Phillip Fulmer made Jeremy Pruitt well aware how Tennessee fans will judge his tenure
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Much like at other top schools around the nation, winning at Tennessee isn’t always enough to appease the fan base — just as important, if not more important, is who you beat.
According to Jeremy Pruitt, Phillip Fulmer has made that message loud and clear. During his recent appearance at the Rotary clubs of Knoxville meeting, Pruitt shared the simple message his new AD gave to him.
“The head coach at Tennessee is going to be judged on three games: Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,” Pruitt said.
That’s something Fulmer knows better than anyone. His Tennessee teams often struggled to defeat the Gators, however, when they did, they often achieved the highest success of Fulmer’s tenure. After dominating the annual rivalries against Alabama and Georgia for years, once Tennessee started dropping those games, the fans on Rocky Top quickly grew tired of what they perceived as a stagnant program. Ironically, the program has never recovered since ushering Fulmer out.
Now Pruitt is tasked with finally reversing that trend. That’s something he touches on in the video below, which was posted by WBIR reporter Chierstin Susel:
#Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt says Phillip Fulmer looked him dead in the eye when he was hired and said, "The head coach at Tennessee is going to be judged on three games: Florida, Georgia and Alabama".
A round of applause ensued at the Rotary clubs of Knoxville meeting. pic.twitter.com/B6K1rkx3rO
— Chierstin Susel (@ChierstinSusel) May 1, 2018
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
