The Case for Keeping Pruitt

#152
#152
rikberry31 said:
The problem of slants and most of the secondary issues are a consequence of poor d-line play. Allowing o-line to get to the second level in the run game and no pressure in the passing game causes lbs to bite hard on play action, they are blocked by linemen in the run game, and dbs are left man to man too much because we are forced to blitz.
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So who is it exactly that hired the DL coach, then fired him before the halfway point of the season, and then took over the direct responsibility of coaching the DL?
 
#153
#153
BeardedVol said:
So who is it exactly that hired the DL coach, then fired him before the halfway point of the season, and then took over the direct responsibility of coaching the DL?
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The issues are primarily personnel and inexperience not scheme.
 
#156
#156
Not firing Pruitt after this season would be the biggest mistake in a series of big mistakes in UT football over the past decade.

The problem is he's already a lame duck coach. I see many people clamoring for UT to allow Pruitt to make sweeping changes to his assistant coaching staff. Here's the problem with that. It might sound good on paper to some but ask yourself this very, very important question. What assistant coach in his right mind would see what's going on here right now and want to come to be on Pruitt's staff?

Once you get that stench on you it's almost impossible to get it off. And Pruitt smells like he just fell into a nest of skunks. No assistant wants to be a part of this mess if he's allowed to come back unless they are already desperate themselves. Therein lies the problem with allowing him to return.

I think it's a vastly overlooked issue with people who think he can just bring in a new staff and reinvigorate the program. Plus, with some of the stories about how meddling Pruitt is with his assistants, I'm sure that's really going to help bring in a good pool of replacement assistants.
 
#159
#159
ABINGDON VOL FAN said:
Team was defeated mentally by the pick 6’s. We were a much better team than Ky with a capable Qb. We were more talented.
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I agree that on paper we are much more talented. On the field they are better coached and won the game and that is all that matters. Being more talented makes it even worse.
 
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#160
#160
hog88 said:
I agree that on paper we are much more talented. On the field they are better coached and won the game and that is all that matters. Being more talented makes it even worse.
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One position cost us a win by the same amount of points that Kentucky beat us by.
 
#162
#162
Not firing Pruitt after this season would be the biggest mistake in a series of big mistakes in UT football over the past decade.
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Yeah, just look at how great it's working out at South Carolina. They are about to hire a career position coach as Head Coach:

Shane Beamer rumored to be #1 candidate for South Carolina job

And hell, Muschamp definitely deserved the ax. He should've gotten it last year. But that's the coaching market we're looking at if we fire Pruitt.

Outside of you hoople-heads here, much of the college football world does not consider this a "real season." Covid destroyed the offseason and limited development for a lot of younger players. Coaches want to stay put until 2021. If we fire Pruitt, we're not getting Huge Freeze. We're getting Derek Dooley, Part 2.

I'll take my chances on Chaney, a guy who's known for great QB play, improving QB play in 2021 with either Bailey and / or Salter. If things still suck in a year, 2021 is going to be a better time to hire a new coach than 2020.
 
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#167
#167
DiderotsGhost said:
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
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I agree with you that QB is a major problem. However, even bigger than that is the lack of leadership from this team on both sides of the ball. Too many blown assignments by veteran guys playing like freshmen. The defensive scheme has not changed but who is holding each other accountable?

As for not playing other QBs this is wholly on the coaching staff. COVID created unique circumstances that they did not adjust well to at all. The backups just look lost. I remember Ainge talking about going over his progressions for each play. I see none of that. Also who is teaching the QBs how to identify mismatches in coverage to exploit. Instead it is I am throwing to X WR on this play no matter what.
 
#168
#168
DiderotsGhost said:
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
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Pruitt gets it.
 
#169
#169
DiderotsGhost said:
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
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Great Post! I noticed that it got more likes than any Fahr Pruitt post,
 
#170
#170
I think we are going to keep Pruitt and give him at least 1 more year to hopefully get something going. I still feel like he knows how to put a winning team together.

With that said, we obviously need to develop a QB and get some momentum going next year or he’ll be gone for sure. I think he deserves at least 1 more year. A year without JG on the roster and Pruitt knowing he’s coaching for his job.
 
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#171
#171
Blackburn said:
I think we are going to keep Pruitt and give him at least 1 more year to hopefully get something going. I still feel like he knows how to put a winning team together.

With that said, we obviously need to develop a QB and get some momentum going next year or he’ll be gone for sure. I think he deserves at least 1 more year. A year without JG on the roster and Pruitt knowing he’s coaching for his job.
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What evidence is there that Pruitt knows how to put a winning team together? He can't even put a stable staff together, which in turn is never going to lead to a winning team. He's here another year, and we have another staff overhaul this spring, the only thing that is really going to accomplish, is costing UT more money in assistant buyouts when he is ultimately fired.
 
#172
#172
ETSU VOL said:
I agree with you that QB is a major problem. However, even bigger than that is the lack of leadership from this team on both sides of the ball. Too many blown assignments by veteran guys playing like freshmen. The defensive scheme has not changed but who is holding each other accountable?
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I agree on the lack of leadership, but that's another reason why I think Pruitt needs more time. The lack of leadership is more of a Butch Jones issue than a Pruitt issue. Your leaders are typically upperclassmen and those 2016 and '17 recruiting classes were weak overall. Losing Jennings and Bituli hurt more than anticipated from a leadership perspective.

We have a few leaders, but most of the good Pruitt players are still underclassmen. I think we see the leadership issue improvement in 2021 and 2022, and the end of Covid will also help.

If everything is still dogs@#$ awful next year, then sure, I'll join the FAHR PRUITT crowd, but just doesn't make any sense to me at the moment. We've had a disappointing year, but 80% of the issues have been concentrated at QB and DL.
 
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#173
#173
So does anyone know what is going on behind the scenes, within the program and staff, that they guys on fan run(Trey Wallace and Russ Smith)keep hinting at but won’t give any details about?
GBO!!
 
#175
#175
DiderotsGhost said:
I agree on the lack of leadership, but that's another reason why I think Pruitt needs more time. The lack of leadership is more of a Butch Jones issue than a Pruitt issue. Your leaders are typically upperclassmen and those 2016 and '17 recruiting classes were weak overall. Losing Jennings and Bituli hurt more than anticipated from a leadership perspective.

We have a few leaders, but most of the good Pruitt players are still underclassmen. I think we see the leadership issue improvement in 2021 and 2022, and the end of Covid will also help.

If everything is still dogs@#$ awful next year, then sure, I'll join the FAHR PRUITT crowd, but just doesn't make any sense to me at the moment. We've had a disappointing year, but 80% of the issues have been concentrated at QB and DL.
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I actually don’t think Pruitt needs to be fired this year at all. Everyone clamoring for it are being pandered to by the media to try to drum up clicks and ad revenue.
 
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