Why is everyone so optimistic about Pruitt and his staff?

[OrangeDog]

The last coach we had was a awful game manager… Calling timeouts before extra points on defense

Anybody ever consider that Botch might be gambling on the side?

....at least that would explain some of his decisions....

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

No different than the mopes who witch and moan over his hire proclaiming him a failure before he's coached his first game. No one....no one...knows what kind of coach Pruitt will be. No one knows how this staff will mesh with each other or the team. No one knows what kind of recruiting this staff can accomplish with the time needed to cultivate relationships. No one knows what this staff will be able to accomplish with the current roster.

What we do know is that what we had wasn't working. We do know that players didn't develop. We do know we weren't going to be serious players in the east under Butch. This guy has the mentors. He's seen and helped develop a championship mindset and locker room. He's reportedly an intense, fiery competitor. If the saying that a team is a reflection of the coach is true, I think we are far better off under Pruitt than Butch. He deserves a few year to get this listing ship back on course. Of course, the first loss or if we don't contend for the east in his first season with all this great talent that Butch left him, twits on this and other boards will crow about how they told us he was a failure and the BS talk about a hot seat will be flowing. Just the spoiled, entitled culture we live in today.

Personally, I hope we might have hired our next long term, legendary coach to go with majors and Fulmer. I'm so damned sick of change and the thought of a coaching search....again....that he's got a free pass from me until he graduates his first class and that will be next years class not this one. Need at least a 4-5 year break from hearing the cursed name of Gruden again. Makes me ill just typing it.

This... not much more can be said.

I fervently hope CJP is the answer and will be rooting for him, his staff and our team to succeed. However, there really doesn't appear to be any reason for thinking he's the guy or his staff is the staff. If any other SEC team was assembling CJP's staff, VN would collectively laugh their asses off and whichever team it was.

 

[MWAVolfan]

I do find it strange that Fulmer is out on the recruiting trail with Pruitt right now, does he not think he is capable of doing it himself?...Odd

I think what is shows is that it's "all hands on deck" to salvage this disaster. I don't think it's because Fulmer doesn't trust his abilities. I think after this mess there's a thousand marbles racing in all directions and Fulmer is just showing that he's Willing to roll up his sleeves and pitch in to fix this mess

 

[MWAVolfan]

Anybody ever consider that Botch might be gambling on the side?

....at least that would explain some of his decisions....

He wasn't that smart or organized

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

You have choices in life. Be a hater, negative, whiners and complainer or step up and work hard, be supportive, lift people up, and keep your whining to yourself. I promise you that successful teams of all sorts kick their complainers to the curb and accentuate the positive. CBJ was doing fine til injuries and malcontents sunk him. CJP will do well if we support him. A lot of folks on VN have caught hater-itis and apparently can't stand the thought of success. I am pretty optimistic. Blessed with a lot of good things and bad things I've overcome. You can tell by reading folks' posts which side of the fence the live on. So make your decision. A life of dumpster fires or championships?

I do live my life with a positive outlook. It is why I supported the previous coach (who had turned the program around from the dumpster fire he inherited) until he was unceremoniously ran out of town.

I also supported CPF until the end but at the time didn't think there was a chance for his firing to be a death knell for the program. 10 seasons later I'm not so sure.


So while I sincerely doubt CJP and staff's ability, I'll probably be the last one to scream for him being fired if this program is worse off in 5 years.

Keeping CPF around would have made his detractors insane and probably Bama fans for a season or two, but I'll bet we would have been in the Top10 at the end of the season more often than not. Of course there is no way to prove this so maybe there's no need to discuss it. What I do know is that coaching change fails far more often than keeping the guy you have and letting him figure his sh.t out on the job. VN posters and Vol fans in general do not seem to be smart enough to understand this concept.

So while I will go to me grave believing Mike Leach > CJP, I will also go all the way to CJP's championship run or firing believing the same thing.

I know admin types are terrified of Mike Leach types but they are successful when put in the right position. UT Football and Mike Leach would have almost certainly been a wildly successful combo.

