Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[Kingston Vol]

i dont' think it's #2. it didn't sound to me like he was trying to create urgency by telling us "hey, this job isn't what you think it is, better think long and hard about what could happen if you fire this guy, right now"

So, I wonder if he thinks either Freeze isn't a sure thing from a success standpoint (I agree), or he's saying it's not a given UT would target Freeze or be able to hire him.

 

[Big Gucci Sosa]

chris lowe throwing a big wet blanket over all this right now........lol....pushing patience...wait and see.....doesn't believe we can go get a good coach.....not as good a job as we think.....

buckle up folks....i think it's gonna be a bumpy finish.....

Its not a good job. It’s a good brand.

 

[BAJAvol]

Is anyone taking Liberty this weekend? Thinking about it because Dave D. is ass and I think hugh will coach circles around him. If Hugh goes 3-0 against P5 coaches this season, that should solidify whether or not he would have success here.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

There's one thing that MAY keep Pruitt where he is longer than most of us want.

Since he is a first time HC he has far more potential to "figure things out" and rebound faster from failure. The biggest problem Butch had was when things went south he had already buried himself a decade's worth of doing things "his way" and was so flabbergasted that 3 straight bowl games & winning seasons wasn't "enough" for UT, because anywhere else he had been that was all ya needed to do. So when things fell apart, they really fell apart.

I think Pruitt's number 1 priority is to win, period. So my assumption is he's less set in his ways, as long as changing them leads to winning. The question is when will that happen, and will it happen while still here at UT or at his next stop?

 

[05_never_again]

I could obviously be wrong. But, I don't see how people are pinning the success of Fulmer as AD based on the Pruitt hire. By the time he took over, it was a **** show. I'm not sure who else he could have hired. So I really hope he isn't hitching his cart solely to the success of Pruitt. If he is AD at the start, Jeremy Pruitt probably isn't our coach.

Whether it's "fair" or not, Fulmer's success as AD is attached to Pruitt's success. Look at the circumstances of how Fulmer got the job - the previous AD was shown the door because he screwed the pooch on a coaching search, and Fulmer was brought in to restore order and immediately hire a coach.

When you enter the position under such specific and unique circumstances, you're going to be largely judged off of that one decision.

 

[snowvols]

Idc how we finish. Pruitt sucks. More blow out losses than butch and Dooley combined.

Looking at the schedule next year, I dont see how we win more than 5 either. It sucks that we may have to go into next year with zero hope.

 

[jakez4ut]

So, I wonder if he thinks either Freeze isn't a sure thing from a success standpoint (I agree), or he's saying it's not a given UT would target Freeze or be able to hire him.

knowing our history, i'd go with the latter.

but look, it's chris lowe...so you can take it however you want. it wasn't a very specific conversation, it sounded a lot like a conversation that you might see here. lowe has said freeze would like to have this job. lowe also said what he said this morning.

so.....

 

[jakez4ut]

Its not a good job. It’s a good brand.

agree.

 

[Big Gucci Sosa]

Looking at the schedule next year, I dont see how we win more than 5 either. It sucks that we may have to go into next year with zero hope.

We shouldn’t have any. The program is dead

 

[05_never_again]

Its not a good job. It’s a good brand.

The first part of your post can be changed with one coaching hire. That's so much easier said than done, but true.

Alabama was not a good job when Saban took over. Penn St was not a good job when Franklin took over (and a badly stained brand). Clemson was an OK job when Dabo took over (and not a great brand either).

 

[vol494]

Ktown oil company working hard!

 

[mr.checkerboards]

I absolutely think they are, and have thought that from the moment Fulmer was hired as AD.

Fulmer gained power in something of a coup a couple of years ago, and he immediately had to hire a football coach. I think in some ways he's thought of not as an AD but as the guy who was brought in to hire a football coach. If his big decision doesn't work out, and it is definitely trending in that direction, there will be moves to remove both of them. Especially if Fulmer is really reluctant to fire Pruitt. Do y'all think Fulmer would fire Pruitt to save his own job? I'm not sure.

I don't think Fulmer would do it before he wanted to, but lets say in year 5 its either fire Pruitt or they both go, then I think he would.

 

[butchna]

I absolutely think they are, and have thought that from the moment Fulmer was hired as AD.

Fulmer gained power in something of a coup a couple of years ago, and he immediately had to hire a football coach. I think in some ways he's thought of not as an AD but as the guy who was brought in to hire a football coach. If his big decision doesn't work out, and it is definitely trending in that direction, there will be moves to remove both of them. Especially if Fulmer is really reluctant to fire Pruitt. Do y'all think Fulmer would fire Pruitt to save his own job? I'm not sure.

It sucked to have to pay Currie to go away. Won’t happen to Fulmer after his two year extension.

 

[Volsdeep4]

Before y’all fire and hire - consider two things:
1) Pruitt has a history of beating Auburn, with an inferior team.
2) Pruitt has a history of pulling this team back into life after an abysmal start.

I’m not saying that past is predictive of the future, but to say that the script is already written for the remainder of the season is inaccurate.

What if, with the steady and exciting play of Bailey, the offense actually scores some points, the defense decides to actually put forth some effort, and we pull a few upsets along the way to end the year, and sign what looks like (so far) a really solid ‘21 class.

I don’t have high hopes for this, but I have a really hard time wishing that we lose upcoming games for the long shot hope our AD will then make a smart decision

Becuz we have always had a horrible second half schedule. We literally play JV teams, it’s easy to look like you are pulling your guys together when you play skunk teams.
A history of beating Auburn is 1 game, JG played out of his mind. Don’t see that one happening again and I believe Bo Nix was a frosh.

