Tennessee Volunteers Football

The University of Tennessee has found its next athletic director after Phil Fulmer stepped down from the position. 

Danny White has been officially hired by the Vols after spending six years in the same role at Central Florida. 

White issued a statement about his departure from Central Florida:

Fulmer announced on Monday that he would be stepping down as Tennessee's athletic director after Jeremy Pruitt's firing as head football coach: 

"The unexpected need to hire a new coach caused me to reevaluate my place in the organization. I knew we need stability and continuity at Tennessee, and our next football coach needs to be on our sideline for 10 years or more, and I am confident that we will find that coach. But, also, I am confident that he will want and need to know who his athletic director is going to be for the duration (of his tenure)."

Pruitt was fired after the school uncovered multiple potential recruiting violations during an internal investigation into the football program, per ESPN's Chris Low and Mark Schlabach. 

Fulmer took over as athletic director in December 2017 when the school parted ways with John Currie eight months after he was hired. The 70-year-old is a Tennessee legend after going 152-52 with two SEC championships and one national title in 17 seasons as head coach from 1992-2008. 

White has been at Central Florida since Dec. 2015. He has worked to rebuild the football program into a national power, including an undefeated record in 2017 and 25 straight wins overall between the 2017-18 seasons. 

The Knights men's basketball team made the NCAA tournament in 2018-19 with a 24-9 record, tied for the second-most wins in a season in school history. The hiring of Katie Abrahamson-Henderson as women's basketball coach prior to the 2016-17 campaign has led to four straight 20-win seasons and an appearance in the 2019 NCAA tournament.

At the University of Tennessee, a Big Mac apparently came with a big stack.

Dan Patrick said Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show that assistant coaches with the Volunteers football team put money into McDonald's bags and handed them to recruits during visits:

"You literally had bag men. They put the cash in McDonald's bags and handed it to the recruits. My source said they were so in your face with this—they weren't even trying to hide it. And that's where my source said: 'Tennessee got sloppy. Georgia has gotten sloppy.' But there's been no word on the NCAA looking at Georgia. But Tennessee, they got sloppy, and they were handing out cash in McDonald's bags."

Wes Rucker of 247Sports later reported multiple people within the program are "angrily denying" Patrick's comments.

Tennessee fired coach Jeremy Pruitt on Monday after an internal investigation found repeated recruiting violations. University chancellor Donde Plowman said the scope of the investigation, while ongoing, is "astonishing":

"For now, I can tell you this: The information provided today indicates a significant number of serious NCAA rules violations. While we have no choice but to continue to ask for your patience while both the University and NCAA investigate, the personnel actions we are announcing today are an indication of the gravity of what we have discovered.

"What's astonishing is the number of violations and their efforts to conceal the wrongdoing."

Pruitt, a former defensive coordinator at Florida State, Georgia and Alabama, went 16-19 in three seasons with the Volunteers. The university fired him for cause, meaning it will not have to pay his buyout. Pruitt was under contract through the 2025 season and is expected to challenge Tennessee's decision in court.

Kevin Steele will serve as Tennessee's acting head coach while the university conducts a search. In a letter to Pruitt, the school says it expects the investigation to find Level I and/or Level II violations of NCAA rules.

The university also fired inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton, quality control coach Larry Harold, director of player personnel Danny Stiff, assistant director of player personnel J.T. Hill, directors of football recruiting Rachel Bell and Bethany Gunn, and assistant directors of recruiting Chantryce Boone and Taylar Hooker.

Dan Patrick reported Tuesday on the Dan Patrick Show that veteran tight end Jason Witten could be a candidate for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Tennessee. 

The job became available Monday when Jeremy Pruitt was fired after an internal investigation into potential recruiting violations.

Patrick reported that sources said some within the program would hand prospective recruits McDonald's bags of cash when they arrived on campus.

Before moving on to the NFL, Witten played three seasons at Tennessee from 2000-02. He was especially productive as a junior, registering 39 receptions for 493 yards and five touchdowns.

