Coach Jeremy Pruitt talks to linebacker Leonard Floyd during Georgia’s game with Clemson in Athens, Ga., on Aug. 30, 2014. (Photo by John Kelley/UGA Sports)KNOXVILLE – When Tennessee distributed a “What they’re saying about Jeremy Pruitt” news release the day Pruitt’s hiring became official in December, there was an omission.
Pruitt’s former bosses at Alabama and Florida State – national-championship coaches Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher – were quoted praising Pruitt, as were players Pruitt coached during his stints as defensive coordinator at those schools.
But there was nothing from the school where Pruitt coached in between his national-title tenures in Tallahassee and Tallahassee.
Now it is increasingly clear why.
New details emerged Monday in a report from Dawg Post on the unceremonious end to Pruitt’s tenure as the Georgia defensive coordinator in 2015. The report detailed Pruitt’s conflicts with then-Georgia coach Mark Richt, shedding fresh light on why former Georgia players and current TV analysts Aaron Murray and David Pollack questioned Pruitt’s credentials as a head coach during SEC Media Days last week.