Could Jeremy Pruitt do for UT Vols' defense what Steve Spurrier did for Florida offense?

John Adams | Knoxville

The three finalists to fill Tennessee’s football coaching vacancy in December had two things in common: a background in defense and the SEC.

Kevin Steele was the defensive coordinator at Auburn. Mel Tucker held the same position at Georgia. And Jeremy Pruitt coordinated the defense for Alabama’s national champions.

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UT athletics director Phillip Fulmer chose Pruitt, but his list of defensive-minded finalists was significant, too.

In 1992, when Fulmer replaced Johnny Majors as UT’s coach, it began a long run of offensive head-coaching hires.

Fulmer had been an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator before he became head coach. When he was fired in 2008, he was replaced by Lane Kiffin, another offensive-minded coach.

Derek Dooley, Kiffin’s replacement, coached offense as an assistant. So did his successor, Butch Jones.

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Fulmer’s decision not only broke with tradition, but it also showed his awareness of how college football has evolved.

Defenses need help. They are under siege from up-tempo, wide-open offenses that can strike instantly from anywhere on the field.

Tennessee, which ranked 81st nationally in total defense last season, too often couldn’t slow down those high-flying offenses.

However, statistics indicated Tennessee was even more desperate for help on offense, where it ranked 124th out of 129 FBS teams in 2017.

Yet Fulmer chose a defensive coach.

Offensive coaches usually get more credit than their defensive counterparts for affecting games through tactical maneuvering. Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier probably got more credit for that than any other SEC coach.

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The praise was well deserved when he was presiding over the Gators’ 1990s dynasty. He had a rare ability to see things on the field quickly and clearly, then spontaneously make adjustments.

The athletics director who hired Spurrier had the same knack. He just demonstrated it on the defensive side of the ball.

Although Bill Arnsparger hired Spurrier, he won’t be remembered as a sports administrator. He will be remembered for defense.

Arnsparger ran Don Shula’s defense when the Miami Dolphins won Super Bowls in the early 1970s. When they went unbeaten in 1972, Arnsparger’s unit earned the nickname “No-Name Defense” because its success was accomplished with such little star power.

The real star of the defense was Arnsparger, a brilliant tactician who had little interest in promoting his brilliance.

In 1983, after a 4-7 season, LSU athletics director Bob Brodhead hired Arnsparger as his head coach. It was a curious hire since Arnsparger hadn’t been in the college game since he was a defensive line coach at Tulane in the early '60s.

The curious hire turned out to be a great hire.

He flipped LSU from 4-7 to 8-3-1 in one year. Two years later, he won an SEC championship before leaving to become the athletics director at Florida.

LSU lost only three conference games in three seasons under Arnsparger. His knack for recognizing things on the field and swiftly making the correct counter moves figured prominently in that success.

When Arnsparger and Spurrier became head coaches, they still relied on their skill as coordinators. Tennessee fans – weary of watching opponents stampede through the Vols' defense – can only hope Pruitt does the same.

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.