Tennessee football had a full coaching staff for maybe a week. But the Volunteers are now parting ways with Robert Gillespie.
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Filling a coaching vacancy is nothing new for new head coach Jeremy Pruitt, and now he’s back at it again. Tennessee football had a full coaching staff for maybe a week and signing day was in the books, time to focus on spring practice, right? Wrong.
This is Tennessee football, and as we all know by now, nothing goes right for the Vols anymore. Tennessee and running backs coach Robert Gillespie are parting ways. Gillespie has been with the program for the past five years and was the only coach held over from the Butch Jones era.
Like most people, I thought keeping Gillespie was a win for head coach Jeremey Pruitt. He would have been a massive help with the transition and with the rebuilding of a new roster. Gillespie was a proven recruiter and promoted to a recruiting coordinator position in 2015.
There is no doubt that Gillespie was a great position coach as well. Sure, the talent of the players was already there, but Gillespie had a hand in making them better. Players such as Jalen Hurd, Alvin Kamara, and most recently John Kelly are better players not because of Robert Gillespie.
Tennessee has had its struggles during Gillespie’s time especially on the offensive line, but that didn’t slow down the running backs.
Despite anyone’s feelings on Jalen Hurd and how he acted, he was extremely productive as a Vol. He sits 6th all-time in rushing yards with 2,638 in not even three full seasons.
In his sophomore season, Hurd had 1,157 yards which ranks 12th for most yards in a regular season by a Tennessee running back.
We all saw what a threat Alvin Kamara was and what he did in his first year in the NFL as Rookie of the Year.
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Then there’s John Kelly. did you see what he was able to accomplish behind an offensive line that couldn’t block a fly? It’s safe to say that this was something Tennessee football couldn’t afford. The Vols will move on and hire another coach. He might do a good job as well. But he isn’t Robert Gillespie.