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Tennessee football: Pruitt’s staff makes him better for Vols than Brohm

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football came close to hiring Jeff Brohm. But with his staff, Jeremy Pruitt brings all of Brohm’s qualities and then some to the Volunteers.

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In the midst of the disastrous Tennessee football coaching search last year, the Vols almost struck gold. John Currie appeared to come extremely close to hiring Purdue Boilermakers head coach Jeff Brohm after the Greg Schiano fiasco and being rejected by Mike Gundy.

Jimmy Hyams actually reported that a deal was done, and we had a post here calling Brohm a home run hire. His cutting-edge offense as a Bobby Petrino disciple and proven track record of turning teams around quickly were major pluses.

However, the deal fell through, and the Vols missed out again on something positive for the university. Brohm has now all but said that he almost took the job after confirming to the Louisville Courier-Journal that talks did take place between him and Rocky Top. So it seems like a what-could-have-been for Knoxville.

Phillip Fulmer appeared to take a different route after he replaced John Currie, going more for defense when he hired Jeremy Pruitt. However, with Pruitt Tennessee football brought in everything Brohm brings and more.

That cutting edge offense was why we called Brohm a home run hire. Pruitt, a defensive guy installing the 3-4 system with all the positive SEC-rooted qualities, has brought that to Rocky Top with him anyway. His offensive coordinator in Tyson Helton is the reason.

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Helton is a protege of Brohm’s offense. He served as his offensive coordinator for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in 2014 and 2015, when Brohm was there. He then went to work with Tee Martin and Clay Helton to learn more about developing quarterbacks with the USC Trojans.

So Helton brings the Brohm-Petrino offense with even more experience by learning a different system the last two years. Combine him with Pruitt’s defensive knowledge, and it’s really hard for Rocky Top to wish they still had Brohm back.

At this point, they shouldn’t even wish for Bobby Petrino. Helton literally brings everything to the table offensively Petrino does. Tennessee football won’t miss a step with him calling the shots.

The position coaches on offense all bring something different to add to the offense as well. David Johnson has experience in the spread. Will Friend has experience with the running game and getting physical in the SEC. Brian Niedermeyer is another Nick Saban disciple. And Chris Weinke brings a great connection to the players with his high school experience.

Simply put, Tennessee football has a cutting-edge offensive staff. It’s as good as anything Jeff Brohm could have brought.

When you combine it with what Pruitt brings to the table on the other side of the ball, he’s clearly the better hire. We wrote in January that the Vols are combining Nick Saban’s defense with Bobby Petrino’s offense.

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As a result, nobody on Rocky Top wishes they had Brohm now. He’s a great coach and deserves credit for his job at Purdue. But Pruitt is bringing everything, at least on paper, that he would have brought offensively. Combining that with his defense makes him a far better hire.

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