BREAKING: Tennessee assistant Terry Fair relieved of duties

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt is once again in search of an assistant coach as he reworks his 2019 staff, relieving defensive backs coach Terry Fair of his duties on Friday.

Fair returned to his alma mater in December of 2017 to join Pruitt’s inaugural staff. He was at Colorado State the previous three seasons.

Sources tell Volquest that the former Vol standout was offered an opportunity to remain with the program in an off field role but declined.

Fair played at Tennessee from 1994-97 where he earned All-Conference and All-American honors. He was a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1998 and played for four different franchises before retiring in 2005.

After his playing career, Fair got his first taste of coaching as an assistant at Phoenix College in the junior college ranks. He had four of his players move on to Divison 1 schools.

After a stint working in the media, he joined Butch Jones’ inaugural staff as a defensive quality control assistant in 2013. Fair played a key role as someone who had a vested interest in his alma mater before joining Mike Bobo’s staff at Colorado State in 2015.

In his first and only season, Fair coached two true freshmen in Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson. Thompson earned freshman All-American honors.

Last January, Fair signed a two-year deal with Tennessee worth $250,000. Tennessee will still owe Fair the remainder of his salary over the next year as completion of that contract.