Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[Kingston Vol]

well, i think it's safe to say there's enough contradictory information, as far as just how safe, or not, he is, that it's hard to say deinitively one way or the other.

what we do know...fulmer gave him an extension after last year. so he at least wanted the perception to be that we're behind this guy....

and he's not done/said anything so far this year publically to dissuade that (nor do i expect him to for all the obvioys reasons).

let the season play out and we'll see what happens.

i happen to believe that barring an 0fer finish, the UT administration has no desire to do this, this year.....i feel a lot like i did at headed in to 2017. my thoughts then were that there was NO desire to fire butch jones and that he'd basically have to leave them no choice but to fire him. no way a brand new AD comes in year one with designs on firing the football coach at the end of the season.

we know what happened....turns out he left them no choice...lol. feel pretty much the same right now about this season.....we'll see if he leaves Phil no choice.

Right, we could very well get to the end of the year, and after a ton of reflection and debate, it's decided to give Pruitt another year to figure it out. It would be a very legitimate and understandable decision to say, "hey, we're not happy about it, but we think he has a better chance to win next year than a comparable group of possible replacements."

I'm not guaranteeing he'll be fired this year. I really don't know - I think part of the calculation is how we finish the year, and part is going to be an internal review of Pruitt and how he's getting along with Fulmer, Plowman, and the boosters who have enough money to get access to him. I think it's legitimately 50/50 right now.

What I'm trying to say is, no decision has been made to this point, and people coming in here saying, "he's safe regardless," and, "he's been promised x, y, and z." are relaying information that I personally believe is obsolete.

 

[jakez4ut]

Right, we could very well get to the end of the year, and after a ton of reflection and debate, it's decided to give Pruitt another year to figure it out. It would be a very legitimate and understandable decision to say, "hey, we're not happy about it, but we think he has a better chance to win next year than a comparable group of possible replacements."

I'm not guaranteeing he'll be fired this year. I really don't know - I think part of the calculation is how we finish the year, and part is going to be an internal review of Pruitt and how he's getting along with Fulmer, Plowman, and the boosters who have enough money to get access to him. I think it's legitimately 50/50 right now.

What I'm trying to say is, no decision has been made to this point, and people coming in here saying, "he's safe regardless," and, "he's been promised x, y, and z." are relaying information that I personally believe is obsolete.

i'll buy that. but i'm in the camp that believes he's safe. barring something epically bad happening that removes the option of keeping him.....

so offically, i guess l believe they/phil has no desire or designs on firing pruitt this year.

that does not mean it can't happen.....

 

[jakez4ut]

Man, literally said everything I have wanted to say for a while but have held off. No one realizes how much Fulmer does for Pruitt. He has done everything to make Pruitts life easier and given him all he has wanted. No recent coaches have gotten the deal Pruitt has and he is still failing. Fulmer is going to paint a better picture to donors because that is our lifeblood. But he is not so happy when my VFL talks to him.

i do agree with that. now, i don't think he's been given WHO he's wanted at each stop, but they've said "yes" a lot more than they've said "no"....i do believe that....the budget he's had for the staff was/is noteworthy. and will likely continue to be, as i think the next couple/three guys we see on our sidelines will be eyebrow raisers in a good way.....

 

[TrippieRedd]

QB - Bailey
RB - Gray/Small
WR - Hyatt/Wideman/Keyton
TE - Beckwith
OL - The usual 5
DL - Bailey/Thomas/Take your pick
OLB - Baron/Harrison
ILB - Toot/Mojo
CB - Slaughter/Key
Safeties - McCoullough/Fields


Not going to happen, but how would everyone feel about this IF we were going to play for the future this weekend. Make changes, discuss, etc.

 

[volinbama256]

And here's what we know about Jeremy Pruitt: he is not used to losing, and he's very tough to be around and work with even when things are good. These are indisputable facts with many corroborating sources.

If things don't turn around on the field, he will further alienate some folks who might have been on his side otherwise. Remember, he doesn't kiss the asses of the administration and boosters the way other coaches would have been made to do. Fulmer stepped in and took on that role for him so he could focus on coaching.

There is no loyalty to Jeremy Pruitt. He is a football coach. And not a very good head coach, it appears. He does not have the leash some on here say or think he does.

Spot on! And add the fact that most know by now that he's made it known that he really doesn't care to be there that he can always go back and be hired as DC at Bama... recipe for disaster... but we are going to keep this for another year???

 

[rjd970]

If my comments created a misconception, that wasn’t my intent. It isn’t all about money. Fulmer does not want to fire CJP this year. UT went into this thinking it was a five-year rebuild that would require patience, and three years in, there’s little enthusiasm for a coaching search. UT has invested in, and committed to, its HCs and does not want upheaval in its marquee sports right now. Could circumstances cause that to change? I doubt it would be Fulmer’s preference.

