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Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols should stick with Jeremy Pruitt past 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers shouts to his players from the sideline during the second quarter of their game against the Chattanooga Mockingbirds at Neyland Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers shouts to his players from the sideline during the second quarter of their game against the Chattanooga Mockingbirds at Neyland Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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With a 1-3 start, there are many questions surrounding Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt. But the Volunteers should stick with him no matter what.

There are clearly questions abound about Jeremy Pruitt’s ability to lead Tennessee football now after such a horrendous start to his second season. With the Vols 1-3 heading into their bye week and seven of Pruitt’s first 10 losses coming by 25 or more points, the questions are legitimate.

That his second team has yet to beat an FBS opponent and has that 1-3 record despite playing three games at home against non-Power Five schools only makes it dramatically more concerning. A 34-3 loss to the Florida Gators to head into the bye week only made it worse.

Expectations are much higher for Tennessee football, and even if they are unreasonably high given the state of the sport, Pruitt is falling dramatically short of them. And now a bowl game seems extremely unlikely for Rocky Top.

However, the Vols should not quit on Pruitt yet. In fact, no matter what happens in 2019, they need to stick with him through 2020. It makes no sense to cut bait just yet when you take a look at all of the circumstances that went into his hiring.

Sure, there is the rule about SEC coaches and their success in their second year. But a legitimate argument could be made that the stat only exists because coaches who are good but don’t succeed their second year just didn’t buy enough time to turn things around.

When you look at everything that is happening on Rocky Top, the Vols have reason to stick with Pruitt. Sure, there are rumors that Phillip Fulmer is already allowing for people to search for a replacement, and conspiracy theorists say he plans to replace Pruitt himself midway through the season. That is all crazy talk.

UT would not do itself any favors moving on from Pruitt after just two years. The situation he walked into on Rocky Top was much worse than what many coaches walk into, so expecting him to do what Kirby Smart or Nick Saban did their second years was unfair.

We’ll break down here why that’s the case. It’s time to provide a bit of a defense for Pruitt given all the heat he is taking. Here are five reasons Tennessee football should stick with Pruitt as head coach regardless of what happens past 2019.

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