After three and half
weeks of wild speculation, fan base rejection, outrage, confusion, and media hyperbole,
the zaniest coaching search in the history of coaching searches is finally over, as
Tennessee has officially hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
On the one hand, I suppose we should judge
all of these hires compared to Greg Schiano, the bag of crap the Vols
originally tried to sell us. So if that's the standard, then Pruitt is unquestionably the better hire. Both he and Schiano are defensive-minded coaches, but Pruitt is
8 years younger, is perennially one of the best assistants in college football, is
considered a phenomenal recruiter, and has spent the last decade in either the
SEC or at Florida State.
But hiring Pruitt is also
a roll of the dice, so much so that he wasn’t even on my radar when this whole thing
started, and you would've been hard-pressed to find him near the top of anyone else's either. Even still, there are some positive things surrounding him that I like. Everyone that's worked with him has nothing but praise for the job he does, and the perception among coaches is that he’s ready for an opportunity like the one at Tennessee. Plus, when Nick Saban needed to hire a DC before the 2016 season, he hand-picked Pruitt. That has to mean something right?
Then again, he’s also
never been a head coach before, and with that brings a whole lot of questions and uncertainty. Are we sure he’s got the skill set to be wildly
successful as the top man? Sure, he could be like Georgia’s Kirby Smart, also a
former Saban DC who had never been a head coach before, who got the Bulldogs to
the playoff in Year 2. Or he could go up in flames like a zillion other
coordinators who took over at big time jobs when they either weren’t ready or
didn’t have the natural coaching ability to run a successful program. Pruitt
doesn’t have the track record of other guys they were interested in that turned them down, like Mike
Leach, Kevin Sumlin, Mike Gundy, or Jeff Brohm.
By the end of Year 2, I think we'll have a pretty good grasp on what kind of a hire he ends up being. Why? Because since the SEC added a championship game in 1992,
every coach that captured the conference title won at least 9 games by their second
season. I think a 25 year sample size is more than enough of one to make an assertion like that.
And since I believe this, I'm going to try and
not make any sweeping judgments about Pruitt until after the 2019 season. Next year very well might be another tough campaign, as the Vols have a brutal six
week stretch that goes like this: Florida, at Georgia, bye week, at Auburn,
Alabama, and at South Carolina. Sheesh. No breaks from the schedule makers
there. There’s a possibility they, with a still shaky QB and a new offensive
system, lose all five of those games.
Is Pruitt going to try
and bring Alabama’s physical, pro-style attack to Knoxville? If so, that’s
something I could get behind. The Tide have spent the last decade winning the line
of scrimmage and bowling over everyone with their powerful running game.
But the thing I don’t think Saban has gotten enough credit for over the years
is his willingness to take shots down the field. Throughout the game, he’ll slowly and methodically pound the ball on the ground, as he bides his time waiting for the safeties to creep towards the
line of scrimmage. And when he gets a matchup one-on-one on the outside, he’ll
bomb it down the field to one of his athletes and let them make a play.
The
Tide are a machine though, and the consistency in that attack has been built up over the last decade. Plus, I’m not 100% sure the Vols have the right quarterback on their
roster. I respect the hell out of Jarrett Guarantano for the beating he took
this season behind an offensive line that was in tatters, but he didn’t exactly
do anything that made me think, “Wow, this guy really has a chance to be
special”. Is it possible he was betrayed by Tennessee’s offensive staff, a
group that was potentially the worst in the Power 5? I suppose that's conceivable. But I wouldn’t be my life on Guarantano being the guy.
Everyone in the media
seems to think Pruitt will be able to put together an incredible staff. I hope
their right. Whoever Pruitt decides to hire as his offensive coordinator will
be the most important decision of his first year on the job. There’s been some
buzz surrounding former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, which would be a nice
snag if the Vols could land him. Yes, I know he’s got the “I called hookers
from my university cell phone” and "NCAA trouble" baggage, but I’m not asking him to be the leader
of my program, I just need him to call awesome plays and help develop the quarterbacks. And if he doesn't have any sanctions from his time at Ole Miss following him, then I don't see why the Tennessee wouldn't want him. But if the Vols can’t get him, we know, at least according to reports, that Tee
Martin won’t be coming to join Pruitt’s staff either. I love Tee, and he helped
bring a national championship to Rocky Top, but if you believe the local media
in Los Angeles, Martin is, while serviceable, not viewed as an elite OC.
One more thing: Pruitt is
going to continue coaching Alabama until their season is over while also
attempting to get everything ready for his first season in Knoxville. I’d be
more concerned, except Kirby Smart did the same thing two years ago with the Tide,
and it seems to have worked out at Georgia so far.
Despite all my
reservations, it’s going to be nice to see someone standing on the podium in
front of everyone gladly accepting this coaching position. I want Pruitt to be
wildly successful. I’ll be rooting like hell for him. And I think there’s a
very good chance he’ll do a great job in Knoxville. At least I hope he does,
because my heart can’t go through another decade-long stretch like it just did.
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