Let's be honest

Ask me after feb. he’s gonna need to start winning recruiting battles and bring in top 5 classes in order to get us back in the mix. That’s just reality.
 
Well that being said we should have thrown a fair amount of money to Les Miles and give his coordinators good money too as to secure a quality staff for several years. That would have been a safer bet IMO. We will soon see if that gamble will pay out. I think Pruitt has a great chance of becoming a good head coach...I just hope it's not after we fire him that he does.

Les, Mike Leach, Dan Mullen...all 3 showed interest. And I think it’s obvious now that Les wanted to keep coaching. He just took a job at KU lol. Never going to win there, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he has more success there than Pruitt has in Knoxville.
 
Les, Mike Leach, Dan Mullen...all 3 showed interest. And I think it’s obvious now that Les wanted to keep coaching. He just took a job at KU lol. Never going to win there, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he has more success there than Pruitt has in Knoxville.
So Les Miles gets fired from LSU for essentially being their mark Richt and your big idea to get Tennessee back to championships is to bring in a coach just fired because he couldn't win championships at LSU? What's that definition of insanity again? I swear some of you are so desperate you have no patience, it's sad because you also have no influence on the decisions that apparently affect your life so much.
 
So Les Miles gets fired from LSU for essentially being their mark Richt and your big idea to get Tennessee back to championships is to bring in a coach just fired because he couldn't win championships at LSU? What's that definition of insanity again? I swear some of you are so desperate you have no patience, it's sad because you also have no influence on the decisions that apparently affect your life so much.

Uhhh...not sure the football coach at Tennessee really changes my life one way or the other. I made 6 figures during the Butch Jones era, and I make 6 figures now. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Edit: I guess now I’m actually saving money by not going to as many games.
 
Good post. But I will disagree with wanting Les Miles over him. Miles was vastly overrated and will more than likely tank miserably at Kansas. But we will have to deal with Mullen for a long time, and that's not good. Plus, Mullen's system - with Florida athletes as opposed to MSU ones - could actually put UF over the top and occasionally beat Bama. Pruitt, who is a Saban clone, will never beat his old coach.
Should we fire him if it doesn't work out? No point. We will just go get another bargain basement experiment. May as well keep him regardless - at least as long as Fulmer and Haslam are around.
 
As always I will support a coach until he proves he cannot get the job done. He is a hard nosed competitive guy that took over an incredibly tough rebuild and people need to pump the breaks on unfairly judging him to this point. We will see improvement next year but it still will not be enough for most who do not have real expectations considering where our program is.

I like Pruitt and his no nonsense attitude, you have to be a bit of an ass in some form to be a winner in football. Mark Richt is an incredibly nice guy and unfortunately I believe that was his biggest downfall.
One heck of a coach but not stern and hard nosed enough to take what he wanted.
 
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No flame here bro, the dude has a big crimson A tatooed on his left shoulder blade. Let that sink in for just a minute. The only coach that CPF saw fit to hire is a full blooded died in the wool bammer. That not only irks me but I find it almost remarkable. The fact that he speaks like someone with a 5th grade education just makes it worse. I hope he wins big but I am with you, dont like the dude at all.
Showering with the coach?
 
As always I will support a coach until he proves he cannot get the job done. He is a hard nosed competitive guy that took over an incredibly tough rebuild and people need to pump the breaks on unfairly judging him to this point. We will see improvement next year but it still will not be enough for most who do not have real expectations considering where our program is.

I like Pruitt and his no nonsense attitude, you have to be a bit of an ass in some form to be a winner in football. Mark Richt is an incredibly nice guy and unfortunately I believe that was his biggest downfall.
One heck of a coach but not stern and hard nosed enough to take what he wanted.
Lombardi was the drill instructor type of coach. A lot of players need that toughness in a coach as it creates discipline and respect. It's as about as old school as it's gonna get and it's a simple philosophy.......you recruit some half-way decent players, stay on them to get stronger and learn to execute. UT can't execute well because they are having trouble with the 1st step....the LOS.
Personality has little to do with it. Do UT fans want wins or a coach that doesn't speak well? As the pressers have gone by this season Pruitt doesn't like doing them because it's the same old song and dance each week and he, being about as genuine as they come, has to put a delicate spin on it to be accepted. If he told the total truth he'd be very disliked. He's in an uncomfortable situation only to a point because he should have known to some extent how tough the situation was gonna be.
I'm more than certain CJP is not only a good hire but the best hire UT could have made to bring this team back to a high level. I think he's more patient than we as fans are. He will develop the players that want to be developed. He's not gonna set the world on fire on the recruiting trail in the next couple of years simply because of the loser image UT has now.
Lastly...and I guarantee you that I won't post or read another negative thread ! This is a very divisive and negative thread. The OP should be banned. There's not a coach or a staff in America that could clean this mess up in one or two seasons....3 sorry azz AD's in a row and an administration that could care less. Word travels fast in coaching circles....they pretend to want to come here just to get a bump in pay or they will come with that hand out. The reality is that UT got a steal with this staff and finally it's Thanksgiving. UT fans should be very thankful that we got the coach we have and back him and support him and the staff and players. Negativity breeds negativity and there's truthfully a reason this is going on all over the world but a football forum is no place to get into that. Just hang with ole cornbread Pruitt for a couple of years with a positive attitude and everything will work out......a'ight? Count your blessings daily.
 