Witten was a third-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2003 NFL draft, and he went on to play a remarkable 16 seasons for the organization.

He retired after the 2017 season and spent 2018 as part of the Monday Night Football announce team before returning to the field for Dallas in 2019. Witten then signed with the Las Vegas Raiders and finished the 2020 season with 13 receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

For his career, Witten has made 1,228 receptions for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns, resulting in 11 Pro Bowl nods and two First Team All-Pro selections.

Witten is a surefire Hall of Famer and has done it all in the NFL besides win a Super Bowl, but it isn't yet clear what the future holds for him in terms of his playing career.

If the 38-year-old gets an offer to coach at his alma mater, however, it may be too good an opportunity to pass up.

The Vols were once one of the preeminent programs in college football, but that hasn't been the case for many years, especially since Phillip Fulmer retired as head coach following the 2008 season.

Tennessee has played in just one bowl game in the past four seasons and is coming off a 3-7 season, which marked the program's worst winning percentage in a season since going 1-6-2 in 1909.

The Volunteers job would present Witten with a major challenge, especially since he would be a first-time head coach.

Tennessee could also be facing some sanctions, but coveted SEC coaching jobs don't become available too often.

Tennessee football is once again in the market for a head coach, but this time the program will use a famous alum to help with the process.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Peyton Manning will have "a big role in the search process and great influence on who Tennessee's next head coach will be."

He will hope to find an adequate replacement for Jeremy Pruitt, who will reportedly be fired Monday after three years with the team, according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.

Manning starred at Tennessee from 1994 to '97 and is the school's all-time leader with 11,201 passing yards and 89 passing touchdowns.

The 44-year-old was the No. 1 pick of the 1998 NFL draft, and he won five MVP awards and two Super Bowls in a sure-fire Hall of Fame career. His 18 years in the NFL also gave him plenty of experience dealing with a variety of coaches.

Manning's expertise could be valuable for a program that has struggled mightily over the past decade.

Phillip Fulmer, who coached Manning at Tennessee, left after the 2008 season. Since then, the Volunteers have gone through four different full-time head coaches with zero 10-win seasons. Fulmer had two losing seasons in his 17 years with the program, but there have been seven in the last 11 years, including a 3-7 record in 2020.

Fulmer had become the school's athletic director but will step down from the position, per Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Amid a lot of uncertainty for the program, Manning's involvement could ease concerns.

The Tennessee Volunteers announced Monday they have fired football head coach Jeremy Pruitt for cause.

Tennessee also fired assistants Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer. In its termination letter to Pruitt, the school said, "The NCAA will likely find that you failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program."

"Your failures are likely to lead to significant penalties to the University and has jeopardized the eligibility of our student-athletes," the school wrote to Pruitt.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported Pruitt's exit and shared full details of the exits within the program and the findings announced by the university:

Brett McMurphy of Stadium passed along a statement from attorney Michael Lyons, who is representing Pruitt:

Kevin Steele will serve as the interim head coach.

In the wake of the move, athletic director Phillip Fulmer will step down from his role, and his replacement will hire Pruitt's successor.

Pruitt, 46, went 16-19 in his three seasons at Tennessee and 3-7 this past season in an all-SEC schedule. The Volunteers had one winning season under Pruitt, going 8-5 in 2019, and reached just one bowl game under his watch. The school had signed him to a contract extension in 2020 that kept him under contract through the 2025 season, though his deal reportedly included "more than 30 fire-for-cause provisions."

Fulmer, 70, has served as the school's athletic director since Dec. 2017. He's a legend within the football program, compiling a 151-52-1 record as the school's head coach between 1992-08, leading the team to a national championship in 1998.

Tennessee has struggled to replace him. Lane Kiffin lasted one season (2009), going 7-6. Derek Dooley (2010-12) coached just three, going 16-21. Butch Jones (2013-17) made it through five campaigns, going 34-27. Pruitt followed Jones, though did not reach even that modest level of success.

