Phillip Fulmer negotiated a contract extension and retention bonuses for himself in the midst of a pandemic.
On Sunday, the University of Tennessee's third-year athletics director also seemed to give a stay of execution to embattled Vols' football coach Jeremy Pruitt – whom Fulmer hired in December 2017 and to whom Fulmer negotiated a contract extension just before the onset of this season.
As Tennessee announced it had accepted an invitation to the Liberty Bowl opposite West Virginia, Fulmer -- set to collect a six-figure bonus on Dec. 31 -- issued a canned statement of support for Pruitt, who is 15-20 in three seasons and owns a whopping 16 losses by double-digits.
"I'm thrilled about our football program's opportunity to compete in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against a great opponent like West Virginia," Fulmer said in the UT release. "First, it's an opportunity to connect with our many fans throughout West Tennessee and expand upon the rich historical links between the Memphis area and UT. We have so much Tennessee family in and around Memphis – especially our medical school and fantastic alumni.
“And secondly, it's a tremendous development opportunity for our team and should serve as a primer to spring practice for Coach Pruitt and our returners.”
While Tennessee has throughout its history played both regular-season and postseason games in Memphis, both as host of regular-season games as well as a guest of Memphis and the Liberty Bowl – which last hosted Tennessee in its postseason showcase in 1986 – the Vols have slogged through a miserable season in which they lost seven of their final eight games and all by at least 11 points.
Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic – which is the root of college football allowing teams into the postseason this year with losing records – crowd sizes in all venues are dramatically reduced. While Tennessee has enjoyed a strong presence in Memphis, the Liberty Bowl is not expected to house a crowd larger than 12,000 at maximum for the bowl game. The Memphis Tigers, whose home is in the Liberty Bowl, had a season-high crowd of 10,554 in October.
Speculation has swirled for weeks around Pruitt's job security as the Vols have regressed in Year 3 and Pruitt & Co. have yet to show they've found a building-block quarterback for the program. Tennessee has signed former four-star quarterbacks Brian Maurer and Harrison Bailey since Pruitt's arrival on Rocky Top, but neither quarterback has earned or been granted full reins of the offense.
Maurer and tailback Eric Gray both did not play on Saturday in Tennessee's finale, a 34-13 loss to Texas A&M inside Neyland Stadium.
Pruitt refused to acknowledge post-game if their absences were related to an internal look into some of the Vols' recruiting tactics, including potential impermissible benefits infractions of varying levels.
“Well, I hadn't seen no article or anything like that,” said Pruitt in regards to Tennessee's internal probing becoming public. “But anytime in college football or college athletics, you have typical compliance stuff. And that's all I know.”
Multiple sources with direct knowledge said that two Tennessee players late in the week made restitution – a charitable donation in the amount of a complimentary meal – in order to play in Saturday's games.
A source also said that Gray's and Maurer's absences were not due to positive COVID-19 tests.
"In keeping with our institutional commitment to compliance,” Tennessee associate athletics director for communications Tom Satkowiak said in a statement, “we often look closely at regulatory issues that are brought to our attention via internal or external channels.
“Maintaining compliance is a shared responsibility, and active monitoring is part of that process.”
Sources said Pruitt is expected to speak with campus officials this week regarding the inquiry. Pruitt also is dealing with the death of his grandfather in his native Alabama, and the funeral is scheduled for Monday.
Pruitt has a buyout of nearly $13 million, per his amended contract. Tennessee's offensive and defensive coordinators, Jim Chaney and Derrick Ansley, respectively, each have deals that pay in excess of $1 million. Pruitt in October fired first-year defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh, in a move that Pruitt termed “was best for the program” despite Brumbaugh having a two-year deal that was just months old and still being owed more than $800,000.