Jeremy Pruitt is the perfect fit at defensive coordinator for Alabama
By Tom Brew
Published:
The rich keep getting richer. It happens in all corners of society, but it’s especially true in big-time college football.
The latest bit of news to prove that is the return of Jeremy Pruitt to Tuscaloosa to become Alabama’s new defensive coordinator. There can be no better slam-dunk hire. Pruitt is from there, played there, coached there and knows how things are supposed to run in Nick Saban’s intense program.
That he can hit the ground running there after Kirby Smart’s departure is a huge thing. There’s a lot to like about Pruitt and this move, most notably:
He’s coming home this time.
Pruitt was part of staffs at Alabama that won two national titles when he was defensive backs coach. His players loved him and are thrilled he’s back in the fold after Smart left to take the head coaching job at Georgia.
“When I found out Kirby was leaving, I think — in my opinion — there’s only one guy that can replace Kirby, and that’s coach Pruitt,” former Alabama safety Nick Perry told AL.com. “And I think that’s the only guy that they could have gotten. Honestly, I wish he would have come back when I was there. I love Pruitt.”
Coaches in Alabama enjoyed working with him, too, so coming back will be an easy transition. (The same can’t be said at Georgia, where his often-abrasive ways didn’t always go over well.) Saban and Smart have tag-teamed to put a stranglehold on teams these past eight years and both gave Pruitt more and more responsibility before he left the first time. He and Saban will work well together.
He’s staying home for a while.
At least that’s the presumption. Pruitt has been a bit of a nomad lately. He left Alabama to become defensive coordinator at Florida State in 2013, replacing Mark Stoops when he took the Kentucky job. All he did that first year was win a national title. QB Jameis Winston got all the headlines, but truth be told, it was the Florida State defense that won that title. They were off-the-charts good, ranking first in the nation in scoring defense (10.7 points per game) and interceptions (26). They were No. 2 in passing defense and No. 3 overall.
But then Pruitt up and left after just one season, making a lateral move (at best) to Georgia to be Mark Richt’s defensive coordinator. There were some issues there behind the scenes and when Richt was let go, Pruitt was free to move again. It was Smart, the man he is replacing, who actually made the final call at Georgia about letting him move on.
But he’s been moving so much, he’s probably ready to just get settled in somewhere. Alabama will be perfect for that. It’s home, and he’ll want to stick around a while. That stability will be nice, too. It worked well for Smart, who stayed eight years as defensive coordinator. Pruitt might have a long run, too.
He’s a great recruiter.
Pruitt is known as one of the country’s best recruiters. You can’t help but love the resume. He was instrumental in getting Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry to Tuscaloosa. Everyone wanted the talented RB out of Yulee, Fla., and Georgia thought they had him But Pruitt closed the deal and the rest is history. He also got Jalen Ramsey, a sure first-round pick this year, to Florida State in his one year there.
Pruitt was also instrumental in changing the way Georgia recruited, and he made a big difference there. He won’t miss a beat recruiting again for Alabama. He’s that good. And he has the track record (Henry, T.J. Yeldon, C.J. Mosley) to prove it. The talent is going to continue to flow to Tuscaloosa.
He knows how to stop spread offenses.
The best case study to evaluate Pruitt’s success as a coordinator is to watch what he’s done against Auburn in the past three years. Since the second half of the national championship game in 2013, when he was FSU’s defensive coordinator, Auburn’s high- powered offense has only scored three touchdowns on Pruitt-led defenses in 10 quarters. At Georgia, he beat Auburn 34-7 and 20-13, and both touchdowns came on Auburn’s first possession of the game. They pitched a shutout after that.
No disrespect intended to Kirby Smart in any way, but under Pruitt the Tide will surely show some improvement against those prolific passing teams. In other words, don’t expect Ole Miss to be hanging 43 on them next year.
He knows the Saban Way, and will fit right in.
The best thing about Pruitt being a former player and former coach at Alabama is that he already knows how Saban likes to do things. That’s huge, possibly the most important trait a coordinator can have. There will be no learning curve. He already knows.
“This is a special opportunity for me to come back to the University of Alabama,” Pruitt said after the hire. “Growing up in the state and having played and coached here, I have a great appreciation for Alabama football.”
That’s going to be a two-way street.
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.
