Column: Timing Is Everything Until It's Not, It Is Time for An Answer

Timing is everything when announcing an important decision. Timing is everything when it comes to success or failure. Timing is something that the Tennessee administration has left precariously in balance for far too long now.

Jeremy Pruitt met with investigators on Thursday for most of the day, which many believed signaled the end of a long, month and a half investigation into recruiting improprieties.  It is unclear when the investigation will be officially wrapped up, but Tennessee has to decide on Jeremy Pruitt regardless of timing or just continue to lose.

I do not just mean on the field; I mean the overall health of the football program.  At this point, there are no winners in the current situation in Knoxville. Jeremy Pruitt is losing, the staff around him is losing, the players are losing, and the University is losing.

Jeremy Pruitt is headed to California to see star linebacker Henry To’o To’o today, according to a report from VolQuest’s Austin Price. The news comes just a day after speaking with investigators for the majority of the day; however, according to various sources I have spoken with, Pruitt’s trip is no indication of his job security.

This is what I mean by losing all the way around. Pruitt has to recruit his star defender back to Knoxville because of doubt created by the investigation, and who knows if To’o To’o will come back? He would certainly have his pick of schools across the country if he wanted to transfer.

Now, let’s dig deeper. If Pruitt is back next year, he has possibly lost his star defender because of poor timing to make a definitive statement about his future. We just watched Wanya Morris hit the portal, and he was one of the most beloved players on Tennessee’s team, much like To’o To’o. These guys have both started in double-digit games, and they would both start again next fall. If they are having doubts, who else is?

The last thing Tennessee can afford is mass roster exodus, regardless of who the coach is, but it could be inevitable. There is the argument that if you fire Pruitt in December, all of these guys plus more go to the portal, which could be the case. However, making a definitive statement allows these players to make a much more informed decision and not feel like they are backed into a corner. With the one-time transfer rule currently tabled, players will have to come back to campus with doubts in their minds or decide to jump into the transfer portal and hope it is approved before the season starts.

If you bring Pruitt back at this point, you’ve seemingly handicapped him and made him a lame-duck heading into 2021. Not only have you now cost him returning players, but you’ve also setback his attempts to build a staff he trusts, taken away the opportunity to make significant moves in the transfer portal, and you’ve damaged the pursuit of 2022 targets, particularly essential, in-state targets.

Sure, Tennessee could make a home run hire, build a nice staff around him and stop hemorrhaging to an extent, but even that coach lost valuable time in the same departments mentioned above.

Timing is everything until it’s not, and Tennessee is past getting the timing of this thing. Fans, players, coaches, and athletic department employees have waited and watched long enough. Classes start in less than a week. National signing day is just around the corner. Off-season workouts have to get rolling. Tennessee has to give some form of clarity. It is beyond keeping Jeremy Pruitt or moving on from him; it is to the point of saving the University from more embarrassment on the national scene and trying to make the football program salvageable for the foreseeable future. It is time for a definitive answer.