Checker_the_Shire
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I, like a majority of fans on this site, do not like Pruitt. I haven't been a fan since the day we hired him. I fell for the Grumors, but I also thought they were too good to be true. Love or hate me, I was a Mike Leach fan and was utterly pissed when we pulled the plug. I say all this to say, let's have a realistic approach to the current state of the world and how all this will really unfold.
Realistic Timetable
December 31, 2020: Jeremy Pruitt is still UT HC
Opening Day of 2021: Jeremy Pruitt is still UT HC
Sometime in Fall 2021 (Probably November): Jeremy Pruitt is fired as UT HC for lackluster performance (my overall 2021 prediction for those who care: 6-6 or 5-7)
Beginning of Coaching Search
---The Hugh-mors (see what I did there) begin
---Announcement: Hugh Freeze hired as [insert program not named TN]'s new head coach
---The Campbell Rumors begin (I can't think of a good pun)
---Announcement: Matt Campbell hired as [insert Big 12 Team Here--my guess is Texas]'s new coach
---From here on we follow what has basically been the coaching searches at UT as of late. Big names pop up, only to dissolve into pits of nothingness. Our hopes rise and then get crushed by naysayers, people with "sources", and the occasional realistic punch in the face (Gruden anyone?).
---We eventually end up with a Butch Jones-esque, bargain bin hire.
I say all this, not to be pessimistic--although it's hard not to be as a UT fan--but to be realistic. Jeremy Pruitt is not going to be fired in 2020. With Covid, the state of finances, and the fact that Fulmer doesn't have the guts to do it, I see him getting one more year to "right the ship". However, the writing is, and has been from the start, on the wall. So I do believe we will fire Pruitt by the end of 2021. What I don't have faith in is our administration going out and hiring the right guy. I have been a fan for far too long, and lived through far too many coaching searches, to truly believe we will get it right with the current people we have in charge. I mean remember everyone, Fulmer is the same guy who said no to a proven winner (Leach--regardless of what we think of Leach, he is a proven success hire everywhere he's been) and yes to an unproven nobody in terms of head coaching experience (Pruitt), and then gave that guy (Pruitt) and extension in the middle of an ongoing season, when we really hadn't proven anything in terms of growth or potential success. I mean I'm not business leader, but even I know you don't extend a contract for anyone until they've absolutely proven they deserve it.
So, feel free to bash me, agree with me, or provide your own realistic timetable. But whatever you do, please don't get your hopes up. As Pruitt is not getting fired unless this investigation turns into a Huge Freeze, golden showers for all, type scandal (which I'm no fan of Pruitt's, but he doesn't come off as the sleazy, hooker loving type).
Realistic Timetable
December 31, 2020: Jeremy Pruitt is still UT HC
Opening Day of 2021: Jeremy Pruitt is still UT HC
Sometime in Fall 2021 (Probably November): Jeremy Pruitt is fired as UT HC for lackluster performance (my overall 2021 prediction for those who care: 6-6 or 5-7)
Beginning of Coaching Search
---The Hugh-mors (see what I did there) begin
---Announcement: Hugh Freeze hired as [insert program not named TN]'s new head coach
---The Campbell Rumors begin (I can't think of a good pun)
---Announcement: Matt Campbell hired as [insert Big 12 Team Here--my guess is Texas]'s new coach
---From here on we follow what has basically been the coaching searches at UT as of late. Big names pop up, only to dissolve into pits of nothingness. Our hopes rise and then get crushed by naysayers, people with "sources", and the occasional realistic punch in the face (Gruden anyone?).
---We eventually end up with a Butch Jones-esque, bargain bin hire.
I say all this, not to be pessimistic--although it's hard not to be as a UT fan--but to be realistic. Jeremy Pruitt is not going to be fired in 2020. With Covid, the state of finances, and the fact that Fulmer doesn't have the guts to do it, I see him getting one more year to "right the ship". However, the writing is, and has been from the start, on the wall. So I do believe we will fire Pruitt by the end of 2021. What I don't have faith in is our administration going out and hiring the right guy. I have been a fan for far too long, and lived through far too many coaching searches, to truly believe we will get it right with the current people we have in charge. I mean remember everyone, Fulmer is the same guy who said no to a proven winner (Leach--regardless of what we think of Leach, he is a proven success hire everywhere he's been) and yes to an unproven nobody in terms of head coaching experience (Pruitt), and then gave that guy (Pruitt) and extension in the middle of an ongoing season, when we really hadn't proven anything in terms of growth or potential success. I mean I'm not business leader, but even I know you don't extend a contract for anyone until they've absolutely proven they deserve it.
So, feel free to bash me, agree with me, or provide your own realistic timetable. But whatever you do, please don't get your hopes up. As Pruitt is not getting fired unless this investigation turns into a Huge Freeze, golden showers for all, type scandal (which I'm no fan of Pruitt's, but he doesn't come off as the sleazy, hooker loving type).
