Several reports have indicated that Jeremy Pruitt is the third SEC defensive coordinator to become a candidate for the Tennessee job. Fulmer also interviewed Auburn’s Kevin Steele and Georgia’s Mel Tucker. Jeremy Pruitt is currently serving as the defensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban, while he’s only been in that positon since 2016 it’s not his first stint with the Crimson Tide. Pruitt began his coaching career in Tuscaloosa as a graduate assistant in 1997 and then moved on to the high school ranks for almost a decade, coaching on the defensive side of the ball the entire time. Pruitt returned to the college ranks with Alabama in 2007 coaching in the secondary and stayed through 2012, in 2013 he accepted the defensive coordinator position at FSU and went on to win the national championship that year under Jimbo Fisher. During the 2014-15 season he returned to the SEC as a defensive coordinator for Georgia.