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Tennessee football: How did Vols coaching candidates in 2017 fare in 2018?

By Caleb Calhoun

EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks up at the video screen during the third quarter of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks up at the video screen during the third quarter of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

After Phillip Fulmer took over as athletic director, Mel Tucker joined Jeremy Pruitt and Kevin Steele as one of the finalists for the Tennessee football head coaching job. And quite honestly, given his background, he may have been more qualified.

Of all the assistants who were in the running, Tucker had by far the best 2018. As Kirby Smart’s defensive coordinator with the Georgia Bulldogs, his team finished No. 13 in total defense and third in the SEC, behind the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Given all the attrition in Athens, that’s actually pretty impressive. The Dawgs lost almost their entire defense from the previous year, and although they had the greatest recruiting class in history, Tucker was coaching a ton of inexperienced guys.

Putting up the numbers he did with that level of inexperience was enough for us to say he had a better year than Jeremy Pruitt with the Vols. His work was enough for him to earn the head coaching job with the Colorado Buffaloes.

To be fair, though, it was close as well. Both Tucker and Pruitt were defensive minds, and Pruitt did have a Top 50 defense. That’s pretty impressive considering he had way less talent than Tucker and was installing a new scheme.

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