Saban has lots of good things...

[VolJarhead]

Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe. He should have been fired!

 

[Dudleys87]

He learned that from him their pressers are almost identical.

With Maurer I think Pruitt has a chance to beat Saban. No, it’s not a guarantee so don’t go losing your minds.

 

[99gator]

Who cares? What coach ever goes to a game week presser and craps on the opposing coach or team? It really means nothing

I’ll take it a step further. When has anyone said something bad about an opposing coach ever unless there was some sort of intense dislike at the outset.

Spurrier was about the only one who gave an honest opinion about certain people.

Saban, and every other coach, knows what the first question is about a head coach who was a former assistant

 

[BenGrimm]

I also think this is a weak take. I think only a weak mind craps on folks when they speak highly of someone else, especially if they are friends.

I’m sure Saban respects CJP. He wouldn’t have elevated him from highschool coach to DC if he didn’t. I’m sure he appreciated him staying on for that last NCG too. That is just a given.

But that really has no bearing on what CJP has or will accomplish at TN.

If it makes you feel better about the coach that lost to GA St then don’t let me rain on your parade. Personally I’m not sold on Pruitt the HC, I want him to be good but I haven’t seen that yet. Nothing his old boss says is going to change what I’ve seen on the field for 18 games.

 

[BenGrimm]

Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe. He should have been fired!

He also had two SEC Championships and a Natty on his resume already. Then went 6-0 at this point in year 2.

 

[Jaws]

That’s Saban being Saban.

He spoke glowingly of Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp too.

 

[GTBATV]

This is even getting old for me.....

 

[cbatey1]

anyone else notice that the "A" on the backdrop looks Tennessee orange? I'm digging it and maybe its a sign. LOL

 

[FrankenVol54]

Are we praising Nick Saban here?

The devil demands his due.

 

[Sandevol]

to say about Coach Pruitt at the end of his presser today. Lots of our own fans don't respect our own coach as much as Saban seems to do. They are very similar when it comes to press conferences I think.

He also liked Dooley and Butch why wouldn’t he Bama beat the **** out of us

 

[DaddyChad]

Never said he was. But Saban talked up Dooley A LOT.

I think Dooley is a lot more like Saban than some think. Dooley tried being a little too much like Nick without having the experience or accomplishments. Alienated a lot of people in and around the program. I actually think Dooley will be a much better head coach a second time around probably at a smaller program.

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

They days of spurrier telling his players they were going to score 50-60 on teams are over. Bama could put up 90-100 on teams if they kept all of their starters in.

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

And Pruitt is telling the truth when he said you won’t find many qb/wrs combo in the NFL like Bama has.

 

[jeff1vol]

Let's switch roster and I bet he wouldn't be so "respectful". Easy to do when you have a light-years advantage in talent.

 

[82_VOL_83]

He said nice things about IBJ also. Means nothing. Just a bunch of words to fill up his obligatory 3 minutes at the podium.

 

[NATHAN05]

Dooley was never a coordinator under Saban.

Pretty sure he was a Tight ends coach however at the Dolphins for Saban though. So youd think he'd still be familiar.

 

[DaddyChad]

Pretty sure he was a Tight ends coach however at the Dolphins for Saban though. So youd think he'd still be familiar.

Play calling is a whole different ballgame.

 

[Grudenhaslanded]

Dooley was never a coordinator under Saban.

He was assistant head coach under Saban and Saban talked him up as much as he is Pruitt.

 

[sjt18]

Dooley was never a coordinator under Saban.

He's a coordinator at Mizzou though... one of the top 4 O's in the SEC with nowhere near top 4 talent.

Coaches don't like to lose. Many here want to believe that Jones was a better "coach" than Dooley. He isn't. Dooley made mistakes. He was a downright lazy and misguided recruiter. But he "coaches" at a higher level than Jones. There's a reason why Dooley got an NFL gig and then an opportunity to be Mizzou's OC while Jones can't find real work.

 

[sjt18]

Saban does have a habit of talking his former coaches up... even if they don't deserve it.

I hope Pruitt turns out great... but this doesn't really make me feel any better or worse about that hope.

 

[DaddyChad]

He was assistant head coach under Saban and Saban talked him up as much as he is Pruitt.

And yet he didn’t trust him to call plays at the time. I’m not saying Saban’s endorsement means anything.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Wow. Saban is saying he has a lot of young guys playing. I thought that was only an excuse? Lol.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

He's a coordinator at Mizzou though... one of the top 4 O's in the SEC with nowhere near top 4 talent.

Coaches don't like to lose. Many here want to believe that Jones was a better "coach" than Dooley. He isn't. Dooley made mistakes. He was a downright lazy and misguided recruiter. But he "coaches" at a higher level than Jones. There's a reason why Dooley got an NFL gig and then an opportunity to be Mizzou's OC while Jones can't find real work.

Good points. This just further validates what I and many others have stated about what Pruitt truly inherited. While Dooley had the all time mistake of taking zero OL in 2012, he was a much better coach in all facets of the game.

Some have said Fulmer ran this program into a ditch. If that’s the case then Butch drove it off a cliff. No TN football coach in modern history has inherited a worse program than Pruitt.

 

[82_VOL_83]

They days of spurrier telling his players they were going to score 50-60 on teams are over. Bama could put up 90-100 on teams if they kept all of their starters in.

Check who played the last series on Sat night against aTm.

 

[sjt18]

Good points. This just further validates what I and many others have stated about what Pruitt truly inherited. While Dooley had the all time mistake of taking zero OL in 2012, he was a much better coach in all facets of the game.

I think that... though there are many here that don't see it.

Some have said Fulmer ran this program into a ditch.

He did. I like Fulmer. Really like him as AD to be truthful. But he got lazy and complacent. Discipline on and off the field fell off. He stopped holding assistants accountable. He held loyalty to guys who didn't really earn it by performance like Sanders. he made a lot of mistakes that ultimately hurt the program and cut his career much shorter than it should have been.

He also let the game pass him by. Saban for all his success... hasn't stopped changing with the game. How different is his team now from his early Bama teams? Fulmer once said, "We've won a lot of games around here doing what we're doing. We're not changing now". That as much as anything is what got him fired. He left a paper thin OL and only one real DT. He left a pretty bad roster.

If that’s the case then Butch drove it off a cliff. No TN football coach in modern history has inherited a worse program than Pruitt.

Honestly, I think Pruitt should have done more than he has with what was left OR been much more decisive about cleaning up the roster. If he's got a bunch of problem holdovers... I think a lot of us would be more likely to forgive him for purging the roster and not winning immediately with youth than some of the stuff we've seen.

I think his biggest mistake though I don't think it was unreasonable was to stick with JG. JG's problems were known. The same ones that got him benched this year were what hurt UT last year.... and the year before. But Pruitt invested this offseason and about $3 million in salaries to "fix" JG. All tried but ultimately it failed. JG didn't change when the lights came on.


Bottom line for me is that great coaches, coach great. They make the most of what they have. I haven't given up on Pruitt... but he hasn't done that yet.