The Vols, Pruitt and the dreaded ‘P’ word

“Expectations. I know everyone in this room is excited. I'm going to tell you what my expectations are. Your expectations aren’t near what mine are. Because I’ll tell you right now, my expectation is to win every game we play.”

Aight.

If Thursday’s press conference were a football game, Jeremy Pruitt went straight Rod Tidwell dancing in the end zone. Every word he said — spoken with a GIN-U-WINE Southern drawl — had Big Orange Nation ready to bust.

He was honest. He was authentic. He avoided cliches.

When Pruitt challenged Tennessee to unite and get ready for a SEC-Anchorman brawl in the streets, Tennessee fans were ready go all Brick Tamland and lead the charge.

“Let's get our hands out of our pockets. Let's roll our sleeves up. Let's get ready to get in the streets with everyone else in the SEC,” Pruitt said passionately.

“Let's not talk about it. Let's go do it.”

The “doing it” is hard part for Pruitt now, though.

Jeremy Pruitt has the makeup to turnaround Tennessee. His resume is as impressive as any first-year head coach. His meteoric rise through the ranks reflects his coaching ability, recruiting prowess and tireless work ethic.

After one of the most bungled coaching searches in college football history, the Vols miraculously managed a hand-glove fit landing a good ole Southern boy with a championship pedigree.

Pruitt clearly has a plan, and the 'Bama Blueprint (namely boatloads of resources into staffing) is already underway on Rocky Top.

But patience — an adjective never associated with Pruitt — would be prudent, both for Tennessee’s new head coach and its fan base.

Expectations and excitement are sky-high right now, but once the honeymoon period is over, reality will set in.

Jeremy Pruitt has lost eight games in five seasons as a defensive coordinator. He’s inheriting a program that just suffered its first eight-loss season in school history.

The Vols aren’t that bad, but the cupboard, while not bare, is certainly not overflowing.

Right now, Tennessee’s roster is bereft of offensive lineman. The Vols don’t have a true impact pass rusher or consistent playmaker on the roster. The quarterback position is unsettled. Their best defensive player is leaning towards going to the NFL.

And that’s just the start.

Year 1 will be a challenge for Pruitt & Co.

Changing the culture, instilling a new identity, dealing with attrition and developing undeveloped players will all take time.

“I am a firm believer that our players are going to take on the personality of their head coach. We are going to go mix it up and find the best players that are the best fit for our university. VFL is a name brand. We are going to recruit to that,” Pruitt said.

It’s an admirable sentiment — and one I agree with — but it won’t happen overnight. There will be lots of comparisons made, and naturally so, between Pruitt and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

Both were Saban acolytes who took over blueblood programs. Smart went 8-5 in his first season at Georgia — and he inherited a much better situation, started with a sea of a goodwill as the Prodigal Son and immediately signed a Top 5 class, too.

Pruitt begins with none of these advantages at Tennessee. The fact Smart won the SEC in Year 2 only further saddles Pruitt with early expectations.

But Pruitt is now on his fourth stop in five years. Patience has never been a virtue held by the fast-rising coach. And in that past, that was just fine.

Pruitt is at Tennessee because he knows exactly what he wants — and how to get it.

The transition to a being a head coach for the first time though, especially at a place like Tennessee, will have plenty of challenges. Pruitt’s authenticity and actual football acumen are a much-needed sea-change for this program, but there’s a lot of uncharted waters to be explored early on.

How will Pruitt handle juggling duel-roles for the next month? What will the administration say when Pruitt asks for additional resources? How involved will Phillip Fulmer be?

We don't know the answers to any of these questions yet.

“Make no bones about it, he told me he wanted to win championships,” UT Chancellor Dr. Beverly Davenport said Thursday. “I told him, ‘Make no bones about it. Tennessee expects you to.’”

Just so long as everyone understands its going to take time, aight.