Josh Heupel, don't make me mention Jeremy Pruitt after Tennessee vs. Kentucky | Toppmeyer
Jeremy Pruitt’s tenure ended on Oct. 17, 2020. That’s my belief.
Not officially, of course, but I think Pruitt became a fired-coach-in-waiting the day an unranked Kentucky team humiliated Tennessee 34-7 at Neyland Stadium. The off-boarding process was all that remained.
Playing Kentucky is all risk, little reward for Tennessee. The Vols are supposed to beat Kentucky. History says so.
And when they lose to Kentucky?
Let’s review:
∎ Tennessee fired Pruitt for cause, amid a recruiting scandal, three months after he lost to Kentucky.
∎ The Vols fired Butch Jones two weeks after he lost to Kentucky in 2017.
∎ Derek Dooley lasted just shy of a year after his 2011 loss to the Wildcats.
Go back to Johnny Majors to find a Tennessee coach who lost to Kentucky and stayed on the job for more than a year afterward.
Majors’ Vols lost to Kentucky in 1984 before winning the Sugar Bowl the following season. A beloved alumnus who had won a national championship as Pittsburgh's coach, Majors remained UT's coach until 1992.
Josh Heupel doesn't boast Majors' résumé, so I wouldn't advise Heupel play with the fire and vitriol that would come if No. 20 Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) lost to Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) when they meet Saturday in Lexington.
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Heupel built support for how he steered the program during a Pruitt-induced NCAA investigation, and he delivered 11 victories last year during Tennessee’s best season in more than two decades. That raised the bar. Support for a football coach – even one as amiable as Heupel – erodes quickly in Knoxville.
Vols fans who would’ve eaten oranges out of Heupel’s palm last December lost their appetite after Tennessee squandered opportunities this season at rivals Florida and Alabama. Rarely are the Gators or the Crimson Tide more vulnerable at home than they are now.
Tennessee sank in The Swamp and shrank from the moment in a 34-20 loss Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, when the Vols squandered a two-score halftime lead.
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Heupel’s tenure will arrive at a crossroads in Kentucky. Beat the Wildcats, speed toward a record of at least 9-3 and secure a quality bowl bid, and this season will be viewed as a small, but expected, step back after losing stars like Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt. Then, it’s full steam toward 2024 and the Nico Iamaleava era.
Lose to Kentucky, and the season will be redefined as a bust. Heupel’s goodwill will vanish in a Big Blue haze.
Only once in Heupel’s tenure has Tennessee lost back-to-back games, when Ole Miss and Alabama beat the Vols in consecutive weeks in 2021. He also suffered consecutive losses once in three seasons at Central Florida.
“As a competitor, you've got to move on,” Heupel said. “It’s about the next one.”
Especially when the next one is Kentucky.
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How Sam Pittman endures with Arkansas football
One day you’re a wide receivers coach. The next day you hold the fate of your head coach in your hands. So it is for Arkansas’ Kenny Guiton.
Sam Pittman needs to change the current narrative that he’s a former offensive line coach out of his element as a head coach, that he benefited his first couple of seasons from a veteran roster and good coordinators, and that he’s lost his way. Pittman added to that image Saturday, when he admitted he froze while deciding what to do in a fourth-and-short situation, resulting in a delay-of-game penalty that cost Arkansas a field-goal attempt in a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State.
Firing a coordinator is a familiar move from the struggling coach playbook. Playing that card can redirect the narrative and make the ousted coordinator the fall guy for a bad season.
Pittman played that card Sunday by firing offensive coordinator Dan Enos and promoting Guiton to interim OC and play-caller.
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If Arkansas (2-6, 0-5) and its moribund offense show life under Guiton, then the narrative reshapes to Pittman making a bad hire with Enos, but this is fixable.
Pittman described Enos as “a hell of a coach” who proved a bad fit for Arkansas’ personnel.
“We lost our spirit,” Pittman said. “How we did that, I really can’t put a finger on that, but we’ve got to get it back.”
The shaky ground Pittman stands on will stabilize if Guiton reinvigorates the offense.
South Carolina’s Shane Beamer praises Texas A&M star
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer arrived at the same conclusion I have: Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper might be the SEC’s best defensive player.
“The guy is all over the field,” Beamer said.
Cooper’s 13½ tackles for loss lead the SEC. South Carolina’s entire team has 29 TFLs.
South Carolina (2-5, 1-4) will be subject to Cooper’s disruption when it plays at Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday in a game embattled Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher cannot afford to lose.
On second thought, considering Fisher’s buyout tops $77 million, he can afford to lose.
Email of the week
Pete writes: Fire Josh (Heupel) so I can enjoy Saturdays secure in the knowledge Tennessee will lose any important games.
My response: You're not the first level-headed Vols fan to suggest a coaching change, and you won't be the last. Here's my proposal: Bring back Butch Jones as coach, tap Derek Dooley as offensive coordinator and Bob Shoop as defensive coordinator. Still need a recruiting coordinator. I've got one: Jeremy Pruitt.
Three and out
1. Beamer said he’s got a “ton of respect” for what Jimbo Fisher is doing in College Station, Texas. Is Fisher running a College Station soup kitchen we don’t know about? Otherwise, Beamer must be praising what Fisher is doing with the football program, in which case I’d insert the gif of that woman laughing so hard she spits out her drink.
2. Because of travel roster limitations, Kirby Smart said he didn’t know if Georgia’s injured star tight end Brock Bowers would be with the team for Saturday’s rivalry game against Florida in Jacksonville. That’d be a shame. Perhaps suspended Michigan staffer Connor Stalions has a ticket Bowers could use.
3. No such thing as a bye week in college football. Take it from Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz. “I’m excited about the bye week to get a little time to get a haircut,” Drinkwitz said. Drinkwitz said he gets a haircut about once every six weeks. Speaking of which, I need a buzz. Gotta run.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
The "Topp Rope" is his twice-weekly SEC football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee-Kentucky: Josh Heupel loss would be Jeremy Pruitt flashback
