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| Knoxville News Sentinel
Jeremy Pruitt is absent as Tennessee football coach, ending one of the worst terms in program history.
Pruitt was sacked Monday for alleged NCAA violations under his leadership, according to University of Tennessee sources familiar with the situation, which means the university will not pay for his buyout.
Pruitt only lasted three seasons and leaves behind a program that is under investigation for alleged violations of NCAA rules.
Additionally, athletics director Phillip Fulmer will retire, according to sources, after UT hires an AD to replace him as he wants his successor to pick the next football coach. Fulmer has made the decision to resign and his departure is unrelated to the investigation.
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Pruitt’s sacking comes as the university investigates the football program into allegations of recruitment violations. The university has retained lawyers Mike Glazier and Kyle Skillman to assist with the investigation. Kansas-based lawyers are considered experts in representing universities in college sports investigations.
Less than four months ago, Tennessee granted Pruitt a contract extension that included an increase starting this year and an increased buyout. He was under contract until January 31, 2026.
Pruitt, 46, compiled a 16-19 record, including a 3-7 rating in 2020 compared to a conference-only schedule.
Jeremy Pruitt recaps Tennessee’s 2020 football season
Jeremy Pruitt recaps Tennessee’s 2020 football season
Will Backus, Knoxville News Sentinel
WH Britton and Derek Dooley are the only Tennessee coaches since World War I to have compiled a worse winning percentage than Pruitt. Britton went 4-5 in 1935, his only season, and Dooley went 15-21 in 2010-12.
Pruitt’s contract includes more than 30 fire-cause clauses. Among them, he may be terminated for cause if he has engaged in conduct that may result in an NCAA finding of violation of Level I or II rules, or if someone who relates to Pruitt has engaged in conduct that constitutes or is likely to result in a Level I or Level II violation and the university determines that Pruitt was negligent in its supervision or lacked reasonable preventive compliance measures .
In addition, he may be dismissed for non-promotion and for maintaining an atmosphere of compliance or non-supervision of employees reporting to him.
A successful defensive coordinator in the state of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, Pruitt has shown shortcomings as a program CEO. It was his first lead coaching opportunity at any level.
Tennessee’s offense has ranked among the worst in the SEC throughout his tenure, and Pruitt and his team have failed to form quarterbacks.
Pruitt went 0-9 against Alabama, Florida and Georgia, including eight losses to those rivals coming from over 20 points. He was criticized in October after claiming in a 31-point loss to Alabama that the Vols closed the gap to the Crimson Tide.
Equally damaging have been the losses in the games Tennessee is expected to win.
The Vols opened the 2019 season with a 38-30 loss to Georgia State, a 26-point Sun Belt Conference underdog who went 2-10 the previous season and was awarded $ 950,000 to play in the game. The loss began a 2-5 start to the season.
Pruitt’s 2020 woes started in earnest with a 34-7 loss to Kentucky on Oct. 17, in which the Vols had four turnovers, including two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. It was Tennessee’s first home loss to the Wildcats since 1984.
Pruitt also lost to Vanderbilt in the 2018 final, preventing Tennessee from having a bowling game, and he lost this season to Arkansas and his freshman coach Sam Pittman.
The Vols also had some highlights under Pruitt. They beat ranked enemies Auburn and Kentucky in its inaugural season. These would remain his only victories against the top 25 opponents during his tenure.
Tennessee closed the 2019 season with a 23-22 victory over Indiana in the Gator Bowl, and UT announced Pruitt’s contract extension two days before the start of this season.
“I am delighted that this extension gives Jeremy the track to continue building on the momentum and energy we have around our football schedule last season,” Fulmer said in a press release announcing This agreement.
“He made great progress at the start of his third year and clearly realizes that there is still a lot to do. This extension allows him to continue his efforts to bring our program back to a championship level and shows our commitment to him, his staff, and the future of Tennessee volunteers. “
As of early October, Tennessee enjoyed the SEC’s longest active winning streak in eight games after starting this year 2-0. The Vols entered an Oct. 10 game against 12th-ranked Georgia nationally and led 21-17 at halftime before imploding in a 44-21 loss.
It started a six-game losing streak which is the longest in program history.
Butch Jones remains the only Tennessee coach to have lasted more than three seasons since Tennessee ousted Fulmer. Lane Kiffin bolted after the 2009 season for Southern California. Dooley was fired in his third season. Jones was fired in his fifth season.
Blake Toppmeyer covers University of Tennessee football. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will give you access to it all. Current subscribers can click here to join Blake’s subscriber-only text group offering updates and analysis on Football Flights.
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