Recruiting Forum Football Talk III

[Cactus Jack]

No he isn't, and it isn't even close. You've got recency bias.

Dooley won 4 conference games in 3 seasons. Pruitt won 5 conference games just last year.

If they have no plan and are going to pull in 5 different directions if Pruitt was fired, I bet there are actually better odds of Pruitt somehow turning it around than taking our chances with Coach McGoogle. Because make no mistake, if they go into a coaching search with no plan, they won't end up with a Chadwell or Napier. They'd end up with someone like Idaho State's assistant linebackers coach.

So how long do we need to give our admins in order for them to formulate this "plan" you speak of where we don't go out and hire a Mcgoogle? next year? 3 more years? wait til that stellar '22 TN class all goes to clemson bama and georgia? Our booster names aren't changing so the thought of giving them more time to make another dumb hire seems pointless to me. At least when you go hire someone new there is at least a chance that they pan out. We've seen what pruitt can do. Lose to GA state, Kentucky blowout, ark loss, etc. At least get someone fresh in here that has the chance to succeed because everyone can see that Pruitt just isn't ready or isn't capable to bring this team back to even being competitive with FL GA or AL.

 

[Aesius]

I’m down for rolling the dice on a McGoogleMe if it comes to that.

Why not?

Pruitt isn’t gonna get it done and it’s not my money. Sure, it’s possible we hire an absolute clown who finally delivers an 0-12 season and kills off the program for good, but we are basically there anyway. Also, McGoogleMes aren’t guaranteed failures. We might accidentally hire a good coach.

 

[jakez4ut]

When you are sure he is not the one, you’ve got to keep trying in hopes of finding the one. It is obvious that Pruitt is not the one.

there's nothing obvious about any of this.

It absolutely does. Do you love losing?

Pruitt gets a $400k raise and we would be paying him $4.2 million after winning 3 games in a season.

it's a good gig if you can get it.

but nobody "endorses" a 3 wins season. jeez.

 

[GroverCleveland]

He absolutely has not learned anything. He is completing is 3rd full season and if the VSM and VQ are to be believed, he is on the verge of finding his 3rd OC and 3rd DC.

There are two components to that: realizing one needs to make a change and to be able to know what the right change is. I speak from some hard lessons learned.

 

[Weezer]

but i do think freeze is legitimately in play. we just have to decide if that juice is worth the squeeze. agree on the rest.

I would agree Freeze is in play. The real question is whether or not UT would hire him with his baggage? It's not about what you think, or I think, or any other Joe Blow fan thinks. The admin isn't going to ask our opinion. So are they willing to take the leap and hire Hugh Freeze? If not, where does that leave us? Could we get a Matt Campbell? Probably not, IMO. So where do we go from there? Recently fired Gus Malzahn? Billy Napier? Jamey Chadwell? Coach McGoogle? Who wants the job, and who are we willing to hire? Given how dysfunctional we are, that second question scares me.

 

[jakez4ut]

I’m down for rolling the dice on a McGoogleMe if it comes to that.

Why not?

Pruitt isn’t gonna get it done and it’s not my money. Sure, it’s possible we hire an absolute clown who finally delivers an 0-12 season and kills off the program for good, but we are basically there anyway. Also, McGoogleMes aren’t guaranteed failures. We might accidentally hire a good coach.

yeah, i'm against 'hoping to accidentally hiring a good coach"

lol. but i like the honesty? i think?

 

[05_never_again]

So how long do we need to give our admins in order for them to formulate this "plan" you speak of where we don't go out and hire a Mcgoogle? next year? 3 more years? wait til that stellar '22 TN class all goes to clemson bama and georgia? Our booster names aren't changing so the thought of giving them more time to make another dumb hire seems pointless to me. At least when you go hire someone new there is at least a chance that they pan out. We've seen what pruitt can do. Lose to GA state, Kentucky blowout, ark loss, etc. At least get someone fresh in here that has the chance to succeed because everyone can see that Pruitt just isn't ready or isn't capable to bring this team back to even being competitive with FL GA or AL.

A competent admin could have a "plan" right now and execute it. Go out and get Freeze. Throw a ton of money at Campbell and make him say no. Kick the tires on Gus. There are many good options.

I just figure that our admin won't entertain any of them.

 

[BruinVol]

Should've hired Schiano.

Vol fans reaping what we sowed.

Yep

Fans don’t need a say in hiring or firings

 

[Aesius]

yeah, i'm against 'hoping to accidentally hiring a good coach"

lol. but i like the honesty? i think?

We already have a bad coach. Rolling the dice at least creates the opportunity that we get a good one.

