The official "Jeremy Pruitt has been fired" WATCH THREAD.

[SaintLouisVol]

One has to wonder, if Fulmer hadn't moronically extended Pruitt in August, would there even be an investigation? It seems that Fulmer is burning down the program and setting it back another decade, just to try and clean up his $6 million dollar mistake.

That is a good point. Although there may have been no investigation, I think the admin still would have had to go over Fulmer's head to move Pruitt out. I think Phil would have stuck with his guy.

Now, it may be that Fulmer ends up going down as well. If he has any dignity, he will just "retire" under the premise that he never planned to be there long term anyway. My only concern there is the timing of having to hire an AD and a football coach right now.

 

[BeardedVol]

That is a good point. Although there may have been no investigation, I think the admin still would have had to go over Fulmer's head to move Pruitt out. I think Phil would have stuck with his guy.

Now, it may be that Fulmer ends up going down as well. If he has any dignity, he will just "retire" under the premise that he never planned to be there long term anyway. My only concern there is the timing of having to hire an AD and a football coach right now.

Yeah, unless they have someone waiting in the wings as a new head coach and/or AD, I can't imagine that scenario working out well however it shakes out.

 

[loservol]

One has to wonder, if Fulmer hadn't moronically extended Pruitt in August, would there even be an investigation? It seems that Fulmer is burning down the program and setting it back another decade, just to try and clean up his $6 million dollar mistake.

I don't think Fulmer has anything to do with this investigation. He,'s probably hoping it will amount to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

One has to wonder, if Fulmer hadn't moronically extended Pruitt in August, would there even be an investigation? It seems that Fulmer is burning down the program and setting it back another decade, just to try and clean up his $6 million dollar mistake.

I think Fulmer should retire or move to another admin position, but it's hard to pin the Pruitt extension completely on Phil Fulmer.

At least, Donde Plowman and the Board of Trustees and even Randy Boyd, likely, had to get a look at that contract extension. While Fulmer may have a big voice when it comes to UT coaching contracts, he's not the only person in the room.

I don't say that to absolve Fulmer AT ALL but to point out that there are problems in administration at UT beyond just Fulmer's judgement. That doesn't make me hopeful for future choices by admin.

 

[SaintLouisVol]

I think Fulmer should retire or move to another admin position, but it's hard to pin the Pruitt extension completely on Phil Fulmer.

At least, Donde Plowman and the Board of Trustees and even Randy Boyd, likely, had to get a look at that contract extension. While Fulmer may have a big voice when it comes to UT coaching contracts, he's not the only person in the room.

I don't say that to absolve Fulmer AT ALL but to point out that there are problems in administration at UT beyond just Fulmer's judgement. That doesn't make me hopeful for future choices by admin.

I agree. No organization gives someone the power to unilaterally spend $20+ million without the sign off of a several key people. But, that doesn't mean that an individual can't heavily influence the other decision makers.

 

[BeardedVol]

I think Fulmer should retire or move to another admin position, but it's hard to pin the Pruitt extension completely on Phil Fulmer.

At least, Donde Plowman and the Board of Trustees and even Randy Boyd, likely, had to get a look at that contract extension. While Fulmer may have a big voice when it comes to UT coaching contracts, he's not the only person in the room.

I don't say that to absolve Fulmer AT ALL but to point out that there are problems in administration at UT beyond just Fulmer's judgement. That doesn't make me hopeful for future choices by admin.

I doubt Boyd or the Trustees came to Fulmer and said "Hey what do you think about extending Pruitt's contract to 8 years, and giving him a $400,000 raise?"

So yeah, regardless of the BoT/President approving it, the extension and raise are all on Fulmer.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I doubt Boyd or the Trustees came to Fulmer and said "Hey what do you think about extending Pruitt's contract to 8 years, and giving him a $400,000 raise?"

So yeah, regardless of the BoT/President approving it, the extension and raise are all on Fulmer.

Actually, you're probably right that Fulmer brought the extension up but he's still not above being told "No, Phil, we don't think he's deserving." It's pretty obvious that the extension is questionable and people in the room, other than Phil, should've also known that.

