On Monday, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel made the decision to fire defensive coordinator Tim Banks after five seasons together. As a result, a search for the program’s next defensive coordinator embarked.
Mostly as a result of James Franklin adding fired Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry as his defensive coordinator with the Hokies, some Vols fans have brought up the chance of Heupel hiring former UT head coach Jeremy Pruitt as his next defensive coordinator. That isn’t really a possibility, though.
Besides the obvious answer of Pruitt likely wanting nothing to do with Tennessee after being fired with cause from the university, the NCAA almost certainly wouldn’t allow it. Pruitt was handed a show-cause order until 2029 and had to get cleared by the NCAA to let him join Jacksonville State as an analyst. The agreement does not transfer to any other school that may wish to hire him.
According to a report from Mike Rodak, Pruitt was still suspended from attending games for the remainder of the 2025 season. Rodak also reported that the NCAA said the Gamecocks must place ‘specific restrictions in areas where the [Committee on Infractions] previously concluded violations occurred’ and ‘implement a robust monitoring program with shared responsibilities involving the compliance staff, head football coach, director of athletics and university president.’
JSU must also submit reports of Pruitt and the university staying true to the agreement. It must also detail any game day responsibilities he may hold in future seasons.
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As a head coach at Tennessee, Pruitt missed bowl eligibility in his first season in 2018. The team finished 5-7, including a 2-6 mark in SEC play. To open the 2019 season, Pruitt’s team lost to Georgia State and then to BYU in overtime at home. However, the team responded with a win streak to end the year to go 7-5 and win the Gator Bowl against Indiana.
2020, the Covid year that featured a slate of just 10 SEC games, Pruitt led the team to defeat South Carolina on the road and Missouri at home to reach the longest active win-streak in the country, dating back to the prior season. Things came crashing down, though, finishing with a 3-7 record.
After the season, Pruitt was fired with cause after an investigation revealed recruiting violations.
Following his three years at UT, Pruitt spent the 2021 season as a senior defensive analyst with the New York Giants, but was not retained. In 2023, he was hired as a physical education teacher at Plainview High School in Georgia. There, he was the school’s junior high boys’ basketball coach.
Pruitt had a disastrous tenure as a head coach, but has proven to be an elite defensive coordinator. He served in the role at Florida State, Georgia and Alabama, winning a national title with the Seminoles and Crimson Tide in the position.