Obviously it’s preferable that we hire an established name. But if that isn’t gonna happen, I’ll still take the field of McGoogles over Proot.

 

[MrVolton]

No he isn't, and it isn't even close. You've got recency bias.

Dooley won 4 conference games in 3 seasons. Pruitt won 5 conference games just last year.

If they have no plan and are going to pull in 5 different directions if Pruitt was fired, I bet there are actually better odds of Pruitt somehow turning it around than taking our chances with Coach McGoogle. Because make no mistake, if they go into a coaching search with no plan, they won't end up with a Chadwell or Napier. They'd end up with someone like Idaho State's assistant linebackers coach.

Best case scenario we land a Petersen, Stoops, Freeze or Campbell, but I don’t see any of those guys happening for various reasons either. But do you actually believe that either Chadwell or Napier are gonna turn down UT?

 

[Kingston Vol]

Oh, the f-ups that our admin is capable of would result in a coach that is far worse than Jeff Monken.

Yes, when you know someone isn't the right fit you replace them. But you identify someone, then fire them. I think we're going to fire them, then look for the replacement, and there will be 500 different ideas from boosters who want to "win" and replace him with their guy.

Totally agree with you.

I was optimistic we were doing our due diligence behind the scenes, but it's become increasingly apparent we have not. So if/when we fire Pruitt, we aren't getting a quick hire. Instead, it'll be a Tennessee coaching search in which the top 3 candidates turn us down because we don't have a clear plan, then we swing for the fences for a Gundy type hire that will never happen, and in that process, our 4 and 5 candidates get frustrated and withdraw their names.

But again, you have to try something else because the upcoming recruiting cycle is so important. You can't let Jeremy Pruitt ignore the state as he has for the bulk of his tenure here.

 

[m1al]

@cHiZzLeVOL Lol not a bad guess, but I'm gonna lie he got some damn good options. All his options are from passing schools. One of the teams have a Top 5 offense in college. We will see what happens

Best of luck to him. I'll be pulling for him no matter where he ends up..

 

[MrVolton]

I love the discussion in this thread, but there seems to be an assumption that if Pruitt was axed we could get Freeze, or Sark, or Campbell, or someone like that. All of those would be fine upgrades. I don't think anybody would say otherwise.

Basically what I'm saying is that there will be celebration if Pruitt is canned, then that will turn to extreme anxiety once a search is launched and they have no clue what they're doing, then that'll turn to anger when John Doe, the RB coach from the University of Vermont, is our new HC.

Both John Doe and Pruitt's odds of turning the program around are bad, but honestly Pruitt's are better.

There is no evidence that John Doe cannot get it done at UT. There is, however, three years of evidence that Pruitt cannot get it done at UT.

 

[GroverCleveland]

i don't disagree with most of this.

but one thing i think i do disagree with is the not knowing.

we know what we know. he has mismanaged the personnel, specifically QB, and he has yet to put together a staff that "works". on paper, yeah, staff looks great. has not come to fruition on the field, or on the recruiting trail, at least not to the point where you can routinely rely on the type of classes we expected, and got the last two cycles. we lost on the trail this year because of the shortcomings pruitt has displayed this year....resulting in the poor season....

so in year three, you have an awful season and can't close the top tier guys you put a LOT of effort in to....

raises legitimate questions about the future...

now, you are correct...can he/did he/has he learned anything as a result, or is the self admitted hard head just 'is who he is'?

And I understand that as well. In defense of not knowing, he went into the Georgia game with the longest win streak in CFB and we were all flying high. That streak, as we know now, was flimsy as 1/4" sheetrock. He has either learned some hard lessons this year or he hasn't. Is the university willing to see if he's learned anything, or take a chance someone new already knows everything?

 

[jakez4ut]

I would agree Freeze is in play. The real question is whether or not UT would hire him with his baggage? It's not about what you think, or I think, or any other Joe Blow fan thinks. The admin isn't going to ask our opinion. So are they willing to take the leap and hire Hugh Freeze? If not, where does that leave us? Could we get a Matt Campbell? Probably not, IMO. So where do we go from there? Recently fired Gus Malzahn? Billy Napier? Jamey Chadwell? Coach McGoogle? Who wants the job, and who are we willing to hire? Given how dysfunctional we are, that second question scares me.

yeah, juice worth the squeeze...they have to figure that out.

as for who'd be next, i think you may guage interest in a few top tier guys like Campbell, but i'd expect those to be very short conversations.

i think a guy like Napier probably makes a lot of sense and is 'gettable'....but that doesn't strike fear in to the hears of our opponents. and it doesn't make waves with recruits. it would be considered a "solid" hire, and we'd all immediatley go in to wait and see mode and hang on to the edge of our seat with every perceived success/failure, trying to figure out how that will translate to his ultimate success/failure as a coach.

why do i know this? it's what we've done since we hired Dooley.

hire freeze, and you can rest assured...it's either gonna be absolutely glorious..........or completely blow up. there won't be any in between. lol.