Also, Fulmer picked up a raise/extension in late 2020 also so there's lots of issues..... Fulmer is definitely a big one...... but not the only one in Knoxville.

 

[BeardedVol]

Actually, you're probably right that Fulmer brought the extension up but he's still not above being told "No, Phil, we don't think he's deserving." It's pretty obvious that the extension is questionable and people in the room, other than Phil, should've also known that.

Also, Fulmer picked up a raise/extension in late 2020 also so there's lots of issues..... Fulmer is definitely a big one...... but not the only one in Knoxville.

His position is Athletic Director. For the President/BoT, it's a general assumption that he is making a request like that in good faith, and not from a position of trying to make it financially untenable for the University to fire the head coach for poor performance, which is what it looked to be at the time.

 

[Volbrando]

Don’t be surprised if Kevin Steele is hired as a DC (or something?) soon. This doesn’t mean Pruitt is staying though.

Hope this is the week they turn Pruitt loose but this is TN so anything is still possible

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

His position is Athletic Director. For the President/BoT, it's a general assumption that he is making a request like that in good faith, and not from a position of trying to make it financially untenable for the University to fire the head coach for poor performance, which is what it looked to be at the time.

I've been involved in, on the academic side and not at UT, the creation of programs, obtaining facilities, hiring staff, and obtaining salaries and raises for faculty positions.

Deans, Directors, the Provost, the Faculty Committees, Administration....... a lot of noses get to poke around in a lot of decisions, especially when the money to be spent is significant and "directional" decisions are being made for the university.

It's more streamlined, without a doubt, for Athletics and a coaching extension isn't "directional," but A LOT of people generally need to sign off on A LOT of money.

Phil Fulmer is in no way blameless and is likely the prime cause for Pruitt's extension but there are people in Knoxville above him who could've stopped it and should've stopped it.

 

[BeardedVol]

I've been involved in, on the academic side and not at UT, the creation of programs, obtaining facilities, hiring staff, and obtaining salaries and raises for faculty positions.

Deans, Directors, the Provost, the Faculty Committees, Administration....... a lot of noses get to poke around in a lot of decisions, especially when the money to be spent is significant and "directional" decisions are being made for the university.

It's more streamlined, without a doubt, for Athletics and a coaching extension isn't "directional," but A LOT of people generally need to sign off on A LOT of money.

Phil Fulmer is in no way blameless and is likely the prime cause for Pruitt's extension but there are people in Knoxville above him who could've stopped it and should've stopped it.

I understand that people need to sign off on it, and I'm sure that Fulmer came to them with a list of reasons as to why he wanted to extend Pruitt. The reality is that they trusted him to be making his request in the best interests of the University, and it looks to have been a way for Fulmer to keep from being asked to make a difficult decision at the end of the season.

Whether or not anyone in the approval chain should have said "no" is moot to the fact that it was Fulmer who requested the raise and the extension, not someone above him making the request to him.

 

[De La Cloobs]

It's sad as a UT fan when I'm expecting this administration to royally screw up more than I'm expecting them to get something right. I have very little confidence in our immediate future.

 

[Vol8188]

Doesn’t VQ normally do a podcast Monday morning s? I need my content!

 

[SaintLouisVol]

Don’t be surprised if Kevin Steele is hired as a DC (or something?) soon. This doesn’t mean Pruitt is staying though.

Hope this is the week they turn Pruitt loose but this is TN so anything is still possible

I would interpret the announcement of any assistant being hired as evidence that Pruitt will be staying on. But, I suppose they could approve someone like Steele specifically thinking he could/would serve as interim should JP be sent packing.

If this goes on much longer, don't you think JP should just ask for a deal to walk? From his point of view, the powers that be are, right now, doing everything to undermine his opportunity for success. He can't fill his staff, he's losing players off the existing roster and doubts grow in the minds of recruits. He will be going into a make-or-break season with the deck stacked against him. Considering he hasn't been very good even with the cards being dealt fairly, he can't like his chances all that much.

 

[KeyVol14]

I would interpret the announcement of any assistant being hired as evidence that Pruitt will be staying on. But, I suppose they could approve someone like Steele specifically thinking he could/would serve as interim should JP be sent packing.

