Tennessee fires Jeremy Pruitt
January 18th, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
Wow this is really late and really surprising. Guess they were waiting to get their guy before pulling the plug. Wonder who that guy is...
January 18th, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
Kevin Steele.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Steele will definitely serve as interim head coach but I wouldn’t be surprised if Tennessee goes after Hugh Freeze and pairs him with Gus Malzahn. Maybe they go after UNC OC Phil Longo whose offenses at Ole Miss and UNC have been pretty lethal. Either way I think there’s still some quality options out there for Tennessee.
January 18th, 2021 at 6:09 PM ^
It must be nice to be a rich school like Tennessee.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
Clearly that was Fulmer's plan, but Fulmer just got forced into retirement so that may be out. I'm guessing his scheme to self report NCAA stuff to fire Pruitt for cause has backfired and they have serious sanctions on them now.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
I saw somewhere that this is Hugh Freeze’s dream job...maybe he and Tennessee had an agreement in place that he would hold off on other jobs until they got the evidence they needed to can Pruitt.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:06 PM ^
When the NCAA is sniffing around and you are in murky waters the best thing to do is double down and bring in Hugh Freeze.
January 18th, 2021 at 3:10 PM ^
There's a lot of reporting that the SEC head office has forbidden anyone from hiring Freeze and nobody wants to anger the commissioner's office. My best bet on Hugh is he ends up at an ACC job like Virginia Tech.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
That seems like really weird timing.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Alabama gets another analyst!
January 18th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
Pruitt gets to go to the Nick Saban School For Coaches Who Can't Coach Good And Want To Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too
January 18th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
There will always be a place for the world's greatest hand model.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUvgqItrt1c
January 18th, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
Have to guess that Pruitt crossed a significant line based on this timing. Would also guess that they have a replacement lined-up and that Fulmer is also getting canned.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
if fulmer is getting canned, i seriously doubt they have a replacement coach. that would be like the nfl hiring a coach before it hires its new gm. assbackwards.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
Doesn't sound good for winning at life either
January 18th, 2021 at 12:51 PM ^
pretty sure like 1/2 of the NFL HC hires this offseason have preceded the GM hiring...
January 18th, 2021 at 1:46 PM ^
Fulmer will get a stern warning and (my edit) he is required to publicly acknowledge that the Heisman given to Charles Woodson was accurately determined and splendidly placed in the right hands. Then he can f off. (end of edit)
January 18th, 2021 at 12:28 PM ^
Would be ironic if the same boosters that forced Johnny Majors out for Fulmer are the same ones to get rid of him.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
Delayed cosmic revenge for Fullmer’s vote in the final 1997 coaches’ poll?
January 18th, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
The old AD probably had the correct idea in wanting to hire Greg Schiano before the Rocky Top insurrection.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
Oh man, Schiano would have been such a better hire than Pruitt.
January 18th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
Wow, does that whole mess look even worse now. What a disaster Tennessee has become.
January 18th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
...what a disaster TN continues to be. Couldn't happen to a more deserving fan base.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Boy, that didn't last long. Maybe he can go back to DC for Bama for that rehab thing that so many coaches do.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
Put some respect on "The Nick Saban school for coaches who can't win good and want to coach good too".
January 18th, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^
Unless they felt they could get a vastly superior candidate from the NFL, this almost has to be related to something that has happened. No idea what, but the timing is very odd and to also include a statement about the AD is interesting. I'm guessing there will be more to this story than simply hiring a new coach & transitioning to a new AD.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
There have been rumors circulating about Jeremy Pruitt's likely termination for weeks now. Tennessee retained a law firm to conduct some sort of compliance investigation in late December or early January. Lots of commenters suspected that the investigation was not a standard CYA job, but a hunt for cause to terminate Pruitt. Tennessee has also just hired Kevin Steele, Auburn's former defensive coordinator and potential head coaching candidate, about a week ago. Hiring Steele, a career DC, when Tennessee already had Pruitt, a career DC, and Derrick Ansley, the actual DC, still on staff made little sense unless Tennessee was going over Pruitt's head and getting ready to pull the plug.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
Yep, sounds like he's going to get fired "for cause" and will not be getting any cash from a buyout.
January 18th, 2021 at 5:06 PM ^
Jon Gruden may be in play
/s
January 18th, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
Aren't they under investigation for recruiting violations? Maybe a cheap way to be rid of him.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
Damn, in the SEC I would think cheating would be encouraged.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
It is encouraged....assuming you win. If you don't, it is encouraged so they can avoid paying your buyout when they fire you for the next Alabama assistant they want to hire.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:16 PM ^
Rumor is there’s a gentleman’s agreement in the SEC when it comes to paying players. You’re allowed to match the offer of another SEC school, but not allowed to outbid them. And that the schools currently being investigated were in violation of that agreement and pissed off the rest of the SEC
January 18th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
I find it hard to believe a coach will ever be fired for recruiting violations, especially in the SEC.
I'd list off recent examples but I'm sure there is a word limit on posts.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
Won't be fired for recruiting violations per se, but they make a convenient reason fot getting rid of a coach that doesn't win enough.
January 18th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
The recruiting violations don't get you fired, they get you fired for cause.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Recruiting violations in the SEC are like holding on the offensive line. You could call it every play if you wanted to.
Useful to avoid a buyout
January 18th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
They just hired Phil Steele formerly of Auburn a couple days ago so I assume he maybe interim?
oops wrong first name! should be Kevin.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^
This guy?
Should've hired Kevin instead.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:24 PM ^
I do like Phil Steel's college football preview magazines. Im sue he could also find time to be the HC at Tenn.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
Kevin Steele. Yes. The guy who knifed his previous boss and then tried to get boosters to get him the big job. But, if it’s recruiting stuff, as it appears, at least as an excuse to fire Pruitt, Steele’s hands are theoretically clean and he can be an internal hire.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Well, yeah, didn't a story just come out about potential recruiting violations? They probably needed a couple weeks to do some due diligence
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.knoxnews.com/amp/3983149001
January 18th, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
Tennessee would have no one left if recruiting violations were a fireable offense.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
Michigan football hasn't been great the last ~13 years or so, but thank god we're not in Tennessee's shoes. They're an absolute tire fire.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:13 PM ^
Yet they keep getting recruits. I think they just got a high profile DL transfer.
January 18th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
I wonder how they “keep getting recruits”. Puzzling.
January 18th, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
Knoxville is a stellar place to live with a vibrant nightlife?
January 18th, 2021 at 4:45 PM ^
Probably something to do with their world class engineering school.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
can he coach secondary and safeties?
January 18th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
Jon Gruden's wife was a UT cheerleader, look for him to return the Vols to glory.
Sincerely, delusional Tennessee Fans