2013, Butch Jones first season. 5-7 record. We averaged 96,000.

2018, Jeremy Pruitt's first season. 5-6 record. 92,869 average attendance. 3 games didn't even hit 90k.

As far as attendance is concerned, Jones' first season we averaged 95,584. This season we averaged 92,983 (Volswire.com had an addition error). That's only a difference of 2601. When you consider higher ticket prices, that we came off our worst season ever (in terms of total losses and SEC W-L), and the fact last season was our first losing season in Neyland since 1989, it's a wonder attendance wasn't even lower!

As far as whether I like Pruitt or not, ask me again after the season and after this recruiting cycle!

Go Vols!!!
 
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Les, Mike Leach, Dan Mullen...all 3 showed interest. And I think it’s obvious now that Les wanted to keep coaching. He just took a job at KU lol. Never going to win there, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he has more success there than Pruitt has in Knoxville.

Les just signed on with a basketball school that is averaging 2 wins a year since 2010. Its ironic given all the job turnover across the country the last 2 years. So yeah, thats worth a chuckle I suppose. Its not like he was in high demand.

Leach has spent his entire head coaching career (17 years) in either Lubbock Tx, or Pullman, Wa.

Dan Mullen was waiting on UF to open up, while Currie was trying to hire Schiano.

Leach was probably the most realistic and worst fit of that group.
 
Les just signed on with a basketball school that is averaging 2 wins a year since 2010. Its ironic given all the job turnover across the country the last 2 years. So yeah, thats worth a chuckle I suppose. Its not like he was in high demand.

Leach has spent his entire head coaching career (17 years) in either Lubbock Tx, or Pullman, Wa.

Dan Mullen was waiting on UF to open up, while Currie was trying to hire Schiano.

Leach was probably the most realistic and worst fit of that group.

What cracks me up dude, is these guys talk like they can't wait to fire Pruitt so.....wait for it.....we get to go through another one of our Highly successful coaching searches. No doubt we spend money and get it right, next time. Hahaha.

They can't even wait for season to be over.

"We could have had Les Miles". Lol.

Amazing.
 
Once the season is over and UK is unranked can we change the "beating 2 ranked SEC teams" quote that is bandied about so readily to "beating 2 very overranked SEC teams" or maybe " beating 2 SEC teams that were laughably ranked when we played them"? I mean that would be much more accurate, wouldn't it?


If we had talent enough to beat "2 ranked SEC teams" how the hell come we got boat-raced by Mizoo and are wringing our hands worrying about Vandy?

Not all that long ago.

If it was anyone but Caintuck... Hate to give them that much credit. But it was a damned fine win!

Almost begs the question who you really hate giving credit to, but that's beside the comical and ironic part. Lol
 
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What cracks me up dude, is these guys talk like they can't wait to fire Pruitt so.....wait for it.....we get to go through another one of our Highly successful coaching searches. No doubt we spend money and get it right, next time. Hahaha.

They can't even wait for season to be over.

"We could have had Les Miles". Lol.

Amazing.
Yeah, After Kiffin, Dooley, Jones and now Pruitt we should have all the confidence in the world in those pulling the strings and writing the checks.

Given the amount of firings since Les was fired at LSU everybody got fooled by Kansas holding out an extra year and still getting him.
 
This to an extent. He's going to get three years and let's face facts, the talent pool he and his staff inherited wasn't exactly barren, but the developed talent pool certainly was. There are very few freshmen in the SEC that come in and make a significant Year 1 impact. Even less so for those that don't get developed along the way.

If this year's Freshman and Sophomore classes aren't playing any better in Year 3, we'll know for sure he isn't the guy. But with all things, he has to be given time.

As a reminder to the OP, he may bleed "crimson" all day long, but I'd dare say he's smart enough to realize this is his job "interview" for the position whenever Saban hangs it up. We all know Saban will leave eventually and Bama will pretty much get whomever they want. Would they want a coach, even with deep roots in Bama, that's been mediocre at best in a fairly down SEC East? Or someone who's been challenging for the Championship game more often than not?
So you’ve already come to the conclusion that he will be decent at best? Some of y’all dont know jack crap about football. There wasn’t developed talent here before he got the job so I didn’t understand that comment. If you have noticed our two best playmakers on defense are both recruits he had brought in and coached up. And the ones that were recruited by Butch, some of them has had their play elevated but most of them have to many tendencies that fall back to their old habits.
 
So you’ve already come to the conclusion that he will be decent at best? Some of y’all dont know jack crap about football. There wasn’t developed talent here before he got the job so I didn’t understand that comment. If you have noticed our two best playmakers on defense are both recruits he had brought in and coached up. And the ones that were recruited by Butch, some of them has had their play elevated but most of them have to many tendencies that fall back to their old habits.

