Exactly. A lot of people are on this Fire Phil train, but when he was brought in, it was a complete mess. We had already burned through most if not all of realistic HC candidates at the time. Overall athletics are at the best spot in years. Baseball is back, Lady Vols showing signs, national basketball program, softball still rolling, etc.
Are there some good HC candidates out there this year? Yes. Look at how Auburn and SC went though. I think we've created a league that scares a lot of coaches away. It's 3 years and out. Over and over and over. Then, you can even win a natty and still be out (Gus, Les, and probably Coach O next). Freeze is an exciting option. Gus would be a clear and immediate upgrade, as would Tom Herman. Chadwell is green but is a local guy with a ton of national momentum. Exciting options for sure, but I could easily see us letting Pruitt go and then wind up looking at: Doug Marrone, Jamey Chadwell, and Kevin Steele as our three options. We burned a ton of bridges in the last coaching search.
With all that said, it's hard to sit here and look at last years staff that was a failure. We regressed essentially in all levels. Now, you can sit here with a defensive coaching staff of: Pruitt, Ansley, Steele, and maybe even Rodney G. If, and it's a big if, Pruitt will take a look in the mirror and see a staff that would be and has been well regarded in the SEC and just let them coach. We could very well walk backwards into an 8-4 type of season next year. This is all assuming we find at least an average SEC QB. The defensive coaching staff listed above should be expected to put out a Top 5 SEC level defense.