Links: Jeremy Pruitt thinking outside the box with latest staff additions

It was a big news day for Tennessee yesterday. Jeremy Pruitt reportedly hired a running backs coach in Chris Weinke, an offensive analyst in Joe Osovet, along with a defensive quality control coach in Bert Biffani.

weinkeWith all that action, you may have missed a few headlines. Let’s catch up.

Vols placed 11th in the SEC in ESPN’s preseason FPI rankings

In ESPN’s initial run of their Football Power Index (FPI), the Tennessee Volunteers checked in at 52nd overall. That’s good for 11th in the SEC. As you may remember, S&P+ placed Tennessee dead last in the conference. What do those numbers mean right now? Not a whole lot. But it’s still interesting to see where the computer models value a rebuilding Tennessee team.

Bruce Feldman gives us a look at new offensive analyst Joe Osovet

I’m really intrigued by this hire. The ties to the JUCO ranks and the northeast will probably help on the trail, but this piece by Feldman really highlight’s Osovet’s football knowledge. Osovet is credited with being one of the first coaches to truly master and utilize the RPOs. I’m really interested to see where Osovet’s career path goes from here.

Fulmer, Davenport still working to remove the Butch Jones picture off of jumbotron

Phillip Fulmer spoke at the Big Orange Tip-Off Club on Wednesday, once again saying that he is still working to get Butch Jones’ picture off of the jumbotron. It’s now been over three months since Jones was fired, yet his picture can still be seen above Tennessee’s most recognizable structure.

“We will have an announcement,” Fulmer said. “That will be changed as soon as we can. Believe me, I would have done it yesterday if I could have.” GoVols247 has the full story.

Parting Shot

Pruitt’s hire of Chris Weinke has drawn some criticism. How can you hire a guy with a quarterbacks background to coach running backs?

Weinke has been around long enough to have an ability to coach just about anything on the offensive side of the ball. We see positional assistants jump positions all the time. Heck, the Titans new offensive line coach was coaching running backs last year. With five years of experience as the head coach at IMG Academy along with his experience in the NFL and college ball as a player, I’m not too concerned about his ability to maximize running back talent.

Weinke’s added bonus of another offensive mind along with new recruiting ties to the IMG Academy are just more assets to utilize for Jeremy Pruitt.