It took a lot longer than some other programs, but Tennessee football has a new head coach in Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
According to a report by ESPN, Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and the Volunteers are putting the finishing touches on a contract that will allow him to remain on the Crimson Tide staff as they prepare for the College Football Playoff and a semifinal date with Clemson.
A news conference is planned for Thursday in Knoxville to introduce Pruitt, who replaces Butch Jones.
Pruitt is 43 years old and a native of Alabama. He started his collegiate career at Middle Tennessee before transferring to Alabama as a defensive back in 1995.
Two years later, Pruitt joined the Tide coaching staff as a graduate assistant. He spent the next several years working at both the high school and Div. II college levels, including as the defensive coordinator at national power Hoover.
In 2007, Alabama hired him to work with the defense. Following a successful run with the Tide that included two national championships, Florida State hired Pruitt away in 2013 and they claimed the national title.
Pruitt returned to the SEC in 2014 to be the Georgia defensive coordinator for two seasons before landing back in Alabama in 2016 and winning another championship. Twice Pruitt has been named a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes annually to the top college football assistant coach. He is also viewed by many as one of the top recruiters in the sport,.
Pruitt, though, was never a head coach at even the high school level. His level of experience is regulated to always working under someone, including Nick Saban. With this position comes the added pressure of running a program that has experienced plenty of success in the past.
Tennessee has won six national titles and 16 SEC crowns. Under Jones, who was relieved with two games left by Brady Hoke, the Vols went just 4-8 this year and were 0-8 in the league for the first time ever and the first time they failed to win a conference game since competing in the Southern in 1924.
Pruitt has always been part of a winner dating back to his early days with Alabama, but now he has been tasked with putting together plans, strategies and figuring out not only a way to defeat the Crimson Tide, but return the Volunteers to the top of the mountain.
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We’ve seen these kind of hires work out greatly for some, including defending national champion Clemson with Dabo Swinney, but fail other times. Being the “main man” on campus and steering the ship can turn even the best of coaches into a shell of their former self.