Former Vols HC Jeremy Pruitt could still land at Alabama for the 2023 season
It's no secret that Alabama head coach Nick Saban wanted to hire former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt to replace Pete Golding as the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator. Pruitt, however, still doesn't know the outcome of the NCAA investigation that got him fired at Tennessee. The unknown of that investigation made it impossible for […]
It's no secret that Alabama head coach Nick Saban wanted to hire former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt to replace Pete Golding as the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator.
Pruitt, however, still doesn't know the outcome of the NCAA investigation that got him fired at Tennessee.
The unknown of that investigation made it impossible for Saban to hire Pruitt as his defensive coordinator.
So instead, Saban hired former interim Tennessee head coach Kevin Steele to run the Crimson Tide's defense.
Steele was Saban's first defensive coordinator at Alabama back in 2007.
While Pruitt won't serve as Saban's defensive coordinator in 2023, he could still find his way back to Tuscaloosa this upcoming season.
On3.com's Jesse Simonton noted this week that there are "rumblings" that Alabama could hire Pruitt as an analyst.
Plenty of Tide fans wanted Jeremy Pruitt to return as DC, but that was never a realistic option since the ex-Tennessee head coach still has looming litigation and faces a potential show-cause for his role the Vols’ recruiting violations. But there remain rumblings that Pruitt could still join Alabama’s staff in an analyst role, which would be a major boon for the Tide’s overall staff makeup and upside if that happens.
Pruitt and Steele are very close and could work in tandem until Pruitt’s NCAA issues get resolved. We’ll see.
It certainly sounds like Saban's plan is for Steele to fill the defensive coordinator role in 2023 — possibly with some help from Pruitt (as an analyst) — before handing the defense over to Pruitt in 2024 (depending on the severity of the NCAA penalties).
We should know by April or May what the penalties will be for Pruitt (and Tennessee). So it's still possible that Pruitt could end up in an on-field role for the Crimson Tide this fall, depending on other staff movement.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
