For what it's worth, I never believed in either Dooley or Jones. I was upset when Dooley was hired but could understand it to a degree due to the awful position Kiffin left us in; I was disgusted when Jones was hired because it seemed to be a K-mart hire when we could have gotten someone better if we had been willing to spend the money (and if a certain family had not been pulling the strings). From his second season on, I never watched a game that made me believe in Jones. It seemed to me that anytime he ever spoke he revealed how unqualified he was to be coach at any Power 5 program.
I was cautiously optimistic about Pruitt when he was hired because, unlike Jones, he had accomplishments, if not as a HC, at the Power 5 level, and significant ones that closely paralleled Kirby. I agree that it's too early to judge him; but the early returns do not look promising. Even recruiting, where he promised to take us to the very top, does not look markedly different from Jones other than a better focus on the offensive and defensive lines. The coaches that succeed now in the SEC at the highest level dominate from the start on the recruiting trail - look at what Jimbo is already doing, or what Kirby did with his first full class, or Saban with his first full class.
