Jim Tressel and his downfall have been hot topics at this week’s SEC meetings with a number of coaches showing support for the man whose entire career — including all the good deeds he’d ever done — will now be overshadowed by the word “cheating.”

Well the SEC has its own version of Tressel in recently-fired Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl.  And former Pearl rival — and friend — Billy Donovan says he’s been in touch with the former coach.

“I think he’s trying to move on from it,” Florida’s coach said yesterday.  “A lot of times when things happen, whether it’s Bruce Pearl or Jim Tressel, people want to push back and stay away. … It’s unfortunate what happened.  I think that’s also part of life.  His mindset is to try to move forward.”

The University of Tennessee has released details of Cuonzo Martin’s memorandum of understanding and it’s clear both parties were well aware of Bruce Pearl’s troubles while drafting it.

The school has placed what Andrew Gribble of The Knoxville News Sentinel calls a “Bruce Pearl clause” in the agreement.  If Martin is fired without cause, he will receive 60% of his base salary ($780,000 of $1.3 million) times the remaining years on his contract.  If, however, he is fired for cause — such as repeated NCAA violations — the school will owe him nothing. 

In contrast, UT just gave Pearl a parting gift of more than $900,000 despite the fact that he left the program in NCAA hot water.

But Martin’s reps also negotiated for a clause that works in their client’s favor.  Martin’s deal is for five years.  But if the NCAA smacks his program with three years of sanctions — for example — due to Pearl’s violations, those three years will be added onto Martin’s deal on the back end.  In other words, if the NCAA sanctions UT for three years and Martin is fired after four years, he will receive a buyout for four years — one from his original deal and three due to the sanctions he inherited.

If Martin fails to win early in his tenure and fans refuse to accept the fact that he inherited a mess, it won’t be easy for Tennessee to simply jettison him and bring in someone else.  Martin looks to be the man in Knoxville for a while.

That news might help to snuff out any “Bring back Bruce” movements that are sure to arise as soon as Pearl’s NCAA suspension — however long it may be — is lifted.

1.  Kentucky’s Randall Cobb is expected to be a second-round pick in this week’s NFL draft…

2.  But he could be a first-rounder if things break his way.

3.  A Tennessee basketball signee will instead head to junior college next season… to play for a former Bruce Pearl assistant.

4.  Tight end Luke Stocker is likely to be UT’s first draft pick.

5.  This one’s a couple of days old, but it’s an overview of what was learned during Vanderbilt’s first spring practice under James Franklin.

Former Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl conducted his first post-firing interview with Knoxville radio station WNML-AM/FM today.  You can listen to the interview here, but here are some of the highlights:


* On new UT coach Cuonzo Martin: “He’s an outstanding man.  A very fine young coach who has got a great pedigree.”

* On whether some of his former players might play better under Martin than they did under Pearl: “Yes.  Sometimes coaching change can be very uplifting to a returning player.  Particularly a returning player who may not have either flourished or been presented with the kind of role that they wanted to be presented with.”

* On whether he would like to do television work in the upcoming season: “I don’t know.  It’s certainly a possibility.  Right now we’ve got to get through the hearing with the committee on infractions in June and when we get through that we’ll take a look at what our options are.”

* On whether he’s looking forward to stating his case to the COI: “Uhhhh.  (Chuckles.)  Probably not.  You know, we’ll go through the process and answer questions and hopefully we’ll come out with a very fair finding.”

* On whether he thinks the repeated talk of his troubles impacted this team last season: “I do, I do.  It was a tough year.  It was a tough year for the coaching staff.  It was a tough year for the players.  There were a lot of distractions and, you know, in some ways I’m proud of the way we overcame some of that adversity.  We obviously got off to a great start in spite of it. … Could we have done a better job of coaching?  Absolutely.  Could we have done a better job of playing?  Absolutely. … I wish I’d done a better job in spite of it.”

* On taking Tennessee to six straight NCAA Tournaments, a first for the program: “Certainly my goal, my dream was not to have a good run, but to try to add to the legacy.  And it just didn’t work out that way.  Obviously we’re sad.  And terribly disappointed, but very accountable for putting ourselves in the position where this could happen.”


Pearl’s decision to not yet speak of his firing — including in this interview — is likely due to an “I will not bash you” clause that he probably had to sign in order to get his $900,000 parting gift from Tennessee.

