Pruitt wouldnt survive a 1-7 record.

[Orangeslice13]

So you think we should have given Dooley and Butch a couple more years? No, both of them should have been canned a year earlier. What happens when you keep a "dud" like Dooley, Butch, and now Pruitt is the roster is depleted of quality players.

The problem is not firing the coach too soon, but hiring mediocre coaches in the first place. You think a coach at Bama, Auburn or Florida would be retained after a 2-12 season in his second year?

Time to beat this drum again

What have you seen from our university that gives you any hope....at all... that they will successfully hire the right guy next time?

 

[revjayp]

It’s not just Pruitt.
There’s a whole list of assistants who would be getting buy outs too. Some people should really do the math. Where we are sucks but there’s no change coming anytime soon

And people always reference coaches not wanting to come here if they could be fired after 24 games. What about recruits? How in the world could a coach recruit any players worth a crap if they don’t even know if their coaches will actually be there when they arrive?? Talk about negative recruiting. I don’t believe Pruitt is the long term coach but I sure as heck want him to work out. His success/failure could be the difference between us becoming Minnesota or becoming TN again.

 

[revjayp]

The Bama example means spending money. Saban didn't come cheap. I've lost any faith that we're willing to pay top dollar, especially if we're looking at all of those buy outs. It's not that your theory isn't sound for other programs, but UT has done everything possible in recent years to disprove it.

Which is crazy because if we’d fork out the money on the front end, we wouldn’t be forking out so much on the back end. They’ll spend it to get rid of coaches but not hire coaches. Makes no sense.

 

[ProudVOLfan]

Alright boys and girls it's gameday so let's try to get along today.. GBO

 

[Weezer]

Which is crazy because if we’d fork out the money on the front end, we wouldn’t be forking out so much on the back end. They’ll spend it to get rid of coaches but not hire coaches. Makes no sense.

It's a cycle that started when Fulmer was fired. At this point, I think the only chance to get ahead of the cycle is to let Pruitt work out his contract, or at least get the buyout to a manageable level. And as Slice mentioned previously, it's not just Pruitt's buyout.

And who knows, maybe something clicks and Pruitt turns it around. If we could pull off something today, it would certainly build some confidence.

 

[revjayp]

It's a cycle that started when Fulmer was fired. At this point, I think the only chance to get ahead of the cycle is to let Pruitt work out his contract, or at least get the buyout to a manageable level. And as Slice mentioned previously, it's not just Pruitt's buyout.

And who knows, maybe something clicks and Pruitt turns it around. If we could pull off something today, it would certainly build some confidence.

That’s how I feel as well. I think about the instability that has to be felt when a staff completely turns over. From the GA’s to the S&Cing program to the interns and finally the staff. New people in old offices preaching trust and buying in all over again. There’s 4 things that all great leaders provide their organization/team/department:
Hope, compassion, stability and trust. I owned a 12 mil/year business and I can create hope and compassion with programs and incentives. But when there was instability in the company, our numbers dropped steadily to the point that no amount of “coach speak” or leader speak would fix it. Anyway, enough ranting from me. Lol.

 

[landscapingvol]

It wouldn’t be the 1st time they’ve shelled over the dough to buy out a UT football coach... Hopefully Pruitt can turn the ship around this season, and they won’t have to though.

They didn’t do it for the last three buyouts

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

At this point, I don't even see the rational to pass this kind of malarkey on..........Dude, Pruitt will at least get 4 years...........at the minimum. He is UT's coach.........deal with it........but have a great weekend..........Go Vols!!!

If we only win the one game this year Pruiit wont be the HC here next year. That is a rock solid guarantee.

Why anyone would think he wouldnt be fired for underperforming at that level is something i dont understand.

Personally i dont think we will be 1-7 or worse, as we have a pretty good shot today. But should the UTC win be it for the season...he will be gone..

 

[Weezer]

That’s how I feel as well. I think about the instability that has to be felt when a staff completely turns over. From the GA’s to the S&Cing program to the interns and finally the staff. New people in old offices preaching trust and buying in all over again. There’s 4 things that all great leaders provide their organization/team/department:
Hope, compassion, stability and trust. I owned a 12 mil/year business and my numbers dropped more than any other time when there was instability in the company. Anyway, enough ranting from me. Lol.

Something else to think about in today's game, the popularity of the transfer portal. Get rid of Pruitt now and there's a good chance you see a mass exodus of players he's recruited in his short time here. That would be devastating to the program.

 

[landscapingvol]

Rich donors often convince themselves they have more power than they actually do. They also think they know what’s best. It’s this simple - if Butch Jones got 4 years, the Pruitt is definitely getting four years. Nobody is going to fire a coach year 2. Nobody would want the job no matter how much money was offered. This would be a disaster for recruiting. This would be a disaster for the football program.

CBJ won 9 games twice, CJP got beaten handily by Ga State

 

[VolDaddy61]

I only know one “connected” person in Knoxville.
He told me that if we lose the next 5, that the money people would pony up the buyout.
We have never started 1-7. That would be too big an embarrassment for our big donors.
Fulmer would be interim and they would go after a “proven power 5 winner”. (I laughed when he said that but he says you don’t know how angry Georgia State made them).

