2-8 is Pruitt gone?

[DaddyChad]

Pretty sure the time was based on continued improvement.

That's not happening.

I understand. Fulmer has some legitimate reasons for hanging on to pruitt for longer. There is some perception in coaching circles that makes the Tennessee job very unappealing. Part of that is lack of support for coaches at an administrative level. There was some crap that circulated about Dooley and Butch not being able to hire who they wanted, etc. To me personally it’s BS but it’s out there.

 

[Catbone]

I think he's gone unless he wins out

You're so strange

 

[Steve_Smith89]

What do you think?

The only way Pruitt gets fired is when recruits start to decommit

 

[BeardedVol]

What evidence do you have to support that belief?

Randy Sanders.

 

[CR-vol]

I mean 2-8 or even 3-7 isn’t acceptable and it’s very much looking that way. But they will use COVID as the reason we keep him. Which I’m not one of the people calling for his head. But I do expect to see changes made on the staff. No way the staff stays the same after this season.

Yeah but what difference is a new staff going to make? Pruitt's reputation is to micromanage his coordinators instead of letting them do their jobs.

 

[coffeevol]

Nope, here to stay. He can plan on building a house....dude ain't going anywhere with cpf in the lead.

 

[05_never_again]

I understand. Fulmer has some legitimate reasons for hanging on to pruitt for longer. There is some perception in coaching circles that makes the Tennessee job very unappealing. Part of that is lack of support for coaches at an administrative level. There was some crap that circulated about Dooley and Butch not being able to hire who they wanted, etc. To me personally it’s BS but it’s out there.

The biggest drawbacks to this job right now are:
1: Administrative incompetence. It isn't really a "lack of support" - that's a defense mechanism to make the problem sound more simple than it is. It's incompetence.
2: You must go out of state and recruit against Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, etc. using a brand that is still recognizable but tarnished.

 

[GreyWolf1129]

Pruitt is not getting fired...especially by Fulmer...in the same year he got a contract extension. Period. And regardless of the final record.

In all honesty, I've never seen anything like the current predicament UT Football finds itself in. Coaches with (for the most part) good pedigrees; solid recruiting for our record; and then inexplicable shortcomings in every other phase of team performance. Player development, conditioning; play-calling, in-game adjustments, etc. It's bewildering. I've literally never seen, or heard of, anything like where UT Football is right now.

I'm down to two opinions on "what ails UT Football". I don't know that I'm right, but I feel like I'm awfully close to it, if not dead-on.

One: JG. He's not an SEC QB. Never was, never will be. Enough has already been said about that, so I'll leave it at that. But a solid QB would have this team at 4-2, if not 5-1.

Two: CJP. Defensive guru. Hard-headed. Three yards and a cloud of dust on offense. He has to do a number of things, IMO, to survive and succeed as a head coach. One, learn how to be the CEO. Lay out your overall scheme, and then hire coaches who can make it work. Next, hire an OC you trust, and walk away. Let him pick his players, his scheme, and his plays. Finally, learn how to play well with others. When you have Saban's record, you can have his attitude. Until then, try to remember that as the team goes, so go you. They fail, you fail, and you get fired. They win, you win, and now you can start to put your fingerprint on the program. But until then, winning games....however you win them....is Job #1. A 45-42 win beats a 17-13 loss.

Pride goeth before a fall, Jeremy...and your toes are hanging over the edge these days. That heat on your ass ain't your wallet exploding from those paychecks you're cashing, it's the bee-stings of over 100,000 potential seat-fillers at Neyland Stadium telling you they've had enough of losing.

Auburn is a loss. UF is a loss. Vandy is a toss-up unless this team finds some fight, and some heart. TXAM is best left in the "never played" category. So, best case, UT ends up at 3-6. That's just how it is, and where we are, at this point. CJP better get it figured out, and quick, because while I don't think he gets fired this year regardless, I do believe that 2021 is going to be a make or break season for CJP and Phil Fulmer. The Chancellor who brought Phil back is gone. Phil and CJP are on a short leash. And rightfully so.