The hope is always that a hire will be a good fit with long-term success. Once someone is in a job for a while, it becomes apparent that the person is good at some things and not as good at others. If you look at the modern-day HCs who have had the most success at UT in various sports, you’ll see similarities beyond winning. I’ll leave it at that.

Thanks for the insight.

I understand the revenue from football and what not, but I’m laughing at UT Football being “marquee”, lol.

We are a circus right now, and quite frankly, pathetic.

It’s so tough being a Vol fan, ugh.

 

[volinbama256]

QB - Bailey
RB - Gray/Small
WR - Hyatt/Wideman/Keyton
TE - Beckwith
OL - The usual 5
DL - Bailey/Thomas/Take your pick
OLB - Baron/Harrison
ILB - Toot/Mojo
CB - Slaughter/Key
Safeties - McCoullough/Fields


Not going to happen, but how would everyone feel about this IF we were going to play for the future this weekend. Make changes, discuss, etc.

I like it, but Kivon Bennett has been busting ass this season, he should be playing.

 

[Bassmaster_Vol]

QB - Bailey
RB - Gray/Small
WR - Hyatt/Wideman/Keyton
TE - Beckwith
OL - The usual 5
DL - Bailey/Thomas/Take your pick
OLB - Baron/Harrison
ILB - Toot/Mojo
CB - Slaughter/Key
Safeties - McCoullough/Fields


Not going to happen, but how would everyone feel about this IF we were going to play for the future this weekend. Make changes, discuss, etc.

I would stick with AT/BT at corner. Why take two of our best defenders off the field? I would also keep Palmer as the starting receiver. He’s the best we have.

We don’t need to just start all our young guys. They just need to play a lot. It’s okay to have a rotation on the DL and at OLB and WR, but these young guys need to get in there.

 

[TN-POSSUM]

QB - Bailey
RB - Gray/Small
WR - Hyatt/Wideman/Keyton
TE - Beckwith
OL - The usual 5
DL - Bailey/Thomas/Take your pick
OLB - Baron/Harrison
ILB - Toot/Mojo
CB - Slaughter/Key
Safeties - McCoullough/Fields


Not going to happen, but how would everyone feel about this IF we were going to play for the future this weekend. Make changes, discuss, etc.

I like it. Add Bennett and move Crouch to short yardage RB. Got to give some playing time to Palmer at WR.

 

[TrippieRedd]

I would stick with AT/BT at corner. Why take two of our best defenders off the field? I would also keep Palmer as the starting receiver. He’s the best we have.

We don’t need to just start all our young guys. They just need to play a lot. It’s okay to have a rotation on the DL and at OLB and WR, but these young guys need to get in there.

I’ll give you BT, but AT is meh, wish he would have stayed at WR.

 

[TrippieRedd]

I like it, but Kivon Bennett has been busting ass this season, he should be playing.

That’s fair. Kivon has been a bright spot at times for sure.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

QB - Bailey
RB - Gray/Small
WR - Hyatt/Wideman/Keyton
TE - Beckwith
OL - The usual 5
DL - Bailey/Thomas/Take your pick
OLB - Baron/Harrison
ILB - Toot/Mojo
CB - Slaughter/Key
Safeties - McCoullough/Fields


Not going to happen, but how would everyone feel about this IF we were going to play for the future this weekend. Make changes, discuss, etc.

AT and BT need to be at corner. Simmons over Bailey at DT. The rest is fine.

 

[Blake25p]

View attachment 323249

There is no way Muschamp and Pruitt would be able to coexist.

 

[Kingston Vol]

I wonder if the calculation for Pruitt's job stability is going to go something like this:

We know it's going to cost roughly $20m to fire him and the rest of the staff. Not a small amount of money, especially in a pandemic, but they need to put asses in seats in 2021 and a lame-duck coach doesn't sell tickets.

So, to spend that amount of money, you have to think you can hire someone who will bring some juice to the program and starting digging us out of the deficit. (I happen to believe that the entire economy is going to take off like a rocket once we get everyone a vaccine, another stimulus check, and student loan debt is waived, but that's a conversation for the Politics forum.)

Anyway, what might happen is, Fulmer is tight with a large group of coaches around the country. That fraternity is small and they all know each other. So, he might have, let's say, 5 guys he'd be interested in hiring - maybe he puts some feelers out to gauge their interest. If he likes what he hears, he goes to boosters and says, we have to make a move.

