Is Pruitt Tennessee’s last big time chance?

Pruitt wins big here = Pruitt goes to Bama when Saban retires

Pruitt doesn’t win much of anything here = another coaching change in the next 5-10 years.

I know that’s cynical, but it’s the reality. So no, Pruitt is not the long term guy unfortunately. But if he wins big and goes to Bama, we will have our pick of whoever we want.
If Pruitt wins big here there is no reason to go to Alabama.

First off, I am 100% on the Pruitt train. But Pruitt will not have five years or more to turn the program around. Serious progress toward championships (at least SEC) after three years or he's gone. No more crapping around. No more Dooley/Jones tryouts. It's time to win again at Tennessee. GBO!!!
 
No, even if Pruitt flames out, a school like UT is still only one right hire from the big time. See Clemson and many others.
 
No it doesn't mean he goes to Bama! That 1st call will be to Dabo Sweeney who played and coached at Alabama plus is from Alabama and is the only one who is consistently beating them now. Why would they call CJP?

CJP will be here for a while unless he creates the next dumpster fire. I don't see that happening at this point as I'm already impressed with the way he is running the program and meshing with Fulmer.
Dabo may be the first call but that doesn’t mean he says yes. And at this point he is a god at Clemson. Job for life. I don’t seem him leaving. CJP would have to win at that level here to make it interesting.
 
WOW. I just cannot disagree more with this viewpoint.

It was IMPATIENCE that led Hamilton to hire Derek the Dufus when he could've allowed Kippy Brown to remain as interim for the 2010 season
in an effort to steady the ship.

We MUST give CJP 5 years to straighten this mess out.
He gets 5 years before making significant noise... the program sinks back to the point it was when all this started. Want evidence? Witness Jones. Came in with energy and got some good recruits. Choked in years two and 3... and the recruiting dried up. As a result, Pruitt inherited a mess. If someone likes him takes over after Jones' year 3... then they might have been able to make more progress without having to take 10 steps backward first.

You can disagree. But history demonstrates that the impatient find their "guy" faster than the patient. The patient... are generally mired in mediocrity at best.
 
He gets 5 years before making significant noise... the program sinks back to the point it was when all this started. Want evidence? Witness Jones. Came in with energy and got some good recruits. Choked in years two and 3... and the recruiting dried up. As a result, Pruitt inherited a mess. If someone likes him takes over after Jones' year 3... then they might have been able to make more progress without having to take 10 steps backward first.

You can disagree. But history demonstrates that the impatient find their "guy" faster than the patient. The patient... are generally mired in mediocrity at best.

CJP has already made more noise than the previous 2 coaches by beating a team from the SEC West and a ranked team in year #1
with the worst team I've ever seen at Tennessee since I've been watching them play in 1979.

What's goals does CJP need to meet by the end of his 3rd year to keep his job?
 
If Pruitt wins big here there is no reason to go to Alabama.

First off, I am 100% on the Pruitt train. But Pruitt will not have five years or more to turn the program around. Serious progress toward championships (at least SEC) after three years or he's gone. No more crapping around. No more Dooley/Jones tryouts. It's time to win again at Tennessee. GBO!!!

No.

We fire him after 3 years, we’re right back in the same boat yet again.
 
CJP has already made more noise than the previous 2 coaches by beating a team from the SEC West and a ranked team in year #1
with the worst team I've ever seen at Tennessee since I've been watching them play in 1979.

What's goals does CJP need to meet by the end of his 3rd year to keep his job?
I know this isn't the answer you want but whatever makes recruits and fans believe he's going to win championships. IMO, that will mean making a serious challenge for the East, a 10 win season, or perhaps beating Bama. I don't think he can afford to be like Jones and lose to a lot of teams that he should have beaten.

Pretty obviously the beat downs have to stop. He needs to be competitive every week.
 
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No.

We fire him after 3 years, we’re right back in the same boat yet again.
Nope. We keep him 5 mediocre years like Jones... we're even worse off. You have to be ruthless. You cannot be "patient"... unless your goal is mediocrity.
 
We’ve seen the carousel go round for over a decade now. Each time it seems we fall further and further down.

