Coach Pruitt and Future

#126
#126
So the need for seven years is what Pruitt meant by decade of the Vols. Got it.

While we're reflecting on his coaching abilities, there are a couple of other HC moments that need to be reflected on: 1) His ill-advised efforts to repeatedly go for it on 4th down in years one and two, especially on our side of the 50 yd line. Those hurt badly in early games. 2) Remember how bad and ill prepared the special teams were in year one? Return teams didn't know the rules (rule changes), tried to advance the ball after fair catches, etc. Some ST moments cost us field position, points, and or momentum in a couple games that we were in, or could have been in. 3) His demeaning demeanor toward his players (old school or unprofessional, you can decide). How many times did he yell, make contact, berate players on national television? 4) Have we forgotten the second half collapse of the team in his first year that cost us a bowl birth?

The good news is, I think Pruitt has learned from those mistakes and those are mistakes that can live in the past and are ow water under the bridge. He is learning, maturing as a coach, and we are faced with having to endure his progression. However this QB situation and his W-L record aren't improving. He has also a propensity to start slow (in games and in the season) and rely on his ability to make adjustments. I think he needs to do a better job of figuring things out from the start and dominating top to bottom, from the first whistle to the last.
 
#127
#127
VolArmy74 said:
In Dabo's actual 3rd season they won 10 games, beat #5 Va Tech in the ACC Title game and went to the Orange Bowl. He was interim hc for a partial season to begin with.
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Depends on how you look at it. Regardless, people wanted him gone that year.
 
#128
#128
preacherwebb said:
It will be amazing to see people's reactions (and backtracks) if ... IF (did i mention if) Bailey is the real deal, and this whole thing turns around.
On the other hand, I agree, it sure looks mighty bad (and eerily familiar) right now.
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It really makes me laugh when people go off the rails and later it’s “Yeah, I said all that crazy, irrational stuff and called the Vols losers but I was hoping I was wrong the whole time, Go Vols.” For me the Vols are like my wife, were married and I get irritated from time to time but I’ll always love her. Never to Sever.
 
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#129
#129
VolArmy74 said:
Kentucky doesn't challenge itself in non-conference, nor does it have Alabama as a permanent West opponent. That's a +2 wins per year for them vs us built into the schedule.
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Utc,uab,byu,ga st, etsu,utep,and Charlotte all thinks that's a lame ass excuse
 
#131
#131
Spook1 said:
Butch Jones left the Vols football program in horrible shape. He had no linemen essentially above 300 pounds and absolutely no speed. Jones refused to keep Sam Pittman, the best offensive line coach in the nation too. Pruitt addressed that quickly and is still in pursuit of improvement. When a football program was in as bad a shape as what Jones left, you do not restore it in a couple of years either. Essentially, it will take 5 to 7 years to get the Vols competitive again. Be patient, support Coach Pruitt and give him the time to do so. Look at Kentucky as an example, Stoops came to Kentucky in 2013 in a horrible program. Year by year he has improved the program...this is 7 years into the process. Give him three more years and he is going to be very competitive in the SEC. The same will happen to Pruitt if we stay behind him and give him our support. Pruitt did not throw two intersections and a fumble that resulted in 17 Kentucky quick points....blame that on QB JG. Some are demanding a coaching change...this would only worsen the situation. Stay the course, support Pruitt and we will get back competitive again...that comes when we can end up beating or being competitive with Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
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You mentioned Ky and I get what your saying but what about Ark turnaround. Coaching has alot to do with it.
 
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#134
#134
hog88 said:
What exactly has Pruitt done in his 2+ seasons to make you think he is a "damn football coach" capable of fielding a championship caliber team? He has 2 wins over teams he shouldn't have beaten, several losses against teams he should have beaten, he has 5 wins over teams that finished that the season with a winning record and holds the UT career record for most 25 point or more losses. That is the CAREER record for getting curb stomped in less than 3 seasons.

So I really would like to know what makes you think you can trust him to bring us back to relevancy let alone championship caliber?
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1. Recruiting
2. Great Defensive Mind

That is a formula for success at this level. I think we are solid in most position groups. He was screwed with QB situation when he walked in the door. But I think he answered that finally in recruiting last year... and possibly 2021 as well.
 
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#135
#135
Pruitt should have learned prior to this season but the QB position has to be one at the minimum that doesn't hurt you. We've seen teams even at the NFL level where the QB play was lackluster or average (I'm thinking of the no name QB the Ravens had and won a Superbowl with him) and our own example at UT is Tee Martin, he did not set the woods on fire at his position however like the Raven no name QB Tee did not hurt his team hardly ever and won a NC. How many SEC games have I watched in my life where the game was played between the two 20 yard lines and the teams punting back and forth awaiting a big mistake by the other guys and kick a field goal to win it at the end? A bunch is the answer. That only happens with good QB play by both sides. We have had now going on 3 years bad QB play more often than not. It's the same QB. It's not even a player CJP recruited which makes it more frustrating IMO. Hopefully this last episode of poor QB play has now convinced CJP the time is now for a change. Ask Kirby Smart who watched his QB throw 3 INTs in the 2nd half last weekend how important QB play is that just doesn't hurt you.
 
