Tennessee football: Jeremy Pruitt threatens to take Vols down with him in lawsuit

It appears as if former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt is unhappy and is looking into taking legal action against his old team.

The Tennessee Vols are apparently facing some legal trouble with their last head coach as Jeremy Pruitt is seemingly intent on taking them to court. Or, that’s at least what his lawyers have said as they reportedly threaten to bring up a “fiery lawsuit,” according to Blake Toppmeyer of the Knox News. 

The split between Pruitt and Tennessee was clearly a messy one and the bad blood between the two parties doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.

Pruitt was fired back in January and then Tennessee Athletic Director Phil Fulmer stepped away after an internal investigation. The Tennesseean reported that Pruitt was fired with cause following the conclusion of that investigation. Pruitt’s lawyer subsequently released a statement and now things are heating back up.

It appears as if Pruitt and his lawyer would like for the former Vols head coach to get some sort of settlement here. Because he was fired with cause, Tennessee didn’t pay Pruitt a dime of his buyout.

Hence the threat of a lawsuit months later.

Former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt threatens lawsuit against his former team

Pruitt seems to believe that this lawsuit will make things uncomfortable for the folks in Knoxville. While Pruitt’s lawyer believes a lawsuit between his client and the Vols could cause considerable damage to Tennessee, it’s not totally clear what all would be brought up should the relevant parties end up in court.

Of course, the most interesting thing about all of this is that this lawsuit doesn’t appear to be doing anything that would potential clear Pruitt’s name, but rather it would just drag Tennessee down into mud with him. Unsurprisingly, the Vols have reportedly vowed to defend themselves if a lawsuit happens. It’s still early, but it doesn’t appear as if they’ll just roll over and give in to Pruitt’s demands.

Pruitt was the head coach of Tennessee from 2018 through 2020. During that three-season span, the Vols only managed to go 16-19 with Pruitt at the helm.

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