We started with Kiffin, who was one of the hottest names in the market and by most accounts a real get for a program that was just a couple years removed from playing in the SEC championship game.

Once that mattress fire burned out we went with a Dooley, a mediocre at best head coach who had some success (albeit only when compared to a historically bad program’s track record).

That too fizzled out. Our next move? Butch Jones. A coach that had a fair amount of success at a much smaller school (and also lost to the coach we had just fired). But still a man with head coaching experiences.

Now we have gone to Pruitt. A top tier assistant who has proven his worth in that arena, but has no head coaching experience (maybe at the high school level?? I don’t think so).

What’s next? Tennessee is becoming a school more known for sending head coaches to the ranks of interns than for winning big time ball games. Is Pruitt our last “big fish” candidate?

I am glad he is here but the last time for us to get a big fish was the Jones hire, we chose not to do it. The big fish hire was not possible this time nor will it next time. Now we must win using green apples. I think Fulmer did as well as he could under the circumstances but this is an unproven candidate. Additionally the UT recruiting prowess is gone and he is left with the power of being in the SEC. He must win without getting top 5 recruiting classes. The players he gets must be coached up and game day coaching must be top notch. I have a feeling he can get the job done.
 
One idiot pulls his mattress out of his dorm room and sets it on fire and from then of for years after we're all a bunch of mattress burners.
At least they forget the buttchuggers.
 
Pruitt was closer to a minnow than a big fish when we hired him as HC. That doesn't mean he won't succeed (see Dabo Swinney) but let's not re-write history here either.....

You are trying to exactly that (re-write history). Pruitt was no minnow. He was consistently listed as one of the next up and coming coordinators to make HC. The list was usually topped by Scott Frost but Pruitt was not far behind. With 4 National Championships won as DC at 3 different schools, former 247 Recruiter of the Year and a Saban acolyte - no, Pruitt was not a minnow. He simply was not on the "proven" HC list (nor is he yet).

But as we saw Pruitt's defense destroy Ga, you had better believe people would have come calling for him soon thereafter. Many didnt before simply because they thought he was likely waiting to be Saban's replacement - and if you listened to the groaning from the bubba fanbase when he left, that was what they thought too.
 
I think for Pruitt to say the team has to see significant improvement. Last year wasn't impressive at all. Yes, they beat Auburn and Kentucky but lost to Vandy. Honestly I didn't see the team "Get Better" as the year went on. Yeah, I know, injuries but all teams have that. I did not observe our team last year get fundamentally better as the season progressed. That is a problem.

As much as I disliked Kiffin, from week to week to week if you saw a problem one week. Missed routes, missed tackles, whatever, it got fixed the next week. Last year as during the Dooley and Jones years we did not fix mistakes. The same mistakes continued and got worse.
 
We’ve seen the carousel go round for over a decade now. Each time it seems we fall further and further down.

We started with Kiffin, who was one of the hottest names in the market and by most accounts a real get for a program that was just a couple years removed from playing in the SEC championship game.

Once that mattress fire burned out we went with a Dooley, a mediocre at best head coach who had some success (albeit only when compared to a historically bad program’s track record).

That too fizzled out. Our next move? Butch Jones. A coach that had a fair amount of success at a much smaller school (and also lost to the coach we had just fired). But still a man with head coaching experiences.

Now we have gone to Pruitt. A top tier assistant who has proven his worth in that arena, but has no head coaching experience (maybe at the high school level?? I don’t think so).

What’s next? Tennessee is becoming a school more known for sending head coaches to the ranks of interns than for winning big time ball games. Is Pruitt our last “big fish” candidate?
Not really. Florida was mostly irrelevant in College Football for the first 80 years of their existence until Spurrier came along. Everything thing can change with the right or wrong coach
 
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Butch and his O were very hot commodity at the time, the talking heads raved about him. He was not ready for primetime. The pressure and limelight burned him. At a school that doesnt have that pressure that gives him a second chance will likely find success for him.

Dooley was a desperate mistake. He has found success as an OC and just dont believe he will find success at a P5 program as a head coach.

If Pruitt doesn't find success here he will be a head coach again. He is a PROVEN D coach and has the pedigree of various successful P5 programs. If he is forced out here he will be a head coach again quickly unless he is given a show cause.

