| Knoxville News Sentinel
Jeremy Pruitt He left his position as a football coach in Tennessee, ending one of his worst spells in the program’s history.
Pruitt was fired for some reason on Monday for alleged NCAA violations under his watch, according to University of Tennessee sources familiar with the situation, which means the university will not pay the acquisition fee.
Pruitt lasted only three seasons and left behind a program under investigation for alleged NCAA rule violations.
Additionally, sources said athletics director Philip Vollmer is retiring, having hired UT AD to replace him, as he wants to choose his successor as the next soccer coach. Vollmer made the decision to step down, and his departure is not linked to the investigation.
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Pruitt release comes during The university is conducting an investigation into the soccer program On allegations of recruitment abuse. The university has hired attorneys Mike Glazier and Kyle Skellman to assist with the investigation. Kansas-based attorneys are experts in representing universities during college athletics investigations.
Less than four months ago, Tennessee granted Pruitt a contract extension That included an increase at the start of this year and an increase in acquisitions. It was on contract until January 31, 2026.
Pruitt, 46, amassed a record from 16 to 19, including a 3-7 mark in 2020 versus just the conference schedule.
Jeremy Pruitt summarizes the 2020 football season in Tennessee
Jeremy Pruitt summarizes the 2020 football season in Tennessee
Will Backus, Knoxville News Sentinel
WH Britton and Derek Dooley are the only Tennessee coaches since World War I to have an overall win percentage worse than Pruitt. Britton went 4-5 in 1935, his only season, and International went 15-21 from 2010-12.
Pruitt’s contract includes more than 30 due-to-cause shooting clauses. Among them, he could be fired for some reason if he engaged in a behavior likely to lead to the NCAA’s consequence for violating Level 1 or Level 2 rules, or if someone reporting to Pruitt was involved in a behavior that constituted a Level I or II violation or is likely to Lead to such a breach and the University determines that Pruitt was negligent in his supervision or lacked reasonable preventive compliance measures.
Additionally, he could be fired for the reason for failing to foster and maintain an atmosphere of compliance or failing to monitor the employees who report him.
Pruitt, who was a successful defense coordinator in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, showed shortcomings as a program executive. This was his first major coaching opportunity of any level.
The Tennessee crime ranked among the worst SEC crimes of his tenure, and Pruitt and his staff failed to develop quarterback players.
Pruitt went 0-9 against Alabama, Florida and Georgia, including eight losses for these competitors coming by more than 20 points. He was criticized in October after that He claimed after losing 31 points to Alabama that Vols was closing the gap with Crimson Tide.
Just as the losses have been devastating in the games, it is expected that Tennessee will win.
The Vols opened the 2019 season with 38-30 loss to Georgia, A 26-point underdog team from the Sun Belt Conference that went 2-10 the previous season and earned $ 950,000 to play the game. The 2-5 loss started the start of the season.
Pruitt’s problems began in 2020 in earnest with A 34-7 loss to Kentucky on October 17th, During which the volumes saw four turns, including two interceptions that were pushed back for landing. It was Tennessee’s first home loss to the Wildcats since 1984.
Pruitt also lost to Vanderbilt in the 2018 Final, banned Tennessee from playing a match, and lost this season to Arkansas and its first-year coach, Sam Bateman.
The Vols enjoyed some great moments under Pruitt, too. They beat seeded rivals Auburn and Kentucky during his inaugural season. Those would still be his only victories against the 25 best opponents during his tenure.
Tennessee ended the 2019 season by defeating Indiana 23-22 at the Gator Bowl, and UT announced Pruitt’s contract extension two days before the start of that season.
„I am excited that this extension gives Jeremy the Colette to continue building on the momentum and energy we have on our football program that came out of last season,“ Vollmer said in a press release announcing the deal.
„He’s made excellent progress only entering his third year and clearly realizing that there is still a lot of work to be done. This extension ensures that he continues his efforts to get our program back to tournament level and demonstrates our commitment to him, his staff, this is the team and future of the Tennessee Volunteers.“
Around early October, Tennessee had the SEC’s longest active winning streak in eight matches having started this year 2–0. Falls entered the October 10 game in Georgia No. 12 nationally, leading 21-17 in the first half before collapsing in a 44-21 loss.
That started a six-game losing streak to match the longest in the program’s history.
Butch Jones remains the only Tennessee coach to have played more than three seasons since Tennessee ousted Vollmer. Lynn Kevin withdrew after the 2009 Southern California season. Dooley was sent off during his third season. Jones was fired during his fifth season.
Blake Topmeyer Football covers the University of Tennessee. Email it on [email protected] And follow him on Twitter Embed a Tweet. If you enjoy covering Blake, Consider a digital subscription It will allow you to access all of that. Current subscribers You can click here To join Blake A text group for subscribers only Provides updates and analysis on Vols football.
