Let's be honest

#426
#426
JoAllan said:
Don’t worry Pruitt pumpers will be out in force........not to tell us how good he is.......but they will “again” explain covid.......and $$.....and give us all kinds of excuses.
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It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them here. Are you sure they still exist?
 
#427
#427
Cheers OP, you said it perfectly!
And for the record, I was all in on the Pirate. It breaks my heart seeing him in that maroon knowing he could have been sailing the waters of the TN river in all orange.
 
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#429
#429
VolAllen said:
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.
Click to expand...
I actually did like Pruitt until last year when he proved his sales pitch to recruits to be a lie.
 
#430
#430
TeacherVol007 said:
Cheers OP, you said it perfectly!
And for the record, I was all in on the Pirate. It breaks my heart seeing him in that maroon knowing he could have been sailing the waters of the TN river in all orange.
Click to expand...

I want Leach much less now than I did during the coaching search
 
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#433
#433
VolAllen said:
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.
Click to expand...

That last bolded part makes zero sense lol
 
#438
#438
jamesthesame said:
Currie led us to believe he would break the bank to get an elite guy.

Instead, we find out he only went after Schiano.

That leaves a foul taste in your mouth. Sucks for Pruitt. I have to say though so far I like him.
Click to expand...

Note: I'm not a happy camper now. Fulmer and Pruitt getting hammered. Perhaps rightfully so, however Fulmer did inherit a real sh-show. There weren't many options and a lot of time was wasted getting a coach. When Pruitt finally came on board (after hanging around Bama for a championship run, which I have always viewed as a negative), things were pretty bad. Butch left a team that had an attitude - they had quit. Making Hoke interim didn't help - he just wanted his check - and kicked JJ off the team. Brilliant things happening. The Schiano debacle strongly tainted the coaching search. Also remember that Haslams (and even our beloved Peyton) were behind Schiano. Fulmer was the "guy" that was supposed to break the Haslam influence and get down to getting a good coach. -

And there are those that will say Schiano would have been better than Pruitt. Me: I thought Schiano was a dch-bag. No on him, just no.

Have you guys forgotten all this. Sure.. time is showing that Pruitt is in over his head, however if you look at his pedigree - the natty's he has been around ( and not just being a coffee fetcher like Butch Jones), I'd say it was a pretty good resume. Yes, slam Fulmer, but remember - he had little to work with.

Yes it's not working, but the lack of money is real, and he's working under admin constraints on what his budget is, most likely that budget coming from academia that could give a flip about football. Covid definitely put a dent in the coffers.

I think Fulmer is in a tough spot, and some of it is his own making. Pruitt needs to be gone. Pay raises before proven performance is Fulmer's biggest mistake in my opinion. We are stuck with Pruitt for one more season (or at least a half season..reference Mason and Muschamp).

I see how this whole thing evolved, and it has been an evolutionary process. It's taken time to reveal how bad Pruitt actually is. Any fool could see JG needed to step aside for the young pups, because he couldn't deliver. The QB isn't the only problem, but it's a biggee. Note - in the Florida game, I can't remember UT turning the ball over. And JG didn't see the field. A bright spot?

It's a mess. It's gonna be another year though. Note to Phil.. hold on a bit before you grant another pay raise and contract extension.. oh.. and also take a look at the assistant coaches that aren't showing positives in player development. The best O-line we've had in a decade misses blocking assignments regularly and our speedy wide receivers can't get separation. What's with that?

Summary.. An immediate easy fix for this probably doesn't exist.
 
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#439
#439
VolAllen said:
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.
Click to expand...
I like coach Pruitt but I think so many othet Vol fans show unfair criticism. I always thought Coach Bill Battle got unfair criticism particularly since he was from Alabama. I think Pruitt gets unfair criticism also since he is from Alabama. Pruitt won 8 games last season including a nice bowl win over a good Indiana team. Pruitt can recruit. He can coach too. Give Pruitt a chance for crying out loud. Have a nice day sir.
 
