Outkick on Pruitt situation

#1

VOL_Lyfe

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#1
“When will the Tennessee Volunteer administration pull the plug on Jeremy Pruitt? The economics of doing so seem clear. Any idea on what’s happening behind the scenes?”

I think Fulmer is looking for a reason not to fire Pruitt as opposed to a reason to fire Pruitt.

Personally, I don’t agree with that philosophy.

Especially given the fact that South Carolina and Vanderbilt already fired their coaches, it’s hard to argue that firing a coach in a COVID year is unacceptable.

What I’ve seen saying is this: wait until the end of the year and then assess the situation. If Tennessee finishes 3-7 — or 2-7 if Vandy isn’t willing to play — what has occurred this year that makes you think year four is going to be a lot different? And look at the historic precedent as well. How often does a coach that is almost fired at the end of his third year go on to turn the tables and become a remarkable success in years four, five, and six? It almost never happens. If a coach almost gets fired one year, he typically gets fired the next year.

Plus, if the Vols wait until year four to pull the plug on Pruitt, the buyout money doesn’t change much. Tennessee would owe a couple of million less next year to fire him than they do this year. But they would probably lose that money in decreased ticket sales for Pruitt in year four, so that’s kind of a wash, honestly.

Ultimately, you need to win to make money. And if you aren’t winning, you need to be able to sell the fan base on the excitement of a new hire. Right now, Tennessee might not have either of those things for next year.

So what coaching options are out there?

To Pruitt’s credit, Tennessee has decent, young talent now. I think there would be a ton of coaches who want this job.

Including Hugh Freeze.

I’m just tossing this out there: what if Freeze could go hire Kevin Steele from Auburn — Steele’s a Tennessee alum — and that was your offensive and defensive play callers next year? That seems like a pretty decent combo that would immediately inject a ton of momentum into Tennessee.

But I don’t think Tennessee will have the stones to do that.

Which is why I’d bet on Pruitt being back for year four.
 
#3
#3
Josh Pate said something about Michigan that I think applies to us as well.

"Teams that are fine with "good enough" are never good enough. When your priorities are just maintaining ticket sales, graduation rates and keeping out of the headlines for negative reasons then you'll never win anything meaningful."
 
#4
#4
“When will the Tennessee Volunteer administration pull the plug on Jeremy Pruitt? The economics of doing so seem clear. Any idea on what’s happening behind the scenes?”

I think Fulmer is looking for a reason not to fire Pruitt as opposed to a reason to fire Pruitt.

Personally, I don’t agree with that philosophy.

Especially given the fact that South Carolina and Vanderbilt already fired their coaches, it’s hard to argue that firing a coach in a COVID year is unacceptable.

What I’ve seen saying is this: wait until the end of the year and then assess the situation. If Tennessee finishes 3-7 — or 2-7 if Vandy isn’t willing to play — what has occurred this year that makes you think year four is going to be a lot different? And look at the historic precedent as well. How often does a coach that is almost fired at the end of his third year go on to turn the tables and become a remarkable success in years four, five, and six? It almost never happens. If a coach almost gets fired one year, he typically gets fired the next year.

Plus, if the Vols wait until year four to pull the plug on Pruitt, the buyout money doesn’t change much. Tennessee would owe a couple of million less next year to fire him than they do this year. But they would probably lose that money in decreased ticket sales for Pruitt in year four, so that’s kind of a wash, honestly.

Ultimately, you need to win to make money. And if you aren’t winning, you need to be able to sell the fan base on the excitement of a new hire. Right now, Tennessee might not have either of those things for next year.

So what coaching options are out there?

To Pruitt’s credit, Tennessee has decent, young talent now. I think there would be a ton of coaches who want this job.

Including Hugh Freeze.

I’m just tossing this out there: what if Freeze could go hire Kevin Steele from Auburn — Steele’s a Tennessee alum — and that was your offensive and defensive play callers next year? That seems like a pretty decent combo that would immediately inject a ton of momentum into Tennessee.

But I don’t think Tennessee will have the stones to do that.

Which is why I’d bet on Pruitt being back for year four.

He isn’t wrong
 
#5
#5
The economics of doing so seem clear.

The "economics" of it are a disaster. Our revenues are way down, we'd have to pay a huge buyout, and we'd probably end up getting a 4th tier coach that we'd have to fire 3-4 years down the road (see South Carolina's current disaster of a coach search). This is the type of move that if it doesn't work out, could set the entire program back 10 years.

