Pruitt Fired Before the New Year?

#201
#201
Brave Volunteer said:
Wait, I'm confused. We RETAINED Barnes. If we're going to blame Fulmer for Barnes "flirting," with UCLA, shouldn't we also praise Fulmer for managing to hold onto him?
Click to expand...
No I think he wanted to “lock down” his coach. But Barnes had been a successful coach for over 30 years. Pruitt had beaten Auburn once and Kentucky twice. That’s a little light on the accomplishments.
 
#202
#202
ThreatLevelOrange said:
It was no shame to hire Pruitt under trying circumstances 3 years ago. But there was zero need to give Pruitt the extension. Fulmer just doubled the potential buyout, and avoiding embarrassment is now a reason for keeping Pruitt.
Click to expand...

Easy to say that now, sure. But was anyone really complaining about the extension back when we were 8-0? If memory serves, I even heard several on here saying that it would be good for recruiting purposes, showing that our AD has that much confidence in our coach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77, TGFHeupel16 and ABINGDON VOL FAN
#203
#203
DownNDirty said:
I think I've said this several times but it bears repeating for those that seem to not be able to understand a few things here. Some bullet points.......

- It has been proven that it in fact can be financially feasible to get rid of Gomer right now. In fact, if you run the numbers and factor in ticket sales, merchandise sales, concessions, etc. that keeping him will actually wind up costing Tennessee more money next year than eating a buyout right now.

Part of this is the assistant coaches issue. Gomer will likely wind up needing to replace at least 6, maybe 7, assistants before next year. All of the incoming assistants would be getting two year contracts. So you'd have to buy all of them out if he's retained but ran out of town next November/early December instead of now. Plus, what assistants are going to want to come in here and coach for the proverbial, "Dead Man Walking?" Not many good one's would be the correct answer.

Also factor in this entire "investigation" and what may or may not come to light because of that. I think it can be argued very strongly that the administration at Tennessee now has some power to negotiate a reasonable buyout with him. I don't see them trying to fire him for cause because that's messy and hard to do. But they can come to him this week and say, "look, Gomer - it's just not working out. We know you don't want to be here either and would like to go home to your daddy. So here's what we will do. We will give you 6 million dollars to leave right now. We will call it an amicable split and we won't talk bad about you and you won't talk bad about us. Or, we could drag this out and do it the hard way." If he's smart enough to make those brain cells collide and fire enough he'll say Aight one more time and that'll be that.

- Fulmer WILL NOT have anything at all to do with any of what's going on. In fact, I'm leaning toward thinking he's not going to survive this either because he is standing with Gomer for some reason. Maybe he's of the opinion if Pruitt is fired then he is going to automatically be fired also. I kind of thought what was going to happen is that Fulmer would do what Fulmer does - and try to save himself. In doing so, he would just sit back, shut up, and go along with whatever he's told to do and maybe, just maybe, survive the Pruitt ousting despite the fact he gave him that raise this spring.

I now believe that if Fulmer is retained at all he's not long for the AD job. No matter what, I never have thought for one second that Fulmer would ultimately make the call on what happens with the coaching situation this go-round. He'll either be there - or not - but if he's there he's just a figurehead and won't have any real say-so over what happens with the next coach. I really am beginning to believe Fulmer is shown the door with Pruitt. But they'll do it in a way that saves face for Fulmer and say he was really just supposed to be a short term solution and he really misses the grandkids or something like that.

- Some other posters are right - the Blackburn ship has sailed IMO after the last fiasco. I wouldn't be surprised to see Charles Davis as the new AD if it comes to that.

- Still very good reason to believe that they are working out the buyout package behind the scenes right now. Don't you find it at all funny that Pruitt's BFF Friend bolts for South Carolina and then Pruitt is told not to start the process of replacing him just yet? That is because Pruitt isn't going to be the one in charge much longer so of course they don't want him trying to replace any assistants that leave.
Click to expand...

