I get why everyone has a lot of angst right now. I'm right there with you. I don't understand why we don't see more young players, why Bailey wasn't at least #2 going into Arkansas, etc. This offense has crushed my spirit and while I don't think the defense is as bad as many here do, it boggles my mind why we can't stop a slant.
That said, everyone's bellwether or comparison is Dan Mullen. That we could have had Mullen if we acted quicker, Pruitt is no Mullen (he's not right now), etc. But let's take a look at Mullen when he started his career at Miss St. And no, I'll be honest with you all. I don't want to hear that "we're UT and Miss St is an impossible place to win". When Pruitt took over, we wished we were Miss St as far as talent, program in good standing, etc. UT has much, much more potential but 3 years ago, this program was at a point where it was probably 2nd worst in the SEC (not looking at tradition but structure, personnel, etc) and the talent on the team was the worst in the SEC. If one thing has been proven lately, UT is a difficult place to win. Not Miss St level but there's no magic elixir here.
Mullen was 9-15 in conference in his first 3 years. So for all those people saying "if a guy is going to be successful, you will know in his first 3 years", that blows your theory out of the water. Or at least it tells you that doesn't apply to some coaches and it shouldn't apply to the situation that Pruitt took over. Because if we agree that Mullen is successful at Fla so far, he was not in his first 3 years as a coach in the SEC. In fact, Mullen did not have a +.500 record in the SEC until his 6th year.
My point being, our situation is a lot closer to Miss St when Mullen took over than it is what the perception many here have of UT. This was never a quick fix. And I'm very open to debate on whether Pruitt can be successful. I'm not saying he is going to be. And he has made some mistakes. Something is going on with this team and it could be as simple as Pruitt doesn't have the pulse of this team or this team is so sick of seeing JG out there that they're not playing well. And that's on Pruitt.
I'm sure some will point at Arkansas and say "well, what about them?". And that's a very good point. But I'll go back to Dan Mullen at MSU and just say that sometimes you have good years and sometimes you don't as you rebuild. UT fans have been patient but we've also seen where things go when we have constant coaching turnover. The list I saw at SC for head coaching possibilities wouldn't give me the warm and fuzzies. I would rather be patient and see where this goes when we flip the roster and have a new QB. Wisconsin, albeit a different situation, sat Graham Mertz all last year when they had a statue behind the line even though Mertz was obviously better. But they gave him time to get acclimated to college ball. I hope that's the case with Bailey, but maybe that's wishful thinking.
Again, I'm not saying Pruitt is the coach that Mullen is right now. Maybe he doesn't get there. But what I was hoping to point out with this post is that Mullen struggled mightily in a very similar situation. And people seem to like him a lot these days. Ed O got fired from Ole Miss and won a natty at LSU. Mario Cristobol got fired at FIU and is as hot on the recruiting trail as anyone and has Oregon the heavy favorite in the Pac 12. It takes a lot of patience when you're in our situation.
That said, everyone's bellwether or comparison is Dan Mullen. That we could have had Mullen if we acted quicker, Pruitt is no Mullen (he's not right now), etc. But let's take a look at Mullen when he started his career at Miss St. And no, I'll be honest with you all. I don't want to hear that "we're UT and Miss St is an impossible place to win". When Pruitt took over, we wished we were Miss St as far as talent, program in good standing, etc. UT has much, much more potential but 3 years ago, this program was at a point where it was probably 2nd worst in the SEC (not looking at tradition but structure, personnel, etc) and the talent on the team was the worst in the SEC. If one thing has been proven lately, UT is a difficult place to win. Not Miss St level but there's no magic elixir here.
Mullen was 9-15 in conference in his first 3 years. So for all those people saying "if a guy is going to be successful, you will know in his first 3 years", that blows your theory out of the water. Or at least it tells you that doesn't apply to some coaches and it shouldn't apply to the situation that Pruitt took over. Because if we agree that Mullen is successful at Fla so far, he was not in his first 3 years as a coach in the SEC. In fact, Mullen did not have a +.500 record in the SEC until his 6th year.
My point being, our situation is a lot closer to Miss St when Mullen took over than it is what the perception many here have of UT. This was never a quick fix. And I'm very open to debate on whether Pruitt can be successful. I'm not saying he is going to be. And he has made some mistakes. Something is going on with this team and it could be as simple as Pruitt doesn't have the pulse of this team or this team is so sick of seeing JG out there that they're not playing well. And that's on Pruitt.
I'm sure some will point at Arkansas and say "well, what about them?". And that's a very good point. But I'll go back to Dan Mullen at MSU and just say that sometimes you have good years and sometimes you don't as you rebuild. UT fans have been patient but we've also seen where things go when we have constant coaching turnover. The list I saw at SC for head coaching possibilities wouldn't give me the warm and fuzzies. I would rather be patient and see where this goes when we flip the roster and have a new QB. Wisconsin, albeit a different situation, sat Graham Mertz all last year when they had a statue behind the line even though Mertz was obviously better. But they gave him time to get acclimated to college ball. I hope that's the case with Bailey, but maybe that's wishful thinking.
Again, I'm not saying Pruitt is the coach that Mullen is right now. Maybe he doesn't get there. But what I was hoping to point out with this post is that Mullen struggled mightily in a very similar situation. And people seem to like him a lot these days. Ed O got fired from Ole Miss and won a natty at LSU. Mario Cristobol got fired at FIU and is as hot on the recruiting trail as anyone and has Oregon the heavy favorite in the Pac 12. It takes a lot of patience when you're in our situation.
