Marcus Spears says Tennessee Vols 'got the right guy for the job' in Jeremy Pruitt

#53
#53
VFL-82-JP said:
Keep in mind, the entire gang (Marcus, Booger McFarland, and Greg McElroy) were absolutely positive Butch was the right guy, too, just three short years ago (as were many of us).

Not saying Spears isn't right this time. Really hoping he is. Just don't see a track record of insightful analysis or proven assessment.
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Butch had UT headed in the right direction until Dobbs graduated and Butch was unable to find an adequate replacement.

Much of this staff's success will depend on the QB. UT will go as far as the QB will take them this season.
 
#55
#55
VFL-82-JP said:
Keep in mind, the entire gang (Marcus, Booger McFarland, and Greg McElroy) were absolutely positive Butch was the right guy, too, just three short years ago (as were many of us).

Not saying Spears isn't right this time. Really hoping he is. Just don't see a track record of insightful analysis or proven assessment.
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Booger called it last year (the DISASTER) long before it happened and was blasted by the "experts" (some of the same guys who have posted in this thread) here on Volnation for being an ignorant hater....

You don't have to go too far back to find out who they are...
 
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#57
#57
My expectations are 6 wins. We have the opportunity to surprise and win 7 or 8 but I’m not expecting anymore than 6-6.
 
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#58
#58
Anything better than 6-6 this year will be very successful...

Do we really have any SEC quality LBs?

Please don't even try to claim anything from the current group....None have demonstrated any excellence or consistency at the position....lots of potential, but little quality displayed on the field...and they will be learning 3-4 scheme--which demands elite LB performance...

Can CJP really teach this bunch of DBs to play quality SEC FB?

Will the OL be able to block anyone in the new offense?
 
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#60
#60
VFL-82-JP said:
Keep in mind, the entire gang (Marcus, Booger McFarland, and Greg McElroy) were absolutely positive Butch was the right guy, too, just three short years ago (as were many of us).

Not saying Spears isn't right this time. Really hoping he is. Just don't see a track record of insightful analysis or proven assessment.
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This.

Dooley was "the right guy" too. Remember all the posts about how Alabama fans were telling UT fans this, and fear threads about Georgia or LSU "stealing" him?
 
#63
#63
VolsSportsFan said:
This.

Dooley was "the right guy" too. Remember all the posts about how Alabama fans were telling UT fans this, and fear threads about Georgia or LSU "stealing" him?
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LOL yep. They were pumping the sunshine real hard. History is repeating itself.
 
#65
#65
Glocker_Alum_2005 said:
Well 7-8 wins would be great accomplishment given the schedule and roster deficiencies.
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The roster isn't as deficient as you think. It certainly isn't as deficient as it was when Dooley took over or Butch took over.

It will take a lot of things to go right, but there are 7 wins in next year's schedule. ETSU, UTEP, and Charlotte are gimmes, then you have to go 4-5 against West Virginia, Florida, at Georgia, at Auburn, Alabama, at South Carolina, Kentucky, Mizzou, and at Vandy. It isn't unfathomable. I don't know if we'll actually get there though.
 
#66
#66
VFL-82-JP said:
Keep in mind, the entire gang (Marcus, Booger McFarland, and Greg McElroy) were absolutely positive Butch was the right guy, too, just three short years ago (as were many of us).

Not saying Spears isn't right this time. Really hoping he is. Just don't see a track record of insightful analysis or proven assessment.
Click to expand...


After Dooley, there was much about Butch that seemed good. However, had we recognized the signs (some here did) that much was amiss with him? We might have been a little less hopeful.

As to Pruitt? Hell Man, who knows? I will say this for him so far; I trust his "pedigree" and where he came from as a coach more than the last three guys. And I hope he is nowhere near as full of crap as them.

All I feel good about is we can eventually lay to rest the argument about how good or bad it might be if Fulmer is involved again. Either the doubter like me will get served up some humble pie, or Phil's little minions can be targets for the cow chip toss game. But this endless argument can finally go the Hell away.
 
#67
#67
TNnative said:
After Dooley, there was much about Butch that seemed good. However, had we recognized the signs (some here did) that much was amiss with him? We might have been a little less hopeful.
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Nearly all of VN was convinced that Kiffin and Butch were the right guys. Some were skeptical about Dooley, but how could you not be given his experience before taking this job.

