We're stuck

[I4Vols]

Yeah, our current coach had two weeks to recruit and then one season. That's a long, long time. We demand INSTANT turn around. We should have started winning the minute he stepped foot onto the campus. Lets analyze everything but reality itself. Idiots.

The reality is our coach lost a game to a 26 point underdog. Reality is he approved (maybe developed) the game plan, substitution plan, etc. Somehow, I don't feel like the idiot and I don't think you or the likers on this particular post are either. If he didn't lose that game, so many would not be having this conversation.

 

[jackieaprilesr]

I hate to think about it but we are stuck with this coach. We fired our way into this situation. I don't think we're going to be able to hire our way out of it now. What coach that has a proven track record is going to dream of coming to Tennessee right now? At most we could replace our coach with another unproven coach and be right where we are next year. Throwing around flashy splashy new hire names isn't going to get us anywhere. It pains me to say but I think we're going to have to let Pruitt estate at least two to three more years. I think this for two reasons. We need to show respectable coaches that were willing to stick with a coach through some rough times while he build the program. Second, we need to take away any excuses from Pruitt before he gets fired. He needs the opportunity to have every player on the field be someone he recruited. No excuses. Your players. Your system. Your culture. If it doesn't fly, then you're gone. Gag and vomit.

tough call.........with the current roster, i expect him to be capable of fielding a competitive team. it seams like the good coaches can field a competitive team, that can play .500 football with any roster; and the years they get talent or specifically a talented quarterback, they contend. Pruitt is not even close winning the easy ones when dealing with a depleted roster or second tier players. Les Miles has Kansas is 2-3 with a blow out win over BC. for the record, i like Pruitt but luck may be against him at UT. we have to keep the bar high

 

[BeardedVol]

True. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do. If Pruitt was like the 4-5th HC choice, then what do you do? Some want to believe Leach unequivocally accepted the justice b and we backed off. I have yet to see the irrefutable evidence to back that up.

And like I have stated before, how do we know Fulmer didnt offer sme big names and they just flat out turned us down? That was rhetorical because we dont and never will.

You get what you pay for, Pruitt would take the job for $4 million. We low-balled Mullen. We reneged on the offer to Leach; neither he nor his agent gain anything from lying about reaching an agreement in principal with Currie.

Regardless, the idea that we only had one choice, and that was to go with a first-time coordinator learning to be a HC in the SEC simply is not true. UT as a whole was not prepared to open the checkbook after the Schiano hire imploded, and we ended up with Pruitt after the debacle that ensued cost Currie his job. Hiring him was always a risk, and at the moment, there is zero evidence that he's going to be able to learn to be a HC while trying to succeed in the most difficult conference in college football; keeping him for X more years after that becomes indisputably apparent will not benefit the program.

 

[bpalmer28]

You get what you pay for, Pruitt would take the job for $4 million. We low-balled Mullen. We reneged on the offer to Leach; neither he nor his agent gain anything from lying about reaching an agreement in principal with Currie.

Regardless, the idea that we only had one choice, and that was to go with a first-time coordinator learning to be a HC in the SEC simply is not true. UT as a whole was not prepared to open the checkbook after the Schiano hire imploded, and we ended up with Pruitt after the debacle that ensued cost Currie his job. Hiring him was always a risk, and at the moment, there is zero evidence that he's going to be able to learn to be a HC while trying to succeed in the most difficult conference in college football; keeping him for X more years after that becomes indisputably apparent will not benefit the program.

It can benefit the program to keep him even if he doesn’t win. At this point you have to ask yourself why so many have said no, why have we not been able to pony up, and what do we have to do in order to get whoever we want next time. The answer could be allowing Pruitt to struggle for a few years while the buyouts drop and the perception of UT Administration stabilizes.

 

[vegasvolfan]

I hate to think about it but we are stuck with this coach. We fired our way into this situation. I don't think we're going to be able to hire our way out of it now. What coach that has a proven track record is going to dream of coming to Tennessee right now? At most we could replace our coach with another unproven coach and be right where we are next year. Throwing around flashy splashy new hire names isn't going to get us anywhere. It pains me to say but I think we're going to have to let Pruitt estate at least two to three more years. I think this for two reasons. We need to show respectable coaches that were willing to stick with a coach through some rough times while he build the program. Second, we need to take away any excuses from Pruitt before he gets fired. He needs the opportunity to have every player on the field be someone he recruited. No excuses. Your players. Your system. Your culture. If it doesn't fly, then you're gone. Gag and vomit.

Pruitt. Is. Not. Going. Anywhere. No way Fulmer hires him or anyone while we still owe Butch. Butch off our pay schedule might just be the ticket for Fulmer to act more quickly I than he might otherwise, because FSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Miss State, Nebraska all have tightening leashes on their coaches. There would be a lot of available coaches because everyone else just hired theirs and are doing better than Pruitt.

So if Butch took the Rutgers job, Fulmer still isn’t taking another guy, unless he can forgive Kiffin or lure someone like Meyers.. What about SMU’s coach, or UCF’s coach? Even they have never coached in power 5, and we have made that mistake 4 times in a row. Pruitt will stick around over those guys.

