More shit Nick Saban doesn’t have time for: doing any vetting on hiring Jeremy Pruitt.
“Didn’t interview anybody. Didn’t talk to anybody. Just hired the guy. He worked here for six years. Maybe I should have called some people to find out how good he was, what he could do well and get some kind of recommendation on him, but (I didn’t need to).”
Makes you wonder how much thought he put into signing Jonathan Taylor.
As a side note, even Saban knows what Kirby Smart’s decision to coach ‘Bama in the playoffs means for his new gig.
“It speaks volumes for Kirby, the character he has to want to come back and finish, when it may not be the most advantageous thing for him and his future, to do right by the players and finish for the guys who have done well for him,” Saban said. [Emphasis added.]
That’s nice.
Get The Picture 
I wonder if Little Nicky would feel the same way about what Kirby is doing if Nicky were AD at UGA? I’m guessing “no.”
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Nick is my new most entertaining interview. Not that HBC is gone, we need someone to watch. His obvious disdain for those less brilliant than he is may get old over time, but right now, I find it humorous. Kind of like Trump. Says what he thinks, not what you want him to think. Don’t have to agree but it is funny to listen to. Thanks Senator for making sure we see this stuff.
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Yeah, I love Saban’s interviews. His rant about Georgia Southern was great, and the Coke bottle schtick was hilarious.
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For me, Pruitt to ‘Bama under Saban is like Dennis Rodman to the Bulls under Phil Jackson….. Personalities are different and situation is different, but in both cases you have a guy with a lot of “does not play well with others” on his report card going to work for a coach who is arguably the best at what he does…. and while Saban and Jackson are totally different characters they both have a reputation for being The Boss whenever they’re in the room. No one has ever entered a meeting with one of those two and not understood who’s in charge.
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Maybe Pruitt’s “does not play well with others” really means “does not play well with slow-witted ADs”
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Slow-witted and thin-skinned AD. Oh, and eternally worried about getting the credit for anything good that happens, unlike Vince Dooley.
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Does not play well with Gators.
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Pretty good analogy but there are a few slight differences. Obviously Rodman was a player for the Bulls and Pruitt is a coach. Also, Rodman was probably the third best player on the team with a specific objective that matched his skill set. Phil would not have brought Rodman to the Bulls without MJ’s approval. Rodman also knew he was accountable to Jordan first and if Michael decided he didn’t want to play with him then Jackson was going to cut him.
This is not to say that Jackson was not in charge or not a great coach – he was. His greatness came from his ability to create a symbiotic relationship between the coaches and the best players. Jackson and Jordan relationship made it near impossible to beat them when the stakes were high. Jackson’s greatness as a coach was his ability to go do that all over again in LA with Kobe.
Pruitt will only be answerable to Saban. Next year will be interesting because Saban doesn’t appear at this point to have a counter like Jackson did with Jordan. Is there any coach on that staff that will have his ear or latitude to tell Saban if Pruitt is making missteps? I would suspect that the only ones who have had that relationship with Saban are McElwain and Pruitt. If Pruitt cannot play nice with the other assistants etc, does Saban have enough regard for Kiffin to listen to him?
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Probably not, but Saban split time himself and his other assistants did, too. It is what it is. It’s part of the cost of hiring the guy you wanted. It’s water under the bridge at this point.
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Yeah, I kind of consider it a non-issue that Smart is splitting his time right now. Georgia didn’t hire him to win this season’s TaxSlayer Bowl.
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Taking the long-term view here in recruiting:
Do you want your son to play for a mercenary? Or do want your son to play for a head coach who honors his commitment to his players?
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Was that a subtle shot at Richt?
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I don’t think so since Richt was fired. I think it is a whole different ballgame and Saban stood up for Richt after he was fired.
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Vetting Jeremy Pruitt?! What a joke. Pruitt is like saban and Harbaugh, everything you need to know is already out there. Here’s my report: He’s a far above average coach and recruiter who doesn’t suffer fools. Let him do his job and enjoy the benefits. End of report.
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The actual story is more complicated than that.
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Don’t let facts ruin the meme, Senator… This is one of those things you are just going to have to let go.
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What facts? Let’s here the shit on Pruitt if you got something.
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I am not sure if this applies to you, but there is a substantial portion of the fan base that is absolutely determined that the strained relationship between the Athletic Association and CJP is because he told the media that the lack of an IPF put UGA at a recruiting disadvantage. Every time someone posits this theory, the Senator reminds them that it is a much more complicated situation. This action is in vain. There are certain people who will always believe the IPF story just like there are people who will always believe that UGA lost the USCe game in 2014 because Bobo didn’t call a running play on 1st down. I’m just letting Bluto know that he is wasting his time.
