The Case for Keeping Pruitt

#51
#51
DiderotsGhost said:
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out.
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All I see is a bunch of proof that you're not as angry as everyone else about this year's performance.
 
#52
#52
DiderotsGhost said:
He's not if Pruitt and Chaney get fired.

We're starting over from scratch if that happens. And the cycle will repeat.

Of course, let's be honest, 90% of the hoople-heads here would've fired Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban at Mich State, Barry Alvarez, Frank Beamer, etc. I don't know if Pruitt will figure things out or not, but it's so predictable watching people who praised Pruitt for his country charm 3 years ago, now make him out to be a retarded hillbilly. Indeed, I said that very thing would happen back in 2017.

But for me, as pissed as I am, I want to see 2021 with Bailey and / or Salter at QB, before making the final judgement.
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This is where I’m at. Bad qb play hurts the run game and defense as well.

If we still suck with at least respectable qb play then my mind will be made up. If they play Bailey and he plays like a high school qb that hasn’t been developed then that’s on the qb coach and Pruitt for not making that change.

I still don’t think Pruitt will be fired even if we lose out. If they can’t get a qb ready by next year then I don’t know what else to do.
 
#53
#53
DiderotsGhost said:
He's not if Pruitt and Chaney get fired.

We're starting over from scratch if that happens. And the cycle will repeat.

Of course, let's be honest, 90% of the hoople-heads here would've fired Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban at Mich State, Barry Alvarez, Frank Beamer, etc. I don't know if Pruitt will figure things out or not, but it's so predictable watching people who praised Pruitt for his country charm 3 years ago, now make him out to be a retarded hillbilly. Indeed, I said that very thing would happen back in 2017.

But for me, as pissed as I am, I want to see 2021 with Bailey and / or Salter at QB, before making the final judgement.
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If Pruitt had us in our second SECCG this year, I don't think he'd be feeling head. If he'd had our best seasons in 5 years, probably would be fine. Hell, if it was 1982 he might be fine. But it's laughable that you cherry pick two of best coaches ever to make the fanbase out as unreasonable and ignore the hundreds and hundreds who were failing as badly as Pruitt in year three that flamed out in epic fashion. If UT fans should be good at anything at this point, it would be identifying a failure.

Right now Pruitt is failing in the following areas:

Player development. He gets an F here. Players seem to get worse the longer they play under him and his staff. His mishandling of the most important position in football is criminal. He reminds me of a Jets coach. No one ever seems to improve there either. He has had 3 DL coaches now including himself and we don't have a decent defensive lineman on the team.

Staff construction. Another F. His position coaches are really bad and he seems to fire some of them indiscriminately while keeping others who stink in 3-d. How several of them have a job here is a mystery.

Game preparation/practice. Pruitt has inexplicably bad opening day losses in two of his first three openers. Ironically this year, his best opening day performance came when he was around them the least and many members of the team had to miss practice. Since the season started they had few missed practice issues and the team has gotten steadily worse.

In game adjustments. I didn't think it would get worse than Butch as far as making glaring in game mistakes. But Pruitt has taken the crown. His halftime strategy seems to be find whatever didn't work in the first half and do nothing but that in the second half. Everyone comes out of the half and just pummels Tennessee.

Defensive mind. Back when Fulmer inexplicably decided to only interview defensive coordinators, I looked up the prior 4 years of final top 25 teams. An average of 18 of the top 25 teams had coaches that came from the offensive side of the ball. So now we have one of the worst offenses we've ever fielded and the defense is in the bottom 1/3rd of the SEC too. So the defensive mind isn't very good at defense and is completely lost on offense.

The hire was a bad one on day one and he's since had a string of ever more embarrassing losses. It's not easy to set any kind of negative record for losing after Dooley and Butch but Pruitt has managed several. Historically bad loss to Georgia State. Worst home loss to Kentucky in about 100 years. Worst streak of getting dominated in 129 years.

Recruiting. He's about to sign his 4th class. It's very possibly going to finish 9th in the SEC, which would be his worst class to date.

I honestly can't think of a single reason to keep him.
 
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#54
#54
DiderotsGhost said:
Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.
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You're joking right? It's been three years, and he still hasn't dealt with the problem at QB. He hasn't dealt with Weinke being a disaster of a QB coach, and he continues to roll JG out as our starting QB. He also has kept Friend at offensive line coach, and he has been atrocious. Our offensive line is playing no way close to their capability.
The defensive line play has been worse since he fired Brumbaugh. Finally, if Pruitt is so "quick to address problems", then why hasn't he solved the huge riddle of defending the slant on defense. He is a "defensive genius", after all. This should be child's play for a supposed mastermind like Pruitt.
 
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#55
#55
If he hangs around long enough he may end up with a worse overall record than Doofy........while being WAY more boring to watch.
 
#56
#56
Go ahead and keep him, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of seats available in the next few years to watch your boy from.
 
#57
#57
JoAllan said:
If he hangs around long enough he may end up with a worse overall record than Doofy........while being WAY more boring to watch.
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If we beat Vanderbilt, Pruitt is going to end his 3rd season with one more win than Dooley had when he was fired after his 3rd season.
 
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#58
#58
DiderotsGhost said:
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
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Solid post by one of the most solid posters on VN. I'm with this, 100%.

FYI, I don't think JG comes back next year, but even if he does I don't think he sees the field for anything other than mop-up duty.

Go Vols.
 