Pruitt will most likely have next year to get us back to 50/50. Butch will most likely be HC next year but certainly will be within two years. Pruitt doesn’t perform, I agree... that’s it.

If Pruitt does, get 50/50 either this year (not going to happen) or next, he will get the next year to show improvement from there and will continue to stay as long as he shows signs of improvements.

 

[BeardedVol]

It can benefit the program to keep him even if he doesn’t win. At this point you have to ask yourself why so many have said no, why have we not been able to pony up, and what do we have to do in order to get whoever we want next time. The answer could be allowing Pruitt to struggle for a few years while the buyouts drop and the perception of UT Administration stabilizes.

I agree. Pruitt could have posted another 5-7 season as long as he showed progress, that he could win the games he was supposed to, and field a competitive team even in the losses. That's a relatively low bar for a coach in the 2nd season of his tenure, and so far he's not even able to meet those expectations.

If he posts a 2-10 or worse record with 4-5 more blowout 25+ point losses, retaining him with the expectation that things will "get better" before he hits a point in his 6-year contract where he wants a raise and/or extension is highly unlikely. Keeping Pruitt, while knowing that he is not going to succeed, will tank the program indefinitely.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

Like I posted in another thread, all of the buyout money for Butch, Butch's staff, and Currie was accounted for in the fiscal year when the firings took place. It's public record. The only cost that matters going forward is Pruitt's buyout and whatever they would pay the new coach above what they're paying Pruitt. The difference between Pruitt's buyout after this season and next season isn't much over $2 million. If Fulmer makes this fanbase suffer through another shitshow in 2020 just to save $2 million, he will wind up being fired again.

 

[photovol]

Why do Vol fans continue to be raped by the football gods, just why?

 

[volinSmyrna]

I’m curious as to what on Kiffin’s resume suggests he would win big here? I guess everything is relative so you may think big is making a bowl game but to say someone is winning big here to me means playing for conference championships and 10+ wins a year. So start there. What do you define as winning big? Then, what makes you think Kiffin would do so?

I guess I should have clarified that I think "if" he had stayed, I believe he would have won big here and my mind hasn't changed since then. I do think he would have at least won the East multiple times and had several 10+ win seasons by now. He also would have been more competitive against Saban than we have been in the last 10 years. Look at that rag tag bunch he almost beat him with in 09. We also have to remember the crappy level the East was after Urban left. Starting in 2010, here are the representatives in the SEC Championship from the East. South Carolina, UGA twice, Missouri twice, Florida twice, UGA twice. The job in the East is obviously tougher now with UGA rolling and if Mullen gets Florida going, but I do think Kiffin would win big here. It's just never going to happen. I think had Blackburn gotten the AD spot, it had a chance but not now.

 

[hog88]

You cannot fire and rehire every 2 flipping years. Some people amaze me thinking it is possible to go through 3 coaches in 6 years and be financially ok. Boosters we have, however they are not gonna keep bailing out the University like the government does General Motors every other year.

Who did we fire prematurely?

 

[VolRoger]

I guess I should have clarified that I think "if" he had stayed, I believe he would have won big here and my mind hasn't changed since then. I do think he would have at least won the East multiple times and had several 10+ win seasons by now. He also would have been more competitive against Saban than we have been in the last 10 years. Look at that rag tag bunch he almost beat him with in 09. We also have to remember the crappy level the East was after Urban left. Starting in 2010, here are the representatives in the SEC Championship from the East. South Carolina, UGA twice, Missouri twice, Florida twice, UGA twice. The job in the East is obviously tougher now with UGA rolling and if Mullen gets Florida going, but I do think Kiffin would win big here. It's just never going to happen. I think had Blackburn gotten the AD spot, it had a chance but not now.

Maybe that's one of the main reasons Blackburn didn't get the job. Seems like I remember someone saying he was very vocal about not hiring Dooley or Butch, and got on the bad side of someone pretty powerful in and/or around the program. I do agree with the original poster that we likely will be sticking with Coach Pruitt for a while. A sports article broke down both Jones and Pruitts buyouts. Jones settled on $200K/month up to an unreal $8.5M after his 2017 firing, so we still owe him quite a bit of money. I don't know what monthly installments we'd have to pay Pruitt but below is his total buyout depending on when he would get fired without cause before the milestone dates listed.

Full buyout breakdown:

Feb. 1, 2020: $9.12 million (60% of $15.2M left on contract)
Feb. 1, 2021: $6.84 million
Feb. 1, 2022: $4.56 million
Feb. 1, 2023: $2.28 million

 

[volinSmyrna]

Maybe that's one of the main reasons Blackburn didn't get the job. Seems like I remember someone saying he was very vocal about not hiring Dooley or Butch, and got on the bad side of someone pretty powerful in and/or around the program. I do agree with the original poster that we likely will be sticking with Coach Pruitt for a while. A sports article broke down both Jones and Pruitts buyouts. Jones settled on $200K/month up to an unreal $8.5M after his 2017 firing, so we still owe him quite a bit of money. I don't know what monthly installments we'd have to pay Pruitt but below is his total buyout depending on when he would get fired without cause before the milestone dates listed.

