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Ranking Tennessee football coaches who played for rival schools

By Caleb Calhoun

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on in the first half of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on in the first half of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

2018-present. 13-12 (7-9). 3. Pick Analysis. Jeremy Pruitt. player. 839. Scouting Report

Alma mater: Alabama Crimson Tide

If not for Lex Stone, Jeremy Pruitt would have the worst resume of any Tennessee football head coach to play for a rival school. Ironically, Pruitt played for an in-state foe, albeit not a rival, before transferring to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Remember, he spent two years playing with the MTSU Blue Raiders in the early 1990s.

Anyway, Pruitt went 5-7 his first year before going 8-5 his second year. He has plenty of time to improve his production, but based on what he has done so far, he has had only one winning season and one bowl appearance with no championships and no top 25 finishes. Obviously, this resume by itself wouldn’t be near enough to rise up a list on Rocky Top.

Still, to be fair to Pruitt, we all know the mess he inherited. The guy is 7-9 in SEC games but was an underdog in 15 of those 16 games. Butch Jones left him a complete disaster. In addition to the Vols coming off a 4-8 season and their first winless SEC campaign, they also were wrecked by injuries due to a poor strength program.

So Pruitt had to rebuild the team by improving the talent, reconditioning the players and also changing up his schemes, as he was bringing back the pro-style offense and installing the 3-4. Taking all of that into account, he was bound to have issues early on, so he gets a break for an early rocky climb. After such a strong finish go 2019, he could move up this list very soon.

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