Tennessee Football: Can Jeremy Pruitt turn things around?

Tennessee football is looking at its worst football season in a very long time. Now the question is, can Jeremy Pruitt turn this ship around?

Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee football are staring 1-6 in the eye if they can’t win another game until their homecoming game against UAB.

As an SEC coach or any coach for that matter, that’s not a good way to start your second season after running your mouth for the past year and a half. If Pruitt finishes the 2019 season with anything less than four wins I don’t see how you can bring him back for 2020.

The good thing for Pruitt, is I think he can turn things around. I don’t know how he will do it, but there’s a very small chance he could turn things around. But I will say if he continues to put that lifeless team on the field for the rest of the season, he has no chance.

I think we can go ahead and eliminate a six-win season. I don’t know if it’s because of Pruitt and his development or if the players are just terrible, but Tennessee is very bad at football.

If Tennessee fires Pruitt after they win two or three games, then I don’t know who you hire after that. I don’t know if you’re able to get anyone to come here because it’s such a dumpster fire.

But let’s consider if we gave Pruitt five years like we gave Lyle. I think Pruitt gets us to a bowl game eventually, but I just don’t think he’s a great head coach. Is he a good position coach? Yes, he is. Is he a good defensive coordinator? Yes, he is, but I don’t think he’s a head coach.

The only thing I’m not sure about is his year as Alabama’s defensive coordinator before he was hired at Tennessee. Yeah, he was the DB coach the year prior when Kirby Smart was the DC, but he took over one of the best defenses in the country, and it was Kirby’s defense.

He’s going to go up against Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs in his next game, so if he’s going to turn things around, he’s going to have to do it soon. I’m going to say that every week until he turns it around. If he never turns it around, well, maybe Mike Leach is still interested.

The game of college football is an offensive game, and a great defensive coach would be a valuable asset, but a decent to good offensive head coach is much more valuable than a decent to good defensive coach.

I want Pruitt to succeed, but he’s off to such a bad start I don’t know if he will be able to or at least survive the season.

If I had to guess, Phillip Fulmer would give Pruitt at least one more year after this season, but I don’t see things going well for him if he continues to put this product on the field.