Hugh Freeze to the Hill is not as far-fetched as some would have you believe. I think he waits to see what happens in Knoxville next year before he leaves Liberty.

Every. Snap. Counts. From. This. Point. Forward. Through the 2021 season.

If CJP plans to be around for '22, he needs to get almost all of them right.

Go Vols.

 

[EZE]

If he goes 3 and 7 but the one win is Uf.Does he still get the boot or the crown.

I think he will be here no matter what. And anything less than 5-5 puts him squarely on the hot seat. And further he finishes away from 5 wins...the hotter the seat.

 

[UTwick]

It all depends on if the costs of firing him are greater than the cost of fan apathy. South Carolina made the determination that it was, but they also were in year 5 of Muschamp and many of their people wanted him fired at the end of last season, but the buyout was stupid big. The buyout amount came down noticeably this year, and they still suck, so the decision was easier.

Don’t have faith that UT will part ways with CJP, and after he received the extension from Fulmer, that decreases the chances that they can afford to say “adios”. Fulmer would have more egg on his face since he was responsible for the extension. Unlike some folks, I don’t believe that $$$$ donors will miraculously appear and pay off UT’s mistakes.

 

[BeardedVol]

Pruitt is not getting fired...especially by Fulmer...in the same year he got a contract extension. Period. And regardless of the final record.

In all honesty, I've never seen anything like the current predicament UT Football finds itself in. Coaches with (for the most part) good pedigrees; solid recruiting for our record; and then inexplicable shortcomings in every other phase of team performance. Player development, conditioning; play-calling, in-game adjustments, etc. It's bewildering. I've literally never seen, or heard of, anything like where UT Football is right now.

I'm down to two opinions on "what ails UT Football". I don't know that I'm right, but I feel like I'm awfully close to it, if not dead-on.

One: JG. He's not an SEC QB. Never was, never will be. Enough has already been said about that, so I'll leave it at that. But a solid QB would have this team at 4-2, if not 5-1.

Two: CJP. Defensive guru. Hard-headed. Three yards and a cloud of dust on offense. He has to do a number of things, IMO, to survive and succeed as a head coach. One, learn how to be the CEO. Lay out your overall scheme, and then hire coaches who can make it work. Next, hire an OC you trust, and walk away. Let him pick his players, his scheme, and his plays. Finally, learn how to play well with others. When you have Saban's record, you can have his attitude. Until then, try to remember that as the team goes, so go you. They fail, you fail, and you get fired. They win, you win, and now you can start to put your fingerprint on the program. But until then, winning games....however you win them....is Job #1. A 45-42 win beats a 17-13 loss.

Pride goeth before a fall, Jeremy...and your toes are hanging over the edge these days. That heat on your ass ain't your wallet exploding from those paychecks you're cashing, it's the bee-stings of over 100,000 potential seat-fillers at Neyland Stadium telling you they've had enough of losing.

Auburn is a loss. UF is a loss. Vandy is a toss-up unless this team finds some fight, and some heart. TXAM is best left in the "never played" category. So, best case, UT ends up at 3-6. That's just how it is, and where we are, at this point. CJP better get it figured out, and quick, because while I don't think he gets fired this year regardless, I do believe that 2021 is going to be a make or break season for CJP and Phil Fulmer. The Chancellor who brought Phil back is gone. Phil and CJP are on a short leash. And rightfully so.

Hugh Freeze to the Hill is not as far-fetched as some would have you believe. I think he waits to see what happens in Knoxville next year before he leaves Liberty.

Every. Snap. Counts. From. This. Point. Forward. Through the 2021 season.

If CJP plans to be around for '22, he needs to get almost all of them right.

Go Vols.

I think the reality, is that Pruitt is not a "defensive guru" as some people here would believe. He'd never spent more than two seasons as a coordinator at the same school before he landed his first HC job, and all of those were at schools that were loaded with talent that previous coaches recruited and developed.

He might be decent at defensive game day coaching, but that's debatable at this point, and he seems to be pretty terrible at developing defensive talent.

UT is not going to win the recruiting battle for top recruits, with a coach who can't develop players well enough to beat the likes of Kentucky and Arkansas.