I am going to limit my questions to your first Bullet Point. HOW has it been PROVEN that it is financially feasible to make a change now? How can anyone project attendance for next season? Are people going to flock back to pre-COVID levels or above? Shots or not I would expect lower season ticket sales regardless of who is coach. Fears and financial setbacks are what they are. How many old timers will now give up their seats after finding they could survive this past year with TV. Where are your FACTS to back up your claim? Where did they come from?

Even if your projections are true, how do we make up the shortfall from this past season? Are boosters going to make that up and THEN put out the money necessary to transition to a new coach? If they really do, then anything is possible, if not then something like promoting from within may well be the only nuclear option. Maybe just as an interim till finances support a more traditional move. Tough way to make strides. I doubt any AD can go mortgage future TV money without folks upstream buying in. What could make any change this year hard to project is the unknown impact of the new trends in opening up the transfer market. Make the wrong move and the net/net of that market could go badly. Getting out could clearly be heavier than getting in.

Put some meat on those bones please.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raebo and illvol
#204
#204
Brave Volunteer said:
Easy to say that now, sure. But was anyone really complaining about the extension back when we were 8-0? If memory serves, I even heard several on here saying that it would be good for recruiting purposes, showing that our AD has that much confidence in our coach.
Click to expand...
Myself, as well as everyone around me, knew that was fool's gold.

After GA St. we all knew it was a matter of time.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Godfatha, FallCreekVols, Spawn and 4 others
#205
#205
GUNTERSVOL said:
I am going to limit my questions to your first Bullet Point. HOW has it been PROVEN that it is financially feasible to make a change now? How can anyone project attendance for next season? Are people going to flock back to pre-COVID levels or above? Shots or not I would expect lower season ticket sales regardless of who is coach. Fears and financial setbacks are what they are. How many old timers will now give up their seats after finding they could survive this past year with TV. Where are your FACTS to back up your claim? Where did they come from?

Even if your projections are true, how do we make up the shortfall from this past season? Are boosters going to make that up and THEN put out the money necessary to transition to a new coach? If they really do, then anything is possible, if not then something like promoting from within may well be the only nuclear option. Maybe just as an interim till finances support a more traditional move. Tough way to make strides. I doubt any AD can go mortgage future TV money without folks upstream buying in. What could make any change this year hard to project is the unknown impact of the new trends in opening up the transfer market. Make the wrong move and the net/net of that market could go badly. Getting out could clearly be heavier than getting in.

Put some meat on those bones please.
Click to expand...

I can try to expand on it later but a few bullet points for the first fact.

- There was an article written that showed many of those numbers and showed how that it was possible based on many actual numbers gathered for the article recently. I will find it later and link it. But there were raw numbers in there.

- Aside from that, it's basic economics. You can call it several different things - Predictive Analytics, Economic Forecasting, Behavioral Predictive Modeling, etc. But no matter how you slice it that's the way all major corporations work. They make assumption based guesses and go off of those assumptions. It's rather easily assumed that if Gomer is retained UT will be predicted to be, at best, 4th in the SEC East next season. Little momentum, lame duck coach, and fan apathy would be catastrophic.

Also, a negotiated buyout with him would be AMMORTIZED over X number of years. They aren't paying it all at once. And the SEC just got a sweet new deal where ABC/ESPN is taking over the CBS games in a couple of years and it's 20+ million extra PER YEAR to the schools in the conference. There's one way to make up some of that money.

Plus, IF he comes back he's going to be making SWEEPING changes to the coaching staff and there will be at least 5-7 new assistants next year all with 2 year contracts. If he is retained and really flames out next season the buyout money for all of the replacement coaches AND him would be more than they'd pay to dump him today.

I am heading out for work but could expand on these thoughts later. It may not be the best case scenario but it's the lesser of two evils to just dump him now. The economics support it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: onevol74, norriscraftbasser, lifeisdeep and 1 other person
#207
#207
CoachClick said:
Myself, as well as everyone around me, knew that was fools gold.

After GA St. we all knew it was a matter of time.
Click to expand...

That's a good point and I was very much in the same camp as you. After that GA State loss I knew Pruitt wasn't our guy. Losing to a team like that in year one is one thing (Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe in his first year at Alabama). Losing to a team like that in your home opener in year two is inexcusable. It's clear now that the win streak was directly a result of playing weaker competition and senior leadership of players like Jennings and Bituli. But at the time it was still too early to fire anyone. However I knew it was an inevitability.

