KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee, wanting to solidify its commitment to coach Jeremy Pruitt and the direction he is taking the program, has added two years to his contract and rewarded him with a $400,000 annual raise, sources told ESPN.
Discussions about sweetening Pruitt’s deal started in January but were put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pruitt’s new deal will pay him $4.2 million annually, although he has elected not to accept the $400,000 raise this year to help Tennessee weather the challenges all athletic departments are facing during the pandemic, sources told ESPN.
Pruitt, 46, is entering his third season as the Volunteers’ coach. He steered Tennessee to six straight wins a year ago to close the season. The Volunteers finished 8-5, including a win over Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, after starting the season 1-4. Tennessee’s 5-3 record in the SEC last season was only the second time in the past 12 years that the Volunteers have finished with a winning record in conference play. They were also 5-3 in 2015, Butch Jones’ third season as coach.
No. 16 Tennessee opens the 2020 season Saturday night at South Carolina.
Pruitt and his staff have made major inroads on the recruiting trail and have Tennessee on track for a highly rated signing class. The Volunteers are No. 3 nationally in ESPN’s latest recruiting rankings for the 2021 class after finishing No. 18 in 2020 and No. 11 in 2019.
Pruitt’s original contract when he was hired in December 2017 was a six-year, $22.8 million deal. His new agreement includes a bonus package over the $4.2 million he is scheduled to make.
Pruitt is Tennessee’s fifth coach since Phillip Fulmer, now the school’s athletic director, was fired at the end of the 2008 season.