How did you know?

#77
#77
When he lost to Mizzou 50-17 at home then to Vandy 38-13 the following week in 2018. The team just rolled over and quit going into the Mizzou game we were 5-5 and coming off a big win vs the best Kentucky team in years and just needed to win one of the final two to get bowl eligible but we got rolled instead. That was my first indication that he wouldn’t make it long here and then Georgia St. just confirmed it.
 
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#78
#78
Pruitt did have that stretch where we actually had one of the nation's longest winning streaks or tied for the longest? Can't remember....but it appeared he actually did have ability. He made a bad decision to stick to JG which was his death knell. I don't think he's completely incompetent. I think he could be a decent hc at a mid major...his problem was/is not being smart enough to be a cutting edge modern coach. I did not realize this until well into his tenure cuz I was being optimistic thinking his recruiting was so good and only gonna get better. Recruiting is HUGE and he seemed to be good at that. I held out hope for him right up till he got fired actually... mostly due to his recruiting ability.
 
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#80
#80
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
As others have said, he'd had a recruiting expenses credit card for over a decade by the time he got to Knoxville but was never intellectually curious enough to find out what asparagus is.

I'm not asking him to like it (I don't) but to not know what it is, at his age and with his access to decent meals over the years, is scary on a "This guy is raising children?" level much less coaching.
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Grilled asparagus, lightly coated with olive oil and salt and pepper is amazing!!
 
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#82
#82
Vollifer1949 said:
Forgive me if this this has been posted before. But for you folks who correctly predicted Pruitt would fail (I was very much on the Pruitt bandwagon) What was your clue that he would be a disaster?
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Nobody knew if he would succeed or fail. They had a 50/50 chance of being right or wrong. Anyone that says they knew is not being honest.
 
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#83
#83
utvols74 said:
Because Fulmer turned UT in his personal Be-otch - that's why.
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1. I didn't ask you.

2. He's a gator so he should be happy that "Fulmer turned UT in his personal Be-otch".

3. UT allowed it, they practically asked for it. Imo they (not we as in fans) deserved it.
 
#85
#85
It’s a pattern of refusing to take proper risk. Instead the admin chose what they thought were safe hires.

Practically that resulted in cheap “up and comers” that were basically “Google coaches”. Knowing how competitive the SEC is they knew that formula would fail or at least was settling for mediocrity. Not to mention the loosing records or less than stellar life time win/loss records.

This is true for Dooley, Jones, and Pruitt. Coach H does break this mold somewhat. He isn’t entirely unknown and has done very well as a HC at a previous stop. His record has gotten worse each year and if he ultimately fails that’ll probably be added to the pile of reason to avoid a HC hire.

That’s why so many wanted a “big name” hire. It breaks the mold entire. Winning record at the highest level. Established proven systems. Network of successful assistants to pull from. Recruiting strongholds in major markets. Etc etc.

I won’t slam people for being optimistic but we had enough data to reasonably expect failure with each budget hire. All of us just realized it at different times for a host of reasons.
 
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#87
#87
ric1958 said:
Nobody knew if he would succeed or fail. They had a 50/50 chance of being right or wrong. Anyone that says they knew is not being honest.
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The success rate for coaches making it to their 6th year is far less than 50%. Those that succeed usually fall into 4 categories

1. A head coach with a proven winning track record that had outperformed historic norms at prior job
2. A coach already on staff that is bumped up when a coach leaves
3. An assistant that is in high demand annually for HC jobs (Smart going to UGA, Mullen going to MSU)
4. A coach that inherits players needed to immediately run schemes (Pruitt wanted to run old-school style schemes with finesse players inherited from Butch)

Pruitt did not check any of those boxes. The success rate for all coaches is far less than 50%. The success rate for coaches that do not have these categories is much less than that).
 
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#88
#88
BigOrangeMojo said:
1. He wasn't wanted by any other school as a HC. Much lesser schools backed off due to personality issues.
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While I hoped he would succeed, this was by far the biggest red flag. He had 4 national championship rings, yet no school wanted him as their HC.
 
#89
#89
Count me as a late bloomer.

I thought he had the program heading in the right direction until the Kentucky game and I knew then. Also a good hint in the Georgia second half.

Before that I just thought he was missing key pieces to the team.

