Brandon
Martin
April 12, 2020
Following
the 2019 season, Jeremy Pruitt was forced to make several changes to his
coaching staff. Some of these changes came as coaches left for NFL
opportunities, while others departed for other college jobs. Some of the
coaches that left the Tennessee staff were coaches that Pruitt would have liked
to keep staff if possible, while others had expiring contracts, appearing that
Tennessee let them move on to their next stop. It is unclear just which set of
circumstances the departure of Tracy Rocker to South Carolina fell under.
Rocker was an excellent on-field coach for Tennessee, developing the defensive
line into one of the strengths of the defense. However, Rocker came to be
viewed as a recruiting liability, an accusation that has arisen before in his career.
The result saw Rocker's contract expire before he left for the Gamecocks. With
Rocker's departure, Pruitt was in the market for a new defensive line coach, a
position he quickly filled with Jimmy Brumbaugh.
The Facts
Brumbaugh
arrives in Knoxville with the kind of résumé that has come to be expected of
most coaches Pruitt adds to his staff. The Gainesville, Florida native has deep
SEC ties, beginning with his time as a player at Auburn. Brumbaugh was a Freshman All-SEC
selection in 1995, as well as an All-SEC Selection for the Tigers in 1996 and
1997. Brumbaugh's playing career was stifled after an injury late in the
1997 season led to him only playing in three games in 1998. After his
fifth-year senior season in 1999, more on-line with his first three seasons on
the Plains, Brumbaugh played for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Stints in the
XFL and Arena League preceded Brumbaugh retiring as a professional player and
embarking on his coaching career.
Brumbaugh
worked his way up through the coaching ranks, primarily serving as a defensive
line coach for the last decade. Notably, Brumbaugh has served as the defensive
line coach at Syracuse, East Mississippi Community College, Kentucky, Maryland,
and Colorado before he was hired to join Tennessee's staff. Brumbaugh also served as the
Co-Defensive Coordinator in his time with Maryland and Colorado. Brumbaugh
brings an interesting combination of understanding the SEC thanks to his
playing career at Auburn, his four years with Kentucky, and his time working at
Colorado under longtime SEC assistant Mel Tucker. Brumbaugh has
recruiting ties across the south thanks to his path through football, from
being a Florida native to years coaching in Louisiana early in his career, a
brief stop in Chattanooga, ties in Alabama after playing at Auburn, and further
ties established while at Kentucky. Brumbaugh brings an on-field coach and recruiter that can help
Tennessee while having the kind of coaching chops Pruitt looks for.
The Strengths
One of the most important things to
know about Jimmy Brumbaugh is that he understands what it takes to be an elite
SEC defensive lineman, as he was one himself. He has also logged significant time
on staff and learning from some of the most highly regarded defensive minds in
the country, all specifically tied to the south. Brumbaugh played,
primarily, under then Auburn defensive coordinator Bill Oliver. Oliver coached
for over thirty years, the majority of those either at Auburn or Alabama.
Oliver became somewhat of an assistant coaching fixture on SEC sidelines, and
used Brumbaugh to great effect with the Tigers.
As a coach himself,
Brumbaugh was an assistant in the strength and conditioning program at LSU,
where the Tigers won a National Title in the 2007 season. When Mark Stoops assembled his first staff at Kentucky in 2013,
Brumbaugh was hired to his original staff. It was at Kentucky that Brumbaugh proved he could develop
talent to the NFL and recruit against traditional SEC powers. Brumbaugh helped
to recruit and develop several Wildcats that went on to have NFL careers, most
notably among them Josh Allen. At Kentucky, Brumbaugh was able to be a part of
Mark Stoops working to take the Wildcats from 2-10 to a team that is able to
compete in the SEC. That transformation was built on the strength of the
Kentucky defense, which Brumbaugh's defensive front was key to. The time
in Lexington allowed Brumbaugh to prove that he belonged on an SEC sideline on
game days, as well as in living rooms for recruiting battles. He earned his SEC
coaching chops developing quality players and learning from one of the most
respected defensive minds in college football in Stoops. Brumbaugh left the
Wildcats for Maryland when offered the chance to become a co-defensive
coordinator. In 2019,
Brumbaugh left the Terrapins to join another great defensive mind in Colorado.
