Tennessee football is struggling in mostly every facet of football right now. The 2020 season is full of unexpected losses, pay cuts, postponement of games and a noticeable lack of success for the Tennessee Volunteers. With the train wreck continuing after the Game 6 loss against Arkansas, head coach Jeremy Pruitt is in the hot seat.
People are pointing their fingers at the three-year coach because the Vols are not producing on the field. With Coach Pruitt under fire, there are questions of whether or not he should be fired or stay as head coach of the Tennessee football program.
As we evaluate the future of the team, here’s a look at the pros and cons of Pruitt based on his three years as the head coach at Tennessee.
Pros
Time and effort
The first thing that comes to my mind is the time and effort Pruitt puts into the program. The Vols players respect and trust their head coach, and it shows in the small margin of players that left in his time at Tennessee.
Recruiting
Pruitt helped develop strong recruiting every year. He continues to do so with the recruitment classes for 2021. Throughout the quarantine struggle, he still rounded up 26 recruits for next season and landed the No. 8 spot on the college football recruiting class list for 2021.
Expensive buyout
Pruitt’s buyout is over $12.5 million, so fortunately for the head coach, the Vols more than likely cannot afford to buy him out. We also have to remember Pruitt is in his third year of coaching. Even with an overall record of 15-16, Tennessee is highly unlikely to move on from Pruitt.
Cons
Lack of scoring
The offense is an obvious red flag for Tennessee football. If you look at the current 2020 season, the Vols haven’t been producing on the offensive side. In the last four games, the Vols scored a total of 49 points. That means the Vols are averaging less than two touchdowns a game. The SEC is not a conference where teams can achieve less than two touchdowns and be successful, so the lack of scoring poses a massive problem for Pruitt.
Underwhelming 2020 record
The projection for the rest of the season isn’t looking good for the Vols. I am predicting the Vols will only win one more game this season, which means their overall record would be 3-7. There is an extremely low chance that Pruitt will lose his job midseason, but there will definitely be conversations about what to do with the head coach position after the conclusion of the 2020 season. It is hard for a program to look the other way after only winning three games, especially after all the preseason chatter about the Vols having a breakout season.
Changes aren’t working
As a head coach for the Volunteers, Pruitt has not been able to win this season. He seems like he is trying to do everything he possibly can to get a victory. Pruitt even went to the extent of firing the defensive line coach. Unfortunately, that move did not work out in his favor. The Vols are losing games that should be won and getting blown out by other teams. There is not much hope for the Volunteers this season, but we will have to wait and see what will happen with the coaching staff for the 2021 season.
