First and 10: Tennessee’s strategy vs. NCAA allegations was pure genius … and worked to perfection

1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

Tennessee has shown the way. Like a bright beacon in an angry sea of coaching buyouts, there is now an answer.

Invite the NCAA into your home.

Because if you’re stuck with a coach you don’t want running the show, and you’re paying him millions for losing seasons — and more important, you’re on the hook for millions in buyout money if you pink slip him — there’s only 1 road to take.

Let the NCAA do the dirty work for you.

If that means paying an historic $8 million fine, losing 15 or so scholarships over a 3-year period, and being slapped with a useless “probation” tag that literally means nothing, bring the NCAA into your building, open up the books and all but point them to the guilty party.

That would be former coach Jeremy Pruitt, the middle school P.E. coach masquerading for 3 years as a functional FBS football coach.

The same coach who was hired by former beloved coach turned athletic director Phil Fulmer, who was so bitter and full of blinders, he cost Tennessee a shot at Mike Leach (God rest his soul) and gave the program a coach whose biggest selling point to lead a top 20 program was that he coached under Nick Saban.

Jim McElwain coached under Saban, too — and we all saw how that SEC experiment unfolded.

But let’s not dredge the sordid and sickening past. Let’s focus instead on moving forward and analyzing the metamorphosis of the Tennessee program 2 Years post-Pruitt, and heading into this week’s SEC Media Days in Nashville.

— No longer staring down the barrel of a $12.5 million buyout.

— No longer dealing with a coach who — and I can’t believe I’m writing this — had his wife pay players (before it was legal to play players).

— Is 110 percent times the better with coach Josh Heupel running the show. You know, a real, live, honest-to-goodness football coach who knows what the hell he’s doing — and has the Vols back in national prominence.

— Bonus: The university suddenly has a budget surplus of $4.5 million.

It’s all so neat and tidy and wrapped into a bow, I have no idea why every other university looking to get out of a bad deal doesn’t follow the same road.

It was a fairly simple process: Tennessee knew it was terrible at the 1 thing it had to be successful at (see: football), and knew there were some shenanigans happening in the football offices.

Tennessee wanted to fire the P.E. coach but absolutely didn’t want to give him $12.5 million to not coach — especially considering what they knew (see: shenanigans). So they self-reported initial violations to the NCAA, and fired Pruitt in January of 2021.

Pruitt wanted his buyout, Tennessee said he was fired for cause after their initial findings. Those findings eventually turned into a whopping 200-plus violations, and double-digit Level 1 violations.

So instead of paying Pruitt his $12.5 million buyout — to a coach whose tenure was a disgrace on and off the field — Tennessee decided to pay the NCAA $8 million and walk away $4.5 million the better.

Brilliant.

2. Covering every base

Here’s the best part of the Tennessee Plan:  Everyone is happy.

The school moves on and doesn’t pay a coach — who brought shame to the university and the program — millions for not coaching.

The NCAA, meanwhile, establishes its brand spanking new reform policy of ”fine the hell out of ’em.”

Just because the Power 5 schools asked for autonomy on all things structure and administration doesn’t mean they can run afoul of the law (as it is, anyway) and not pay. In the age of player empowerment and making sure players are happy with their current setup — and doing everything to kick the pay-for-play can down the road another year — any penalties for previous transgressions are not heaped upon those players who had nothing to do with it.

Translation: The days of postseason bans are over.

Now the NCAA — the sport’s governing body, of which the Autonomous 5 are still technically joined at the hip — can use fines to redistribute the wealth earned by all of those multibillion dollar media rights deals for Power 5 conferences and the new 12-team Playoff.

You scratch my back by helping me fire my coach, I’ll scratch yours by giving you cash that would’ve went to a disgraced coach — but instead can now go to the NCAA coffers to do all kinds of good for non-revenue sports.

Everybody’s happy.

3. The kinks in the Plan

For every move, there’s an opposite move. If you don’t think legendary agent Jimmy Sexton saw this coming a mile away, you’re not following along.

While there’s nothing he could do about Pruitt and his blatant cheating, there is something he can do moving forward to counteract the Tennessee Plan.

Guaranteed contracts.

These deals still rely on coaches to avoid major NCAA violations, but put more pressure on desperate universities by forcing them to agree to the guaranteed deals.

Unless there are NCAA violations, or other acts by the coach that cause harm to the university, schools are on the hook for 100% of the deal — no matter how poor the team performs.

That’s why Jimbo Fisher, despite the regression in 2022 at Texas A&M, isn’t going anywhere — no matter how ugly it gets on the field. That is, unless there’s a deep-pocket booster(s) willing to part with nearly $80 million to force Fisher to walk.

That’s why Mel Tucker isn’t going anywhere at Michigan State. Or Billy Napier at Florida. Or Brent Venables at Oklahoma.

You can’t run afoul of the NCAA and still get paid, but you better believe you can produce an average product and still receive millions. How many millions depends on how quickly universities want to move on from hiring mistakes.

4. The tip of the spear

We hear it over and over from every coach: The quarterback is everything.

He is the team leader, and how he goes, the team goes. Whether he likes it or not, the position itself lends to leadership.

Yet here we are, staring at the beginning of yet another SEC Media Days, and only 5 of the 14 teams brought quarterbacks as representatives for their teams.

Apparently, the leadership thing that coaches preach over and over is only applicable at Arkansas (KJ Jefferson), LSU (Jayden Daniels), Mississippi State (Will Rogers), South Carolina (Spencer Rattler) and Tennessee (Joe Milton III).

