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The question on Pruitt isn't Xs and Os, it's whether he can be a CEO of a top college football program. He's a great DC, but can he be a great HC? He can recruit, but can he keep his hotheadedness under control. He had some run-ins with Mark Richt that always made me wonder if he had the temperament. This move is evidence that he may not. Letting a DC go mid-season is bad enough, but seriously doing it during a game is ridiculous, absent some serious issues that haven't come to light yet. Not to mention, they have close to a million dollar buyout for the DL coach.
It's going to be interesting to see if he can keep it together. Last year he was able to. But all his losses so far are by a ton of points. You have Bama and Florida (please beat those reptiles), a much improved @ Arkansas, TAMU, @ Auburn, and Vanderbilt. Seriously, you could lose all those games with the likely exception of Vandy. That would be 3-7. 4-6 is more likely as you will may win one of Auburn or Arkansas. I think he can survive that, but it likely takes you out of contention for any prospects that are marginal - Neyland Green, Smael Mondon, TID - come to mind. I don't think that is hot seat material, but the talent margin will not get any better if recruiting suffers. You guys play UF, UGA, and Bama every year. Until your talent gets better, you start at 2-3 losses each year. Can he survive that?
I somewhat agree with you but TN can't afford to fire a coach now.
Tennessee's downfall has been poor coaching. I haven't really seen Tennessee with a great coach in my lifetime. Even Fulmer was mediocre and got outclassed by Spurrier and late Meyer, Richt, and Saban. Fulmer's secret weapon in the 1990s was David Cutcliffe. Our offenses declined after he left.
I kept hearing that we need to give coaches time like we gave Dooley 3 years and Jones 5 years but I don't see other SEC schools doing that nor having trouble finding good coaches. James Franklin won 9 games in year 2 at Vandy. Bobby Petrino, Hugh Freeze, and Dan Mullin all won quickly at programs with lesser talent.
If Pruitt doesn't win at least 4 games this year, they probably need to start searching for a coach. However, I don't have faith that the school can find a good one so I am fine with holding onto Pruitt for now. In a way, if we can get a good QB and shore up some issues with the O-line, we have a great football team.