And now we go to a familiar face. The Tennessee Vols football program probably had the worst season of any sport this year, which would seem to suggest that Jeremy Pruitt should be at the bottom of this list.
However, no head coach in the program took over a bigger mess than Pruitt. After all, the Vols went 4-8 in 2017 and suffered a ton of injuries. Pruitt had to come in, install brand new offensive and defensive systems without a real spring to develop guys due to those injuries, and then had to compete in the toughest conference in football.
Given all of those facts, being one game away from postseason eligibility is a bigger accomplishment than what a lot of people did. We can’t put Pruitt too high because he still had a losing season.
But the Vols were supposed to go 3-9 last year. They scored two big upsets over the Auburn Tigers on the road and then the Kentucky Wildcats at home. And they almost beat the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road. So despite overseeing the worst performance of any sport this year, Pruitt is up to No. 11 on our list after his first season.