Big Night in Knoxville. Not necessarily something that would have been all over the front page of 247Sports.com, but yet there's a lot going on and you Tennessee fans know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, here we go.
So, I have had my own personal feel on this. I don't think I need to rehash it anymore. It is my feel though, most recently, that what we've been calling the "point of no return" was passed. And it was passed several weeks ago. Basically the point of no return is, how far can we let this go where Jeremy Pruitt may still have a chance to succeed if he's retained. Well, I changed my philosophy on this. Now if you maybe the last time you watched the show was in October, and now you're listening to what I'm about to say, it's gonna sound really hypocritical. It's not, but I'm trying to explain why I've changed my thinking. My personal thinking going into 2020 was, as I've told you many times, I didn't think anyone who wasn't already on the hot seat should be placed on the hot seat because of what's happening in 2020. But NOW I'm telling you, I don't think it's gonna work out with Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee, and I think they gotta make a move. [goes on to explain why he's changed his mind and why he's entitled to change his mind, which he is (we all did)]
I can no longer look at Jeremy Pruitt, even if I personally wouldn't put him on the hot seat, it doesn't matter, because he is on it. And he's past the point of no return now. There's been a hiring freeze, kind of a conditional one, which is weird and we're about to talk about it. Hasn't been able to hire, recruits have been bleeding, his own roster has been bleeding, and I don't know that they can stop it even if they were to retain and status quo was maintained at this point.
The very latest, including some happenings today. Here's what's been going on. There has been an internal investigation there. My best guess based on people I've talked to there is that this stuff has really been going on since late November, early December. I think the timeline will come more into focus as more of the details are made public. That's coming, sooner rather than later, that's coming.
Today was a big day there. Today, according to many people behind the scenes at Tennessee, was the first time really that lawyers, and Jeremy Pruitt, and his representation, and the University... they're all in a room, and findings are starting to be shared. It's sort of like, you know, you undo the envelope and you open the paper, and "coach, here we go... can you explain this? Can you explain that? Can you explain these bullet points?" And it's probably the first time Jeremy Pruitt has a chance to really defend himself in sort of an open session there. Open in terms of everything being on the table. I have no idea what a time table is, nor do I know what to expect. A lot of people woke up this morning thinking, "hey, we're gonna know by close of business today whether Jeremy Pruitt's gonna be our head coach next week or not." I don't know about that. However, I do expect a resolution sooner rather than later.
The decision's gonna come shortly, that's my belief, don't have that confirmed. That is a widely held belief in circles in Knoxville right now. What happened right before this, though, because here's where it gets really, really interesting. There's been a hiring freeze. It's been widely reported. To where Pruitt's not been able to hire because the chancellor, you know it's very understandable, looks and says, "I don't know if you're gonna be here so I'm certainly not gonna let you go hire other people and lock them into 2 or 3 year contracts. We're not doing that. Let's just hold firm, we're gonna find out what these investigators know, and then we'll make a move." Well then all of a sudden, you wake up and Kevin Steele's been hired by Tennessee, and you're like "what in the world?! Kevin Steele?! How are we hiring him?! What role are we hiring him for?" Does anyone, as of this moment, know what role Kevin Steele's gonna fill there? No you don't.
So I did a little digging on this, and I know what the perception is. The perception is Steele's probably being brought, and I agree with this by the way. Steele is being brought in, not necessarily given a title, because he can fill any number of roles. If Pruitt's still there he may just be an off-field analyst, or maybe a position coach. Maybe he ends up being a defensive coordinator. Or maybe if Pruitt is ousted, he ends up being the head coach, permanent or interim, I don't know.
What is known, I guess by some people but maybe not by most, is Steele and Pruitt are very close. Very good friends. I was told this is the kind of move that, on his way out the door even if he knew was on his way out the door, this is the kind of solid that Jeremy Pruitt would be willing to do. If it was within his power to do it. Now I can't tell you that's what's happening. I can just tell you, you know if you're wondering if this is made Pruitt irate or if he's on board with it, you know he probably views his situation as being totally separate and independent of Kevin Steele being brought in there. What happens to him, one way or the other, so that's the first thing. Are they correlated? Are they connected? That's what we don't know, but we will find out.