As for Pruitt's successor, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported, "Vols legend Peyton Manning will have a big role in the search process and great influence on who Tennessee's next head coach will be."

Former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher could have his eyes on a college job, if the right one were to become available. 

During an appearance on Nashville Sports Radio's The George Plaster Show, Fisher said he would have "a great deal of interest" in the University of Tennessee if head coach Jeremy Pruitt was no longer with the program.

Pruitt's future with the school has been a subject of speculation amid an investigation to determine if the football team committed NCAA violations. 

Per Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel, the university opened an internal investigation last month into allegations of recruiting violations and impermissible benefits to athletes. 

ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported running back Eric Gray didn't play in the Vols' 34-13 loss to Texas A&M on Dec. 19 because of the investigation. 

Appearing on 104.5 The Zone Wednesday, ESPN's Chris Low said the fact that the school has hired an outside law firm to assist in the investigation isn't a good sign: "Looking at it from where we are right now and talking to some people, I think it's going to be difficult ... for [Pruitt] to be the head football coach." 

Tennessee finished the 2020 season with a 3-7 record and has gone 16-19 in three years since Pruitt took over.

Fisher has been out of coaching since being fired by the Los Angeles Rams in December 2016. The 62-year-old has a 173-165-1 record in 22 seasons as an NFL head coach. 

He knows the Tennessee area incredibly well after serving as head coach of the Tennessee Oilers/Titans from 1997-2010. 

The University of Tennessee has reportedly halted all contract discussions with current personnel and paused hires for the Volunteers football program while awaiting the results of an investigation into possible recruiting violations, including the alleged use of improper benefits.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported Thursday members of the investigative team have conducted interviews with UT players throughout the week.

"We take seriously our institutional commitment to NCAA compliance, and are reviewing regulatory issues that have been brought to our attention," university spokeswoman Tyra Haag said in a statement. "As part of that process, we are currently working with attorneys Kyle Skillman and Michael Glazier with Bond, Schoeneck & King. We will provide additional information when it's appropriate."

Issues being focused on during the investigation included the recruitment of 2021 prospect Amarius Mims, who ultimately signed with Georgia, and a compliance inquiry into sophomore running back Eric Gray, who was held out of the Vols' season finale against Texas A&M, per Schlabach.

"I hadn't seen no article or anything like that," head coach Jeremy Pruitt said after the loss to the Aggies when asked whether he was aware of an investigation. "Anytime in college football or college athletics, you have typical compliance stuff. That is all I know."

The Volunteers' coaching staff has two vacancies to fill (defensive and offensive line coaches) and at least two more coaches are set to see their contracts expire at the end of January: running backs coach Tee Martin and inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, according to Schlabach.

Tennessee signed Pruitt to a two-year contract extension in September that runs through the 2025 season. He ranked 30th among college football head coaches with $3.85 million in total pay for the 2020 campaign, per USA Today.

The Vols opened 2020 with victories over South Carolina and Missouri, but they won just one of their final eight games to finish with a 3-7 record.

Pruitt has posted a 16-19 mark across three years at UT with one bowl appearance, a Gator Bowl triumph over Indiana to finish the 2019 season. The Volunteers were scheduled to play in this season's Liberty Bowl, but it was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

Schlabach noted at least five players have left the program either to enter the NFL draft or via the transfer portal in recent weeks amid the investigation.

The University of Tennessee is investigating its football program for "alleged recruiting violations and alleged impermissible benefits to athletes," according to Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

"Anytime in college football or college athletics, you have typical compliance stuff," head coach Jeremy Pruitt said of the investigation after Saturday's 34-13 loss to Texas A&M. "That is all I know."

Pruitt had not been interviewed as of Sunday for the investigation, though "football assistant coaches, athletes and support staffers" were interviewed. 

