Former Tide Coach Claims NCAA Made Him “Sacrificial Lamb”

Former University of Tenneessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt claims $100 million in lost wages over his firing in 2021, which was due to an investigation into potential violations with recruiting. The lawsuit was filed in DeKalb County, Alabama. Pruitt claims that the association "conspired with Tennessee" to make him the "sacrificial lamb" for rules violations.

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Ross Dellenger with Yahoo Sports posted documents involving the case to X. In the Introduction, it was stated, "Jeremy Pruitt is one of the coaches who has been subject to an unfair, wrongful, inconsistent NCAA investigation and ruling with potentially career-ending penalties."

In the first line of document two, it is also stated, "The NCAA punished Pruitt for something that is no longer illegal...the rules that it was purporting to enforce were effectively made invalid by ruling of the United States Supreme Court".

More claims from former head coach Jeremy Pruitt say that the University was paying athletes before he arrived in 2017. Pruitt reported multiple violations to the athletic director at the time, who was Phillip Fulmer. It is stated that Fulmer told coach Pruitt that he would handle the situation. After being fired from Tennessee, Pruitt learned of more illegal payments happening between one or more people in the athletics department or boosters for the team during a time where the rules of the NCAA did not allow such payments.

Later, after Pruitt's firing, the NCAA launched an investigation that would vacate all Tennessee wins from the 2019 and 2020 seasons after ruling that the Volunteers have been using ineligible players.

Since being fired from the University of Tennessee, Pruitt has continued to coach at Plainview High School in Rainsville, Alabama, working for his Father, Dale Pruitt.

Pruitt was also the defensive coordinator at Alabama before becoming a Tennessee Volunteer, coaching the Crimson Tide's defense in 2016 and 2017 in his third stint with the Crimson Tide.

Pruitt was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1997 and the Director of Player Development from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, Pruitt was named the defensive backs coach at Alabama, a role he held until departing for Florida State in 2013.

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