 

[jakez4ut]

I am glad the disaster of a coaching search is over like everyone else, but I am not completely sold on Pruitt and the staff.

shocker.

From where I am standing, we will have a head coach who has never been in that role before, an offensive coordinator who did not call plays at his last job, and a defensive coordinator who was a position coach last year. What could possibly go wrong with that combination? :crazy:

everything.

Does the name Larry Scott or Sal Sunseri ring any bells? I can handle hiring a rookie head coach, but the combination of inexperience at all three of the most important positions of the coaching staff is cause for concern.

of course it is.

Butch was criticized for hiring his buddies to his own detriment, so what do you make of these moves by Pruitt? He got his first opportunity to be a head coach and he put the future of Tennessee football in the hands of his inexperienced buddies.

N. Texas, W. KY, Mich Olympic sports coordinator, vs. GA, Auburn, FL, Alabama, LSU, Co State....

hopes it will all work out, but if it doesnt he can go back to Bama and Tennessee will continue to suck.

no, you don't.

 

[Rudy123]

I am not optimistic about his staff. Remember. When Sal was hired as D C? Turned out to beat bad thing. Remember when Candles was hired? Wow we finally hired a Q B coach. Also remember the great hire of Shoops as D C. Wow we stole A great D C from The State Penn and James Franklin

 

[MWAVolfan]

It is why I supported the previous coach (who had turned the program around from the dumpster fire he inherited) until he was unceremoniously ran out of town.......

I know admin types are terrified of Mike Leach types but they are successful when put in the right position. UT Football and Mike Leach would have almost certainly been a wildly successful combo.

Butch Jones left a bigger dumpster fire than he inherited and he himself on many occasions could be accused of pouring gas right on that fire. A couple of good recruiting classes and second tier bowl appearances do not a resurrection make. He sucked in so many more ways than Dooley did.

Mike Leach would have been a terrible fit at UT. Especially if he didn't figure out how to win in the SEC. He also would be the first one to bolt back out west at the first sign of trouble. There's just no way it would have been a good fit no matter how sexy you think his offense is out west.

We need a guy who remembers that the way you win in the SEC is to have unstoppable offensive and defensive lines and to pound the ball with a heavy and effective running game and let the rest work itself out. I believe that the only guy UT talked to who understands this is the guy they hired.

 

[MWAVolfan]

I am not optimistic about his staff. Remember. When Sal was hired as D C? Turned out to beat bad thing. Remember when Candles was hired? Wow we finally hired a Q B coach. Also remember the great hire of Shoops as D C. Wow we stole A great D C from The State Penn and James Franklin

Those poor performances had way more to do with the head coaches than you realize. It's one thing many UT fans never learn. It's all about the head coach. If he's great then his coordinators will be great.

 

[FLVOL69]

I am not optimistic about his staff. Remember. When Sal was hired as D C? Turned out to beat bad thing. Remember when Candles was hired? Wow we finally hired a Q B coach. Also remember the great hire of Shoops as D C. Wow we stole A great D C from The State Penn and James Franklin

He was great at Vandy and PSU, his downfall was signing on with Butch. Watch him flourish at MSU 🤪

 

[Teeman]

I am glad the disaster of a coaching search is over like everyone else, but I am not completely sold on Pruitt and the staff. From where I am standing, we will have a head coach who has never been in that role before, an offensive coordinator who did not call plays at his last job, and a defensive coordinator who was a position coach last year. What could possibly go wrong with that combination? :crazy: Does the name Larry Scott or Sal Sunseri ring any bells? I can handle hiring a rookie head coach, but the combination of inexperience at all three of the most important positions of the coaching staff is cause for concern. Butch was criticized for hiring his buddies to his own detriment, so what do you make of these moves by Pruitt? He got his first opportunity to be a head coach and he put the future of Tennessee football in the hands of his inexperienced buddies. He hopes it will all work out, but if it doesnt he can go back to Bama and Tennessee will continue to suck.

