Would Pruitt replace Saban?

[Sheik Yerbouti]

If the year was 2005 I’d agree with you... Being humbled by the last 15 years kind of changes the expectations of our program. You’ve got to climb the hill before you can expect to sit on top of it. As bad as I hate Alabama they have dominated for more than a decade, hence their standard for success is much higher than ours. I’m 36 years old so I remember being part of a fan base that pretty much expected to win the sec and compete for a natty each year for that year to be considered successful. That being said the pendulum is swinging , Saban grows closer to retirement, and bama is slipping. I can’t wait to see Alabama go back to their 90s era mediocrity. Hopefully we can fill the void when they tumble, and return to the top of college football. I think this season will be remembered as the year Alabama crumbles and the year Tennessee wakes up from a decade and a half slumber.

It’s a little depressing to hope they will slip. It would be more fun to beat them if they remain competitive.

 

[RockyTop140]

If I'm Dabo, there is no way I leave Clemson for Bama. He has a relatively easy path to the playoffs every season as it currently stands.

You have to remember that he's from Bama though. Maybe that's worth the extra pressure for him. Maybe not. We'll know after Saban retires.

 

[sechamp2012]

Probably no one remembers but when we started the season with a National TV win over NC State . Fans come on here and said do you think UGA will come and steal Dooley from us. Hard to believe but that was a thread. Now I'm not saying Dooley = Pruitt but it's pre mature for me to say he's ready for Bama.
We won 8
won 3 by 4 or less points
lost 3 by 22 or more points
lost 2 to non P5 teams
won 4 by 10 or more
This team could be on the verge of 10 win season or
with bad luck and injuries this team does not have the depth
could end up scrambling for bowl eligibility

 

[LAVol1]

If Pruitt doesn’t want to go to ‘Bama because the standard is too high, then (a) we need to reassess the standard here, and (b) he isn’t as competitive as I thought.

Name one coach that has successfully followed a legend and remained at that school. The last thing you want to do is be the successor to a legend--you cannot win--particularly at Bama. Pruitt knows this. He would not subject his family to the viciousness that Bama fans would unleash on them for a 10-win season--not for any amount of money.

 

[jonnon111]

Why wouldn't Bama want Kirby more? He coached there longer and has had more success somewhere else. Not being a pessimist, but KS seems like a more realistic option.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Dabo's new contract he signed last yr has a special $10M buyout clause for Bama only, $5M for anyone else and he signed it so he must not be that interested in the Bama job. Kirby has his dream job and he is not a Bama guy, he is GA thru and thru, born there/played there. As others have already said, if Pruitt built TN into an SEC/Nat contender he would have it made at TN, why would you leave to go into the firestorm of following Saban. Same situation Dabo has right now. No good coach in their right mind would want to follow Saban unless you got guaranteed $ for 5+ yrs.

 

[LittleVol]

Pruitt is only 45 years old.

In the next 5 years I think UT wins the SEC twice.

I think Saban retires by then maybe sooner.
That would put Germy at 50-51 years old. He could coach Bama for 20 years.

He's bama born and bred. Nobody should be surprised if that happens if he brings UT championships and Saban retires.

 

[Nasavol]

Actually, for Pete Carroll the Seahawks and NFL success was his 3rd go around. Jets then 1 (or maybe 2) years with the 49ers, then USC before moving on to the Seahawks.

The Vol homer in me wants to think that if Pruitt truly built something back up in Knoxville that he would stay and see it through. Alabama would be extremely tough to turn down. I would hope that his desire to build his own dynasty would overcome the pull of Bama.

I think that time is own UTs side, though. He would need huge success in the next couple years for them to come calling. I personally think Saban is 2-3 years away from calling it quits.

You are right it was Carrols third go around, I forgot about the 1 year with the Jets, then he had 3 years with the Patriots. He was a DC for the 49ers

 

[dobre_shunka]

Dabo's new contract he signed last yr has a special $10M buyout clause for Bama only, $5M for anyone else and he signed it so he must not be that interested in the Bama job. Kirby has his dream job and he is not a Bama guy, he is GA thru and thru, born there/played there. As others have already said, if Pruitt built TN into an SEC/Nat contender he would have it made at TN, why would you leave to go into the firestorm of following Saban. Same situation Dabo has right now. No good coach in their right mind would want to follow Saban unless you got guaranteed $ for 5+ yrs.

Bama spends $10M on cocktail napkins for the season. That sum wouldn't be an issue if that was who they wanted.

Real question is does the new coach get to keep Butch?

 

[SayNoToJorts]

Why wouldn't Bama want Kirby more? He coached there longer and has had more success somewhere else. Not being a pessimist, but KS seems like a more realistic option.

Kirby’s dream job is in Athens and he will be there until the Dawgs kick him out. I personally think Pruitt will prove to be a better coach than Kirby but time will tell

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Pruitt is only 45 years old.

In the next 5 years I think UT wins the SEC twice.

I think Saban retires by then maybe sooner.
That would put Germy at 50-51 years old. He could coach Bama for 20 years.

He's bama born and bred. Nobody should be surprised if that happens if he brings UT championships and Saban retires.

He went to college in Tn, MTSU, before he transferred to Alabama and he grew up a lot closer to where Fulmer grew up than he did Tuscaloosa!! Who knows really, his allegiance may have always been tied to Bama right up until it changed the day a school he believed in started to believe in him. If Dabo is all-in with Clemson there is no reason to believe it can't happen the same way with coach Pruitt. I think he probably feels like UT is a really good fit for he and his family currently.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Name one coach that has successfully followed a legend and remained at that school. The last thing you want to do is be the successor to a legend--you cannot win--particularly at Bama. Pruitt knows this. He would not subject his family to the viciousness that Bama fans would unleash on them for a 10-win season--not for any amount of money.

Jimbo Fisher

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

If Jeremy Pruitt is winning 9-10 games a season when Nick Satan retires the big money people at Alabama will hire Jeremy Pruitt when they're turned down by Dabo Swinney.

 

[Hyperion]

When Saban retires, Alabama will have the most coveted job in college football and can cherry pick CNS's replacement from college or NFL.

Alabama is a great job but I don't really see it as being meaningfully superior to any of the other prime SEC opportunities(UF, UGA, UT, AU, LSU, aTm). Saban could have had the same level of success at any of those schools. In fact the Alabama job will have some serious drawbacks as the expectations will be absurd once the midget leaves. At this moment only Dabo could go back and maintain continuity, but he would be crazy to ever leave the set up he has at Clemson.

Depending on how it plays out, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Alabama wanders in the desert for 30-40 years post-Saban. If LSU, Auburn and Tennessee are competing at a high level at the same time whenever Alabama has an open position then it's honestly not that appealing of a job. They were a Rich Rod 'yes' away from having none of this recent success.

 

[Hyperion]

At 13-12, this is an irrelevant question.

If Pruitt improves on that over the next few seasons, it may become a relevant question.

Right now, Pruitt is one game better than Butch Jones at the same point in his tenure, and Jones’ best season was year 3.

Bama’s not touching a .500 coach after Saban leaves.

This post strikes me as wishful thinking more than anything else. Pruitt inherited an even worse situation than Butch Jones did. The only reasonable expectation for UT football in the near to intermediate future is a lot of success.