I'm sorry, can you point to where I said anything along those lines in the post you quoted? Furthermore, which part of "he gets his three years" was unclear?

Unwad your panties, Sparky, he gets the same chance Dooley, Butch and Kiffin had with me.
 
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I know a lot of you are internet tough guys and actual conversation is far less likely than getting flamed. I don't hold it against you, it's just the East Tennessean fighter blood that flows through your veins. And no, this isn't a "knee jerk" reaction after a loss thread. This is a legitimate question/concern/conversation/get the gears in your head turning thread.

Do any of you guys actually like our coach? I know winning cures all. But I mean do you actually like the dude? Dig deep. Actually think about the question. Are you proud to call Jeremy Pruitt the coach of our beloved Vols? Or did Fulmer and our university totally just whiff the hell out of this thing the way they always do?

It would be fair to wait until the end of the season to judge, and even then seems a bit premature. But I'm not necessarily talking about his win/loss record. I'm talking about him as a representative of our program. Forget the 5-6 start. I can look beyond that.

Most of you are going to throw hateful things in my direction and tell me to go back to my momma's basement, but some numbers tell me that others may feel the same.

2009, Lane Kiffin's first and only season. 7-6 record. We averaged 100,000 fans in the seats.

2010, Dools first season. 6-7 record. We averaged 100,000.

2013, Butch Jones first season. 5-7 record. We averaged 96,000.

2016, Butch Jones best season. 9-4 record. 101,000 average attendance.

2018, Jeremy Pruitt's first season. 5-6 record. 92,869 average attendance. 3 games didn't even hit 90k.

There should be a spike in enthusiasm for a coach's first season, so why such a large drop in attendance? Lane obviously got fans excited. I remember it vividly. He was the first coaching change I had experienced and it was a feeling of new blood and a new era. Dooley received far less enthusiasm from the fans, but it was expected given the sudden and strange departure of Kiffin. Butch came in and really had the fan support. He said all the right things, knocked recruiting out of the park, beat Steve Spurrier in his first season. Hell, he crushed it.

Pruitt. It irked the hell out of me the way he answered Bob's question in the 2nd episode of The JP Show regarding running through the T for the first time. I stated that it bothered me right after it happened in the JP Show thread and caught some heat for it. Guess what? It still bothers me. Even more so now that we're 5-6. "It was uhhh....different", was the line. Mind you, this episode was following a win. It wasn't after getting straight whipped by West Virginia. No. It was after beating lowly ETSU, Pruitt's first win as the Tennessee head coach. His attitude sucks, and it's not good for business.

Do I like Pruitt more than Schiano? You're damn right I do. Do I like him more than Mike Leach? Not even close. Les Miles? Nope. Dan Mullen? Hard to say. Butch Jones? I don't think so. Dooley? I'm not sure.

Win, and of course, I'll shut up. But Coach Pruitt, you're making $4,000,000 a year to coach football. Ideally, you're supposed to win the games. If you don't, however, at least give us the impression that you're a good dude and that you're happy to be in Knoxville. Because at the end of the day, you're still going to be rich, and we're still going to be sitting on cold, hard, metal bleachers hoping that things change.

I'll go on record right now and say I have doubts that this experiment is going to work out. I think Mike Leach, Les Miles, or Dan Mullen would have been a better choice. And I'm not saying fire the guy. That's not going to accomplish anything. But win or lose, I don't really like this dude, and I'm feeling super disconnected from Tennessee football because of it.

Flame away.



I understand UT has suggested that Pruitt attend a 099 level English class
 
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So you’ve already come to the conclusion that he will be decent at best? Some of y’all dont know jack crap about football. There wasn’t developed talent here before he got the job so I didn’t understand that comment. If you have noticed our two best playmakers on defense are both recruits he had brought in and coached up. And the ones that were recruited by Butch, some of them has had their play elevated but most of them have to many tendencies that fall back to their old habits.

While I don't believe there's any way yet to determine whether or not Pruitt will be successful at UT, I also don't think that there's any reason to believe that his past success as a DC with 4/5-star talent will surely translate to an ability to take a team of predominantly 3-star prospects, and win at a high level in the SEC.
 
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While I don't believe there's any way yet to determine whether or not Pruitt will be successful at UT, I also don't think that there's any reason to believe that his past success as a DC with 4/5-star talent will surely translate to an ability to take a team of predominantly 3-star prospects, and win at a high level in the SEC.

I dont think anyone here believes hes gonna win at a high level with 3 star talent. No body else in this conference is. I sure dont expect that. It's the main reason why it shouldnt be expected this year and hasnt happened.
If hes fielding predominately 3 star prospects in years 2 and 3 that wont change. He ll have to recruit better players.
 
I'm sorry, can you point to where I said anything along those lines in the post you quoted? Furthermore, which part of "he gets his three years" was unclear?

Unwad your panties, Sparky, he gets the same chance Dooley, Butch and Kiffin had with me.
Unless Fulmer gets fired and or he goes Dooley 3 years straight he ll get 4 min.
 

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