He doesn't have to. There's a lot of ways this can play out, these are just some of the ways off the top of my head:
-He actually has evidence of wrong doing in other parts of UT athletics which would actually hurt us with NCAA sanctions like you wouldn't believe. He can then leverage that into a payday for Pruitt. But either way even if we settle, that information may get released and then we're not just paying pruitt millions, but now that information is out there.
-He doesn't have much evidence of wrong doing. All he has to do is produce enough that a judge doesn't toss out the lawsuit. He then will be able to go digging into our crap during discovery and eventually discover wrong doing because let's be honest, every major athletic department in country cheats, we all already know this.
Either he gets his guy paid, or help his Bama alumni client deal a blow to Tennessee athletics via (additional) NCAA sanctions. It's a smart play. Guy knows what he's doing.
Fulmer is getting 50%. If you piss Fulmer off and he goes rogue, you are looking at lack of institutional control. 50% isn't bad for hush money and to keep some semblance of donor peace (those loyal to PF).
But...but....he's a HOF coach!! Wrongfully fired JUST as he was about to turn it all around. Loves UT more than himself.....yadda...yadda....yadda.....
Phillip Paychecks strikes again!
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This is what we've been waiting to happen. From the beginning I've said it will go this way and it's happening:
1) UTAD has an internal investigation - that's over and I firmly believe UT has the results and paying the law firm what amounts to a retainer.
2) Pruitt signals he wants a buyout and wasn't fired for cause - this is where we sit today.
3) UT will respond to him with an offer of about 3 million or 25 percent
4) Pruitt will counter with around 8 or 9 Mill
5) UT will say how about something in the middle and offer 4 to 6
6) Pruitt accepts and never utters a word about Tennessee again
7) UTAD releases that report to the NCAA and says we did our diligence are self sanctioning and cleaned our own house...period, end of story.
Plus everything has slid into the next fiscal year where cash is once again flowing in the AD.
And this is why you pay the buyout (or negotiate down) and pay the man. We have paid players for years, across multiple sports. If Pruitt really wants to spill the beans, and has others willing to talk or has receipts, it will be like dropping a nuclear bomb on the athletic program.
You think Kiffin set us back 10 years? This will set us back 30 years in multiple sports.
You're exactly right. The basis of his suit won't be to argue that Pruitt wasn't fired for cause, but rather get a larger settlement by showing them what they think will kill UT in bad PR during the discovery phaseLet’s see. Pruitt’s lawyer gave no hint that Pruitt’s firing for cause could be denied. But, if UT doesn’t ante up some hush money, he will burn UT to the ground (metaphorically speaking). Cat fight!!!
Only the lawyers win here.
Sorry I didn’t see your post before I repeated what you said essentially.One defense could be that we do the same thing to do them and us this opportunity to discover different tactics that Pruitt did when he was at Georgia or Alabama, taking them down with us. We would be able to then establish a pattern that he's always cheated and if we found something that would make him virtually unhirable in the college ranks. But that assumes that he doesn't want to go back to the college ranks and that he's satisfied with being in the NFL right now.