In close vote, SEC media predict Jeremy Pruitt will win more games than Butch Jones did

John Adams | Knoxville

ATLANTA — How would you answer this question: "Will Jeremy Pruitt win more games at Tennessee than Butch Jones did?"

I know how most Tennessee fans would answer it: "Of course, he will." Then, they would take a shot at their former coach. Something along the lines of: "Butch was a buffoon."

I wouldn't argue with that characterization. However, Jones won 34 games at Tennessee before he was paid about $8 million to leave near the end of a 4-8 season in 2017.

That's more games than his predecessor, Derek Dooley, won. It's also more games than Dooley's predecessor, Lane Kiffin, won.

In fact, in Jones' last four seasons at Tennessee, he won as many games as former UT coach Phillip Fulmer won in his last four seasons with the Vols.

My point: This is a tough question.

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I didn't ask Tennessee fans this question, mainly because I haven't seen many Tennessee fans this week at SEC Media Days. I'm sure they will have a presence Wednesday when first-year coach Pruitt and three UT players make their appearance at the media gathering in the College Football Hall of Fame. I'm also sure none of them will be holding a sign that reads, "Bring Back Butch."

The biggest reason for UT fans to be excited about Pruitt is that he isn't Butch. He has never mentioned "champions of life" or "five-star hearts." He has made it clear that he's all about football, which seemingly is a good thing if you're coaching football in a conference that's as serious about the sport as the SEC is.

SEC football is such serious business that I decided it's worth a survey. And since fans aren't nearly as prevalent as media types at media days, I asked fellow media members the question: "Will Jeremy Pruitt win more games than Butch Jones did at Tennessee?"

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I offered anonymity in the hope that I would get more candor in return. For example, a Tennessee beat reporter might not feel comfortable having his name attached to an anti-Pruitt vote.

The result: 16 of 29 SEC writers said Pruitt would win more games than Jones. One explained his pro-Pruitt vote by saying, "Butch was a buffoon."

Several writers theorized that since Fulmer, now the athletic director, hired Pruitt, he would be extremely patient with him.

Even the majority of the "no" voters didn't doubt that Pruitt was a better coach than Jones. However, they wondered whether his temperament was well suited for the challenge of trying to lift the Vols from the bottom of the SEC.

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Granted, Pruitt isn't well acquainted with failure. He was the defensive coordinator for national championship teams at Alabama last season and Florida State in 2013. And Georgia was a 10-win program when Pruitt was ramrodding its defense.

UT doesn't look like a 10-win program in the foreseeable future. And it's more likely to be picked last than second in the SEC East when the media rank the two divisions later this week.

But what if Pruitt defies the odds and experiences immediate success at Tennessee? If so, one media member suggested that he might not stick around long enough to win more games than Jones.

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Success is relative, of course. Because the Vols have lost nine consecutive SEC games and finished 4-8 overall in 2017, a 7-5 first season for Pruitt probably would be regarded as a job well done.

And, as Tennessee fans might remember, a 7-6 season at UT in 2009 was all it took to get Kiffin the coaching job at Southern California.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/Johnadamskns.