Why Jeremy Pruitt’s NCAA trouble could keep him from Alabama football defensive coordinator job

Based on Jeremy Pruitt's track record as an assistant coach, he would be a strong hire for Nick Saban’s next Alabama football defensive coordinator with Pete Golding heading to Ole Miss.

Pruitt is a proven commodity in the SEC coordinating defenses, particularly for Alabama football. In 2016 and 2017, he led the No. 1 defense in college football. The first season, the Crimson Tide gave up only 13 points per game and 261.8 yards per game, both No. 1 in the country. Then his defense finished No. 1 again in 2017 when Alabama gave up 11.9 points per game and 261.4 yards per game. He knows what it takes to succeed in Tuscaloosa and knows the area well.

There is no doubt Pruitt can run a defense and run it at a high level. The question is whether he would be allowed to run a college defense right now.

On Jan. 18, 2021, Tennessee fired Pruitt from his job as head coach for cause. The school alleged serious recruiting violations against him. The NCAA alleged 18 Level 1 violations, the most serious, from 2018-21 against Pruitt, his wife Casey Pruitt, several members of his coaching and recruiting staff as well as at least one booster.

This remains unresolved two years later, and there’s not a certain timetable as to when it will be resolved.

What does that mean for Alabama? There could be plenty of obstacles to hire Pruitt to be the next defensive coordinator, and he might not even be eligible.

HOT BOARD:Alabama football defensive coordinator search: Who will replace Pete Golding?

ALABAMA BASKETBALL:Brandon Miller grew up in Tennessee wearing the script A. Now he's an Alabama basketball star as a freshman

Pruitt could still get hit with a show-cause order, which means any penalties he receives from his UT tenure could follow him to Alabama or any other school that hires him. A new school can try to "show cause" why those penalties shouldn't carry over, but it's unclear whether Alabama would be willing to do that.

he wouldn’t be permitted to coach or recruit in college for a certain period of time.

If he gets hit with a show-cause and Alabama still wanted him to be its defensive coordinator, Saban would have to lobby the NCAA to give Pruitt a second chance and let him coach. It could be successful, but that’s not guaranteed.

So, hiring Pruitt would be a gamble. And it would be a risk on multiple levels. Alabama would be gambling the case would be over soon, and it would be gambling he wouldn’t get a show-cause order. If he did, Alabama would be gambling it could beat the order to get him eligible to coach.

Overcoming a potential show-cause could be difficult with what has been alleged. Among the violations the NCAA found, Tennessee players, recruits and families received almost $60,000 in cash and gifts. That included Pruitt giving a player’s mother either $300 or $400 in a Chick-Fil-A bag and another recruit’s mother $6,000 for a down payment on a 2017 Nissan Armada, according to the investigation. Those are only two of the violations the investigation found.

Putting it simply: There could be quite a bit of hassle to hire Pruitt to be the next defensive coordinator. Saban would have to determine if it’s worth the time, effort and gamble as he tries to get Alabama back on track after missing the College Football Playoff for only the second time this season since it began in 2014.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Is Jeremy Pruitt out of DC search over NCAA issues?