I find the consternation about Robert Gillespie’s departure a bit befuddling.
It seems most of Tennessee’s fans blame newly hired coach Jeremy Pruitt for the divorce. I even heard/saw fans say they’ve lost some faith in Pruitt because of the way he handled the situation. On the contrary, I think Pruitt was too fair.
Gillespie is an accomplished recruiter and oversaw a productive position group, but Pruitt declined to extend Gillespie’s contract, which ran through February 2019. In other words, Pruitt was willing to see if things could work out, then make a final decision after this season.