Greg Schiano would have sucked at Tennessee too. But at least he wouldn’t have cheated to the same level — we think.
The NCAA let Tennessee off the hook a bit as the Vols avoided a bowl ban from Jeremy Pruitt’s disastrous tenure as head coach, which led to a 16-19 record, $8 million in fines, and the loss of 28 scholarships. If you remember, the Vols were set to hire current Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano after Butch Jones was fired, but a fan base coup of sorts occurred, which led to Philip Fulmer being put in charge and hiring Pruitt from Alabama. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Pruitt was a dumb hire. Anyone who asked any questions about his issues at Florida State, Georgia, and Alabama would have known he was just a bad apple. But Fulmer and others didn’t do their homework, and here we are. What sucks about it is that Josh Heupel, who has turned into a great hire so far, has to be punished for Pruitt’s Chick-Fil-A bag nonsense. Not only did he have to rebuild the lockerroom and teach players how to win, he had to do it with the average talent Pruitt left him. And now he has to deal with continued scholarship losses and probation. Thank goodness the bowl ban, normally in play with so many high-level infractions, was avoided, or Heupel would be up against it in recruiting after a great 2022 season.
But let’s be honest. Schiano would not have been a good hire either, and everyone except AD John Currie knew it. Schiano would have likely been similar to 16-19 before being jettisoned, but at least he wouldn’t have left so much damage in his wake. What puzzles me is how supposedly smart men like Currie and Fulmer could be so dumb and deem these guys as the best candidates for a storied program.

The Pruitt era is now behind the Vols, and they can move forward, thankfully, without any massive damage. But for those doing victory laps saying Schiano should have been the guy, let’s be real. Neither coach should have been even considered.
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