Pruitt personality and press conference-wise is about 180 degrees different from Butch, which is why some are convinced he's the "right guy" (total opposite from Butch has to be good, right)? Butch differed from Dooley in some ways, making him "the right guy." Dooley was a polar opposite of Kiffin, making him "the right guy." Kiffin was a polar opposite of Fulmer, making him "the right guy."
 
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#69
#69
05_never_again said:
Nearly all of VN was convinced that Kiffin and Butch were the right guys. People were skeptical about Dooley, but how could you not be given his experience before taking this job.

Pruitt personality and press conference-wise is about 180 degrees different from Butch, which is why some are convinced he's the "right guy" (total opposite from Butch has to be good, right)?
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Dooley was one that we hoped the apple wouldn't fall far from the tree; we hoped he had Vince's competence. Sadly, he was Pee Wee Herman. And I give Hamilton a truckload more grief over Kiffin than Dooley. The time crunch for hiring him before signing day screwed the pooch.

Butch won his opening press conference, and brought energy to recruiting. That won me over to him. But had I known he was going to run off recruits by being a Richard? I would have gone full nega on him.

180 degrees from Butch? Well we hoped Kiffin was 180 degrees from Fulmer without Cut, and on down the line through Dooley and Jones. I think we need to quit measuring our present coaches by our former ones. That has been a failure so far. Maybe we just need to remind them not to be a Richard. And hopefully a few donors will get it too.
 
#70
#70
TNnative said:
Dooley was one that we hoped the apple wouldn't fall far from the tree; we hoped he had Vince's competence. Sadly, he was Pee Wee Herman. And I give Hamilton a truckload more grief over Kiffin than Dooley. The time crunch for hiring him before signing day screwed the pooch.

Butch won his opening press conference, and brought energy to recruiting. That won me over to him. But had I known he was going to run off recruits by being a Richard? I would have gone full nega on him.

180 degrees from Butch? Well we hoped Kiffin was 180 degrees from Fulmer without Cut, and on down the line through Dooley and Jones. I think we need to quit measuring our present coaches by our former ones. That has been a failure so far. Maybe we just need to remind them not to be a Richard. And hopefully a few donors will get it too.
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Here's my philosophy on figuring out what kind of coach (or player) you've got. There are exceptions to these rules, but I think they are generally true.

People who are extremely good or extremely bad at their job make obvious impacts immediately and are operating at a very high level or a very low level within a couple of years. It doesn't take multiple years for the impacts to show themselves if you are at one of the ends of the spectrum. It becomes obvious pretty quickly. IMO, if you have a guy touted as a superstar and after a year or two he hasn't seriously shown a lot of good stuff, he's never going to be the player/coach you think he was.

Now, if you aren't on one of the ends of the spectrum, then it takes a few years before we figure it out. It took, IMO, 3 to 4 years to truly figure out that Butch was a below average coach. In years 1, 2, and 3, there was actually gradual but noticeable improvement in the program. I think you could conclude that Butch wasn't a superstar at that point, but he actually appeared to be at least a decent coach.

However, there were some signs in year 3 of some coaching flaws, year 4 was a disappointment, and the bottom fell out in year 5. If you're being honest and not letting hindsight influence your analysis, it wasn't until year 4 that it became obvious he wasn't a great coach.

If Pruitt is a superstar, we'll know pretty quickly. If he's just pretty good, or below average, it'll take a few years.
 
#71
#71
05_never_again said:
Nearly all of VN was convinced that Kiffin and Butch were the right guys. Some were skeptical about Dooley, but how could you not be given his experience before taking this job.

Pruitt personality and press conference-wise is about 180 degrees different from Butch, which is why some are convinced he's the "right guy" (total opposite from Butch has to be good, right)? Butch differed from Dooley in some ways, making him "the right guy." Dooley was a polar opposite of Kiffin, making him "the right guy." Kiffin was a polar opposite of Fulmer, making him "the right guy."
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Folks have forgotten this already. It’s the honeymoon phase where the other can do no wrong. Unfortunately some turn a blind eye for years hoping for the best instead of accepting reality.
 
#74
#74
Marcus Spears. Just another analyst dipping their toes in the water but not coming out completely in support that we will be back. Typical Finebaum follower. Wants to be able to claim that he predicted success without completely committing to it.
 
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