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Tennessee football: Last four seasons Jeremy Pruitt entered second year in role

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images /

1. 2008: Alabama Crimson Tide

Director of Player Development

12-2 (8-0); SEC West Champions; Sugar Bowl Berth; No. 6 AP and Coaches

As we mentioned, Jeremy Pruitt climbed the ranks fast. And he got his first job at the college level back in 2007. Nick Saban had taken the job with the Alabama Crimson Tide and was looking for coaches with high school connections in the area.

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Who better than Pruitt, the son of a longtime high school coach who was an eight-year assistant coach in high school across the state and had one year coaching defensive backs in college, with the West Alabama Tigers in 1999? Saban brought him in, and his career began.

As director of player development, he couldn’t coach players. But he could work with them on academics and break down film for the coaches. So his first role at the FBS level in coaching wasn’t actually a coaching role, but it was on the Alabama staff. That means it counts.

And breaking down film and developing players off the field takes time to produce results. That’s why the Tide’s improvement from 7-6 in 2007, Saban’s first year, to an undefeated season in 2008 can directly be attributed to Pruitt. This what happened his second year in this role.

While Tennessee football was stumbling to a 5-7 season that would get Phillip Fulmer fired, nine years before Fulmer would hire Pruitt to coach the Vols, the Tide were proving they were back. It didn’t end the way they wanted, though, as they lost to the Florida Gators, eventual national champions, in the SEC title game and then lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Utah Utes.

Next. Projecting the Vols' 2019 2-deep depth chart. dark

Still, this was a dramatic improvement that Pruitt can take credit for. He played a huge role in restoring the program. A year later, it helped them win the national title. And he was able to get a full-time assistant position two years after this one. These second years have had major impacts on his career, and that’s good news for Tennessee football in 2019.

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