#440
#440
Noggin said:
I like coach Pruitt but I think so many othet Vol fans show unfair criticism. I always thought Coach Bill Battle got unfair criticism particularly since he was from Alabama. I think Pruitt gets unfair criticism also since he is from Alabama. Pruitt won 8 games last season including a nice bowl win over a good Indiana team. Pruitt can recruit. He can coach too. Give Pruitt a chance for crying out loud. Have a nice day sir.
Click to expand...
He’s lost 6 games in a row, FYI..
 
#441
#441
Noggin said:
I like coach Pruitt but I think so many othet Vol fans show unfair criticism. I always thought Coach Bill Battle got unfair criticism particularly since he was from Alabama. I think Pruitt gets unfair criticism also since he is from Alabama. Pruitt won 8 games last season including a nice bowl win over a good Indiana team. Pruitt can recruit. He can coach too. Give Pruitt a chance for crying out loud. Have a nice day sir.
Click to expand...
He has terrible loses to worse teams, multiple actually, in every single season. Are you really trying to say that a guy that has been blown out in his last six games is somehow improving our situation?
 
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#443
#443
Gandalf said:
Two words - "Playing Time". By openly stating we dont have the horses to do the job now, he is setting the expectations for those young bucks who come in =- and lets them know if they are as hot as they think they are, they will jump over others in line.
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And simultaneously telling those here that they can't play at this level
 
#445
#445
VolAllen said:
He’s lost 6 games in a row, FYI..
Click to expand...
But you have to understand sir in all due respect to you that Coach Pruitt has faced a brutal schedule in 2020. Not to mention the Covid situation and players he lost to the NFL. How many other teams from outside the SEC could have a winning record facing the schedule that coach Pruitt has faced this season?
 
#446
#446
Problem is recruits he is bringing in cannot "jump" over a roster full of very mediocre players. Other schools have had COVID practice issues too and some of their freshman actually contributing
Not sure if we misreading the "stars" attached to some of these recruits or no coaching up at all
 
#447
#447
Noggin said:
But you have to understand sir in all due respect to you that Coach Pruitt has faced a brutal schedule in 2020. Not to mention the Covid situation and players he lost to the NFL. How many other teams from outside the SEC could have a winning record facing the schedule that coach Pruitt has faced this season?
Click to expand...

Brutal schedule? No more “brutal” than Arkansas with a first year head coach, or Kentucky who has at least been competitive against teams with much more talent, ditto for Ole Miss. Two players off of last year’s team were drafted, and every team missed their spring game not just UT. The only added team to our schedule that is perceived to be really good is A & M; Arkansas and Auburn were very winnable games. The rest of our games were our normal East opponents and Bama. Are you complaining that Pruitt couldn’t pad his resume with a couple of cupcakes? Pruitt is 5-3 vs. OOC in the regular season with two of those losses against non Power 5 opponents so there is no guarantee he would have padded anything
 
#448
#448
VolAllen said:
It's ironic that Les is going to end up at Kansas. Fulmer almost took that job as well after he "resigned".
Click to expand...

I was good with Fulmer being named AD. But in all honesty I don't remember Kansas, or ANY OTHER school, coming after him... crickets. And I recall him talking to some high school about a job... maybe my age is messing with me here. But, a HOF and Natty coach, and nobody wanted him. That said a lot to me. CPF is a true VFL and his years coaching the Vols brought me memories I'll always love.

I thought we missed it when we passed on Les Miles and Dan Mullen.
 
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#449
#449
R481967 said:
I was good with Fulmer being named AD. But in all honesty I don't remember Kansas, or ANY OTHER school, coming after him... crickets. And I recall him talking to some high school about a job... maybe my age is messing with me here. But, a HOF and Natty coach, and nobody wanted him. That said a lot to me. CPF is a true VFL and his years coaching the Vols brought me memories I'll always love.

I thought we missed it when we passed on Les Miles and Dan Mullen.
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Les Miles would have at least been entertaining. Same with Leach. No boring press conferences for sure
 
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#450
#450
VolAllen said:
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.
Click to expand...
I don't like him as a representative of UT. He talks straight out of Deliverance, he shows no animation or enthusiasm when he speaks to the press, and he seems to want to be elsewhere. What Fulmer was thinking when he hired him is a question. Yes, I agree with you!
 
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