Despite being a top 10 FBS program all time in terms of wins and winning percentage, the status of Tennessee football continues to fall. Now, they have fallen in the new ESPN+ coaching job tiers for Power Five schools, updated on Tuesday.
Rocky Top is now considered a Tier 3 coaching job as Jeremy Pruitt enters his third year at the helm. The criteria for these tiers include program infrastructure, access to talent and history. Although UT has great history, its recent history is weak, and infrastructure was cited as an issue.
Adam Rittenburg, who wrote the article, put Tennessee football alongside the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Miami Hurricanes as schools that used to be Tier 1 coaching jobs.