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Those people are trying to weave the information they have into a meaningful narrative, which is not an unreasonable thing to do. Hell, its exactly what the Senator does everyday on this blog.
In response, those people are told they don’t have all the facts. Bluto has certainly suggested that he has additional non-public information. So if you trust Bluto but don’t know the facts, the logical thing is to admit your ignorance and stop speculating. But speculation is the central activity of a sports fan. It’s all very unsatisfying.
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What’s funny about this is that, after all the cult-of-Richt bashing I’ve seen here, it may be time to recognize that Pruitt’s generated a cult of his own.
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Which way? A cult of “gee Pruitt’s great” or a cult of “Pruitt’s an ass and we are better off without him?”
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The problem, dubyadee, is that the people to whom I am referring are not trying to weave the information they have into a meaningful narrative. That would require using logic and reason to come to a palpable interpretation of events. I am talking about the people who jump to deeply felt conclusions based on made-up assumptions and fantasy logic.
A perfect example is the squib kick against tech. If the squib kick was covered properly, downed at say the 27 yard line, and time ran out before tech can get to midfield, no one would have complained about the squib kick. Conversely, if Richt chose to kick it deep, tech had a long return, and tech managed the field goal, the exact same people would complain that Richt did not call for the squib kick.
The idea that McGarity was determined to get rid of Jeremy Pruitt because he told the media that UGA needed an IPF and that forced him to spend money from his precious reserve fund is commonly held around these parts. It is also absolute nonsense. The events in question happened in November 2014. If McGarity wanted to get rid of Pruitt for that, he would have fired him back in January instead of giving him a $450K/yr raise. Here is a link to Seth Emerson’s story from November 2014:
http://www.macon.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-georgia/bulldogs-beat/article30155481.html
People are misremembering things that did not happen. The engineering firm had already been hired before Pruitt said anything to the media. Pruitt didn’t force McGarity’s hand. It is some emotional BS that was made up after the fact.
Here is a quote from Mike Ekeler from the same interview session as with Pruitt: “We need one. I mean it’s crazy, it’s amazing we don’t have one,” Ekeler said. “It’s absolutely crazy. It’s absurd. But that’s not my (decision). But I’m sure that will happen, surely.” OMG, how did McGarity not fire his ass on the spot! The insolence!
One does not need to have inside knowledge not to believe nonsense.
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They gave Ekeler’s hype wide latitude b/c he was sponsored by Red Bull
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FWIW, that’s not why Pruitt’s gone.
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I know that. The entire point to my tirade was that the idea is nonsense based on an alternate timeline and things that did not happen.
My second hand understanding is that he has a habit of saying things while sober than most drunk people have the tact not to say, but you have better info that I.
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*than I.
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Your second hand understanding is part of the problem… but only part.
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Yeah, you have alluded to an action on CJP’s part for which he is sorry. My understanding is that the action was not the alleged tussle between him and BMac. I have heard rumors of what it was, but none of them made sense to where Richt would be fine with keeping him but the Administration wasn’t.
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You mean the whisper campaign that Pruitt’s accuser(s) don’t have guts enough to come forward with? Sorry, I’m with saban on this. Tell ‘the bottle’ about the ‘complicated story’. See if it cares.
No doubt saban and Pruitt are going to be kicking a lot of sec team’s asses while BM pussies are talking tough around the office water cooler.
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Right. It only counts if you know about it.
If Pruitt’s such a top flight DC and Georgia let him go despite that, wouldn’t you want to know why?
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Do you think there is a non-zero chance that Saban doesn’t know what went down? That would surprise me. Remember that Saban hired notorious bad-boy Lane Kiffin, and has deployed him to great effect.
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If he didn’t ask, then, yes, I do.
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I’d be shocked if he didn’t know within 48 hours, and I doubt he had to ask. When you are Nick Saban, there’s always a journalist, booster or graduate assistant hoping to ingratiate himself by giving you the scoop.
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With regard to at least one item, I’d be shocked if he did know… unless Pruitt told him.
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Inigo Montoya: I must know…
Man in Black: Get used to disappointment.
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the people that were there when he acted out are coaches, not journo’s. They don’t need to run to the AJC to complain about his actions.
