Honestly, having watched Alabama and Georgia football for a while, this strikes me as kind of a strange perspective:
Pruitt inherited a talented bunch to work with, but it’s his personality that has earned him the most respect from the players.
“I think he’s just brought us all more together,” Alabama defensive back Marlon Humphrey said. “I feel like he cares more about us that previous coordinators we’ve had. I think that’s always a good thing when you feel you can go up to your defensive coordinator and talk with him about whatever, other than just football.”
Humphrey’s words are strong considering Smart was Alabama’s defensive coordinator for nearly a decade.
It’s only one kid, so take that for what it’s worth. I would bet that Maurice Smith has a different opinion on Smart’s level of care.
Then again, maybe it’s about being around Nick Saban longer.
Get The Picture 
It was pretty clear last year that Coach Pruitt’s players at Georgia loved him. That wasn’t the issue for him. The rumors were that other coaches on the staff apparently couldn’t stand him (to say nothing for administrators). As for the insinuation that Kirby didn’t care as much about the players, everything I’ve ever heard from people who have played for him whether they be at LSU, Alabama, or Georgia is that isn’t case. Maybe this one player had some sort of personality conflict with Smart (or perhaps he just really clicks with Pruitt). I’ve got issues with the way Kirby deals with the media and I’ve got issues with the way the season went. But by and large, players love Kirby. I don’t think there’s any doubt there.
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Pruitt is an awesome coach whose players love him. Unfortunately, he was also a terribly insubordinate employee while he was here (and I think at FSU as well).
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His statement is flawed, anyways. Previous coordinators? He only played for 1 other coordinator.
Players love Pruitt. Players love Smart. Unfortunately, Pruitt is a volatile, polarizing redneck that makes him a difficult employee to work with and manage.
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Couldn’t have said it better. I think this is 100% dead-on.
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“Volatile, polarizing redneck that makes him a difficult employee to work with and manage?”
Hmmm, maybe I shoulda got into coaching…..
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I suppose one man’s “volatile, polarizing redneck” is another man’s uncompromising, results-oriented winner. Pruitt is the best DC in cfb, is/was loved by his players, was easily our best recruiter, and made big strides in improving our program during his brief stay. He worked miracles with the players CMR, Garner, and Grantham provided.
My opinion is he simply out works others and has no tolerance for slackers, bureaucrats, or a country club mentality.
Rather than boot him for shaking up a program that was sleepwalking, perhaps we should’ve listened to him. Call him every name in the book if it makes you feel better, but in the end the guy will be walking away with a lot of wins and championships. He’s a damn good football coach.
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He’s a damn good football coach who’s also on his third job in four years, which should tell you something.
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In fairness, Senator, when Pruitt was at Bama before he wasn’t the DC. He left Tuscaloosa to take the DC job at FSU where the Criminoles won a BCSNC his only season there (they ain’t won another since he left, BTW). After that CMR came calling for Pruitt to be the DC at UGA with a hefty raise. Then CMR got fired and practically the entire staff was let go. Saban picked Pruitt to be the DC at Bama and the results were outstanding. He excelled every where he went and every job move was a promotion with more $$.
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Mayor, if you think Pruitt came to Georgia because of money, that’s about the most un-Georgia Way thing I’ve ever heard.
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No, Pruitt said he came to Georgia because he wanted to work with Mark Richt. He also got a nice raise. He was also afforded the opportunity to be the DC at what conceivably could have been the leading program in the SEC East for many years to come with the payoff ultimately being a HC gig at a top program.
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Good points.
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Hmm, that might be how it was sold, but I’m not sure I’d completely buy that. Pruitt had rubbed a lot of people in Tallahassee wrong as well and while Jimbo and Co. were upset about the timing, they weren’t particularly broken up about that fact that he wasn’t around anymore.
Add to that the um “interesting” rumors about he and his fiancé in Tally, and I’m disinclined to believe that he took off bc he was so in love with the idea of working in Athens.
To be cynical, I’d argue he tried to beat Kirby to the punch. Kirby played the long game knowing the UGA job would open up sooner rather than later after the 2010 flirtation, whereas Pruitt tried to head him off at the pass.
