Jeremy Pruitt is in Tennessee. The university fired the third-year coach on Monday amid an ongoing internal investigation into recruitment violations. Newly hired defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will serve as interim head coach.
The university and the NCAA are investigating alleged recruitment violations within the program. Tennessee also hired two lawyers to assist with the investigation. Because Tennessee is being fired for cause, he will not pay his purchase clause, which was set at $ 12,880,000, according to the USA today coaching salary database. Your termination will take effect at 5 pm on Tuesday, according to a letter launched by the school.
In his letter of termination to Pruitt, Tennessee said, “Your failures are likely to result in significant penalties for the university and have compromised the eligibility of our student athletes,” in a document obtained by The Athletic.
Pruitt is not the only technician fired by the university in the midst of the investigation. Assistants Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer are also out. Niedermeyer was considered the best recruiter in Tennessee and served as an internal coach for the linebackers. Felton served as trainer for external linebackers. In addition, four members of the recruiting team on campus, the director and assistant director of player staff and a football analyst were also fired.
Tennessee plans to hire a new athletic director first, a process that current AD Phil Fulmer will participate in while he fill the gap to his successor, before hiring a new football coach. Fulmer was not connected to any of the allegations.
During the final game of the Tennessee regular season, reports emerged that the program is being investigated for alleged recruitment violations. These violations, according to ESPN, stem from his pursuit of the 2021 Class offensive attack Amarius Mims (who signed with Georgia) and current Volley runner Eric Gray, who was detained at the end of the season against the Aggies for reasons undisclosed.
“We take our institutional commitment to NCAA compliance seriously and are reviewing the regulatory issues that have been brought to our attention,” said Tennessee news and information director Tyra Haag in a statement earlier this month. “As part of this process, we are currently working with lawyers Kyle Skillman and Michael Glazier with Bond, Schoeneck & King. We will provide additional information when appropriate.”
Tennessee gave Pruitt a raise of $ 400,000 and an extension until the 2025 season after the end of the 2019 season.
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The NCAA issue was not the only one that Pruitt faced at Rocky Top. He was 16-19 in three seasons at Rocky Top – his first three seasons as a head coach anywhere. His tenure got off to a slow start in the first year, with a 5-7 record. Things got worse at the opening of the 2019 season, when his team lost to Georgia State and BYU to open the season, but ended up on a high with six consecutive wins to end the campaign.
This winning streak jumped to eight games after consecutive wins over South Carolina and Missouri, respectively, to open the 2020 campaign. But the defeats to Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama started a six-game losing streak that hurt Pruitt’s third season with the show.
Pruitt also served as a defensive coordinator in the state of Florida and Georgia during his coaching career at college.