 

[Memphisvol87]

This thread has completely jumped the shark.

Pruitt isn’t getting fired.

We’re playing Auburn this week! It’s a winnable game!

Get yourselves together in here.

I will gladly lose out to finally get a real coach. We aren’t beating anyone but maybe vandy. Have you watched this team? It’s pathetic and I’m beyond tired of seeing a weak team trot out everyweek.

 

[TrippieRedd]

Becuz we have always had a horrible second half schedule. We literally play JV teams, it’s easy to look like you are pulling your guys together when you play skunk teams.
A history of beating Auburn is 1 game, JG played out of his mind. Don’t see that one happening again and I believe Bo Nix was a frosh.

I think we played against that Baylor transfer, and Nix was in HS. Just saying, idc either way, just wanted to add this lol

 

[Kingston Vol]

knowing our history, i'd go with the latter.

but look, it's chris lowe...so you can take it however you want. it wasn't a very specific conversation, it sounded a lot like a conversation that you might see here. lowe has said freeze would like to have this job. lowe also said what he said this morning.

so.....

Right.

I mean, all of us who have followed this long enough knows there's a serious disconnect between what this job actually is vs. what the average fan thinks it is.

But that doesn't mean you keep an underperforming coach because you're scared of making a new hire.

Freeze wants the job. Napier and Chadwell would crawl to Knoxville for it. I'm in the minority but I really like the idea of Tee taking over. There are a handful of other options worth considering.

Pruitt has to go, we'll deal with the new hire once we get to that point.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I absolutely think they are, and have thought that from the moment Fulmer was hired as AD.

Fulmer gained power in something of a coup a couple of years ago, and he immediately had to hire a football coach. I think in some ways he's thought of not as an AD but as the guy who was brought in to hire a football coach. If his big decision doesn't work out, and it is definitely trending in that direction, there will be moves to remove both of them. Especially if Fulmer is really reluctant to fire Pruitt. Do y'all think Fulmer would fire Pruitt to save his own job? I'm not sure.

Disagree completely. He worked his tail off to keep Barnes, and he brought Kellie back home. He's helped keep Tony happy and with the success of the other sports I think there's a reason Fulmer was given that extension. I don't think he's tied to Pruitt at all, would be shocked if he leaves the AD position for any reason other than he wanted to.

 

[snowvols]

If South Carolina doesn't muff that punt there probably wouldn't be a question about firing him. The team has regressed in all areas we look like the most ill prepared team in the conference each week.

 

[volfaninpa]

Idc how we finish. Pruitt sucks. More blow out losses than butch and Dooley combined.

This, this, and this. Regardless of how great a recruiter Pruitt is, regardless of whatever went on or didn't go on with the pay cuts, regardless of how he blows through staff members each year, we're in year 3 and still getting skull drug by programs in the SEC. Pruitt has not lived up to being a quality head coach. UT should consider firing him because it's very likely that three of our last four games Tennessee loses by more than three touchdowns based on Pruitt's history.

 

[Volsdeep4]

I think we played against that Baylor transfer, and Nix was in HS. Just saying, idc either way, just wanted to add this lol

Okay I wasn’t sure. Thanks for the clarity

 

[05_never_again]

Disagree completely. He worked his tail off to keep Barnes, and he brought Kellie back home. He's helped keep Tony happy and with the success of the other sports I don't think there's a reason Fulmer was given that extension. I don't think he's tied to Pruitt at all, would be shocked if he leaves the AD position for any reason other than he wanted to.

I didn't say that he wasn't an AD...I said in some ways he isn't thought of as an AD. Fulmer has absolutely had to make decisions outside of the football program and has operated like an AD. However, I think there are some people who don't view him that way because he was hired in what was essentially an emergency situation to hire a football coach, and he'll always be so tied to that. And you have to remember, there are a lot of people who didn't want him to be the AD anyway, either after Hart's retirement or after Currie was fired.

It'd be different if he was hired as AD during a period of stability, and he didn't have to make a big hiring decision until he was 3 years in or something like that.

 

[Weezer]

Two ways this could go down

1. Pruitt is fired and Freeze gets hired very quickly. Vols offense is exciting again and Neyland stadium is rocking again

2. Pruitt is fired and Fulmer announces a search committee and administration goes cheap. Starts off promising but same old story.

Or we could hire Freeze and get the same results. Freeze is not a guaranteed success. I know people have it in their heads that he is, but expectations rarely meet reality. He could struggle here just like anyone else, especially with the added scrutiny that would come with a return to the SEC. There are still rumors that the SEC is actively discouraging teams from hiring him.

 

[Gilbert]

There is a clear path out of the wilderness and it’s sitting right there in front of us. We all know it’s over and next season is a wasted year with Pruitt even with staff changes. He’s not a long term answer here.

It’s an easy choice if the top priority is winning. Sadly, I can’t say for certain that’s the case.

 

[BAJAvol]

Or we could hire Freeze and get the same results. Freeze is not a guaranteed success. I know people have it in their heads that he is, but expectations rarely meet reality. He could struggle here just like anyone else, especially with the added scrutiny that would come with a return to the SEC. There are still rumors that the SEC is actively discouraging teams from hiring him.

I know there are rumors, but Hubbs said he doesn’t think the SEC will block a school hiring him.