Tennessee Football: Jeremy Pruitt details year two coaching staff

Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols added multiple new coaches to the staff this offseason and Pruitt is happy with where they’re at.

One thing Jeremy Pruitt is known for is his recruiting. We knew if given the resources he was going to be able to bring in his guys and be successful, but what we didn’t know is he could do that with assistant coaches too.

Year one with his first set of coaches, was kind of rough for Pruitt. Some didn’t totally agree with what Pruitt wanted to do and preferred to do their own thing, and now they are no longer here.

With that being said Pruitt now has brought in better coaches for what he wants to do in 2019 and he’s pleased with where the program as a whole is currently at.

"“A lot of people say I’ve got the best coaching staff in the country,” Pruitt said. “Most of the people that say it haven’t been part of the staffs that I’ve been a part of, which have been some really good ones over the years."

Well, based off who Pruitt was able to bring in I’d say he might have the best coaching staff in the country and if they’re not the best they are certainly a top-10 or maybe top-5 staff.

"“I truly believe with them on our staff, and I told them that this (Thursday) morning, when you talk about teaching, recruiting, relationships, character (and) all the intangibles that come with being a football coach, I truly believe that we do have the best staff in the country.”"

One big grab for the defensive coaching staff was getting Derek Ansley from the Oakland Raiders to coach the secondary.

"“That was one of the draws for me to come take this job,” Ansley said. “It was very glamorous because the staff did have a lot of experience and they know how to do it in this league.“They’ve done it before. They’re proven veterans and they’re good men. So that was very attractive for me when I took the job.”"

Pruitt made it a point to go out and get coaches with experience on a successful team with a successful defense or offense depending on what they are coaching.

Ansley isn’t the only coach returning to Rocky Top this fall though. A lot of fans have been clamoring for getting “Tennessee guys” to coach the Vols and Pruitt went out to get a few of those guys in the offseason.

Ansley is one of them who had a stop in Knoxville in 2012, Tee Martin is another who played and won a national championship at Tennessee, and the final one is Jim Chaney who returns as the offensive coordinator.

Those three coaches alone can take Tennessee from playing good to great in the matter of a season or two.

2019 will be a big year for Pruitt and the Vols. His coaching staff had a lot of work to do this offseason, so we will see what improvements they made in the coming weeks.