Regarding the extension, I was neither outraged nor elated about it. When I learned about it I just shook my head and thought "Well, I'm no AD. Clearly Fulmer has his reasons."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Border Vol
#208
#208
Brave Volunteer said:
Easy to say that now, sure. But was anyone really complaining about the extension back when we were 8-0? If memory serves, I even heard several on here saying that it would be good for recruiting purposes, showing that our AD has that much confidence in our coach.
Click to expand...
More than a few people expressly stated, when the extension happened, that it was crazy at that juncture. I was one of them.
 
#210
#210
chad954ut said:
He is not getting fired
Click to expand...

If not, that's a really dumb move by our administration. He's not the guy and bringing him back next year only delays the inevitable. If we bring Pruitt back next season, that also means bringing in a lot of new assistants that will not come here without a two year contract minimum. That means when Pruitt is fired next season, aside from buying out Pruitt we'll have to pick up the year two tab on all those assistants. Also, if you bring back Pruitt next year after coming off of a 3-7 season with losses to Kentucky at home and Arkansas, I guarantee you attendance next year will look like this year WITHOUT the COVID restrictions. Along with that goes the drop in concessions and merchandise sales. Another reason we shouldn't keep Pruitt is because the competition for hiring good coaches will be much tougher next season as places like Michigan, Texas, Penn State, and UCLA are most likely going to be looking for new head coaches as well. Some say we can't afford to fire Pruitt. Hell I say, we can't afford to NOT fire him! Not only is Freeze available, he wants this job! He's been openly campaigning for it. He is a damn good football coach and he would kill it here IMO. If our administration does not seize this window of opportunity, then that tells me we are not serious about playing winning football here at UT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wolfeman_Vol, VolForLife83, MoreSteam and 3 others
#211
#211
loservol said:
Right now, Pruitt has Covid. So I doubt he is allowed to be conducting any interviews at the moment. We are all trapped on the satellite of love and being forced to watch really bad college fb.
Click to expand...
tenor-gif.334313
 

Attachments

  • tenor.gif
    tenor.gif
    1.2 MB · Views: 542
#213
#213
ThreatLevelOrange said:
It was no shame to hire Pruitt under trying circumstances 3 years ago. But there was zero need to give Pruitt the extension. Fulmer just doubled the potential buyout, and avoiding embarrassment is now a reason for keeping Pruitt.
Click to expand...
Fulmer should sink with Pruitt.
Neither are qualified for their jobs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spawn, Megatron88, chattavol420 and 1 other person
#214
#214
Brave Volunteer said:
Easy to say that now, sure. But was anyone really complaining about the extension back when we were 8-0? If memory serves, I even heard several on here saying that it would be good for recruiting purposes, showing that our AD has that much confidence in our coach.
Click to expand...
I was on here saying...
What kind of idiot gives a raise and extension to a coach that lost to GA ST?
 