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“The actual story is more complicated than that.”
He leaves the seat up, the bugger!
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Saban is like Hanzee from the season 2 finale of Fargo:
“Not compete, win. Don’t care good students. Don’t care good citizens. Win or be beat. Money in a bag. That’s the message.”
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Nick’s reptilian signal to the media shifts from message in a bottle to an absent organ
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I don’t see the issue with respect to Kirby in Alabama. I think it is more advantageous for UGA that Kirby is coaching in the playoffs than it is for Alabama.
The last Georgia hire that coached in a national championship game got his high-powered offense with his middle-aged, Heisman-winning QB shut out… as an 11 point favorite. They lost 13-2, and the 2 came near the end of the game to prevent the giant goose egg from making FSU the first team to be shut out in a BCS game (LSU would take home that honor in 2011).
My point is that a coach that not only has a foot out the door, but has already left and is only coming back to pack his things… that isn’t necessarily the best thing for your program when you are trying to win a title (especially since that isn’t in his long-term best interest any longer). It may be better for Alabama to wish him well and let another assistant do the play-calling.
As far as Georgia is concerned… they will now probably be the fifth most mentioned team during the playoff games outside of the four teams actually in the playoffs. They won’t talk about Alabama’s defense without mentioning that Kirby will be prowling the sidelines in Athens next year. Say it enough times, and people might start believing that Kirby is bringing Alabama’s defense to Athens. That will only help in recruiting. The bulk of the 2016 class has already been recruited. Eason and Cleveland are Kirby’s best weapons on the recruiting trail at this point. There may be a few switcheroos and surprises that Kirby brings with him (as well as some departures that had close ties to the previous regime), but his real impact in recruiting won’t be felt until the 2017 class.
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Sorry, but I’ve got to go with Saban on this one. Smart staying in Tuscaloosa isn’t helping UGA nearly as much as if he were in Athens.
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What is your reasoning? I gave mine (history isn’t kind to those that try to juggle two jobs, there isn’t much for him to do in Athens right now anyway, etc.), plus my real assertion is that Kirby being in Alabama is less harmful to Georgia than Alabama, which is worded slightly differently than “Smart staying in Tuscaloosa isn’t helping UGA nearly as much as if he were in Athens.”
I think Alabama will lose during the playoffs, and I think the staff turnover, the defensive change, having Pruitt in Kirby’s office, etc. may be a contributing factor. It depends on what Saban’s helpers are really doing, I suppose, but what could Kirby be doing right now that helps UGA more than having his name and UGA mentioned 1000x in a game watched by 27M people? If his defense goes out and balls, that’s all the better for his cache with future recruits, no?
I just don’t understand what Kirby is NOT doing by being away from Athens. Player evaluation? He’ll have plenty of time between NSD and the Spring game for that. Filling out his staff so we can complain about his hires? What is Kirby missing?
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Good point there. I’m conflicted now because I want Bama to lose so we can get Smart on campus, but I also want Georgia’s program to get as much positive exposure as possible.
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My concern is that this may interfere with Kirby’s time on the 10-meter diving platform at the Gabrielsen Natatorium housed within the Ramsey Center
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This is not meant to muddy the waters or assassinate ones character, but all the inuendo over Pruitt’s personality and lack of tact leads me to think he may have made some unwelcome advances. If you know what I’m saying.
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Apparently we’ll never know. The story is on double secret probation.
Now that we’re done trashing Pruitt he moves over to bama – to get bigger paychecks and championship rings. Funny how saban has use for one of the top assistants in cfb and we don’t.
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Sunday Morning Coming Down will be a head coach somewhere. I just hope it’s not in the SEC East. That’s a hard enough division as it is 🙂
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Smart staying on isn’t great for Georgia, but it could end up costing Alabama a championship. You’re headed into the CFP playoff with a DC who’s burning the candle at both ends trying to do two full time jobs. Not to mention he is now the head coach at a rival institution and is recruiting against you. Ask Bobby Bowden how it turned out in the national championship game when he let Georgia’s head coach call his plays. They scored 0 offensive points and lost to Oklahoma.
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Thus giving rise to the notorious Big Game Bob nickname
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Stoops really owes a huge debt or gratitude to Richt.
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Yes he does and that reminds me of one of my favorite Nick Saban quotes about reading:
“I’ve got more important things to do than sit around and read what Bob Stoops has to say about anything. But I like Bob Stoops,…”
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/05/bob_stoops_calls_sec_dominance.html
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