This summer, however, Tennessee and Pearl go separately before the NCAA’s committee on infractions.  It’s clear at this point that UT officials will try to dump all of the Vols’ violations on Pearl in an effort to protect their program.  Pearl, of course, won’t like that.  So whenever the gag order is finally lifted, it will be interesting to hear Pearl’s take on his dismissal.

But for now, he continues to hit all of the right buttons when it comes to exiting with class.

1.  Tennessee’s defensive backs are thriving on spring competition.

2.  Defensive end Willie Bohannon has an attack-first mentality.

3.  This writer believes Cuonzo Martin is already putting more emphasis on character than Bruce Pearl did.

4.  Auburn linebacker Jawara White is still waiting for medical clearance to hit someone after having spinal cord surgery in September.

5.  Quarterback candidate Clint Moseley says he struggled during a redshirt year.

6.  New assistant Mike Pelton is ready to put his D-line to the test in Saturday’s spring game.

7.  No one’s giving up any inside dirt on the quarterback competition at Alabama.

8.  Folks with NFL ties like the program that Nick Saban’s running in Tuscaloosa.

9.  Some Arkansas practice notes can be found here.

10.  Linebacker Bret Harris is working to land a starting job.

A radio report in Knoxville has shined a bit more light on the final weeks of the Bruce Pearl era today.  Jimmy Hyams of WNML-AM/FM reports that — as suspected — Tennessee center Brian Williams missed two late-season games due to a drug issue.  But it was Pearl’s handling of that issue that cost him some favor with his bosses.

Williams allegedly refused to take a drug test.  As a result he was held out of Tennessee’s last two regular season games against South Carolina and Kentucky.  According to a WNML source, Pearl was told to provide the old “violation of team rules” explanation for why Williams would miss two games.  Instead, he said that his senior had a back issue. 

“Backs are funny things,” Pearl told The Knoxville News Sentinel at the time.

The fact that Pearl — apparently — disobeyed the wishes of his boss AD Mike Hamilton “caused a rift between Pearl, Hamilton and UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek,” according to Hyams.

Some will no doubt say that that kind of cover-up goes on everywhere.  Maybe it does.  And some will likely say that the player was still punished… missing two games.  True enough.

But if you’ve gotten yourself, your program, your school and your boss in hot water by committing earlier NCAA violations and attempting to cover them up, it’s probably best to follow the instructions your employer gives you.

At the very least, this report — if accurate — shows that while the Tennessee administration erred in its handling of Pearl’s ouster, the coach himself asked for said ouster by not following simple, standard directions like many other “good soldier” coaches across the country.  How many times do you hear “violation of team rules” on a daily basis?  Answer: a bunch.

After sticking their necks (and their reputations) out for Pearl by keeping him, Hamilton and Cheek had a right to be angry if the man they stood behind refused to follow orders.

For those of you who read this site on a regular basis, you’ve seen much of what I’m about to write before.  So why re-write it?  Because each time I write something new on a topic, I’m met with a series of yeah-buts from people who didn’t read our earlier work.  And that happened again with a series of 5am text messages to my home this morning.

Yesterday, we mentioned that new information had come to light regarding the final secondary violation of the Bruce Pearl era at Tennessee.  We also pointed out that — in our view — there’s still a whole lotta spinnin’ goin’ on when it comes to the ex-coach’s ouster.  The focus of much of the media coverage regarding Pearl’s dismissal has been on the secondary violations the coach committed.  Few have taken the time to point out that Pearl’s lie to NCAA detectives and his apparent attempt at a cover-up soon after were much worse than the secondary violations he committed and are, in fact, the reason he is no longer employed.

But let’s start before that.  We don’t like firings around here and you won’t see us call for heads.  We haven’t in three years, anyway.  That said, UT should have fired Pearl back in September.  We didn’t call for it at the time, but we most assuredly thought it would be in the school’s best interest to change coaches.  At the very least, as we’ve stated previously, it should have suspended him for a full season to show the NCAA that it took the coach’s violations seriously.

Instead — and it made sense from a business perspective — Vol administrators decided to stand by Pearl.  They thought: Better to take sanctions and rebuild with a proven, popular winner than take sanctions and rebuild with, say, a young mid-major coach from the Missouri Valley Conference that no one in Knoxville has ever heard of.

But by standing by Pearl from September through February, Tennessee’s athletic department and the school’s chancellor sent a couple of clear messages to Vol supporters:


1.  Pearl is our guy unless something major changes.

2.  These NCAA charges aren’t that serious.  (Though they never stated that, that was certainly the message that was sent.)