Full buyout breakdown:

Feb. 1, 2020: $9.12 million (60% of $15.2M left on contract)
Feb. 1, 2021: $6.84 million
Feb. 1, 2022: $4.56 million
Feb. 1, 2023: $2.28 million

Agree. I have always been a huge Blackburn fan, and he turned out to be right. I'm glad to see him back in the administration business. Hopefully he is the next call we make when Fulmer decides to hang it up.

 

[VFL1127]

If they wanted to fire and rehire they could get a name coach. They're interested in money and that's about it. Pay them enough and they'd come. I don't think they should do that right now and i don't think they will. This narrative that Tennessee couldn't get a proven coach is false. Fulmer did what Fulmer does, he hired conservative just like he coached. Mike Leach was never going to walk the sidelines under Fulmer. Doubt anyone else like him would either. He's going to find a guy in his mold as long as he's here. Pruitt is his guy, for now.

Did you not see the crazy money they offered to Mike Gundy? No proven coach is coming to UT!

 

[farmin68]

At the end of the day we all said Butch was the worst coach in UT history. Pruitt said "Hold my beer."

From the legions of the miserable come some of the stupidest comments in UT football history.

 

[SteveG]

Except Tennessee has zero leverage in attracting top coaches if we were to fire Pruitt in 2 seasons or less.

Because he is what happens:

New coach after Pruitt demands highest buyout terms in the country or says no to Tennessee.
New coach after Pruitt demands top 5 salary in the country or says no to Tennessee.
New coach after Pruitt demands 6 year minimum contract length or says no to Tennessee.

Tennessee would be in no position to offer those three things given what would be on the books in buyouts of Pruitt and his staff on top of Butch's.... That also doesn't add in what the new coach's buyout would be at current school plus buyouts of assistants at current jobs.

Exactly! So, we all need to relax and give Pruitt this year and next year. I agree that Pruitt may have mismanaged the QB situation, and that has cost the Vols big time. It was a bad miss by Pruitt. But, to be fair, I like what he is doing on almost all other areas.

 

[hUTch2002]

I guess I should have clarified that I think "if" he had stayed, I believe he would have won big here and my mind hasn't changed since then. I do think he would have at least won the East multiple times and had several 10+ win seasons by now. He also would have been more competitive against Saban than we have been in the last 10 years. Look at that rag tag bunch he almost beat him with in 09. We also have to remember the crappy level the East was after Urban left. Starting in 2010, here are the representatives in the SEC Championship from the East. South Carolina, UGA twice, Missouri twice, Florida twice, UGA twice. The job in the East is obviously tougher now with UGA rolling and if Mullen gets Florida going, but I do think Kiffin would win big here. It's just never going to happen. I think had Blackburn gotten the AD spot, it had a chance but not now.

Very good point about the East sucking. We really screwed up with Blackburn. He was the obvious choice so of course that isn’t what we did. I don’t think Kiffin is a very good HC based on his record so I don’t think he would’ve won like you believe he would have but you are certainly correct that the East didn’t have a beast like UGA back then.

 

['Boro-vol]

I don’t know if he’d even entertain the offer while Fulmer is here, but I’d love to see what Dave Clawsen could do as the HC.

I believe his next stop will be a big time program. I’d love to see his offense here, with nobody looking over his shoulder.

 

[JoAllan]

“We're stuck”

Life Alert saves a life every 15 seconds...........and can really help when you’ve fallen and can’t get up.

 

[volinSmyrna]

Very good point about the East sucking. We really screwed up with Blackburn. He was the obvious choice so of course that isn’t what we did. I don’t think Kiffin is a very good HC based on his record so I don’t think he would’ve won like you believe he would have but you are certainly correct that the East didn’t have a beast like UGA back then.

His record isn’t great I agree. I just think the “fit” was right for him at that point for us and our program. I think he went to USC and thought it was going to be the glory days and he was going to be Pete Carrol Jr. FAU is what it is. He will get another shot at a big program and if the fit is right he will win. I’m thinking Florida State is going to be his landing spot if they are in the market again. We can only speculate and imagine what might have been I guess.

 

[Behr]

At the end of the day we all said Butch was the worst coach in UT history. Pruitt said "Hold my beer."

At the end of the day there were a whole bunch of people that could not wait to get right here. And they're all ready to sell their soul today to fire Pruitt and do it again. Like it hasn't already happened and keeps getting worse. Lol.

 

['Boro-vol]

At the end of the day there were a whole bunch of people that could not wait to get right here. And they're all ready to sell their soul today to fire Pruitt and do it again. Like it hasn't already happened and keeps getting worse. Lol.

So what is the answer. Do something or do nothing? Neither is a good answer. Also, at what point do you determine to make a change? What do we have to see to get to that point?

Not being difficult, and not just aiming this at you Behr. I’m genuinely curious what others think about it.