Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt will be in Knoxville a few more years after signing an extension that runs through 2025 and comes with a nice raise.
Jeremy Pruitt was given the task of turning around the Tennessee Volunteers football program when he took over starting with the 2018 season. The team struggled to a 5-7 finish that year but bounced back with a record of 8-5 last season and a win in the Gator Bowl.
The head coach is now working with plenty of his own recruits and those in charge at the school clearly like what they see. That was reflected with a contract extension and a nice raise for Pruitt.
“My family and I are grateful for the unwavering commitment the University of Tennessee has made to us,” Pruitt said. “We have worked hard to build our program the right way in a short amount of time, and there is still much work to be done. It’s a privilege to coach and mentor the outstanding young men who represent the Tennessee Volunteers. We are excited about the future and will continue to build a program Tennessee fans can be proud of.”
Jeremy Pruitt gets a vote of confidence
Pruitt is now under contract through 2025 and got a raise of $400,000 to up his annual salary to $4.2 million. The increased pay takes effect next season.
The raise shows the faith in Pruitt from those in charge at Tennessee, along with the boosters. He took over after Butch Jones went 0-8 in conference play in 2017 and had the Vols finish 5-3 in the SEC last season.
The 2020 season is a unique one that will see the Volunteers play 10 games, all against SEC opponents. Pruitt’s team is currently ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 and has five games against top-10 teams on the schedule.
Pruitt showed enough in two years to get that same amount of time added to his contract. Then came the pay raise. Now it is time to prove he deserves it with a great season.
The Volunteers have not found consistent success since Phillip Fulmer left following the 2008 season. Lane Kiffin left after one season, Derek Dooley was fired after three and Butch Jones was given five years before the program had enough.
“I’m excited that this extension gives Jeremy the runway to continue to build on the momentum and energy we have around our football program coming out of last season,” Fulmer said. “He has made excellent progress entering just his third year and clearly realizes there is much work still to be done. This extension secures him to continue his efforts to return our program to a championship level and shows our commitment to him, his staff, this team and the future of the Tennessee Volunteers. I am very grateful to Chancellor Plowman, our administration and Board of Trustees for their confidence and support as well as their leadership and attentiveness to the future of our overall athletics program.
“Jeremy and I were close to finalizing his extension early this year. But once the pandemic hit and we learned more and more about its potential impact on the department, Jeremy informed me that he preferred not to accept a raise for this year. His focus quickly shifted to his players and supporting them through a period of interruption and uncertainty. His selflessness and concern for the greater good has been neat to observe through all of this.”
Pruitt is still in a bit of a honeymoon stage after two years. The expectations will now go up along with his pay.