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Tennessee football: Rival SEC coach makes revealing comment on Jeremy Pruitt firing

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Mark Stoops of the Kentucky Wildcats shakes hands with head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Mark Stoops of the Kentucky Wildcats shakes hands with head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Whenever there’s a firing related to a scandal, a He said, She said always comes up somewhere. It’s no different for Tennessee football. What’s rare, though, is that a rival head coach would put his name to a quote that is as damning what Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops said.

In an interview on Kentucky Sports Radio, Stoops said he wasn’t surprised by the Vols firing head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Given the fact that Pruitt and his legal team, according to Ryan Callahan of GoVols247, claim this was simply an effort to get out of paying his buyout, there was at least some room for that conspiracy to take hold.

However, Stoops putting his name on the situation regarding Tennessee football suggests he knows stuff we don’t and that it looks even worse. Why would he be unsurprised by the firing? Here is his exact quote.

"“”I gotta be careful in my response here… Does it surprise me? Not one bit.”"

Anybody who reads that knows that Stoops is trying to be politically correct while also implying that it was clear UT would get in trouble. If it was that clear, though, it likely means that many of the most serious charges related to the investigation on Rocky Top were credible.

It’s one thing for anonymous coaches to say things that are even more damning. That’s happened since the beginning of time, and even in this investigation, anonymous coaches were accusing the Vols of doing some serious things, including cash payments to players.

Not only is it uncommon, though, for coaches to put their names to these stories, but it’s extremely uncommon for a head coach to do it. Stoops making these statements suggest that Tennessee football must have been engaged in some serious violations. It could also truly mean that the NCAA is about to drop the hammer on the Vols, but we’ll see how that goes.

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