If this goes on much longer, don't you think at JP should just ask for a deal to walk? From his point of view, the powers that be are, right now, doing everything to undermine his opportunity for success. He can't fill his staff, he's losing players off the existing roster and doubts grow in the minds of recruits. He will be going into a make-or-break season with the deck stacked against him. Considering he hasn't been very good even with the cards being dealt fairly, he can't like his chances all that much.

Pruitt will not be here next season simple as that

 

[SaintLouisVol]

Pruitt will not be here next season simple as that

If it were that simple, he would already be gone.

 

[Rushin Orange Collusion]

I understand that people need to sign off on it, and I'm sure that Fulmer came to them with a list of reasons as to why he wanted to extend Pruitt. The reality is that they trusted him to be making his request in the best interests of the University, and it looks to have been a way for Fulmer to keep from being asked to make a difficult decision at the end of the season.

Whether or not anyone in the approval chain should have said "no" is moot to the fact that it was Fulmer who requested the raise and the extension, not someone above him making the request to him.

And, sadly, we are paying serious consequences for that poor judgment.

 

[lilesrt]

It's sad as a UT fan when I'm expecting this administration to royally screw up more than I'm expecting them to get something right. I have very little confidence in our immediate future.

It’s called conditioning. See Pavlov’s dog as a good example.

 

[El Vez]

If someone has already posted this I apologize and I have looked around to see if anyone has posted this and couldn't find anything. Kenny Hawkins the local sports guy here in the Tri-Cities was on the Sports Monster this morning and said he talked to someone in Knoxville over the weekend, (he refused to name his source), and that JP is gone this week. His guess was tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

[Volbrando]

rumor is Pruitt is to be "interviewed" on Thursday - so take that for what it's worth and expect maybe something this weekend?

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

If someone has already posted this I apologize and I have looked around to see if anyone has posted this and couldn't find anything. Kenny Hawkins the local sports guy here in the Tri-Cities was on the Sports Monster this morning and said he talked to someone in Knoxville over the weekend, (he refused to name his source), and that JP is gone this week. His guess was tomorrow or Wednesday.

Kenny Hawkins knows about as much as we know. If a guy here in the Tri Cities is more in the know than people in Knoxville, then the Knoxville media market is even more of a joke than people claim.

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

rumor is Pruitt is to be "interviewed" on Thursday - so take that for what it's worth and expect maybe something this weekend?

Basillio said this in his blog. Pruitt to be interviewed Thursday and we should all hear something 24-36 hours after that. He also mentioned that Finebaum and other SEC media heads think Pruitt is a dead man walking.

 

[Volbrando]

Basillio said this in his blog. Pruitt to be interviewed Thursday and we should all hear something 24-36 hours after that. He also mentioned that Finebaum and other SEC media heads think Pruitt is a dead man walking.

it's definitely appearing more likely by the day... but again, this is TN so who knows

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

it's definitely appearing more likely by the day... but again, this is TN so who knows

I would agree, except the potential hiring of Steele is throwing me off. If you're going to fire, or even potentially fire, a guy, why hire someone for the staff--even if it's to act as a "placeholder" or an "analyzer"? It makes zero sense to me and it's the only reason I'm leaning more towards Pruitt is staying and we've all just been blowing everything out of the water.

Of course the other, and potentially more likely scenario, is Steele is coming on as HC. This, of course, would absolutely be the most TN thing ever!

 

[Volbrando]

I would agree, except the potential hiring of Steele is throwing me off. If you're going to fire, or even potentially fire, a guy, why hire someone for the staff--even if it's to act as a "placeholder" or an "analyzer"? It makes zero sense to me and it's the only reason I'm leaning more towards Pruitt is staying and we've all just been blowing everything out of the water.

Of course the other, and potentially more likely scenario, is Steele is coming on as HC. This, of course, would absolutely be the most TN thing ever!

yeah I'm a little confused by that as well... could he just be an interim coach when Pruitt is let go for stability, is he the next coach in waiting, is there more to this... very odd