bama and knew their tendencies and was likely stealing their signs as well, and still lost, we were as close last year to Bama until the fumble.
2. Tennessee is 3-9 vs Georgia since Fulmer left including the win 4 years ago, that's with Tennessee at its lowest point in history and UGA at it's highest, and four of those losses came down to the last play, so to act like we can "never" upset them is again sounding like someone who hasn't been around Tennessee football longer than a decade. We HAVE pulled off upsets (of both Florida and UGA recently), and have come close to Bama the juggernaut a couple of times, but not enough yet.
3. Realizing reality and logical thinking isn't "making excuses"

He was not stealing their signals, come on. This has been debunked by his hurry up offense. Kiffin knows what he's doing. And Bama hasn't had a legit defense since Pruitt left

 

[Volfaninfl2]

The obvious comparison is Mullen at Florida, and Pruitt at Tennessee. They began at these schools the same year, and Florida is one of our rivals. Before excuses, let’s look. The W-L record is very comparable before each was hired.

TN
2015 9-4 won Outback Bowl
2016 9-4 won Music City
2017 4-8
then, Pruitt hired
2018 5-7
2019 8-5 won Gator
2020 2-1

FL
2015 10-4 lost Citrus
2016 9-4 won Outback
2017 4-7
then, Mullen hired
2018 10-3 won Orange
2019 11-2 won Peach
2020 2-1

Florida hired a proven and successful, Offensively minded, Head Coach. Tennessee hired a defensive coordinator who had never been a Head Coach.

Mullen and Pruitt came to their respective schools with totally different mindsets toward the teams they inherited. Pruitt came in and basically said I have to totally replace these players with my own, before I can be expected to win. Mullen came in with the exact opposite approach, and embraced all his players on the roster. He made every effort to win over his players who had been recruited by the previous Coach.

They also treated the quarterback position (the most important position on the field), differently. Mullen prepared ALL his quarterbacks to be ready to go on the field and play at a high level at any time, if needed. Pruitt did not. Worse, he picked a quarterback and stuck with him, no matter how poorly he played in games.

So, for the future quarterbacks out there, which team looks more attractive? Which team has the better Coach? Which team will be more successful?

 

[hog88]

It might be a good comparison against common opponents.

Both Mason and Pruitt had nine 25 point or more loses in their first 2 season. Third season Mason had 1

 

[hog88]

2020: I think he’s safe with 5-5 and even 4-6 this season. COVID hides all.

2021: I see Fulmer giving him more time even with another 7-5 if we are able to hang just a quarter more with the big three next season. This may hinge on JGs coming back or not.

2022: This will begin Pruitt’s actual pressure from the administration to start winning games against UGA, UF, and/or Bama. If he goes 8-4 easily with close ones against the other two he’ll get an extension.

2023: This will require a 10 win season (including the bowl) with hopes of winning the East lingering for a bit.

6 seasons to expect 10 wins? Pretty damn generous if you ask me.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

Anyone remotely suggesting Pruitt should be anywhere near the hot seat now or in the near future over what happened Saturday is delusional. Full stop.

The Qb issue is key for him. The goodwill of the fan base will disappear if we see another JG performance like Saturday and Pruitt still does not try other options. I have been a big defender of Pruitt for a year now. I will turn on him if he does not make the right Qb decision.

 

[McDad]

Both Mason and Pruitt had nine 25 point or more loses in their first 2 season. Third season Mason had 1

Good. Let's keep a tally for the whole year and see where we are.
Your efforts here are crucial to UT's return to prominence.

 

[berryvol]

The Qb issue is key for him. The goodwill of the fan base will disappear if we see another JG performance like Saturday and Pruitt still does not try other options. I have been a big defender of Pruitt for a year now. I will turn on him if he does not make the right Qb decision.

Here's the thing though: you don't know what the right QB decision is. The other three could be considerably worse and lose us a game like UK for all you know. JG is not going to take us to a title, but he is objectively improved over what we saw out of him last year and could easily get us to 7 or 8 wins. Anyone who isn't happy with that at this point needs to lower their expectations a bit.

I'm certainly no JG believer and think he's a big reason for our struggles. But acting like Pruitt doesn't have more insight than us into the QB situation is ridiculous, as is the line of thinking that he's the sole reason we got blown out on Saturday.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

Here's the thing though: you don't know what the right QB decision is. The other three could be considerably worse and lose us a game like UK for all you know. JG is not going to take us to a title, but he is objectively improved over what we saw out of him last year and could easily get us to 7 or 8 wins. Anyone who isn't happy with that at this point needs to lower their expectations a bit.

I'm certainly no JG believer and think he's a big reason for our struggles. But acting like Pruitt doesn't have more insight than us into the QB situation is ridiculous, as is the line of thinking that he's the sole reason we got blown out on Saturday.

Most every knows BM or JT may not be better. You have to get them reps to see if they are better since JG has set the bar so low.