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Tennessee Football: 5 candidates to replace Butch Jones as head coach

By Dana Becker

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 30: Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leaves the field after a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Georgia won 41-0. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 30: Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leaves the field after a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Georgia won 41-0. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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1. Can’t beat’em, steal’em: Jeremy Pruitt

Jeremy Pruitt is a lot like Phillip Fulmer. The Alabama defensive coordinator played for the Crimson Tide from 1995-96 as a defensive back before joining the school in 1997 as a graduate assistant.

He plied his trade through work at lower-level colleges and high schools before appearing again in 2007 with Alabama. A run as the defensive backs coach paid off in a spot on the Florida State staff as the defensive coordinator for a year before two seasons in the SEC with Georgia in the same role.

In 2016, Nick Saban brought Pruitt home, handing over control of the defense to him. Pruitt has an incredible mind and holds four national titles to his resume, including three with the Crimson Tide and a fourth with the Seminoles.

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It would completely make sense for Alabama to keep Pruitt as the “coach-in-waiting” for when Saban departs, but the school has let the likes of Jim McElwain and Kirby Smart leave for jobs in the past.

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