Where Jeremy Pruitt and fired Tennessee football staff members are now
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee − Some members of former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt's staff members are now high school coaches.
A few managed to make their way into the pro ranks, and one still hosts a true crime podcast.
The 10 fired coaches and staff members have ended up in a variety of positions since Jan. 18, 2021, when widespread recruiting violations led to multiple for-cause firings. Former staff members Drew Hughes and Michael Magness were handed punishments by the NCAA, but were not fired by UT because they left the program in 2020.
The NCAA put Tennessee on probation for five years, but the program avoided a postseason ban. Pruitt, fired in 2021, was hit with a six-year show-cause penalty in the verdict of the yearslong NCAA infractions case announced Friday. The probe found more than 200 violations of NCAA rules by at least a dozen staff members that went unreported in a two-year period.
Here is where the 12 former staffers are over two years later:
Jeremy Pruitt
Former role at Tennessee: Head coach, 2017-21
Where Pruitt is now: After Pruitt's time with the New York Giants, he worked a few side gigs to earn income. He opened his own small freight company. And he’s done a little work breaking down film for coaching buddies.
Pruitt spent the 2021 NFL season on the Giants staff as a senior defensive analyst. Giants coach Joe Judge was fired on Jan. 11, 2022, and Pruitt was not retained. Pruitt's name was floated around when Alabama coach Nick Saban had a defensive coordinator role to fill in January, but Pruitt was not hired.
NCAA Punishment: Six-year show-cause that includes a 100% suspension from the first year of his employment if he employed by an NCAA school in athletics during the six-year show-cause.
Shelton Felton
Former role at Tennessee: Quality control analyst, 2018; assistant coach, 2020-21
Where Felton is now: Felton is the coach at Valdosta High School in Georgia, historically one of the most successful programs in the nation. He was hired as an assistant coach initially before being tabbed the interim head coach in May 2021.
Valdosta went 4-6 with Felton as the interim coach in 2021. He was named the head coach on Oct. 26, making his return to the Georgia high school ranks official. Valdosta went 8-3 during the 2022 season under Felton, who previously coached at Dooly County, Colquitt County and Crisp County.
NCAA Punishment: Four-year show-cause
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Brian Niedermeyer
Former role at Tennessee: Assistant coach, 2017-21
Where Niedermeyer is now: Niedermeyer was hired at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in April 2022, where he is the defensive coordinator, according to LinkedIn. It's his second job since he was fired by Tennessee in 2021.
Niedermeyer went to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was a high school social studies teacher and assistant football coach, according to LinkedIn. He also was listed as an assistant coach on the football staff on MaxPreps. Niedermeyer also runs a football training program for linebackers and defensive linemen in South Florida.
NCAA Punishment: Five-year show-cause
Drew Hughes
Former role at Tennessee: Director of player personnel, 2017-20
Where Hughes is now: Hughes is the player personnel coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. He was hired by the Jaguars in February 2021. Hughes left Pruitt's staff to serve as the director of player personnel for South Carolina in 2020.
NCAA Punishment: Four-year show-cause
Michael Magness
Former role at Tennessee: Student assistant, 2017-20
Where Magness is now: Whereabouts unknown.
Punishment: Three-year show-cause
Danny Stiff
Former role at Tennessee: Assistant director of player personnel, 2018-19; Director of player personnel 2020-21
Where Stiff is now: Stiff was hired as coach at Cullman High in Cullman, Alabama, in January. Stiff has previously coached at the high school level in Alabama at Spain Park, Hoover, Hueytown and Gadsden City and at the collegiate level at Jacksonville and Alabama before joining Pruitt's staff.
NCAA Punishment: None
J.T. Hill
Former role at Tennessee: Assistant director of player personnel, 2020-21
Where Hill is now: Hill was named Temple's director of player personnel/pro liaison on Jan. 12, 2022. His stint there only lasted a few months before moving on to the New England Patriots in the NFL to be a pro scout. It is unclear if Hill still works with the Patriots.
Hill previously worked as the director of recruitment/player personnel and pro liaison at Florida International for the 2021 season.
NCAA Punishment: None
Rachel Bell
Former role at Tennessee: Director of recruiting, 2019-21
Where Bell is now: Bell is an assistant director of client development and partnerships for WME Sports, where she has worked since May. She worked as a marketing manager for Eventive Sports from January to May in addition to her position with Vanguard Sports Group.
Bell started working for Vanguard Sports Group in February 2021 and worked as an assistant director for client development and partnerships until May, according to LinkedIn.
NCAA Punishment: None
Bethany Gunn
Former role at Tennessee: Director of recruiting, 2018-21
Where Gunn is now: Gunn no longer works in athletics.
NCAA Punishment: Five-year show-cause
Chantryce Boone
Former role at Tennessee: Assistant director of recruiting, 2020-21
Where Boone in now: Boone began working at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis in August 2021, according to LinkedIn. It is unclear whether she still holds this position.
NCAA Punishment: 10-year show-cause
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Taylar Fetzner (Hooker)
Former role at Tennessee: Assistant director of recruiting, 2019-21
Where Fetzner is now: Hooker no longer works in athletics. She has hosted a podcast called "Creeps & Crimes," since October 2020. Her LinkedIn describes it as "a conspiracy, paranormal, and true-crime podcast hosted by former college roommates and forever investigators of all things spine chilling."
NCAA Punishment: None
Larry Harold
Former role at Tennessee: Offensive analyst/quality control coach
Where Harold is now: Harold is the coach at Central Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where he was hired in April 2022. Central Gwinnett went 5-5 in Harold's first season, ending the season on a five-game losing streak.
Harold was the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia, during the 2021 season. He previously coached at the high school level in Georgia at Macon County, Brunswick, Central Macon and Americus-Sumter.
NCAA Punishment: None
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Jeremy Pruitt's Tennessee staff is now after NCAA violations