We took Butch from Colorado. The other school looking at him was Kentucky. He was not a hot commodity.
 
If Pruitt wins big here he 100% goes to Bama if offered, it is what it is. I just hope he can get us a Natty before he bolts and maybe Tee will have enough experience to take over so we don’t have to go through a search.

I feel like they are grooming Tee to be the OC after Chaney even though Tee has some experience.
 
I know this isn't the answer you want but whatever makes recruits and fans believe he's going to win championships. IMO, that will mean making a serious challenge for the East, a 10 win season, or perhaps beating Bama. I don't think he can afford to be like Jones and lose to a lot of teams that he should have beaten.

Pretty obviously the beat downs have to stop. He needs to be competitive every week.

I made my comments about giving him 5 years because I think it will take that long for him to build a team from NOTHING to WIN the East.
Winning the East will require a team of starters predominately made up of Juniors and Seniors--especially on the OL and DL.

The OL and DL, and LBs Jones left behind are NOT gonna get it done.
And NO ONE in the SEC can afford to hire a fraud like Jones.

It goes without saying that CJP must continue to recruit well--or get his guys to play at a level beyond themselves like the '85 Vols did.

I agree that the beat downs must cease.
I would add that CJP needs to re-establish our dominance over teams like Vandy, KY.
We need to be able to dominate Mizzou, too.

We need to be able to compete with UGA, Fla, and Bama for a full 4 quarters every time we play.

There's a WIDE gap in talent and depth between us, UGA, and BAMA--that needs to change.

Anyone who thinks we have quality depth on this team is just flat out stupid.

9-3 in year 3 would not be a sufficient reason to show CJP the door IMO.

We could finish 9-3 and still not win the East....but be competitive.
 
If Pruitt does nothing more than stabilize the program, recruit at least decently, restock the roster and get the Vols competitive with consistent 8 win seasons (hopefully with an occasional 9-10 win season), he will have positioned the team for future success. If he does that, and then departs (voluntarily or otherwise) UT will be in a much stronger position to hire a proven HFC. Of course I hope he does much better than that and stays for a long time, but progress rarely runs in a straight, upward trajectory. The program needs stability more than anything right now. It would also be helpful if UGA and Clemson would descend back to earth a bit. TN was historically good when it could recruit heavily in GA and the Carolinas. That has proven more difficult with UGA and Clemson's ascendancy.
 
Pruitt wins big here = Pruitt goes to Bama when Saban retires

Pruitt doesn’t win much of anything here = another coaching change in the next 5-10 years.

I know that’s cynical, but it’s the reality. So no, Pruitt is not the long term guy unfortunately. But if he wins big and goes to Bama, we will have our pick of whoever we want.
Well, at least the pick of whomever is available.
Remember, JP is a Bammer. He has to play us every year. If we are in such a good place, that Bama calls on him, we might be the biggest roadblock he faces. So, leaving us at any disadvantage only helps him, at Bama. Also, he will drag recruits with him, to Bama, and probably leave us with very few options, as a new HC. Unless, Tee Martin, or someone already embedded in the program, takes over.
 
The nature of the divisions makes it more likely for Arkansas to have bad seasons year after year after year.

The East isn’t like that and a lot what Tennessee has experienced is self inflicted. There is no reason for a power school in this division to be this bad this long with two baked wins on the schedule (Vandy/KY).

If Arkansas is winning, it not only means Arkansas is doing something right, it means the folks at Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and A&M are screwing up.

Same for Missouri. In order to win, they have to do things right, but Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina have to help them.
I'll agree with you there. I'll go a step further. UGA's ascent to the top is a direct result of UT's and UF's fall. Florida is on the rise. UT ..........we'll see. If UT joins UF in rising, UGA will fall, and level out. Then we'll see the extent of Kirby's coaching ability.
 