Mark Schlabach of ESPN reported Saturday that the recruitment of Amarius Mims—the No. 7 player in the Class of 2021 and the No. 3 offensive tackle, per 247Sports.com—was a part of the investigation. Mims ultimately signed with Georgia, though Tennessee was a finalist. 

Additionally, sophomore running back Eric Gray was held out of Saturday's game vs. Texas A&M, with Schlabach reporting it was related to the compliance department inquiry.

"He was unavailable," Pruitt said when asked why Gray didn't play.

"In keeping with our institutional commitment to compliance, we often look closely at regulatory issues that are brought to our attention via internal or external channels," Tom Satkowiak, Tennessee's athletic department spokesperson, said in a statement over the weekend. "Maintaining compliance is a shared responsibility, and active monitoring is part of that process."

The Volunteers went 3-7 in Pruitt's third season as head coach. He is now 16-19 at the helm for the Vols. .

University of Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer announced Friday that he tested positive for COVID-19:

Fulmer noted that while he is asymptomatic, he is following isolation protocol. He also divulged that he was not deemed to have come into close contact with any student-athletes or Tennessee sports staff members.

The 70-year-old has been Tennessee's athletic director since 2017 after previously serving as the Volunteers' head football coach from 1992-2008.

The Vols' scheduled football game against the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies was postponed last week after multiple positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing resulted in several Texas A&M players having to quarantine.

After a 2-0 start to the season, Tennessee has lost four in a row, including a 44-21 loss to the then-No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and a 48-17 loss at the hands of the then-No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Tennessee is in danger of posting its third losing season in the past four years, which would represent a significant step back from last year's 8-5 campaign.

The Volunteers have played in a bowl game just six times in the past 11 seasons, and they haven't won double-digit games since 2007, which was Fulmer's second-to-last year as head coach.

Fulmer is among the most successful coaches in school history, as he went 151-52-1 in his 17 years at the helm with two SEC titles and a national title, which the Vols won in 1998 when they went a perfect 13-0.

Tennessee was ranked during every season that Fulmer was head coach, but the Volunteers have found it difficult to remain in the national conversation since he retired from coaching.

The Vols will look to get back on track Saturday after a week off, as they are scheduled to face the No. 23 Auburn Tigers on the road.  

Eight members of Tennessee's football coaching staff refused to take a coronavirus-related pay cut as the athletic department looked to lower costs, according to Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

"Tennessee's athletic department expects a $40 million loss in revenue during this fiscal year, largely because of a pandemic-induced reduction in football revenue," Toppmeyer wrote.

He provided more context with regard to the eight staffers in question:

"The salary reduction plan was designed to save the athletic department about $1.6 million. Because eight football staff members rejected a pay cut, the savings will come to about $1.3 million, according to figures provided by the athletic department. About $280,000 of that savings will come from at-will employees; about $600,000 will come from contract employees; and $400,000 is from [head coach Jeremy Pruitt] forgoing a raise for the 2020 contract year."

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney was among those who refused to take part. His $1.6 million salary is the third-highest within the athletic department.

Toppmeyer explained how Tennessee could make unilateral cuts to the pay of at-will employees. Those who had formal contracts had to sign off on any cuts, however.

Tennessee is far from the only school that instituted department-wide salary reductions to soften the blow of less revenue from live sporting events. Some universities have cut certain sports altogether.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Paula Lavigne reported the cancellation of the 2020 college football season meant up to $4 billion in lost revenues for Power Five schools. Staging a shorter season with limited live attendance doesn't fully make up for that shortfall.

The News Sentinel's Mike Wilson reported in October that Tennessee's athletic department was enacting a "tiered salary-reduction plan" for employees who make more than $50,000. Men's basketball coach Rick Barnes and women's basketball coach Kellie Harper were among those affected.

As Toppmeyer reported, Pruitt didn't have his pay lowered. Instead, his raise that was intended to begin this year will instead be triggered in 2021.