Pruitt hasn't done a great job this year, but this is foolishness. Give him a real year so we can see how this great Freshmen class does with an actual offseason and let's see how Bailey and / or Salter do next year. If things still suck, we look for a coach in 2021 when it's much easier to do so.
 
#6
#6
Josh Pate said something about Michigan that I think applies to us as well.

"Teams that are fine with "good enough" are never good enough. When your priorities are just maintaining ticket sales, graduation rates and keeping out of the headlines for negative reasons then you'll never win anything meaningful."
Which is ridiculous since Michigan went and made the effort and commitment
 
#7
#7
The "economics" of it are a disaster. Our revenues are way down, we'd have to pay a huge buyout, and we'd probably end up getting a 4th tier coach that we'd have to fire 3-4 years down the road (see South Carolina's current disaster of a coach search).

Pruitt hasn't done a great job this year, but this is foolishness. Give him a real year so we can see how this great Freshmen class does with an actual offseason and let's see how Bailey and / or Salter do next year.

I get what you're saying, I do. However, I can already tell you what awaits us next year. 6-6 and getting blown out by our rivals.
 
#8
#8
The "economics" of it are a disaster. Our revenues are way down, we'd have to pay a huge buyout, and we'd probably end up getting a 4th tier coach that we'd have to fire 3-4 years down the road (see South Carolina's current disaster of a coach search). This is the type of move that if it doesn't work out, could set the entire program back 10 years.

Pruitt hasn't done a great job this year, but this is foolishness. Give him a real year so we can see how this great Freshmen class does with an actual offseason and let's see how Bailey and / or Salter do next year.
So the first two years were fake years??
 
#11
#11
“When will the Tennessee Volunteer administration pull the plug on Jeremy Pruitt? The economics of doing so seem clear. Any idea on what’s happening behind the scenes?”

I think Fulmer is looking for a reason not to fire Pruitt as opposed to a reason to fire Pruitt.

Personally, I don’t agree with that philosophy.

Especially given the fact that South Carolina and Vanderbilt already fired their coaches, it’s hard to argue that firing a coach in a COVID year is unacceptable.

What I’ve seen saying is this: wait until the end of the year and then assess the situation. If Tennessee finishes 3-7 — or 2-7 if Vandy isn’t willing to play — what has occurred this year that makes you think year four is going to be a lot different? And look at the historic precedent as well. How often does a coach that is almost fired at the end of his third year go on to turn the tables and become a remarkable success in years four, five, and six? It almost never happens. If a coach almost gets fired one year, he typically gets fired the next year.

Plus, if the Vols wait until year four to pull the plug on Pruitt, the buyout money doesn’t change much. Tennessee would owe a couple of million less next year to fire him than they do this year. But they would probably lose that money in decreased ticket sales for Pruitt in year four, so that’s kind of a wash, honestly.

Ultimately, you need to win to make money. And if you aren’t winning, you need to be able to sell the fan base on the excitement of a new hire. Right now, Tennessee might not have either of those things for next year.

So what coaching options are out there?

To Pruitt’s credit, Tennessee has decent, young talent now. I think there would be a ton of coaches who want this job.

Including Hugh Freeze.

I’m just tossing this out there: what if Freeze could go hire Kevin Steele from Auburn — Steele’s a Tennessee alum — and that was your offensive and defensive play callers next year? That seems like a pretty decent combo that would immediately inject a ton of momentum into Tennessee.

But I don’t think Tennessee will have the stones to do that.

Which is why I’d bet on Pruitt being back for year four.
Why do you want to fire Pruitt so badly though?
 
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#13
#13
I get what you're saying, I do. However, I can already tell you what awaits us next year. 6-6 and getting blown out by our rivals.

Let's bookmark this post.

You might be right, but we're literally just a QB away from being 5-2 this year. 6-6 next year is hardly inevitable. If Bailey or Salter turns out to be the real deal, 8-4 / 9-3 is a real possibility.
 
#14
#14
The "economics" of it are a disaster. Our revenues are way down, we'd have to pay a huge buyout, and we'd probably end up getting a 4th tier coach that we'd have to fire 3-4 years down the road (see South Carolina's current disaster of a coach search). This is the type of move that if it doesn't work out, could set the entire program back 10 years.

Pruitt hasn't done a great job this year, but this is foolishness. Give him a real year so we can see how this great Freshmen class does with an actual offseason and let's see how Bailey and / or Salter do next year.