 

[Tnphil]

A lot of DC's out there would look great with the 4-5 star talent Pruitt had at UGA.....FSU....Bama.

 

[tnbelle98]

What do you think?

I think everyone should stop wasting their time and especially their money on this program that is as crooked as a question mark. UT football as many of remember it is over. Sounding off here and people claiming they know something that they don't is ridiculous. No one knows anything because no one on here has seen behind the black curtain. The absolute best way to make your objections known is stop paying, stop going, stop overpaying for memorabilia at local stores and if you want anything shop online. Stop supporting a small group of people making all the decisions that could care less about your opinion. When everyone stops, that is when change happens. Coach Majors said it best "if if's and buts were candy and nuts we would all have a merry Christmas" Drop it.

 

[GreyWolf1129]

I think the reality, is that Pruitt is not a "defensive guru" as some people here would believe. He'd never spent more than two seasons as a coordinator before he landed his first HC job, and all of those were at schools that were loaded with talent that previous coaches recruited and developed.

He might be decent at defensive game day coaching, but that's debatable at this point, and he seems to be pretty terrible at developing defensive talent.

UT is not going to win the recruiting battle for top recruits, with a coach who can't develop players well enough to beat the likes of Kentucky and Arkansas.

Gave you a like, and I agree.

 

[m1al]

I understand. Fulmer has some legitimate reasons for hanging on to pruitt for longer. There is some perception in coaching circles that makes the Tennessee job very unappealing. Part of that is lack of support for coaches at an administrative level. There was some crap that circulated about Dooley and Butch not being able to hire who they wanted, etc. To me personally it’s BS but it’s out there.

As far as legitimate reasons go, I'm sorry but rumors are not legitimate and shame om anyone that hides behind that. It's Fulmer's job to assure prospective hires that is not the case and to not believe rumors. Most of the real concerns, IMO, come from UT's obvious lack of seriousness about being a major player in college football again. Good coaches see this and avoid it like the plague. The best way to alleviate that concern is for Fulmer and the admin to get serious about returning the program to a championship level and act the damn part. Hanging on to a guy that doesn't have what it takes to get the job done and is regressing in his third year is not "acting the part".

 

[wmcovol]

I’m sick of watching his bored, lackadaisical teams play. If that doesn’t change these last 4 games, I’d fire him.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I understand. Fulmer has some legitimate reasons for hanging on to pruitt for longer. There is some perception in coaching circles that makes the Tennessee job very unappealing. Part of that is lack of support for coaches at an administrative level. There was some crap that circulated about Dooley and Butch not being able to hire who they wanted, etc. To me personally it’s BS but it’s out there.

if that's the case, whenever he is eventually let go Pruitt will still say Fulmer did not let him hire Freeze at OC. can't walk that one back so we may as well not let it bother us.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

Pruitt is not getting fired...especially by Fulmer...in the same year he got a contract extension. Period. And regardless of the final record.

In all honesty, I've never seen anything like the current predicament UT Football finds itself in. Coaches with (for the most part) good pedigrees; solid recruiting for our record; and then inexplicable shortcomings in every other phase of team performance. Player development, conditioning; play-calling, in-game adjustments, etc. It's bewildering. I've literally never seen, or heard of, anything like where UT Football is right now.

I'm down to two opinions on "what ails UT Football". I don't know that I'm right, but I feel like I'm awfully close to it, if not dead-on.

One: JG. He's not an SEC QB. Never was, never will be. Enough has already been said about that, so I'll leave it at that. But a solid QB would have this team at 4-2, if not 5-1.

Two: CJP. Defensive guru. Hard-headed. Three yards and a cloud of dust on offense. He has to do a number of things, IMO, to survive and succeed as a head coach. One, learn how to be the CEO. Lay out your overall scheme, and then hire coaches who can make it work. Next, hire an OC you trust, and walk away. Let him pick his players, his scheme, and his plays. Finally, learn how to play well with others. When you have Saban's record, you can have his attitude. Until then, try to remember that as the team goes, so go you. They fail, you fail, and you get fired. They win, you win, and now you can start to put your fingerprint on the program. But until then, winning games....however you win them....is Job #1. A 45-42 win beats a 17-13 loss.

