One of the biggest (if not the biggest) royalties in college football is Nick Saban’s coaching tree. The “best to ever do it” may have retired, but his “process” is still being carried out by 18 head coaches across the FBS. The word is that Nick Saban’s former defensive guru from the AJ McCarron era got summoned to reunite with a $6.1 million coach in an interesting coaching destination.

According to Football Scoop, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is going after former Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt for a defensive assistant spot. It makes sense when you think about it. Both guys cut their teeth under Nick Saban at Alabama. So they know each other’s tendencies and speak the same football language. Pruitt hasn’t been in college football since Tennessee showed him the door in 2021 over NCAA violations, so this would be his way back in.

Locksley’s feeling the heat right now after Maryland limped through back-to-back four-win seasons. He needs something to shake things up. And as weird as it might sound, Pruitt could be exactly what the doctor ordered. These two go way back to their Alabama days together, so there’s already trust and familiarity there. During their time together in 2016 and 2017, they helped lead the Crimson Tide to a National Championship.

Plus, Pruitt’s Natty resume is stacked like any other top DC in the college football realm. The former Vols head coach, Jeremy Pruitt, won 4 national titles under Nick Saban from 2008 to 2012 and then in 2017. It included back-to-back title wins in their golden era. He also won at Florida State Seminoles back in 2013 in his first year as DC. Pruitt has been waiting for some time to make a coaching comeback.

If you follow college football drama, you probably know Pruitt has had a bit of a bumpy road lately. He was hit with a six-year “show-cause” penalty by the NCAA because of recruiting issues back when he was the head coach at Tennessee.

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The good news for Maryland fans is that the door is now open for 2026. Pruitt had to spend the 2025 season serving a one-year suspension as an analyst at Jacksonville State. But the interesting thing is that he hasn’t entirely served his massive six-year show-cause order. His path to a full-time assistant role was cleared by a court injunction granted in late 2025.

The injunction paused the NCAA’s penalty (originally set to run through 2029). This legal reprieve makes him immediately eligible to return to on-field coaching. And it sets the stage for what looks like a done deal for an undisclosed top defensive position.

How good is Jeremy Pruitt’s defense?

Pruitt spent five years as a coordinator at top schools like Florida State, Georgia, and Alabama. What’s amazing is that Pruitt’s defenses never finished lower than 16th nationally in scoring defense a day in his life.

Pruitt’s impact was immediate wherever he went. In his lone season at Florida State, he led the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense. They gave up only 12.1 points per game that season. After winning the Natty there, he then moved to Georgia. He took a defense that was ranked 78th in scoring and turned it into one of the top 10 units by 2015. The Bulldogs were leading the country in passing defense by allowing just 146.1 yards per game.

When he returned to Alabama as defensive coordinator in 2016, things got even more dominant. His 2016 unit led the nation in scoring defense (13.0 PPG) and rushing defense (63.9 YPG). That defense was so aggressive that they scored 11 defensive touchdowns themselves. In 2017, his defense was again No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense (11.5 PPG). And No. 2 in total defense, anchoring another Natty run.

Even though his time as head coach at Tennessee was a bit of a rollercoaster, his defensive production remained elite. Jeremy Pruitt will still be regarded as one of the best defensive play-callers to ever do it irrespective of whether he joins the Terrapins or not.