#216
#216
Brave Volunteer said:
If not, that's a really dumb move by our administration. He's not the guy and bringing him back next year only delays the inevitable. If we bring Pruitt back next season, that also means bringing in a lot of new assistants that will not come here without a two year contract minimum. That means when Pruitt is fired next season, aside from buying out Pruitt we'll have to pick up the year two tab on all those assistants. Also, if you bring back Pruitt next year after coming off of a 3-7 season with losses to Kentucky at home and Arkansas, I guarantee you attendance next year will look like this year WITHOUT the COVID restrictions. Along with that goes the drop in concessions and merchandise sales. Another reason we shouldn't keep Pruitt is because the competition for hiring good coaches will be much tougher next season as places like Michigan, Texas, Penn State, and UCLA are most likely going to be looking for new head coaches as well. Some say we can't afford to fire Pruitt. Hell I say, we can't afford to NOT fire him! Not only is Freeze available, he wants this job! He's been openly campaigning for it. He is a damn good football coach and he would kill it here IMO. If our administration does not seize this window of opportunity, then that tells me we are not serious about playing winning football here at UT.
Click to expand...
I truly wish for a new coach but the longer it goes the least likely it happens. To me it's inevitable so why waste another season. However, Tennessee always seems to munson it up.
tenor (3).gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: Easyriders, BeardedVol and Border Vol
#218
#218
CR-vol said:
Lol Freeze is a loser that won't ever be a candidate here and shouldn't be. It's a good thing the fans aren't in charge. Things would probably be way worse than they are considering fans gets excited over mediocrity, scandal and a total lack of character from the likes of Freeze and Kiffin.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Vols should just hold out on Pruitt until they can hire a church pastor or maybe even the Pope because neither of those types ever behave inappropriately or display a lack of character. WTFE.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vmivol00
#219
#219
Someone in a another thread mentioned John Adams’s article about Pruitt. After talking to the poster, I decided to try harder to find it. I did, and in case others don’t have a Knox News Sentinel subscription like me, you can find it here: Time for Tennessee Vols football to make decision on Jeremy Pruitt

Adams is usually the mouthpiece for the athletic department; so, I find it intriguing that he’d write this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skippy95 and Border Vol
#220
#220
TeacherVol007 said:
Someone in a another thread mentioned John Adams’s article about Pruitt. After talking to the poster, I decided to try harder to find it. I did, and in case others don’t have a Knox News Sentinel subscription like me, you can find it here: Time for Tennessee Vols football to make decision on Jeremy Pruitt

Adams is usually the mouthpiece for the athletic department; so, I find it intriguing that he’d write this.
Click to expand...
John probably has some kind of insider information.
 
#222
#222
Skippy95 said:
They all want him gone man. Even Jimmy Hyams wants this dude canned. It’s time to move on. The writing is on the wall.
Click to expand...
I've long suspected Jimmy is a closet Vols fan despite his claims of being impartial. Several times he has slipped up and said "we" when referring to the team and I've hear him basically say how much he dislikes covering the team when it's losing.

Losing the media will just make it harder to keep Pruitt
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skippy95
#223
#223
#224
#224
I know it’s easy to point to the money. However, I don’t see it! Why we keep this dude is beyond me. I was a fan of CJP until I look at the numbers! They are terrible!
 
#225
#225
DownNDirty said:
I can try to expand on it later but a few bullet points for the first fact.

- There was an article written that showed many of those numbers and showed how that it was possible based on many actual numbers gathered for the article recently. I will find it later and link it. But there were raw numbers in there.

- Aside from that, it's basic economics. You can call it several different things - Predictive Analytics, Economic Forecasting, Behavioral Predictive Modeling, etc. But no matter how you slice it that's the way all major corporations work. They make assumption based guesses and go off of those assumptions. It's rather easily assumed that if Gomer is retained UT will be predicted to be, at best, 4th in the SEC East next season. Little momentum, lame duck coach, and fan apathy would be catastrophic.

Also, a negotiated buyout with him would be AMMORTIZED over X number of years. They aren't paying it all at once. And the SEC just got a sweet new deal where ABC/ESPN is taking over the CBS games in a couple of years and it's 20+ million extra PER YEAR to the schools in the conference. There's one way to make up some of that money.

Plus, IF he comes back he's going to be making SWEEPING changes to the coaching staff and there will be at least 5-7 new assistants next year all with 2 year contracts. If he is retained and really flames out next season the buyout money for all of the replacement coaches AND him would be more than they'd pay to dump him today.

I am heading out for work but could expand on these thoughts later. It may not be the best case scenario but it's the lesser of two evils to just dump him now. The economics support it.
Click to expand...

Whole heap of guesses and estimates and ASSUMPTIONS. He can't guarantee contracts beyond what he is allowed to do for example. why would he propose 5-7 new assistants in a make or break year? Predictive analytics with zero inputs available taking into account COVID like circumstances in major college athletics do not excite me either. Reminds me of the age old story of a high level meeting where several departments reported their actual data and at the end the CEO asked his analysts what it really says. The analyst responded, "well what do yo want it to say." Been there done that....
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top