I don't think we can fire Pruitt and then start a coaching search - you have to have a few guys in your pocket. Not just because it's good business practice, but because that might be the only way to get the go ahead to let Pruitt go.

 

[RikidyBones]

Lol not touching that one from a basic economic stand point.

 

[rjd970]

It’s really starting to feel like we are stuck with Pruitt, JG starts again next year, and we get spanked by USCjr and whoever their new coach is...and we still don’t make a move because this is the 5-year plan, come hell or high water and egos can’t be crushed and humility is an afterthought.

 

[volsfan_17]

I wonder if the calculation for Pruitt's job stability is going to go something like this:

We know it's going to cost roughly $20m to fire him and the rest of the staff. Not a small amount of money, especially in a pandemic, but they need to put asses in seats in 2021 and a lame-duck coach doesn't sell tickets.

So, to spend that amount of money, you have to think you can hire someone who will bring some juice to the program and starting digging us out of the deficit. (I happen to believe that the entire economy is going to take off like a rocket once we get everyone a vaccine, another stimulus check, and student loan debt is waived, but that's a conversation for the Politics forum.)

Anyway, what might happen is, Fulmer is tight with a large group of coaches around the country. That fraternity is small and they all know each other. So, he might have, let's say, 5 guys he'd be interested in hiring - maybe he puts some feelers out to gauge their interest. If he likes what he hears, he goes to boosters and says, we have to make a move.

I don't think we can fire Pruitt and then start a coaching search - you have to have a few guys in your pocket. Not just because it's good business practice, but because that might be the only way to get the go ahead to let Pruitt go.

I think you're absolutely correct, IF CPF makes a move, we'll not even realize it's happened until it's completely finished. If CJP is let go this season, it'll mean the replacement coach is already signed. I see many posts from people with connections that state a coaching search isn't what anyone in the organization wants to see happen. I'm of the belief there will be no public search. IF this happens it happens behind the scenes in my opinion.

I also think that given the fact the CPF gets along so well with the Leadership of the University, and his contract is more short term than not. I could see a situation where he gets to make one last play to set the Football program up for success. I honestly feel like he'll have a huge say in the next AD that succeeds him as well, but that's a discussion for a later time.

 

[Blake25p]

We’re beating Auburn

 

[volfaninpa]

We’re beating Auburn

...in basketball.

 

[rjd970]

We’re beating Auburn

Is that who we are playing this week? I’ve honestly given up on it.

 

[Orange Studs]

My reasons, Freeze beat Saban twice, Ole Miss was fun to watch while he was there, and he's got Liberty undefeated and ranked.

However, if he's the one that came up with that stupid land sharks idea, then I'll be more open to other candidates.

Don't take what I said as negative toward Freeze or that I wouldn't want him as coach. I was just saying we get locked on one person and I am just saying we should look at any proven coach that may be available. That's all.

 

[InVOLuntary]

If @nicksjuzunk wants to take it easy this week just load up the Bama thread and change the title.

 

[Z06VolinWV]

Silly question I’m sure, but anyone think Trey new back next year with us having such a poor season?

 

[Catbone]

Tank gonna have a field day. Bo nix will have to throw a few INTs and give us good field position to score in order to have a chance. We won't move the ball

 

[Kingston Vol]

Staples: Even in pandemic, Will Muschamp’s eight-figure firing might not be only one

With Taggart, it was somewhat easy to do the math and figure out how much Florida State stood to lose if season ticket sales dropped to particular levels. And if South Carolina is allowed to sell all the seats at Williams-Brice Stadium next season, then it’s quite possible we could have used the same equation to explain Muschamp’s firing. But we don’t have any idea at this point what percentage of each stadium’s capacity athletic departments will be allowed to sell next season, so we have to use something more vague. And strangely enough, this second method probably makes an even stronger case for firing Muschamp now.
If an athletic department can’t sell all the seats in its stadium, then it becomes even more reliant on the kindness of individual donors. Donations that aren’t tied to season tickets are still tax deductible — a change to the tax code stripped the deduction for quid-pro-quo donations that were packaged with season ticket purchases — so an incentive remains for donors to give. But they also must be inspired to give, and if the department is promising more of something they hate, they’ll be disinclined to write checks.
South Carolina probably had less choice in this matter than you think. It was going to lose eight figures on this deal either way. I do not write this to absolve Tanner and the athletic department leadership as they fire their money cannon at a coach they no longer want. Tanner and anyone else who played a role in Muschamp’s contract extension after that Outback Bowl deserve all the blame here. They got suckered by one of the biggest cons in sports, and they aren’t even close to alone — which is why other schools may wind up paying multimillion-dollar buyouts in the midst of a pandemic.