Tennessee football has had a rough start to 2017 and head coach Butch Jones is firmly on the hot seat. Is it time for a new man to take charge in Knoxville?
Butch Jones is on the hot seat. There’s “no doubt about it“. The Vols have had a wild ride at head coach since the firing of Phil Fulmer at the end of 2008. Fulmer was followed by Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley and now Butch Jones. The Vols have had a winning season in four of those eight years, although Butch Jones does have three those seasons under his belt.
Tennessee expects more than an overtime victory over Georgia Tech and losses to the Florida Gators. A loss to Georgia might be one loss too many. Jones is sitting in the shadows of Johnny Majors and Phil Fulmer- two coaching legends in the college ranks. Fulmer won a national title in 1998 with a 13-0 record after failing to do so with Peyton Manning at quarterback for four years. After that ’98 title Fulmer had four double-digit win seasons before being fired after a 5-7 season.
The Vols’ fans might be unreasonable but there’s no reason a team situated in Knoxville, Tennessee with a 100,000+ person stadium and their financial backing can’t win 9-plus games annually. The Vols should be more competitive in the chase for who loses to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
This off-season could be rather wild around the country. There are some major coordinators up for grabs, along with head coaches at mid-majors and less generous power 5 programs, and even former NFL coaches.
Here are the three revelations from the Vol’s fanbase and three reasons why it might be time for Tennessee football to move on from Butch Jones.
3. The Vols’ contingency has high expectations
The Tennessee Volunteers contingency has some mighty high expectations. A guy that’s won nine games twice and is currently still in the SEC East race is on the hot seat. However, I can’t blame the Vols for wanting more than average.
Tennessee isn’t Nebraska, in the middle of the midwest, cut off from talent bases. On the contrary, Knoxville has its own talent as well as nearby Memphis and Nashville, Hoover, Baton Rouge, Charlotte and Atlanta. The Vols were always great about recruiting the southeast strong and adding a recruit from Florida, Texas and California to their old south territory.
It isn’t like Butch Jones has recruited poorly, either. He’s actually recruited well finishing 17th, 14th and 4th in the last three recruiting classes per 247sports.com. That’s around LSU, FSU, Notre Dame, UCLA and Clemson. With talent comes expectations. The Vols’ faithful spends a lot of money to see their program succeed, not lose their SEC East games.
Over the past 25 years UT has had a quarterback that’s one of the NFL’s greatest of all time in Peyton Manning. They’ve also had a number of other elite players like Leonard Little, Al Wilson, Jason Witten, Albert Haynesworth, Chad Clifton, and Travis Henry to name a few. All that talent, and one national championship.
When a program has name brand coaches and players for thirty plus years they get used to the success that comes with it. Since Lane Kiffin took over the Vols haven’t had the same name brand they had under Majors and Fulmer. UT and Nebraska played each other in the ’98 Orange Bowl and the 2000 Fiesta Bowl. However, during the College Football Playoff era, both programs are struggling.
2.College programs must strike while the iron is hot
College football programs have to strike while the iron is hot. They can’t wait to fire their coach and start the search after other teams have begun their search. Other programs that have cut bait have their future head coaches lined up and their interviews completed before a late program has even announced their opening.
I can see Butch Jones being fired early. That would enable the Vols to strike quickly and start. They have Larry Scott on the staff as the offensive coordinator and Scott is known for leading Miami to a 4-2 record as their interim head coach in 2015. His tenure was highlighted by that wild finish against Duke in 2015.
Scott was then let go by Mark Richt and fell into the OC position in Knoxville. Some programs don’t fire their coach mid-season because their coaching staff doesn’t have a viable interim head coach. That’s not the case with Tennessee. Scott has already proven he can keep the ball rolling.
The Vols also need to jump out early because of the programs that may be looking for a coach along with them. Notre Dame has been unhappy with Brian Kelly. Texas A&M isn’t sold on Kevin Sumlin. UCLA has struggled lately with Jim Mora Jr,. Then there are jobs like Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida, Nebraska, Louisville and Ole Miss that might come open because of a variety of reasons.
Tennessee is currently compensating Jones as the 18th highest paid FBS football coach. That would be a pay raise for some notable names such as Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente, Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre, as well as Mike Gundy, Kirby Smart and Bobby Petrino.
1. There are good coaches available
Some seasons it’s better to just wait a year and give your head football coach one more season to figure it out or be fired. However, heading into 2018 there could be some major coaches available.
There are two big time former head football coaches that are currently unemployed in Chip Kelly and Les Miles. Kelly, I presume, will look at the NFL first and then a college job in a bigger city with a larger media market. Miles could be the perfect fit for the Vols as he has SEC experience. Beyond that, he can recruit and he’s a national title winner. These could both be pipe dreams but they’re a real possibility for Tennessee. It would take a pay raise, but you get what you pay for.
What about the group of 5 coaches? Scott Frost has turned UCF around immediately. He faces off with a fellow rising coach, Mike Norvell of Memphis on Saturday night. Rocky Long of San Diego State is an option as well. Back-to-back 11-3 seasons a 4-0 start to 2017 could put him on the UT radar.
There are big time assistants looking for a promotion as well. Brent Venables will leave Clemson eventually. His defenses have been legendary the past few years. Landing him would be a steal. Jeremy Pruitt has to be looking as well. Jedd Fisch will be in line for a head coaching position, as will Jim Leavitt at Oregon and Ruffin McNeil at Oklahoma.
Next: 5 coaches that won't replace Butch at UT
Manny Diaz, who serves as the keeper of the Turnover Chain in Coral Gables, could be a choice as well, but maybe he’ll start at a smaller program than UT for his first head job. No matter who gets the call, there are plenty of names to choose from.