Tennessee football: Top five coaches to consider if Vols fire Jeremy Pruitt
The Tennessee football Volunteers should consider hiring these coaches.
Nearly three weeks have passed since the Tennessee football Volunteers lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in the final game of their 2020 season. Between then and now, key players on both sides of the ball have left Rocky Top through the transfer portal, but the name many fans were hoping to drop is still donning an orange power T.
Despite finishing his third season at the helm with only three wins and seven double-digit losses, those anticipating the release of head coach Jeremy Pruitt after the 2020 season’s conclusion have been left empty-handed up until this point. However, as we’ve all come to know, we really can’t tell what’s going on behind closed doors in Knoxville.
Remember the recruiting violation news? ESPN analyst Chris Low said he thinks it will be difficult for Pruitt to keep his job, and Mark Schlabach of ESPN reports Tennessee football has paused any new assistant hires and contract extensions. On on the off chance Rocky Top finds itself in the midst of another coaching search, you’ll want to keep an eye on these five names.
5. Jamey Chadwell
What Jamey Chadwell lacks in flare compared to the other names on this list, he makes up for in value. The Coastal Carolina head coach shot the Chanticleers up to an 11-1 record and a No. 12 ranking in the AP Poll, earning him 2020 AP College Football Coach of the Year honors.
Financially speaking, it’s safe to believe Chadwell would be cheaper to hire upfront than Pruitt was in 2017. Chadwell’s reported salary with Coastal Carolina sits somewhere around $375,000 annually, a fraction of the $3.8 million Pruitt was granted heading into his first year on Rocky Top.
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No, he wouldn’t be leaving a National Championship in his wake like Pruitt was in 2017, but Chadwell has actual head coaching experience. That’s something even Pruitt didn’t have when h was hired.
We should also mention he’s from Caryville, Tenn., just 30 minutes away from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. An East Tennessean with head coaching experience that would likely be cheaper than Pruitt’s initial price? What Tennessee football fan doesn’t like the sound of that?