My feel is, at this point, this is a matter of when Pruitt's out at Tennessee, no longer "if" he's going to be out at Tennessee. That's my feel right now. Also, you know the natural followup is two-fold. Number one, where does he go? We can answer that when the time comes. Number two, what does Tennessee do? That's what I want to focus on here.
There's been a lot of talk about Hugh Freeze. Understandably so. I never talk to two people that say the exact same thing about Hugh Freeze. I've spoken to people who really want him at Tennessee. I've not spoken to anyone AT Tennessee who wants him at Tennessee. A lot of people AROUND the program do. I have talked to people who say there's no shot from the league level that he's gonna be at Tennessee. Maybe people who are going to make the decision at Tennessee look at Hugh Freeze as a non-starter. There are a lot of differing philosophies, which really means no one really knows anything. He's a name that's at least gonna be thrown around.
Doug Marrone is a name that's been thrown around. Jamie Chadwell at Coastal Carolina is a name that's been thrown around. These are popular names if you are in the Tennessee circles you've heard these names. But Steele is also there, and I think that we have to view Kevin Steele, if this move is made, as a legitimate option.
Here's the biggest key. The biggest key is what kind of option would he be, because the big key you have to nail this. Here's where it's not optional. My director Colin is a big Tennessee guy. Director Colin and I are talking like 5 minutes before this show started, and you know, we both agreed Tennessee's been in the wilderness for a long time. I think they've got one more shot to get it right. With the way the landscape's changing, I'm a believer Tennessee can still sit at the big boy table. It's not too late. The sport has not left them behind to the point where that room where all the big boys hang is no longer attainable. I don't believe that, but I believe the door's closing quickly.
There are two ways to look at this. It can be a mess, and it can also be salvageable, but the biggest key is you have to nail this. You don't have to settle on your permanent replacement before the 2021 season starts, but what you do have to do is refuse to lose the 2021 season. Here's what I mean by that. Kevin Steele could very well fill an interim head coaching basis while you get an early head start on the for real coaching search, and you're looking to use the entire season, it would be kind of an unprecedented spot to be in, but you use the entire season and you make sure you vet EVERYBODY this side of Jupiter that's qualified to be the head coach at Tennessee. You get ALL the big money involved and you make sure you scour the entire country and you nail the hire. Don't care who it is, you gotta nail the hire.
I think maintaining status quo would be losing the 2021 season. By that I mean, I think keeping Jeremy Pruitt would be losing the 2021 season. I can't find, I love Jeremy Pruitt, I cannot find any path where he remains the head coach at Tennessee and things end up being turned around for the better, and they end up being a championship-caliber program. Part of that is his fault. Another part of that is the position the University has put him in, maybe through his fault. Maybe because of this investigation. However you wanna frame that, I don't think there's a way forward there.
I hate talking about that kind of stuff. Never do I call for people's jobs on here, and I'm not doing it now. We don't do much hot seat talk. I don't like it. It makes me feel kind of icky. I think those are the facts.
Tennessee, I think, has one more shot. If they have a coaching search coming up I think they've got one more shot. The next hire they make, whether it's Kevin Steele or someone else, I think the next hire they make is going to determine the next entire generational chapter of Tennessee Football.
The landscape is shifting, we all see it shifting. Right now there's one school of thought that Tennessee's already been left behind. What they were capable of in the late 90's, they're no longer capable of. I don't believe that. I've made the case for the Tennessee job several times. The bottom is if you don't have the right man in the driver's seat, it doesn't matter what I or anyone else think the program is capable of. It is not good right now. It can be good. And it doesn't matter if 99% of the coaching public out there views it as a B-tier or C-tier job. If you find the ONE right guy, that's all it takes.