That’s a logical assumption. The allure would certainly be there for Pruitt, but there may be no coach in the history of college football who will face more unreasonable or higher expectations than Saban’s immediate successor. And what personal credit would he receive for simply maintaining the monster that Saban created? Following a legend is NEVER an enviable task. The only marquis program that I can think of who successfully navigated such a coaching transition was Nebraska during the Devaney-Osborne run and they played in the Big Eight when it was more properly the “Big Two and Little Six.”
IMO if Pruitt is doing well at UT he won't leave for Bama. He's already got the staff in place to Excel and you can't expect all of them to follow him. Plus there's no way like you said that someone is gonna replicate what saban has done.
 
I made my comments about giving him 5 years because I think it will take that long for him to build a team from NOTHING to WIN the East.
Winning the East will require a team of starters predominately made up of Juniors and Seniors--especially on the OL and DL.

The OL and DL, and LBs Jones left behind are NOT gonna get it done.
And NO ONE in the SEC can afford to hire a fraud like Jones.

It goes without saying that CJP must continue to recruit well--or get his guys to play at a level beyond themselves like the '85 Vols did.

I agree that the beat downs must cease.
I would add that CJP needs to re-establish our dominance over teams like Vandy, KY.
We need to be able to dominate Mizzou, too.

We need to be able to compete with UGA, Fla, and Bama for a full 4 quarters every time we play.

There's a WIDE gap in talent and depth between us, UGA, and BAMA--that needs to change.

Anyone who thinks we have quality depth on this team is just flat out stupid.

9-3 in year 3 would not be a sufficient reason to show CJP the door IMO.

We could finish 9-3 and still not win the East....but be competitive.
My point isn't based on what I think is fair or even the practicality of your reasons. Mine is based on the reality of perceptions. New coaches have an advantage with some top tier recruits because they can sell dreams like Jones and Kiffin did. Established winners can get top recruits for obvious reasons. After a couple of years, the shine wears off. If recruits don't see tangible reasons to believe then they revert to the first two categories.

A lot of people here are giving Mizzou "props". IMO, Mizzou will never rise above mediocre and also ran.... precisely because they are "patient". They will never consistently compete for top recruits in the numbers required to get to the top tier. They have nice facilities. Columbia is a great town. There's lots of recreation close by. It is a very good school. But they like UT don't have a great home recruiting base. They need to win and have at least a realistic chance to reach the top to attract the best. Their patience assures that won't be the perception.
 
My point isn't based on what I think is fair or even the practicality of your reasons. Mine is based on the reality of perceptions. New coaches have an advantage with some top tier recruits because they can sell dreams like Jones and Kiffin did. Established winners can get top recruits for obvious reasons. After a couple of years, the shine wears off. If recruits don't see tangible reasons to believe then they revert to the first two categories.

A lot of people here are giving Mizzou "props". IMO, Mizzou will never rise above mediocre and also ran.... precisely because they are "patient". They will never consistently compete for top recruits in the numbers required to get to the top tier. They have nice facilities. Columbia is a great town. There's lots of recreation close by. It is a very good school. But they like UT don't have a great home recruiting base. They need to win and have at least a realistic chance to reach the top to attract the best. Their patience assures that won't be the perception.


I wonder what would've happened at Clemson if they would've followed your logic in evaluating Dabo.

Perception does nothing for anyone except build a house of cards.

We can agree to disagree.
 
IMO Pruitt will get his 5 yrs and will succeed at least to the point that we are in contention for the SEC East every year and making a NY day bowl game is a given.
He has the best situation a new coach could have:
1. Fulmer hired him and believes in him and doesn't want to look bad on his FB hire.
2. Fulmer has given him a blank check to rebuild the FB program.
3. UT has the facilities, fan base. money and anything else needed to succeed.
4. Pruitt is a FB guy thru and thru and knows what championship teams look like, so does his staff. He will use all of the above to be successful.

As for going to Bama, I don'tthink he will if he has worked 5 yrs to get he program to where he wants it and leave. Who in their right mind wants to follow Saban. Thats suicide for any coach. Bar and expectations are too high. As for Dabo, he has new multi-yr contract with an AL buyout clause it in. $5M buyout or anyone else, $10M buyout for Bama. He agreed to that so that tells me he is not going to Bama.
 
If Pruitt is a winner he will go back to Bama after Saban. If not then its the SOS.
Tennessee will have to pay big for an already big time winner. We know that want happen.
So it continues into the depths.
 

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