Tennessee football: Analyst skeptical Jeremy Pruitt keeps job

ESPN’s Chris Low says he thinks it will be difficult for the Tennessee football Volunteers head coach.

Don’t assume Jeremy Pruitt will keep his job just yet. One analyst has now come out and expressed heavy skepticism about the Tennessee football head coach retaining his position heading into the 2021 season.

Chris Low of ESPN said that he thinks it will be “difficult” for Pruitt to keep his job based on people he has spoken with. This isn’t due to the 3-7 season, but it is due to the current investigation into the program.

It’s possible, according to Low, that Tennessee football fires Pruitt with cause or tries to get him to accept a settlement given the situation. He made his statements on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville Wednesday afternoon.

Obviously, if UT does move on with Pruitt due to this issue, it could turn disastrous. The Vols would be really late into the offseason if they made the decision, which means that many prospects they would search for may have already been hired by other schools.

On the other hand, this could be a win-win in a few areas. Phillip Fulmer, for instance, could save face by firing him due to this issue and never have to admit he may have made a mistake hiring Pruitt based on his coaching credentials.

Boosters and administrators could stand to benefit by not having to pay Pruitt’s buyout after that contract extension Fulmer gave him at the beginning of the year, as he would have been fired for cause. That could also help fans on Rocky Top breathe a sigh of relief.

Still, at the moment, the program seems to be going all in with Pruitt heading into the 2021 season. As a result, if Low’s statement is accurate, Tennessee football could be in for a chaotic couple of weeks. It also would be odd for them to drag this out, as Low brought up, if it were likely they would fire him anyway. We’ll have to see how this plays out.