Before the days of the Josh Heupel era, many fans remember, or are trying to forget, Jeremy Pruitt's tenure as the head football coach of the Tennessee football program. The hire at the time was a major addition for the Vols. They had gotten an elite defensive mind who helped win five national titles as an assistant coach. Pruitt was a member of the Nick Saban coaching tree and had coached at Florida State, Georgia, and Alabama.
The Jeremy Pruitt era went completely opposite of what was planned. In 2018, he went 5-7 and followed it up with an 8-5 2019 campaign. After showing some growth in 2019, the Vols regressed in 2020, going 3-7, leading to Pruitt's firing. The wins from 2019 and 2020 were vacated due to an impermissible benefits scandal.
This scandal led to Pruitt receiving a six-year NCAA show cause. Pruitt will not be able to coach in the NCAA until 2029, but that is going to change shortly. Mike Rodak of 247Sports is reporting that Pruitt has received an injunction for his show cause by an Alabama judge.
Breaking: An Alabama judge has granted former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt an injunction against the NCAA preventing it from enforcing its show cause order or interfering with his employment opportunities.https://t.co/NEmvmswaYx
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) December 15, 2025
Jeremy Pruitt can coach again
With Pruitt's penalty paused, he surely will be a hot commodity for teams across the nation. Despite his flaws as a head coach, he remains a great defensive mind who would be a positive addition to any staff across the country.
Regardless of the show cause, some Tennessee fans said Heupel should call Pruitt to fill the defensive coordinator role in Knoxville. This wasn't a very popular take, but some did mention it. Heupel landed on Jim Knowles, an excellent defensive mind, so it worked out just fine for the Vols.
Alabama fans are very pleased with the development. Many of them think Pruitt will fill in as a defensive analyst and eventually become the defensive coordinator. Their current defensive coordinator is Kane Wommack, the former South Alabama head coach, who will ultimately get another head coaching gig soon enough.
With Pruitt back in the NCAA, if he does land in the SEC, I'm sure most Tennessee fans would love to put up a hundred points on his defense after all he put the Vols through.