Jeremy Pruitt has now been at the helm of the Tennessee football program for six months, and he continues to shape his staff heading into his inaugural season.
The latest staff members to be relieved of their duties are medical duo Dr. Greg Mathein and Dr. Russell Betcher. According to Gridiron Now’s John Brice on Tuesday, the two were informed that they would not be retained last week.
Mathein has had the longer tenure of the two, coming on as one of the team doctors at the tail-end of Johnny Major’s career, while Betcher joined the staff prior to the 1998 season under Phillip Fulmer.
Mathein and Bethcer join a list of personnel who have been removed since Pruitt took over in December, and according Brice, they may not be the last as the status of other members on the medical and rehabilitation side of things are up in the air.
According to Brice, expected replacements are shoulder surgeon Dr. Matthew Rappe and Dr. Robert E. Ivy who specialized in hand and wrist surgery. Both doctors practice in the Knoxville area.
At this point, only time will tell if the decision to go in a different direction as far as the medical staff is concerned will pay off for the program, but one thing is for certain: Jeremy Pruitt is shaping his staff into what he has envisioned for Tennessee in every area of the program.
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Report: Pruitt lets go of two long-time team doctors
The two are the latest in Pruitt’s program overhaul.