The NCAA investigation that cost Jeremy Pruitt his job as the Tennessee Vols' head coach in early 2021 isn't expected to have a massive impact on the future of UT football. 

But there still hasn't been a resolution to the case yet, which is causing some concern among Tennessee fans. The NCAA, after all, can be a bit of a wild card when it comes to handing out punishments. 

The investigation has been underway for nearly 2 and a half years, but the reason there hasn't been a resolution yet is in part because of Pruitt. 

Pruitt, along with former Tennessee defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley, is fighting the NCAA and refusing to accept any sort of "deal". 

The assumption is that Pruitt wants to avoid a show-cause ban. He would've been the top option to take over as Alabama's defensive coordinator this offseason (ironically, the job went to Kevin Steele, who served as UT's interim head coach after Pruitt was fired). The unresolved NCAA investigation, however, made it impossible for Nick Saban to hire Pruitt. 

There's also the possibility that Pruitt still wants his buyout from Tennessee. UT fired Pruitt with cause which means he's received $0 of his $12 million buyout. 

Pruitt said in a statement to ESPN last summer that he looks forward to telling his side of the story (in Pruitt's defense, the violations were mostly him and his wife helping out various families of recruits…hardly a villainous move). So far, Pruitt's remained mum on the violations, but that's to be expected with the outcome still pending. 

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger reported that Tennessee, along with Pruitt and Ansley, is scheduled to appear in front of the NCAA infractions committee in Cincinnati later this month (April 19-21). The hearing is happening because of the pushback from all three parties. 

From SI.com: School officials, former head football coach Jeremy Pruitt and former defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley are scheduled to appear before members of the Committee on Infractions later this month, in what’s become a somewhat contentious fight between each of the three parties and the association. The three parties received a letter announcing the three-day hearing, scheduled for April 19–21 in Cincinnati, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated.

Tennessee is also fighting back against the NCAA according to Dellenger, though it appears likely that Pruitt's fight centers on a potential showcase ban, while UT's issues with the negotiation process are less clear. 

It was never going to be easy for all three parties to agree, but Pruitt's pushback certainly hasn't helped the process reach a conclusion. 

I don't think Pruitt deserves major penalties — I've written before that his actions would be considered honorable in any other arena — but unfortunately for him, what he did was against the rules (and even in this age of NIL, it's still against the rules). It's pretty cut and dry and he stands little chance of being completely cleared. He might not like his options, but working a deal out with the NCAA would be his best bet. If he leaves it up to a committee, he might not like the outcome. 

Tennessee might not like it, either. At this point, they might be better off working out a deal with Pruitt to pay him some of his buyout after the NCAA case is settled. If Pruitt and Tennessee were united in their fight against the NCAA, this might be resolved quicker and with limited collateral damage. 

Some fans might like that idea (working with Pruitt and paying some of the buyout after the fact), but it's important to remember that the NCAA is the judge and jury here — Tennessee has almost no say in what penalties are handed down. And the NCAA could go scorched earth at a moment's notice. This isn't something that Tennessee or Pruitt should be playing around with.