This year is the same year and the same set of circumstances for every other program in this country. If he couldn't handle this job this year, then what have you seen indicating he will actually improve next year?

Can you show me an example of an inexperienced head coach in football who failed across the board in his third year and then proceeded to excel afterwards?

What one fails to fix immediately due to supposed economic necessities will only serve to be even more of a financial burden to them down the road when they finally decide to fix things.

If the economics of ridding ourselves of this cyst of a coach are disastrous now, then how will it get any better economically delaying reality and firing him later?

How are we going to put butts in those seats and sell merchandise with that man in charge of the program putting this kind of hot garbage on the field week after week?
 
#15
#15
Those of us that remember Johnny Majors and the entire Fulmer tenure. Think back to the last time Fulmer coached to win rather than not to lose. Fulmer got to the point of coaching not to lose. Which is his philosophy with Pruitt. He is now administering not to lose. Which gets him the same results he got his last few years coaching. Losing and looking bad while doing it.
 
#17
#17
“When will the Tennessee Volunteer administration pull the plug on Jeremy Pruitt? The economics of doing so seem clear. Any idea on what’s happening behind the scenes?”

I think Fulmer is looking for a reason not to fire Pruitt as opposed to a reason to fire Pruitt.

Personally, I don’t agree with that philosophy.

Especially given the fact that South Carolina and Vanderbilt already fired their coaches, it’s hard to argue that firing a coach in a COVID year is unacceptable.

What I’ve seen saying is this: wait until the end of the year and then assess the situation. If Tennessee finishes 3-7 — or 2-7 if Vandy isn’t willing to play — what has occurred this year that makes you think year four is going to be a lot different? And look at the historic precedent as well. How often does a coach that is almost fired at the end of his third year go on to turn the tables and become a remarkable success in years four, five, and six? It almost never happens. If a coach almost gets fired one year, he typically gets fired the next year.

Plus, if the Vols wait until year four to pull the plug on Pruitt, the buyout money doesn’t change much. Tennessee would owe a couple of million less next year to fire him than they do this year. But they would probably lose that money in decreased ticket sales for Pruitt in year four, so that’s kind of a wash, honestly.

Ultimately, you need to win to make money. And if you aren’t winning, you need to be able to sell the fan base on the excitement of a new hire. Right now, Tennessee might not have either of those things for next year.

So what coaching options are out there?

To Pruitt’s credit, Tennessee has decent, young talent now. I think there would be a ton of coaches who want this job.

Including Hugh Freeze.

I’m just tossing this out there: what if Freeze could go hire Kevin Steele from Auburn — Steele’s a Tennessee alum — and that was your offensive and defensive play callers next year? That seems like a pretty decent combo that would immediately inject a ton of momentum into Tennessee.

But I don’t think Tennessee will have the stones to do that.

Which is why I’d bet on Pruitt being back for year four.
No balls. We can't even pull the plug on the worst qb in UT history.....hell no are we going to pull the plug on this CS.
 
#18
#18
The "economics" of it are a disaster. Our revenues are way down, we'd have to pay a huge buyout, and we'd probably end up getting a 4th tier coach that we'd have to fire 3-4 years down the road (see South Carolina's current disaster of a coach search). This is the type of move that if it doesn't work out, could set the entire program back 10 years.

Pruitt hasn't done a great job this year, but this is foolishness. Give him a real year so we can see how this great Freshmen class does with an actual offseason and let's see how Bailey and / or Salter do next year. If things still suck, we look for a coach in 2021 when it's much easier to do so.
The “economics” aren’t guaranteed to be better next year either, especially if Neyland stadium remains empty due to fan apathy.
 
#20
#20
You mean the same Johnny Majors that went 5-6 during his 4th season and took about 5-7 years to turn UT back into an SEC contender, but who also eventually built the foundation for our national title team?

You mean the same Johnny Majors that had proven he was a national title caliber coach that was hired almost 45 years ago.

Things are a little different now.....
 
#25
#25
Let's bookmark this post.

You might be right, but we're literally just a QB away from being 5-2 this year. 6-6 next year is hardly inevitable. If Bailey or Salter turns out to be the real deal, 8-4 / 9-3 is a real possibility.

If we are playing the hypothetical game, where would Pruitt be right now if Mizzou, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt were as good as they were during most of the Dooley and Butch years?

Pruitt's not a good HC. He is lucky that Vandy, Missouri, and USC are having down years.
 

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