I'm waiting for Friend to be named best OL Coach in the SEC now that he is free of CJP micromanagement. That will be telling if he does.
 
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#90
#90
I really did have a problem with his speech. I have been around numerous people that were grammatically challenged and I don't judge them harshly. But Pruitt, who has plied his trade in academia, seemed immune from evolving and learning how to communicate. It is baffling. To me it was an indicator I chose to ignore. Now, if my cardiologist came in and started talking like that, I'd run out of her office in my underwear.
 
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#91
#91
ftsandersvol said:
While I hoped he would succeed, this was by far the biggest red flag. He had 4 national championship rings, yet no school wanted him as their HC.
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I would have killed to get Chip Kelly. Florida wanted him, UCLA wanted and got him and I'm sure other schools wanted him. Turns out everyone is wrong sometimes....except "some of us" here on Volnation, they know errthang.

My point is I don't know why some people make such a big deal about being right or wrong about a coach. It's really weird how the "some of us" crowd always seem so happy and satisfied after a coach fails, just like they said he would.

Yay.
 
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#92
#92
I should’ve known so much earlier. But he showed flashes of competency like 2018 Auburn, Kentucky. 2019 Bama and South Carolina. Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas sealed the deal for me against him. If he let anyone but JG play we probably win 2-3 of those games. I think HB has the potential to be a top player, I’m not saying he definitely will but I saw so much upside
 
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#93
#93
Behr said:
I would have killed to get Chip Kelly. Florida wanted him, UCLA wanted and got him and I'm sure other schools wanted him. Turns out everyone is wrong sometimes....except "some of us" here on Volnation, they know errthang.

My point is I don't know why some people make such a big deal about being right or wrong about a coach. It's really weird how the "some of us" crowd always seem so happy and satisfied after a coach fails, just like they said he would.

Yay.
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Chip’s offense is no longer particularly unique or innovative. Combine that with traditionally bad defense and unwillingness to recruit and you’ll have mediocrity at best
 
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#94
#94
100% the GA ST game. Then backed it up with a L to a terrible BYU team. Hard to get up to play for a coach who was telling everyone how bad of a team he had inherited and none of the players were decent.
 
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#95
#95
Vollifer1949 said:
Forgive me if this this has been posted before. But for you folks who correctly predicted Pruitt would fail (I was very much on the Pruitt bandwagon) What was your clue that he would be a disaster?
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coin-flip.gif
 
#98
#98
Naively, I bought in thinking Fulmer knew a good coach when he saw one. After seeing Pruitt do his thing, I began to recall some of his hires after the Cut and Chavis day and began to feel like a dumba$$ for ever thinking Fulmer would make a great hire in such a short period of time. I also believed that Fulmer was the perfect choice to be AD all the while ignoring his lack of experience in such a position. Again, I felt like a dumba$$. Guess the verdict is in....I'm a dumba$$.
 
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#99
#99
BigOrangeMojo said:
1. He wasn't wanted by any other school as a HC. Much lesser schools backed off due to personality issues.
2. He had a reputation for being abrasive. I worried about culture and hiring assistants. That really became really evident with hiring Felton and Osovet into assistant roles when they weren't wanted by any other P5 program (or D1, D2, D3 program with Osovet)
3. He had reputation for questionable ethics (exits from FSU and UGA) as well as a slimeball mentor in Rush Probst.
4. His first two coordinators had no P5 coordinating experience. That plus first year HC = disaster in 2018.
5. His 2018 team couldn't make adjustments at halftime and weren't ready to start the game. This really became a huge issue in 2020 but it was evident all along.
6. His teams quit the last 2 games in 2018.
7. Georgia State

There were a lot of warning signs...
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This, and count me among the fools that thought he could, and would, do well here.

Meanwhile, Go Vols!
 
#100
#100
CAVPUT said:
Naively, I bought in thinking Fulmer knew a good coach when he saw one. After seeing Pruitt do his thing, I began to recall some of his hires after the Cut and Chavis day and began to feel like a dumba$$ for ever thinking Fulmer would make a great hire in such a short period of time. I also believed that Fulmer was the perfect choice to be AD all the while ignoring his lack of experience in such a position. Again, I felt like a dumba$$. Guess the verdict is in....I'm a dumba$$.
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That would be exactly the way I perceived the situation before I saw the product, of course my orange colored glasses often distort reality
 
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