 

[orangesoda]

find me another program where the starting qb for multiple years in a row literally cost you games by scoring more points for the opponent than the team he plays for?

JG has had 100 yard turnovers for TD's ever year he's started. 18 FL, 19 Bama 20 Auburn...wtf does that?

the qb play here has been absolutely dreadful and has snatched the opportunity for victory out from under our feet on multiple occasions...we start the GA st game off last year with turn over by the QB. the 2nd half of the UGA, UK games...the 18 FL game....the vandy game a couple years ago. Auburn this year.....

none of this excuses JP's performance....but if you don't think that's a consideration on this whole deal? i'd be more than a little surprised.

Who was the idiot that kept running the same QB out there?? That is the guy that should be fired.

 

[UTProf]

Laughable that us being beat only soundly and not like a rented mule is enough to bring Pruitt back. That could be the difference of a fluke turnover that Pruitt and his staff had no hand in making happen and yet, because it would make the final score closer, he’s back for 2021 so we can delay the inevitable. This program is dead.

Frankly. I believe that theory to be a lie. Not an intentional one so much as just folks hedging their bets when they predict what might happen. I think minds have been made up and the powwows will commence postgame. The outcome will add fuel but it’s a matter of the gang getting together to discuss it and finalize things. They will do that at the end of the season but minds have largely been made up. The aftermath of the game more about meeting to reach consensus on the next move.

 

[05_never_again]

We already have a bad coach. Rolling the dice at least creates the opportunity that we get a good one.

Obviously it’s preferable that we hire an established name. But if that isn’t gonna happen, I’ll still take the field of McGoogles over Proot.

Let's define "McGoogle." Are you considering Napier or Chadwell a McGoogle? Nobody in this thread would have to Google those guys, but most of the rest of the fanbase would.

My fear is that our admin is going to launch into a search with no plan, which would result in a true "McGoogle" coach - I'm talking about a guy that even the crazy people this thread like us would have to look up. Our admin is totally capable of effing this up so bad that we don't even end up with Napier or Chadwell. I could totally see us ending up with an assistant coach from an obscure G5 school in a coaching search.

 

[TrippieRedd]

I wonder if Pruitt and Co. hate players that have insane stats.

They hate Bailey (not really, but really lol)
And now we hear they were about to cut Brown....guessing due to too many rushing yards.

 

[jakez4ut]

Who was the idiot that kept running the same QB out there?? That is the guy that should be fired.

i think i alluded to that in one of these posts...maybe the one you quoted?

 

[LA Vol]

No decision rides on the aTm game. It's the #5 team in the country and they're a better, more complete team than we are this year. The decision rides on what the guy at the top wants to do and whether UT can make what they feel is the right hire. A very small group has meaningful input.

No point in me repeating this over and over. Those who choose to believe otherwise, feel free.

 

[05_never_again]

Best case scenario we land a Petersen, Stoops, Freeze or Campbell, but I don’t see any of those guys happening for various reasons either. But do you actually believe that either Chadwell or Napier are gonna turn down UT?

They would not turn down UT, no. But our admin is so stupid I'm not convinced they'd even be offered the job.

Have we forgotten that just 3 short years ago, after missing on Mullen, they went right down the list to Greg Freaking Schiano?

 

[mccrackb]

I hate the idea of hiring this idiot a new coaching staff. Will be a massive waste of money. he will hire a bunch of no name losers who’re gonna get paid way above market value to coach with a lame duck HC

Why is he an idiot because he loved him some JG more than you?

 

[TrippieRedd]

No decision rides on the aTm game. It's the #5 team in the country and they're a better, more complete team than we are this year. The decision rides on what the guy at the top wants to do and whether UT can make what they feel is the right hire. A very small group has meaningful input.

No point in me repeating this over and over. Those who choose to believe otherwise, feel free.

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzeeeeeeee

 

[Kingston Vol]

Napier is not turning this job down. Chadwell is not turning this job down.

They are legit candidates whether this year or next. We are not suddenly going to become a better job in one season - in fact, an argument could be made we only get worse as Pruitt lets the roster deteriorate.

Go get one of them, create some buzz for the 2022 class, and let's lock this state down. Butch showed how far you can get with one really great in-state class.