Two Tennessee Football Coaching Tenures Earn Infamous Recognition as Among the Worst Hires in College Football This Century
The University of Tennessee has long been one of college football’s most storied programs, boasting a passionate fan base, iconic traditions, and a history that includes national championships, All-Americans, and NFL legends. But for much of the 21st century, the Volunteers have struggled to recapture their former glory, often finding themselves mired in mediocrity or worse. Now, two former head coaches of the program have been singled out for their role in Tennessee’s decline, landing on a national list ranking the worst coaching hires in college football this century.
The designation is far from flattering, but for Vols fans, it likely doesn’t come as a surprise. From questionable decisions to unfulfilled promises, both men left the program worse off than they found it. Their tenures were marked by dysfunction, dwindling success, and an erosion of confidence within the fan base. While every program endures highs and lows, Tennessee’s coaching carousel over the past two decades has been particularly tumultuous, with these two hires emblematic of the missteps that kept the Volunteers from returning to national prominence.
The first coach on this unflattering list is Derek Dooley, who led the Volunteers from 2010 to 2012. Dooley arrived in Knoxville with a modest résumé, having spent three years as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, where he compiled a 17-20 record. While he was also the son of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley and had worked under Nick Saban, many questioned whether he had the experience and pedigree necessary to succeed in the SEC’s gauntlet. It didn’t take long for those doubts to turn into a harsh reality.
Dooley’s tenure was a painful one for Tennessee fans. In three seasons, he went 15-21 overall and just 4-19 in SEC play. Under his leadership, the Volunteers suffered historic lows, including a loss to Kentucky in 2011 that snapped a 26-game winning streak against the Wildcats. Perhaps even more damaging was the perception that Dooley failed to instill the toughness, discipline, and leadership needed to turn the program around. His press conferences became infamous for their odd analogies and off-the-wall remarks, which only served to alienate fans and media further. While he did have some promising recruits, including quarterback Tyler Bray and wide receiver Justin Hunter, his teams often looked unprepared, disorganized, and lacking direction.
The lack of results on the field wasn’t the only issue. Dooley’s failure to establish a cohesive culture led to player attrition and internal discord. The coaching staff endured constant turnover, and there was little evidence of long-term planning or player development. Dooley was fired before the end of his third season, after a blowout loss to Vanderbilt, leaving behind a fractured locker room and a disillusioned fan base.
As bad as Dooley’s time was, it arguably wasn’t even the lowest point of the decade. That distinction may belong to Jeremy Pruitt, the second coach on the list, who helmed the Vols from 2018 to 2020. Unlike Dooley, Pruitt came in with a more impressive résumé, having served as defensive coordinator at Alabama, Florida State, and Georgia. He was considered a rising star in the coaching world, known for his defensive acumen and ties to the SEC’s top programs. When Tennessee hired him, many believed the program had finally found the right man to lead a turnaround.
However, things quickly unraveled. Pruitt’s teams showed only flashes of promise, often marred by inconsistency, baffling losses, and underwhelming performances. In his three seasons, Pruitt compiled a 16-19 overall record and a 10-16 mark in conference play. The 2019 season appeared to offer a glimmer of hope, as the Volunteers finished 8-5 and won the Gator Bowl. But that momentum evaporated quickly the following year.
The 2020 season, shortened and disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, proved disastrous. Tennessee stumbled to a 3-7 record and appeared completely rudderless by season’s end. Off the field, things were even worse. In January 2021, the university launched an internal investigation into recruiting violations under Pruitt’s watch. The inquiry revealed widespread misconduct, including the use of impermissible benefits and systemic compliance failures. The scandal rocked the program and led to Pruitt’s firing “for cause,” which allowed the university to avoid a massive buyout.
The fallout was immediate and severe. Several players transferred, Tennessee faced NCAA scrutiny, and once again, the program was left to clean up a mess created by a coaching regime that promised to bring stability but instead delivered chaos. The damage extended beyond the win-loss column—it hurt the university’s reputation, strained its recruiting efforts, and deepened the sense of cynicism among its supporters.
What makes the inclusion of Dooley and Pruitt on the “worst hires of the century” list so damning is that they represent two very different types of coaching misfires. Dooley was an inexperienced, unproven hire whose shortcomings were apparent from the outset. Pruitt, by contrast, was seen as a savvy, seasoned assistant who simply couldn’t make the transition to being a head coach—and whose tenure ended in scandal and disgrace. Together, they reflect the broader struggles that have plagued Tennessee since the end of the Phillip Fulmer era.
Fulmer’s departure in 2008, after nearly two decades at the helm, marked the beginning of Tennessee’s coaching instability. Since then, the program has cycled through one disappointing era after another, with each new hire failing to live up to expectations. Lane Kiffin’s one-year stint was followed by Dooley’s disastrous tenure, which in turn gave way to Butch Jones, who had a few decent years but ultimately fizzled out. Pruitt’s time only added to the pattern of underachievement.
It’s worth noting that coaching in the SEC—especially at a school with Tennessee’s history—is no easy task. The expectations are sky-high, the competition is fierce, and the margin for error is razor-thin. But even by those standards, the failures of Dooley and Pruitt stand out. Their combined tenure covered six seasons, produced no winning conference records, and left behind a wake of disappointment, dysfunction, and despair.
The good news for Tennessee fans is that the program appears to have finally found a capable leader in Josh Heupel. Since taking over in 2021, Heupel has breathed new life into the team, installing an explosive offense, reinvigorating recruiting, and restoring hope to a fan base that had grown weary of false dawns. The 2022 season, which included a memorable win over Alabama and a New Year’s Six bowl victory, suggested that Tennessee might be on the verge of a true renaissance.
Still, the ghosts of past coaching failures linger, serving as cautionary tales for what can happen when a program makes the wrong hire. Dooley and Pruitt’s names now reside on a list no coach wants to be a part of—a reminder that in college football, the consequences of poor leadership can be long-lasting and deeply damaging.
Their inclusion on the list of worst hires of the century is not just an indictment of their individual performances, but also a reflection of how far Tennessee fell from its historic standards. For a program that once competed annually for SEC titles and national championships, being associated with two of the worst coaching tenures of the modern era is a painful but important acknowledgment.
In the end, the story of Tennessee football in the 21st century has been one of searching—searching for the right coach, the right system, and the right formula to return to prominence. While that search has included missteps like Dooley and Pruitt, it may also be turning a corner. The lessons learned from those mistakes have shaped the current regime and renewed the focus on building a program rooted in accountability, vision, and results.
Tennessee’s journey back to the top won’t be easy, but with Heupel at the helm and the shadows of the past receding, the Volunteers are finally in a position to turn the page. And perhaps in doing so, they can ensure that the names of Derek Dooley and Jeremy Pruitt remain not just on a list of coaching infamy, but as markers of how far the program has come.
