Pruitt must get it right

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt stunned everyone Sunday when he dismissed defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh four games into the 2020 season and less than nine months on the job.

Pruitt said Brumbaugh was a bad fit.

“Coach Brumbaugh did a really nice job for us. He worked his tail off. Sometimes from a philosophical standpoint things are just not a fit. It just didn’t work out for us so I decided to do that.”

Pruitt wasn’t going to bring Brumbaugh back for a second season so he decided to make the move now. Certainly an interesting decision from a timing standpoint as defensive line play would appear to be down the list of priorities of things needing repair. To many, the move seems akin to your car’s engine not running right, so you decide to buy new hubcaps.

Bottom line is that Pruitt made a gut call. Went on his instincts and made a decision.

Pruitt and his offensive staff must do that same on that side of the ball when it comes to the quarterback position.

Nothing says you should trot Jarrett Guarantano back out on the field Saturday as the starting quarterback. Nothing says Harrison Bailey is ready after having limited reps the last seven weeks. Nothing says Brian Maurer is the guy after he missed all of fall camp and has struggled mentally with managing the offense according to those close to the program. And it’s clear the staff has no confidence in J.T. Shrout, who saw three snaps Saturday and threw an interception.

So there’s no obvious “answer” at quarterback. Can Pruitt and Jim Chaney really start Guarantano? They could and it sounds very likely. If they do it be the loudest the 22-thousand in attendance will be when he’s announced---and not a good kind of loud. Pruitt has contended all along that Guarantano gives them the best chance to win, but after after Guarantano’s last six quarters of football---six turnovers, seven sacks and seven points---is that still the case?

Pruitt has four options but he has no obvious choice two years and four games into his tenure. In other words, he’s got a mess on his hands.

For Pruitt and Jim Chaney, the decision is an interesting one. The confused fan base (since Sunday’s Brumbaugh firing) wants anyone but JG. But Pruitt’s not into popularity contests. He sounds like a guy who wants to stick with the quarterback who he believes gives him the best chance to win. However, for the head coach, the best chance to win should have nothing do to with this week. He has to make a decision on who gives them the best chance to win the back half of the season. But with Shrout getting just three snaps and Bailey four on Saturday, do you really know who gives you the best chance? Pruitt said JG doesn’t turn it over in practice and he didn’t the first two and a half games, but the last six quarters have been a disaster. Yet, Tennessee has no one waiting ready in the wings apparently.

“Obviously there’s three or four plays in the game that Jarrett would like to have back. We talked about them Saturday after the game. It’s the same thing with J.T. (Shrout),” Pruitt said.

“When you look at Brian and Harrison, both of these guys were very limited in fall camp, which is one of the reasons that we’ve continued to have these scrimmages on Sunday night to try and get these guys caught up. Just to give them an opportunity. There’s nothing like live action. We will continue to evaluate that position as the week goes.”

Tennessee has two-and-a-half weeks to get ready for Arkansas and the final five straight games to close out the year. Pruitt’s focus has to be on those five games. Those five games are why he made the decision to fire Jimmy Brumbaugh now.

So what will his decision be at quarterback? His gut right now seems to be telling him to stick with his senior.

That gut has to be right.

Or it’s going to make for a final long month and a loud off-season heading into year four.