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#59
#59
Vol423 said:
All I see is a bunch of proof that you're not as angry as everyone else about this year's performance.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to speak for him but maybe it's more of hoping that Pruitt can figure or work this thing out. The pieces are there and recruiting isn't terrible. A decent QB is all it would take. This year sucks balls but what an F'd up year for just about everything else besides football too. I saw a thread where someone said stop blaming covid but come on that's not even realistic. We're down 16 players right now who can't practice for Florida due to covid. I dont think it changes the ultimate outcome but it's probably going to be a lot uglier than it should be. I'm ready for 2021 regardless if Pruitt is here or not. With his fait tied to Fulmers I believe it is fantasy to think he won't be here for at least 1 and possibly even 2 more years. Best be wishing him well and getting used to it..
 
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#60
#60
JG as a SEC QB is not a winner. CJP as an SEC Head Coach is not a winner. Cauterize the wound as quickly as possible to reduce the area of infection.
 
#61
#61
GreyWolf1129 said:
Solid post by one of the most solid posters on VN. I'm with this, 100%.

FYI, I don't think JG comes back next year, but even if he does I don't think he sees the field for anything other than mop-up duty.

Go Vols.
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Why would a coach put a 6th-year senior with no eligibility left in for mop up duty with a 4* freshman on the bench?
 
#63
#63
The Tall Gguy said:
So we should sit back and accept sucking from now own because coaching searches are too hard?
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No.
"We" (average Joe fan) dont matter in this situation.
You could argue that fan apathy (average Joe) or anger helped remove Dooley, Jones, and Pruitt is headed the same direction.

I'm arguing that while that might be the case, that's where the power ends for "we". If "we" really have any.
Has the sense of urgency changed with the people that pull the strings since Pruitt was hired? Why would it have not changed with Dooley or Jones?

2020 has been a crazy year and while we may do better this way, I dont see UT opening up the hiring process to a fan poll.
 
#64
#64
I assume this post was written before we lost our highest ranked recruit.
 
#66
#66
CR-vol said:
I'm not going to speak for him but maybe it's more of hoping that Pruitt can figure or work this thing out. The pieces are there and recruiting isn't terrible. A decent QB is all it would take. This year sucks balls but what an F'd up year for just about everything else besides football too. I saw a thread where someone said stop blaming covid but come on that's not even realistic. We're down 16 players right now who can't practice for Florida due to covid. I dont think it changes the ultimate outcome but it's probably going to be a lot uglier than it should be. I'm ready for 2021 regardless if Pruitt is here or not. With his fait tied to Fulmers I believe it is fantasy to think he won't be here for at least 1 and possibly even 2 more years. Best be wishing him well and getting used to it..
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Nobody makes excuses like Vol fans. EVERY team in the nation has dealt with Covid, but we're somehow special. The only thing that makes us unique is that we have a horrifically incompetent coaching staff that is unable to deal with any issues whatsoever.
 
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#68
#68
SpookyAction said:
OP was well-stated. I think the good coaching move is to play Bailey now.
Pruitt is like my ex-wife.
Gonna have to look at him until the papers are served.

I gave up on Dooley in the 2nd half of the UF game in 2012.
Gave up on Butch about 60 seconds into that last UGA game.
I am giving up on Pruitt every game when #2 trots to the field. He can still change my mind, but he is losing my goodwill. Recruiting is better and it doesn't seem to matter. That is on him.
If he played Bailey I would loathe him less.
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If he plays Bailey and Bailey plays average - then I would loathe Pruitt just as much, because I would know that we would have 2 or 3 more wins if not for Pruitt's insistance to start and play JG every game.
 
#69
#69
VolArmy74 said:
If Pruitt had us in our second SECCG this year, I don't think he'd be feeling head. If he'd had our best seasons in 5 years, probably would be fine. Hell, if it was 1982 he might be fine. But it's laughable that you cherry pick two of best coaches ever to make the fanbase out as unreasonable and ignore the hundreds and hundreds who were failing as badly as Pruitt in year three that flamed out in epic fashion. If UT fans should be good at anything at this point, it would be identifying a failure.

Right now Pruitt is failing in the following areas:

Player development. He gets an F here. Players seem to get worse the longer they play under him and his staff. His mishandling of the most important position in football is criminal. He reminds me of a Jets coach. No one ever seems to improve there either. He has had 3 DL coaches now including himself and we don't have a decent defensive lineman on the team.

Staff construction. Another F. His position coaches are really bad and he seems to fire some of them indiscriminately while keeping others who stink in 3-d. How several of them have a job here is a mystery.

Game preparation/practice. Pruitt has inexplicably bad opening day losses in two of his first three openers. Ironically this year, his best opening day performance came when he was around them the least and many members of the team had to miss practice. Since the season started they had few missed practice issues and the team has gotten steadily worse.

In game adjustments. I didn't think it would get worse than Butch as far as making glaring in game mistakes. But Pruitt has taken the crown. His halftime strategy seems to be find whatever didn't work in the first half and do nothing but that in the second half. Everyone comes out of the half and just pummels Tennessee.

Defensive mind. Back when Fulmer inexplicably decided to only interview defensive coordinators, I looked up the prior 4 years of final top 25 teams. An average of 18 of the top 25 teams had coaches that came from the offensive side of the ball. So now we have one of the worst offenses we've ever fielded and the defense is in the bottom 1/3rd of the SEC too. So the defensive mind isn't very good at defense and is completely lost on offense.

The hire was a bad one on day one and he's since had a string of ever more embarrassing losses. It's not easy to set any kind of negative record for losing after Dooley and Butch but Pruitt has managed several. Historically bad loss to Georgia State. Worst home loss to Kentucky in about 100 years. Worst streak of getting dominated in 129 years.

Recruiting. He's about to sign his 4th class. It's very possibly going to finish 9th in the SEC, which would be his worst class to date.

I honestly can't think of a single reason to keep him.
Click to expand...

Exceptionally well stated post.
 
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