Id like to point out that one of the most exciting and aggressive defensive coaches in college football should also be available. A man with a record on 3rd down so memorable that fans have named the down after him. A savant with an understanding of defensive principles incomparable to other defensive coaches at the SEC level.
I think he'll be so sought after that I would encourage teams to come after him now. Like, right this very second. Don't miss out.
Shitty and broke? Yikes Tennessee This week, Yahoo Sports college football insider Pete Thamel touched on several hot-seat candidates, including Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee. The likelihood of the Vols making a move in Year 3 is small, but Pruitt's 15-16 record through his first 31 games including four straight losses has caused disruption a bit in Knoxville. "When you hire an unqualified athletic director Part 1: You get what’s happening at Tennessee, where Phillip Fulmer bid against himself to give Jeremy Pruitt an extension and raise this offseason," Thamel writes. "It’s a classic move for a novice AD. On the West Coast they call this “pulling a Lynn Swann” for his Clay Helton extension. "Pruitt’s buyout is more than $12.5 million, which considering the miserable state of Tennessee’s finances before the pandemic would seem to be untenable. But with Tennessee, emotion and meddling boosters have long won out over logic. The Vols are 2-4, and there’s a clear path to a 3-7 finish. "If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Tennessee the last dozen years, a complete administrative mess is the baseline expectation." Pruitt delivered a message to Tennessee fans who were losing hope in October after the program's 14th straight loss to Alabama, but it fell on deaf ears nationally. The Vols lost at Arkansas last week, have struggled over the past month at the quarterback spot and take on nationally-ranked Auburn next.
I don't think the buyout changed, according to rival mods at the time. Ain't reading a wolken article
I've been in the camp of giving everyone a free pass this season because of how much disarray the entire college athletics landscape is right now but holy fuck have we dug ourselves into such a massive shit filled hole.
I think it may be tied to a proportion of the total $ owed to Pruitt if he were fired. I could be wrong.
lol "Pruitt was not asked to take a pay cut because he did not accept a raise for the 2020 contract year as part of a contract extension he signed in September. The athletic department considered that to be Pruitt's contribution to the plan. Pruitt’s raise will kick in during the 2021 contract year. The salary reduction plan was designed to save the athletic department about $1.6 million. Because eight football staff members rejected a pay cut, the savings will come to about $1.3 million, according to figures provided by the athletic department. About $280,000 of that savings will come from at-will employees; about $600,000 will come from contract employees; and $400,000 is from Pruitt forgoing a raise for the 2020 contract year."
Is Barry Alvarez the only example of iconic football coach turned Athletic Director being successful?
I can’t even think of another major football coach other than Fulmer. We have two retired baseball coach AD’s in the SEC, with one being an abject disaster and the other being tbd, but not looking great.
I figured we were just talking present day, because if not, Bear Bryant won 6 national titles and 14 SEC titles as AD.
Gotcha. I didn't consider a Bryant since he was both coach and AD (I know Broyles was as well for a few years but he was also AD for a long time without coaching)
I’ll take a pay cut now in exchange for a % of the profits over the next 25 years. Fuck these athletic departments.
“We might make a lot of money, but we also spend a lot of money...” -Patrick Ewing -UT coaching staff