Yooo that article is fire! lol
Tennessee
A few weeks back, as discontent grew among Volunteer boosters and fans about the future of head coach Jeremy Pruitt (16-18), rumors flew that Pruitt, himself discontent with the program and his lack of support, told people around the program that he’d just as soon “go back to coaching defense for Nick than put up with this ****.”
I mentioned this to a source, who offered up a financial answer: He absolutely should. In fact, Jeremy Pruitt could make more money next season as a DC somewhere else.
Here’s how. Following an extension that stultified boosters after last season (you know, the one where he lost to Georgia State), Pruitt now stands to make 60 cents on every dollar he’s owed on a contract that runs through FIVE MORE SEASONS. So if Pruitt gets fired, he’ll be paid around $12.48 million. That number is what’s called “hard exposure” by contract nerds. And here’s the most important part: The $12-ish million has no offset. Another job paying Pruitt won’t count against the total, though he has no legal obligation to seek further employment after termination.
Pruitt is owed a $4 million base salary in 2021, then $4.2 for the four seasons through 2025 (holy **** you idiots extended him I will never not pause what I’m doing and marvel at that). In 2021, he’ll also receive a retention bonus of $200,000 and an expenses budget of $36,000.
From that $4 million next season, he’ll receive $2.4 million in cash, paid out in monthly installments, if he’s fired in the next week or so. That means he’d need a job paying about $1.8 million annually starting next season to make him whole (the $4 million base plus retention bonus).
Here’s the funny part, and what makes this scenario different from almost every other coaching story I’m familiar with: Pruitt isn’t Nick Saban. He’s not his predecessor Butch Jones. He, it seems, lacks the megalomaniac fervor of a head coach, and (according to people) really would be happy just going back to being a plain-old “ball coach” defensive coordinator.
And unlike 95 percent of the qualified coaches in the market, Pruitt has held DC jobs at schools — Georgia, Alabama, Florida State — that pay coordinators seven figures.
In other words, he might actually be able to land a DC job that pays him more than $1.8 million. For example: LSU is paying Bo Pelini over $2 million, and paid Dave Aranda $2.5 million. So what happens when Pelini gets fired (lol, hypothetically, lol)? What if Texas A&M’s Mike Elko gets a head coaching job? He was really close at Temple.
The point is Jeremy Freaking Pruitt has this entire industry by the balls and probably hasn’t figured it out. (Because he might be Goro). JEREMY: Tell Tennessee to fire you RIGHT NOW, then go DC somewhere. Just go BE A BALL COACH and A BIG DUMBASS and MAKE EVEN MORE MONEY.
Do this for the rest of us, Jeremy, because it’s as close to an ideal American story as any of us can imagine in this day and age.
