Tennessee Football: AD Currie spins Butch Jones in positive light

Tennessee football fired Butch Jones on Sunday. In his official statement, AD John Currie offered decidedly positive words about the departing coach.

Sure, the program and school is calling it a “mutual separation,” but for all intensive purposes, Jones was canned. And rightfully so. The Volunteers have long been a staple among contenders in the SEC, but under Jones, they have failed to remain in that position.

Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics John Currie released a statement after news broke that Jones had told his staff and players he was done, thanking him for his five years of work with the program.

The actual terms used by Currie say quite a bit about how they really feel regarding Jones:

"“We have been fortunate to have Coach Jones lead our program for the last five years. During that time, the program has improved tremendously in the areas of academics, discipline and community involvement. Unfortunately, we are not where we need to be competitively. For that reason, I have asked Coach Jones to step down as head football coach. I know Coach Jones will be successful moving forward, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”"

It’s interesting to note that Currie did his best to spin Jones in a positive light, mentioning his improvement in academics, discipline and community involvement. Those three things, though, do not get it done against Alabama, Georgia, Auburn or even Missouri as evident by this past weekend.

No, Currie is going to have to go out and land a big-name coach if he wants to get the Vols back into a position of power down South. And believe me, for his own job security he does. Football is huge in Tennessee and the fan base is as supportive as ever when it comes to filling the giant known as Neyland Stadium.

Currie added that he will be in “regular contact with Chancellor Davenport” as he begins an “exhaustive search” to replace Jones. For now, Brady Hoke will take control of the program on the field as a replacement.

What did Jones do for Tennessee? He won 18 games between 2015 and ’16, qualifying for three bowls. Overall, he was 34-27 in five seasons, defeating Northwestern and Iowa in bowl games. But in this day, that isn’t good enough. Especially not when you are only improving in academics, discipline and community involvement.

Next: Top 5 Candidates to replace Butch Jones at Tennessee

Who will Tennessee get to replace Jones? Jon Gruden? Another hot-shot coaching prospect? Only time will tell.