In 2019, Brumbaugh came to Boulder to serve as the defensive line coach and
co-defensive coordinator for Mel Tucker. Under Tucker, Brumbaugh was
working to help implement a 3-4 defense in which his line would set the tone.
Tucker wanted to bring an SEC feel to his defense in the PAC 12, and Brumbaugh
was key in achieving that. Working under Tucker also allowed Brumbaugh to work
closely with another greatly respected defensive coach with extensive ties to
the south. At all of his
stops, Brumbaugh has had success with his units, has been able to recruit well,
and has served in helping to build quality defensive line groups. Exactly the
kind of history Pruitt has looked for.
The
Questions
Arriving
at Tennessee, Brumbaugh will immediately be presented with two distinct
challenges that will define his success in Knoxville. First, Brumbaugh inherits
a group that is laden with seniors like Aubrey Solomon, Emmit Gooden, Darrel
Middleton, and Savion Williams. Brumbaugh will need to get the most out of these
seniors for Tennessee to achieve what they want this season. The Vols finished
with a Top 25 defensive unit in 2019, and much of that success was built on the
way the defensive line improved throughout the season. If the Vols wish to
continue improving on the defensive side of the ball in 2020, their defensive
line will need to play at a high level from start to finish in the season,
meaning Brumbaugh will need to hit the ground running. How much Brumbaugh can
get out of his seniors, and how quickly they acclimate to him, will be a key
for the Volunteer defense in 2020. Beyond his group of seniors,
Brumbaugh will also inherit players like Greg Emerson, Omari Thomas, Dominic
Bailey, and Elijah Simmons, to name a few. While Emerson played extensively in
2019, looking like a potential rising star for the Vols, the others are new
arrivals or spent 2019 as a redshirt. How Brumbaugh is able to teach and
develop these talented newcomers will impact 2020, but also the future for
Tennessee. These are some of the highest-rated players in Tennessee's 2020
signing class. Their development is key for the future of the Volunteer
defense, and Brumbaugh's ability to develop and prepare young talent will be an
area to watch closely when practices resume.
The
second task that will be set before Brumbaugh is to get on the recruiting trail
and replace all the seniors his group will lose at season's end. The defensive
line is one of, perhaps the, biggest priority for Tennessee on the recruiting
trail in the 2021 cycle. It is also no secret that Brumbaugh's predecessor is
working in Columbia rather than Knoxville now in no small part due to his
shortcomings on the recruiting trail. Much like he is being asked to get the
most out of his defensive line group early on the field, Brumbaugh will be
thrown into multiple, intense recruiting battles right out of the gate. While
unlikely he wins them all, it is critical for Brumbaugh and Tennessee as a
whole in the 2021 seasons and beyond that Brumbaugh is successful in helping to
land quality defensive linemen to bring to Knoxville. Some will be depth
players, but others will need to be prepared to play early.
Jimmy Brumbaugh has shown success on
the field in the SEC. He was worked with multiple, excellent defensive coaches, and
now is working under Jeremy Pruitt and with Derrick Ansley. At Tennessee,
Brumbaugh won't be asked to rebuild a unit from the ground up. He will have a
talented and experienced group to work with for 2020, however, his
effectiveness on the recruiting trail will be critical in Tennessee avoiding a
rebuild upfront. If he can win battles on the trail, the Vols will be able to
reach the recruiting level Pruitt wants, where Tennessee is able to bring in
the next wave of talented players to replace departing seniors. Brumbaugh finds
himself very much in a, “Prove It,” type scenario in his first season in
Knoxville. History shows that he has the experience and track record to do just
that, and should he prove up to the task, the Volunteer defense should take
steps forward in 2020 and 2021.
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