The answer to your question is your username.

 

[SayNoToJorts]

Absolute desperation to be able to say they root for a winner. The health of so many egos tied to the performance of kids they'll never meet and who could not care less about them. Ie, fandom.

Says the guy posting in an online college football forum

 

[Vol0725]

Long long story short...

"The Tennessee football program looks like it knows what it’s doing again, and that’s a breath of fresh air around these parts."---Wes Rucker

Rucker: Jeremy Pruitt bringing top-notch staff to Tennessee Vols football

 

[tnprogrammer]

Bottom line for me...When Jones was hired I was like "WHO?". Then he started bringing in his staff and for the most part every time I would hear any of the names on his staff I was like "WHO?".
With Pruitt, pretty much every time I hear another person he has added to his staff I'm like "WOW!"
So, at least at this point, that is the big difference for me.

 

[orangeluvr]

Well, for starters, I don't think his DC needs to have experience at that position so much, because Pruitt (an experienced DC) will have a lot of say so on that side of the ball. You may have a better case on offense.

My optimism comes from the fact that he seems to have a plan, and has so far been able to implement it with very few hickups. He seems to be getting what he has wanted on his staff, and I think recruits are listening to him as well.

He has apparently told two QB's that they can find another place to play. Some may see this as a bad sign, but again, I think he has a plan and is confident that he can make it work.


He appears to be cherry picking staff from other SEC schools, which has it's benefits, including the highly regarded GM from LSU.

He also appears to be laying a foundation of having more support staff than TN is accustomed to having. This is the Alabama model, and if we want to compete with them, we may have to start with mimicking them in this area.

All this may be for naught if he fails to change things with Strength and Conditioning, or if he cannot teach the players or implement a good game plan. However, all we can go on is what he has done in one week, which I think is cause for lots of optimism.

Hiccup. Agree emulating successful programs can bring success to ours.

 

[87&91ALUM]

I do live my life with a positive outlook. It is why I supported the previous coach (who had turned the program around from the dumpster fire he inherited) until he was unceremoniously ran out of town.

I also supported CPF until the end but at the time didn't think there was a chance for his firing to be a death knell for the program. 10 seasons later I'm not so sure.


So while I sincerely doubt CJP and staff's ability, I'll probably be the last one to scream for him being fired if this program is worse off in 5 years.

Keeping CPF around would have made his detractors insane and probably Bama fans for a season or two, but I'll bet we would have been in the Top10 at the end of the season more often than not. Of course there is no way to prove this so maybe there's no need to discuss it. What I do know is that coaching change fails far more often than keeping the guy you have and letting him figure his sh.t out on the job. VN posters and Vol fans in general do not seem to be smart enough to understand this concept.

So while I will go to me grave believing Mike Leach > CJP, I will also go all the way to CJP's championship run or firing believing the same thing.

I know admin types are terrified of Mike Leach types but they are successful when put in the right position. UT Football and Mike Leach would have almost certainly been a wildly successful combo.

I could follow you until the "almost certainly" part. A) no one can accurately predict scores, wins, coaching success, etc., B). If you think the sky will fall, it probably will..
on you, and C). It is a lot more fun to go to the. Games, cheer, and be hopeful than sit around with your snowflake friends petting puppies and wasting Kleenex.

 

[jakez4ut]

i think LSF is Mike Griffith in disguise. listening to him now....griff sucks....he's obviously still pisseda bout CBJ getting whacked.....

 

[Mattlock]

I think mainly because he’s stealing away some of them from other schools. And the schools reactions that we are stealing them away from are that they hate it. That usually means your way getting a good one. Plus most everyone on this staff are really great recruiters. That’s where it starts. They have also proven to be able to develope players. The only ? I really have is the OC. Not sold on him at all but we will see.

I don't know anything about him and still prefer him to the last two OCs we had under Botch.

 

[VolArmy74]

As many of said, we have no idea what to expect from Pruitt or his staff because they don't have much of a track record to go on at this point.