So, can we win one of these next 5:
At Florida
Georgia (after a bye week)
MSU
At Bama
USC

Pruitt has to just win one of those games and then get 2 more out of UAB, UK, MU, Vandy.
But, one of those two wins must be Vandy.
Our donors could, I’m told, live with 4-8 and 2 SEC wins if we don’t finish last in the East and Pruitt can hang onto Bailey and a decent 25-30 ranked recruiting class.

If we can somehow win tomorrow, the only sure losses left are UGA and Bama.
But, if we get our clocks cleaned by UF, we may just fall apart.

*** Many grains of salt needed, of course. This is just one guy. But, he’s not a liar and he’s a wealthy blue blood and travels in circles that I could never get anywhere.near.

We're not going 1-7

 

[DaddyChad]

I love how recruiting rankings mean squat unless we land a top 10 class.

Tell me with a straight face that Tennessee had a better Oline or Dline than Missouri last year. Remind me again how many players were drafted to the NFL. Recruiting ranking don’t mean anything if those players aren’t developed.

 

[CampBlount]

We have never started 1-7. We started 1-7 in 1988. We were 0-6 and won the 7th game (and the rest of the schedule to go 5-6 on the season)

 

[revjayp]

Something else to think about in today's game, the popularity of the transfer portal. Get rid of Pruitt now and there's a good chance you see a mass exodus of players he's recruited in his short time here. That would be devastating to the program.

Very true. Which is why this microwave culture just doesn’t work. As much as I’d like to see a 2 year turn around, it’s going to take time. And if Pruitt isn’t able to do it, we’re looking at another 4-5 years of someone else. The only difference is they’d have actual studs to build on and with. Not a team of paper tigers.

 

[FlyFishnVol]

If we only win the one game this year Pruiit wont be the HC here next year. That is a rock solid guarantee.

Why anyone would think he wouldnt be fired for underperforming at that level is something i dont understand.

Personally i dont think we will be 1-7 or worse, as we have a pretty good shot today. But should the UTC win be it for the season...he will be gone..

Won't happen

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

Pruitt is here this year and next even if we go 1-7 to finish. Burn mattresses and kick puppies if you want, but he isn’t getting fired at the end of the year no matter what happens

Why anyone would ever want to abuse animals or burn mattresses ( they are pretty expensive) because UT hired another sorry-assed coach is beyond me.

 

[Weezer]

If we only win the one game this year Pruiit wont be the HC here next year. That is a rock solid guarantee.

Why anyone would think he wouldnt be fired for underperforming at that level is something i dont understand.

Personally i dont think we will be 1-7 or worse, as we have a pretty good shot today. But should the UTC win be it for the season...he will be gone..

People can think that because they know how damaging to the program it could be. We can survive 1-7. It would suck, but we can survive it. I'm not sure we can survive firing a second year coach, hiring another google coach, and starting all over again. It's not about defending Pruitt or thinking he's the guy, I just think at this point we're stuck riding this horse for at the very least another year if we have any hope of saving the program.

Unless you can also offer up a rock solid guarantee that we'd be willing to spend top dollar to actually hire a proven coach, and given the current instability, that's gonna take a lot of money.

 

[FlyFishnVol]

losing coaches get fired. winning coaches don't. it's an easy concept.

Are you really so blind to see that if Pruitt is released that NO Coach will come here for any amount. OMG! I can't believe how dense this argument can be.

 

[m1al]

This mentality is a huge part of the problem.

Not sure whose mentality you’re referring to. Mine or the team’s?

 

[The Original Fade]

You base this statement on what?

Logic

 

[m1al]

Alright boys and girls it's gameday so let's try to get along today.. GBO

I’m in. My apologies to hog88 and anyone else I got pissy with last night. Bad day.

GO VOLS! Whip that arse.

 

[hog88]

It's a cycle that started when Fulmer was fired. At this point, I think the only chance to get ahead of the cycle is to let Pruitt work out his contract, or at least get the buyout to a manageable level. And as Slice mentioned previously, it's not just Pruitt's buyout.

And who knows, maybe something clicks and Pruitt turns it around. If we could pull off something today, it would certainly build some confidence.

You can’t let him work out his contract, he signed a 6 year deal so at the end of next season you have to either extend him or fire him. Doing neither will destroy recruiting.

 

[hog88]

Tell me with a straight face that Tennessee had a better Oline or Dline than Missouri last year. Remind me again how many players were drafted to the NFL. Recruiting ranking don’t mean anything if those players aren’t developed.

True, Pruitt and company should have developed the talent they have. They didn’t so they own it.

 

[Weezer]

You can’t let him work out his contract, he signed a 6 year deal so at the end of next season you have to either extend him or fire him. Doing neither will destroy recruiting.

Then you at least wait until next season. Doing it in year two is even more damaging IMO.

 

[hog88]

Are you really so blind to see that if Pruitt is released that NO Coach will come here for any amount. OMG! I can't believe how dense this argument can be.

That is just as stupid of a statement as saying Pruitt is here to sabotage the program.