Since 2008, the University of Tennessee’s football team has the following record: 62 wins, 63 losses. Would you like to guess what there record was from 1993-2007? 143 wins, 45 losses. So why in the wide world of sports have they dropped so far since 2008? Well, they got rid of their best coach since Johnny Majors- Philip Fulmer. There was a lot of people in Knoxville that loved Phillip Fulmer and I never understood why they canned the man who took them to SEC championships, who helped them win a National Championship, and help bring in one of best quarterbacks ever- Peyton Manning. Maybe Rocky Top got bored with Fulmer, but his three successor’s were even more boring because they couldn’t match anything close to what Philip Fulmer did. Here is the who and what of the coaching tree that followed coach Fulmer:
- Lane Kiffin (2009) – Ok, let’s hire someone from the pro’s that had no success but we think he is a good fit at Knoxville…Wrong! Kiffin won 7 games but high-tailed it for greener pasture(USC) after one season! He just didn’t burn his bridges at Tennessee, he destroyed them! Now he is the name that you do not name in Knoxville. BTW, his success at USC was so good, that his boss fired him right when he got off the bus. Nice job, Tennessee.
- Derek Dooley (2010-2012) – Was it because of his last name that intrigued you? Was it because he was a Saban disciple and you think Saban was just going to rub all over Dooley? Or was it because he had semi-success at Louisiana Tech? I’m not sure but it was a complete flop.
- Butch Jones (2013-2017) – This man had the potential to do great things at UT, but he had a hard time keeping players from getting into trouble and transferring. In a way, he was very similar to Mark Richt- losing some games that would make you shake your head, especially with the talent he had after a couple of seasons. Butch Jones had a winning record at UT(34-27), but with all the hype leading to last season, he could not win the games that mattered and it cost him.
However, I foresee brighter days in the smokey mountains. I can hear Rocky Top being played more often on Saturday’s in the Fall. I have established this new found faith due to the school hiring Jeremy Pruitt. A man who has a gritty, tough nose defensive scheme that will make the Volunteers a contender again. The Rainsville, Alabama native knows football. His father has been coaching for a long time and Jeremy played for him at Plainville. He has coached at Alabama, FSU, and Georgia. The man knows football and he is a proven winner. I like this hire for another reason: his attitude. The man doesn’t take any shortcuts and expects perfection. Check out these quotes about one of his first practices this Spring-“One thing I did notice out there today, we had a lot of guys who after two days off didn’t respond the right way, and we’ve got to fix that,” Pruitt said. “We need to be having spring practice every day, we need to have 30 of them, but we only get 15.” ” I’m coming of the field and I’m ticked off, and I don’t know if it’s because the way the whole team practiced or because the offense kicked their tail,” Pruitt said. Needless to say, Pruitt doesn’t need much help motivating his players. This may not be the home run hire some in Knoxville were praying for, but I assure you, it’s the right higher. The Volunteer faithful need to be patient. The school, athletic board, boosters, all of them better give coach Pruitt time to build the Volunteers in to a respectable program, or they will be back to square one, again.
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