They should have known better.  When the national media’s eyes popped out of their heads, UT should’ve realized they’d stepped in it.  When their coach was called a liar and a cheat (and to be fair, he covered up some secondary cheating), they should’ve gotten the picture.  When pundits claimed that they should have fired the coach because coaches who lie to the NCAA are always fired… UT officials should have acted.

But they didn’t.  They heard all this.  It built up.  The embarrassment of the scandal weighed on a few key boosters, too.  No one close to Tennessee enjoyed the school’s name being dragged through the mud.  (Which is why Jim Tressel’s probably won’t last through the fall at Ohio State.)  But UT still didn’t act.

Unfortunately for Pearl, the NCAA accused him of another violation of the so-called bump rule just a week after UT had held its mea culpa press conference.  Not good. 

Then Pearl’s staff committed yet another secondary violation on the day of UT’s final regular season game against Kentucky, which is the violation detailed yesterday.

Then at the SEC Tournament — it has been widely rumored — someone close to the NCAA’s committee on infractions is believed to have offered up a stern warning to the Vol athletic department. 

“Keep Pearl and you’re really asking for it.  Let him go and you may save yourself some additional pain.”

By the time it appeared clear that Pearl would be jettisoned post-NCAA Tournament, we wrote that UT should come right out and say, “We hate to do this, but we’re trying to save the program and firing Pearl is the lesser of two evils.” 

They didn’t.

Instead, when the Pearl firing came, UT put out a pair of press releases, one of which stated: “The cumulative effect of the evolution of the investigation combined with a number of more recent non-NCAA-related incidents have led to a belief that this staff cannot be viable at Tennessee in the future.”

Basically, UT’s press releases were designed to make the Pearl dismissal more palatable to the Big Orange fanbase by tossing out the hint of newer, smaller improprieties.  Uh, that failed.

And now the school is being beaten over the head for those “Oh, and this changed, too” tidbits that it released as spin in the announcement of Pearl’s dismissal. 

We’re fine with that.  The school shot itself in the foot both when keeping Pearl and when firing him.  That’s not easy to do.  So the school’s administration is getting what it deserves on that front.

The Knoxville News Sentinel filed an open records request with Tennessee to find out more about the final secondary violation regarding extra tickets.  When they got it, they wrote this piece, which we linked you to yesterday.  The paper focused on this new information and the final violation stating:


Former Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl didn’t have direct involvement in the final secondary violation that led to his firing on March 21.


But did the violation really lead to the firing?  Not according to UT’s release.  Tennessee’s administration talked about the “cumulative effect” of a number of issues.

The Tennessean ran an article from The Associated Press which stated, in contrast, that the secondary violation “ultimately played a role” in the coach’s firing.  Small difference, but it certainly appears to be more in line with what actually happened.

From a fan reaction standpoint, saying a tiny ticket violation that Pearl had no knowledge of was the reason for his ouster served as gasoline on a fire.

But the bottom line is this, most of the media stories coming out of East Tennessee list all of the secondary violations along with Pearl’s lie/cover-up in lumped-together fashion.  In reality, the lie and the cover-up trump the secondary violations.  Without the lie and the cover-up, Pearl would still be employed at Tennessee. 

Does UT deserve to be blasted for its continued mishandling of the situation?  Yes.  Instead of speaking honestly, UT tried to spin.  And now they’re being spun against when it comes to the reasons behind Pearl’s firing.

UT botched things with Pearl.  Coming and going.  But as the press wails away at Tennessee officials for their gaffes, someone should take care to present the full facts of the Pearl dismissal.  Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek oversaw a real mess with his school’s handling of L’Affaire Pearl.  But without the lie and the cover-up, there’s no scandal to mishandle.

Pearl wasn’t fired for a barbecue or two extra tickets given to a player’s mom.  He was fired for his cover-up.  That part’s on the coach.

Everything else can be dumped on the school.

Mike Griffith of The Knoxville News Sentinel writes today that former Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl “didn’t have direct involvement in the final secondary violation that led to his firing on March 21.”

The Sentinel got the information from UT via a public records request.  According to the paper, Pearl’s director of basketball operations Ken Johnson provided two tickets to the mother of a current Tennessee player for the regular-season finale against Kentucky.  UT had already handed out its allotted tickets, which made Johnson’s act a secondary violation.

