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Tennessee football: Comparing Jeremy Pruitt to other second-year SEC coaches

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers shakes hands with head coach Joe Moorhead of the Mississippi State Bulldogs following a game at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers shakes hands with head coach Joe Moorhead of the Mississippi State Bulldogs following a game at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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In his second year with Tennessee football, Jeremy Pruitt took the Vols to 8-5. Here is how the Volunteers leader compares to other SEC head coaches.

Normally, the goal for a second-year head coach is to reach nine wins and finish in the top 25. However, we can make somewhat of an exception in the case of Tennessee football this year as they went 8-5 with a Gator Bowl win over the Indiana Hoosiers and finished 5-3 in the SEC.

After all, Jeremy Pruitt accomplished that despite an 0-2 start that turned into 1-4 and 2-5. He had two home losses to Group of Five programs to open the season and then had to right the ship, which certainly wasn’t easy.

Finishing on a six-game winning streak, including victories over three bowl teams and four that, at least on the field, qualified for bowl eligibility, is worthy of praise. It’s certainly better than most Tennessee football seasons dating back to Phillip Fulmer’s retirement.

Anyway, an effective measurement for Pruitt is looking at how he did against other SEC coaches who were in their second year with the program in 2019. There was a wide range of success among these coaches, and we can compare Pruitt to all of them.

Pruitt was among five coaches who opened his second season on the job at an SEC program earlier this year. In this post, we’re going to look at the other four, rank them by their performances, and give a verdict as to whether or not they performed better or worse than Pruitt.

Now, we will take into account the situation they inherited and what should have been expected of them. And that will be measured against Pruitt going 8-5 with the schedule he had and the program he was taking into its second year.

This may be a bit more complicated than you think, but let’s give it our best shot. Here’s how Jeremy Pruitt stacks up as Tennessee football’s head coach in his second year against other SEC coaches who were in their second year this past season.

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