Every other SEC school took a pass on bringing the most important player on the team to the most important preseason event. The SEC only recently expanded to 3 players per team at Media Days, and should amend the rule to 2 players and the quarterback.

It’s the nature of the position: too much of the credit, too much of the blame. Why not get it started early at Media Days?

5. The Weekly 5

The 5 games that stress LSU’s win total (9.5).

1. Sept. 3, Florida State (Orlando): The 1st game in a season of big expectations. Last year’s 1st game of expectations with a new coach was a disaster.

2. Nov. 4, at Alabama: No matter who’s playing quarterback, the Alabama offense will be much better with 8 games of experience.

3. Sept. 30, at Ole Miss: Rebels are dangerous in the run game and can dictate tempo — the best way to keep the LSU offense off the field.

4. Nov. 25, Texas A&M: Aggies won last year in College Station and will be 1 full season into the Bobby Petrino/Conner Weigman experiment.

5. Nov. 11, Florida: More than 2 months into the season, maybe Florida QB Graham Mertz reaches down and finishes a big game.

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: Florida RB Montrell Johnson.

“He’s got some burst. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t look fast but plays fast when you get the pads on. He’s strong enough to push a pile, but he also has some wiggle. He’s one of those downhill run guys that will punish you, but can also beat you to the corner. He has good hands. He’s a mid-round guy, but there are so many running backs in our league who start and make an impact as a mid-round guy.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: My SEC Media Days prediction ballot.

1. Georgia (11-1, 7-1): Someone will get Georgia this season before the Playoff. Why not Tennessee in Knoxville?

2. LSU (11-1, 7-1): Get past the FSU game to begin the season, and an upset loss to Ole Miss won’t matter.

3. Tennessee (10-2, 6-2): Just like 2022, a big season falls short with 2 tough losses (Florida, Alabama).

4. Alabama (9-3, 6-2): There’s too much uncertainty (2 new coordinators, new quarterback) to not affect this team — at least, early on.

5. Texas A&M (9-3, 5-3): A bounce-back season for Jimbo Fisher, who successfully navigates life with OC Bobby Petrino.

6. Ole Miss (8-4, 4-4): Rebels will be a handful of plays (just like 2022) from 10 wins.

7. Arkansas (8-4, 4-4): Forget about questioning coach Sam Pittman. He’s the fit. Period.

8. South Carolina (7-5, 4-4): It may not be what South Carolina fans want as an encore to 2022, but it’s a process.

9. Kentucky (7-5, 3-5): The UK offense will be much better. The defense might be a problem.

10. Auburn (6-6, 3-5): I’m banking on coach Hugh Freeze developing QB Payton Thorne. If it’s more like what Thorne showed in 2022 at Michigan State, this is a 3-win team.

11. Florida (5-7, 3-5): Napier will fix the defense this season. The offense must get better in 2024.

12. Missouri (5-7, 2-6): I have this odd feeling that 3 quarterbacks will start games for Missouri — and none will produce consistent success.

13. Mississippi State (5-7, 1-7): New coach, brutal schedule. Love the defense, but can the offense produce in a new system?

14. Vanderbilt (4-8, 1-7): Do yourself a favor. Watch Vandy — if for no other reason than to watch QB AJ Swann.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: I love where Alabama is this season. When everyone doubts Coach Nick Saban, that’s when we’re at our best. Keep doubting, and wind up with egg on your face. — Kirk Schultz, Dallas.

Kirk:

The last time anyone “doubted” Alabama was in 2015, on the heels of losing a Playoff semifinal game to Ohio State and beginning the season with a new quarterback — who had transferred 2 years earlier from Florida State.

While that sounds familiar, there’s 1 teeny-weeny problem: That Alabama team had an offensive coordinator by the name of Lane Kiffin. This team has Tommy Rees.

That Alabama team had Kirby Smart as its defensive coordinator and star players Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed, A’Shawn Robinson, Reggie Ragland … do I need to continue?

This Alabama team has new DC Kevin Steele, and no one at the same level (at least, not yet) as the aforementioned group.

How could this Alabama team not be doubted? There’s nothing wrong with questioning whether an Alabama team that couldn’t stop people when it mattered most in 2021 or 22, will suddenly do so in 2023 — with less experienced, impact players.

Saban said he really likes this team. He likes the way they prepare consistently and how they’re eager to learn.

We’re going to see just how well they prepare in Week 2 against Texas. That game — no matter Texas’ recent history of underachieving — will tell plenty. Alabama struggled to beat the Longhorns last year in Austin despite have the best player on the field (and in college football) — and despite playing a majority of the game against the Longhorns’ 2nd-string quarterback.

Let’s get through that game first before we start talking about egg on faces.

9. Numbers

3. Go ahead, take your shots at the mean ol’ media. But 3 times in the past 5 years, the media vote has nailed the eventual SEC Champion: 2021 (Alabama), 2020 (Alabama), 2018 (Alabama).

To be fair, anyone can pick Alabama and have a fairly good chance of things working out. But don’t be surprised if you see a split vote for SEC Champion this week.

Georgia will no doubt be the preseason favorite, but the off-field events of this offseason surely have led to some doubt that the distractions could creep into the season.

Expect Georgia, Alabama, LSU and Tennessee to get 1st-place votes from the media, and more than likely in that order. And, of course, 1 vote for South Carolina.

Because that’s just the way it is every season. Why question it at this point?

10. Quote to note

Georgia coach Kirby Smart: “I’m a football coach. I’m responsible for this program, and it starts with me.”

Matt Hayes

Matt Hayes is a national college football writer for Saturday Down South. You can hear him daily from 12-3 p.m. on 1010XL in Jacksonville. Follow on Twitter @MattHayesCFB