UT’s report to the NCAA on the matter states, “None of the coaches were aware that Ken was going to provide (the player) with tickets.”

The comment boxes under the story on The Sentinel’s website show that the writer of the story accomplished his goal — Vol fans are further outraged that their coach was ousted for such a small violation.

Unfortunately, that’s not why Pearl was actually given the boot. 

As we’ve noted a few hundred times on this site, Pearl committed several violations that would have likely been considered secondary in nature… had he and his assistants not lied directly to NCAA investigators.  On top of those lies, Pearl then called the father of a recruit involved in one of the violations and — according to the father — tried to influence what he said to the NCAA.

For that reason, Pearl is likely looking at at least a one-year suspension from coaching, probably more.

Tennessee’s ex-coach was an incredibly successful and popular man in Knoxville.  The majority of Vol fans — judging from what talk radio hosts and internet polls have told me — are still angry about his firing.  So now that a writer has chummed the water, it’s no surprise that a feeding frenzy has followed.

But in this case, the sharks are feasting on the wrong food supply. 

Pearl was fired because he’d buried himself by violating the NCAA’s A-1 top-flight rule: Thou shalt not lie to investigators.  And then he tried to cover his tracks further, which violated the NCAA’s #2 rule.

The final secondary violation — committed by one of Pearl’s staff members… under the head coach’s watch — was simply a final straw.  In reality, it was mere lubricant for the wheels of change which were already spinning.

Tennessee wanted to save itself from a massive NCAA spanking.  UT officials felt the program would have a better chance of avoiding said spanking if it canned Pearl.  So they moved.

And no amount of spin can change that.

While many Tennessee fans continue to wonder how someone named Cuonzo Martin came from off-the-radar to Knoxville, it sounds like the coach’s players are giving him the benefit of the doubt.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” center Kenny Hall said of the transition from Bruce Pearl to Martin.  “We’ve all had our own individual meetings with the coaches and we’re all pretty confident what they have in store for us.  It’s a brand new everything, a brand new slate.  It could be beneficial to everybody.”

That’s one reason Vol players might be happy with Martin’s arrival.  It’s no secret that last year’s team had chemistry issues.  That much was admitted by Pearl.  And some of those chemistry issues were tied to playing time.  Therefore, guys who felt they should have been on the court last year may look at Martin’s hiring as an opportunity to grab the the minutes they were lacking.

Cameron Tatum says that Martin’s background is also aiding in the buy-in process.  “With his personality, I think a lot of the players are optimistic and eager to see what we can do under his lead and the things that he brings to the table.  He has that background of being where everybody on this team wants to go (the NBA).  I think everybody’s excited and opportunistic about the opportunity to play for somebody that has been there and done that and willing to listen and see what he can teach us.”

Make no mistake, however, Martin’s ability to get his players — and Vol fans — to believe might be out of his control during his first year.  If Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson return, UT should have a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament next season, which would do wonders for buy-in.  If those two don’t return, well, then Martin will be trying to win folks over with a roster that might be one of the worst in the SEC.

1.  Florida’s young offensive line is adjusting to changes this spring.

2.  Billy Donovan assistant Larry Shyatt is the heavy favorite to land the head coaching job at Wyoming.

3.  Georgia officials are talking about a new contract for hoops coach Mark Fox.

4.  This writer says UGA would be wise to spend cash to keep Fox.

5.  For his part, Fox says he’s “not interested” in any other jobs.

6.  Kentucky’s Josh Harrellson found new life through “suicides.”

7.  Brandon Knight’s fearlessness has made him UK’s Mr. Clutch.

8.  This writer — who has been pretty hard on Billy Gillispee and Bruce Pearl in the past — wants folks to stop mentioning the word “vacated” in connection to John Calipari.

9.  Joker Phillips’ Cats will have a lively spring competition between seven different tight ends.

10.  Now Murphy Holloway says he might not leave South Carolina after all because he doesn’t want to sit out a year while transferring back to Ole Miss.  (You’ll need to pay for The State’s story here… but we’re glad to bring you the gist for free here.)

11.  Former Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders says he brought his past troubles upon himself.

12.  Cuonzo Martin is bringing at least one assistant with him from Missouri State to Knoxville.

13.  Former Vol coach Bruce Pearl has twice altered Martin’s plans in life.

14.  This writer sees a lot of things to like about Tennessee’s spring drills so far.

15.  Daniel Hood’s move to defensive tackle has been a win-win for the player and UT.