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Who, i doubt will ever become a Head Coach. I’m sure where but u thought i saw where Thomas Brown gotta hold to that ass any emptied a full can of whup ass on it.
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smart doesnt have time for that shit…
wasnt that sort of the point?
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Maybe this is one of the reasons for Saban’s success. He can work with guys like Kiffin and Pruitt who are very talented, but unruly. Does Saban not have the ego many think he does? Or, do others respect and fear him so much that they follow instruction and take the beatings?
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My understanding is that Pruitt had problems dealing with the incompetence at UGA. He doesn’t have that problem at Bama.
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Your understanding is pretty funny.
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Senator, you keep hinting around and hinting around and hinting around about what you know about the Pruitt departure. Spill, man. We’re a year out; the statute of limitations is up.
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Some say it was Sunday Morning Coming Down
Others say it was Ludacris NSFW
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srH94OR1TbU
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Greg still says it’s NSFW but okay for G-Day
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My understanding is that Pruitt thought and acted as if he were the Co-Head Coach and that shit got old fast.
I’ve made this point before, but it bears repeating: Todd Grantham, who was nowhere near the coaching talent of Pruitt and who twice humiliated the university on national television, was coming back in 2014, whereas Pruitt had 0% chance of keeping his job after the 2015 season. I think that says a lot.
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I think it says more about the incompetence at B-M than anything else.
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No, it says more about Pruitt’s inability to function like an adult. B-M has its issues, no doubt. But the stories about Pruitt go far beyond simply having a problem with management. By multiple accounts, he went out of his way to be an asshole to basically everyone he came in contact with during his time in Athens.
Ditto his time in Tallahassee. Dude is a very, very good DC, but he by all accounts is a disaster of a person to work around.
I suspect it works at Bama because a) that is Pruitt’s Mecca, b) he’s only been there 12 months, c) they haven’t lost yet, and d) Saban sucks up all he oxygen there so there is no room for discontent to fester.
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Pruitt must gone to another coach’s house, drank his liquor, beat his kids, banged his wife, and kicked the dog on the way out. Anything less was not as bad as the general embarrassment of having Grantham as our D.C.
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Exactly. Let that sink in: BM was fine keeping Grantham around after shitshow that was the 2013 defense, but said no f’ing way to Pruitt returning.
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dudemankind, your comment brought tears of laughter. Reminded me of the joke about who had the greatest dog. I was thinking the same thing as I read all the comments. They alluded to some crime Pruitt committed, round about answers with no quoted specifics, just a generalized smear campaign. I am not in the know, but I cannot think of a coach who was a more rude a-s than Bobby Knight, yet he seems loved and revered. Most times winning and the money it brings covers all manner of sin. Track record to date indicates Pruitt is a winner. It is indeed something which has been missing at BM since Hershel departed….no offense to Georgia’s many other sports of championship caliber. Is that missing element related to the rather ambiguous “Georgia Way”?….I don’t know. That said, as an old fellow, I have observed that one catches more flies with sugar than vinegar. There have been many coaches who were winners, but couldn’t seem to get along with their administrations and faculty and subsequently were encouraged to leave. As I recall, Spurrier at Florida and White at Clemson left for similar reasons. As with most domestic disputes, fault is likely found in both camps. We all make mistakes, the important thing is to learn from them….else the testimony of your life is you’re just an a-s.
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Pruitt DID act as a co-HC. CMR never came out and said it – perhaps to save face or avoid controversy, but that’s indisputable. I don’t understand anyone coming back now and saying he was usurping power. He took initiative on recruiting, S&C, hires (not just D assistants) and facilities. Coming off 4 straight championships, CMR/UGA needed Pruitt a helluva lot more than Pruitt needed CMR/UGA.
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I think they take the beatings. I remember a couple of instances where Pruitt got his ass chewed out by Saban (Arkansas was one of the games) where a TD was scored right before halftime to bring the game to within about 20 points.
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I think we should all just take this with a grade of saw.
What does one expect the player to say in that spot? Usually, your coach is the best one ever who loves you more than anyone ever did. Just like every team is the most conditioned ever and had the best fall camp ever.
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I give it a D+
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