The issue is, that should be unacceptable at Tennessee. But once we tried to go cheap again with Schiano and that crap show happened, bargain basement, unproven staff was what we were going to get.

It's above the AD where the problem is and unless that does a complete 180, we're stuck rolling the dice and making crapshoot hires.

1st in revenue, middle of the pack in spending on the product. We have the highest profit margin in the nation but the customers are all miserable and hate the product. They keep buying though and as long as they do, they will keep getting the same product.

It's like Tennessee is Dodge, product is cheap, not particularly good but you do well by selling in volume. Alabama is Ferrari, product is high end, doesn't make as much profit as others but has a waiting list of highly satisfied customers who can't wait to buy more because the company cares about it's consumers and invests heavily in delivering a top quality product.

 

[TN_Transplant]

I am glad the disaster of a coaching search is over like everyone else, but I am not completely sold on Pruitt and the staff. From where I am standing, we will have a head coach who has never been in that role before, an offensive coordinator who did not call plays at his last job, and a defensive coordinator who was a position coach last year. What could possibly go wrong with that combination? :crazy: Does the name Larry Scott or Sal Sunseri ring any bells? I can handle hiring a rookie head coach, but the combination of inexperience at all three of the most important positions of the coaching staff is cause for concern. Butch was criticized for hiring his buddies to his own detriment, so what do you make of these moves by Pruitt? He got his first opportunity to be a head coach and he put the future of Tennessee football in the hands of his inexperienced buddies. He hopes it will all work out, but if it doesnt he can go back to Bama and Tennessee will continue to suck.

What other choice do we have? He's our coach, and this is our staff. Time will tell how good he is, but what are the alternatives?

 

[VOLnMiami]

This hire is a risk. No doubt. It's a 50/50 coin flip. Did we get a guy like Oklahoma and Georgia did who will compete at the highest level immediately

You also have to remember those coaches inherited great teams, We'll see just how good they are in 3 or 4 year when they they their own players on the field instead of Stoops and Richts players.

 

[1974Vol]

Why is everyone so optimistic about Pruitt and his staff?

I don't see that much optimism actually. Most I think have resigned themselves to the fact that JP is our guy and are hoping he succeeds...but like most I want to win a few games before we order up a ticker tape parade.

 

[Giveem6]

Well, for starters, I don't think his DC needs to have experience at that position so much, because Pruitt (an experienced DC) will have a lot of say so on that side of the ball. You may have a better case on offense.

My optimism comes from the fact that he seems to have a plan, and has so far been able to implement it with very few hickups. He seems to be getting what he has wanted on his staff, and I think recruits are listening to him as well.

He has apparently told two QB's that they can find another place to play. Some may see this as a bad sign, but again, I think he has a plan and is confident that he can make it work.

He appears to be cherry picking staff from other SEC schools, which has it's benefits, including the highly regarded GM from LSU.

He also appears to be laying a foundation of having more support staff than TN is accustomed to having. This is the Alabama model, and if we want to compete with them, we may have to start with mimicking them in this area.

All this may be for naught if he fails to change things with Strength and Conditioning, or if he cannot teach the players or implement a good game plan. However, all we can go on is what he has done in one week, which I think is cause for lots of optimism.

I really am excited about the idea of a support staff. Dabo and Saban both do it and win championships.

 

[james_govols]

OP,

People get excited because it's a new coach. Happened the same way with Dooley and Butch.

Remember, Butch gets it?

People will act like Pruitt is the next Savior and then if he fails they will hate him.

It's a part of the cycle. The same cycle that happens after a loss.

Sunday: we lost! Fire coach.
Wednesday: you know I still think we have a good team.
Friday: we are going to win the NC.

I wouldn't even say it's a glass half full type of thing. It's more like a glass overflowing excitement. Lol.

To each their own though. I hope he does well, and we start winning again. Time will tell us that.

 

[edyeary]

OP- because that's the way, I'm built. Why be negative?
The CJP tenure is a blank slate.