#136
#136
Spook1 said:
I think Pruitt will have us in a competitive situation in 5 years, but ii make take 7 years to get us in to a dominate situation. We will get there.
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Rebuild will take 6 or 7 years, because it takes that long for JG to move along.
 
#137
#137
Spook1 said:
I think Pruitt will have us in a competitive situation in 5 years, but ii make take 7 years to get us in to a dominate situation. We will get there.
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In 5 more years or 2 more years in year 5 for Pruitt? I would not be happy with either option.
 
#139
#139
Spook1 said:
Butch Jones left the Vols football program in horrible shape. He had no linemen essentially above 300 pounds and absolutely no speed. Jones refused to keep Sam Pittman, the best offensive line coach in the nation too. Pruitt addressed that quickly and is still in pursuit of improvement. When a football program was in as bad a shape as what Jones left, you do not restore it in a couple of years either. Essentially, it will take 5 to 7 years to get the Vols competitive again. Be patient, support Coach Pruitt and give him the time to do so. Look at Kentucky as an example, Stoops came to Kentucky in 2013 in a horrible program. Year by year he has improved the program...this is 7 years into the process. Give him three more years and he is going to be very competitive in the SEC. The same will happen to Pruitt if we stay behind him and give him our support. Pruitt did not throw two intersections and a fumble that resulted in 17 Kentucky quick points....blame that on QB JG. Some are demanding a coaching change...this would only worsen the situation. Stay the course, support Pruitt and we will get back competitive again...that comes when we can end up beating or being competitive with Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
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Are you, like, his brother or something?
 
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#141
#141
Spook1 said:
Butch Jones left the Vols football program in horrible shape. He had no linemen essentially above 300 pounds and absolutely no speed. Jones refused to keep Sam Pittman, the best offensive line coach in the nation too. Pruitt addressed that quickly and is still in pursuit of improvement. When a football program was in as bad a shape as what Jones left, you do not restore it in a couple of years either. Essentially, it will take 5 to 7 years to get the Vols competitive again. Be patient, support Coach Pruitt and give him the time to do so. Look at Kentucky as an example, Stoops came to Kentucky in 2013 in a horrible program. Year by year he has improved the program...this is 7 years into the process. Give him three more years and he is going to be very competitive in the SEC. The same will happen to Pruitt if we stay behind him and give him our support. Pruitt did not throw two intersections and a fumble that resulted in 17 Kentucky quick points....blame that on QB JG. Some are demanding a coaching change...this would only worsen the situation. Stay the course, support Pruitt and we will get back competitive again...that comes when we can end up beating or being competitive with Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
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5-7 years is just asinine. Dooley left the team in worse shape than Butch yet Butch had a playoff caliber team in years 3 & 4 ( I say playoff caliber because these teams should’ve finished 10-2 at least and won the East if not for Butch’s own incompetence). 3 years should be the standard for making the team competitive period.
 
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#142
#142
Volsfaninva917 said:
When things are going backward in year 3 that starts sending up red flags, the QB situation is no longer about JG it's all about Pruitt and it's 100% on him. Year 3 and he's still finding new lows
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it all remains a work in progress, but it seems like we take a step forward and 2 steps back, I hope we aren't the New York Jets of the SEC
 
#143
#143
VolFootballIsLife said:
1. Recruiting
2. Great Defensive Mind

That is a formula for success at this level. I think we are solid in most position groups. He was screwed with QB situation when he walked in the door. But I think he answered that finally in recruiting last year... and possibly 2021 as well.
Click to expand...

We're middle of the pack (SEC) recruiting so he's not setting the world on fire there. He has 7-25 point or more beat downs on his head coaching resume so far (most in UT history for a HC) so I have to question the assumption of him having a "great defensive mind".
 
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#144
#144
Firebirdparts said:
I really do think that is how you get where you are today. If you look at Tennessee's rebuild after Bill Battle, he was fired in 1976, and Tennessee won a national championship in 1998. That's 22 years. It would be hard to argue that the team didn't get better for a long time. It was a little irregular under Johnny Majors, with a few bumps, but I really think the general trend was up for a long time.
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I'm not talking about national championships. The "trend" you talk about (1976 after Battle fired) was 45 years ago!!!!!) It's a different world of sports than what it was in 1976!
 
#145
#145
ClockworkOrange said:
I'm the eternal optimist...but even to me this situation feels dangerously close to the proverbial shampoo instructions: "lather, rinse, repeat."
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This is what happens if we keep replacing coaches every four years. Unless you have a Sabanesque hire in the wings CJP will grow this program. People are pissed, and I get that, but burning down the building again is both foolish and short sighted. CJP and this staff know football, can recruit and will get us there. I agree w/OP; we need patience.

The honest truth is we may never see the Vols at the level of CFB Playoffs (i.e. the Manning years) in the next 5 years. There is more parity in the SEC and CFB as a whole and a few teams (Clem, OSU, Bama) that are simply a notch above the rest of CFB. You can beat them, but its an off day for them and a perfect one for us. UGA is a far better team than they showed against Bama but they pulled a Tenn and blew the 2nd half.

We SHOULD be competitive to win the East in a couple years (HB Jr/Sr year) or there will be justification in a new coach.
 
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