Pride goeth before a fall, Jeremy...and your toes are hanging over the edge these days. That heat on your ass ain't your wallet exploding from those paychecks you're cashing, it's the bee-stings of over 100,000 potential seat-fillers at Neyland Stadium telling you they've had enough of losing.

Auburn is a loss. UF is a loss. Vandy is a toss-up unless this team finds some fight, and some heart. TXAM is best left in the "never played" category. So, best case, UT ends up at 3-6. That's just how it is, and where we are, at this point. CJP better get it figured out, and quick, because while I don't think he gets fired this year regardless, I do believe that 2021 is going to be a make or break season for CJP and Phil Fulmer. The Chancellor who brought Phil back is gone. Phil and CJP are on a short leash. And rightfully so.

Hugh Freeze to the Hill is not as far-fetched as some would have you believe. I think he waits to see what happens in Knoxville next year before he leaves Liberty.

Every. Snap. Counts. From. This. Point. Forward. Through the 2021 season.

If CJP plans to be around for '22, he needs to get almost all of them right.

Go Vols.

yeah. two things could really bite us in the ass on that one. First, if we replace staffs next year we are flushing a once-in-a-generation class of in-state talent down the toilet and straight into the open arms of a lot of teams we have to play every year. Second, next year there will be a gaggle of P5 programs looking for a new head coach and Freeze will probably better deal us same as Mullen did in 2017. We're sitting in the middle of burning building staring at the exit and wondering what to do.

 

[sechamp2012]

CJP beats Vandy and gets Covid win over A&M gets Independence Bowl invite. Beats Liberty in that Bowl game and puts the FREEZE on the Coaching HOT seat.

 

[Volle]

UT is handcuffed by Pruitt's $12 mil buyout, the dumb extension, and the AD's $40 mil Covid shortfall to fire cornbread. Our only hope is Pruitt just quits due to embarrassment, and goes back to Bama.

 

[jasonvol18]

Fulmer will never fire Pruitt, regardless of the record this year, or next. As long as Fulmer is AD, Pruitt will be here, because firing him, would require Fulmer to admit that he made a poor choice, and that is beyond the capabilities of his ego.

He had to fire and replace Coordinator's while he was Coaching, which is pretty much the same thing. Fulmer also wouldn't have the final decision on that . He wouldn't fire him this year but if we go 4-8 or so next year I would bet Pruitt is gone. But most Coach's will get a mulligan for this year. But at the end of the day, Fulmer is a Tennessee guy and won't let Pruitt continue to regress. Won't be this year regardless, but i think we finish 3-7 and Pruitt is forced to make numerous changes to his Coaching staff. Friend and Weinke need to be the first to go then Ansley would be next. Our Oline, QB's and Secondary are the positions that continue to get worse, instead of improve. Plus it would cost around 31 million to buy out Pruitt and the staff, so it's not happening this season. Just some Assistant Coach firing's and hiring's.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

UT is handcuffed by Pruitt's $12 mil buyout, the dumb extension, and the AD's $40 mil Covid shortfall to fire cornbread. Our only hope is Pruitt just quits due to embarrassment, and goes back to Bama.

SC's move put the heat on UTAD. Muschamp had a higher buyout and SC has a bigger deficit.

 

[coffeevol]

He's here for 5-6 years

 

[jasonvol18]

CJP beats Vandy and gets Covid win over A&M gets Independence Bowl invite. Beats Liberty in that Bowl game and puts the FREEZE on the Coaching HOT seat.

We will have to beat A'M on the field with it already being rescheduled for December 12. Honestly, I wouldn't wanna play Liberty. They would have a field day on our Secondary.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

We won't fire him regardless of whether or not he goes 2-8, but with the way the team has played recently I'm more convinced than ever that Pruitt is as apathetic and checked out as our fan base.

I don't think he wants to be here any more and is just trying to get to that buyout. I anticipate 2021 to be just as bad as this season if Pruitt is still here.....which he will be.