Tennessee coach Butch Jones has received a raise from the school, following an 8-4 season. The $500,000 annual raise bumps Jones’ salary to $4.1 million per year, plus bonuses.
Tennessee is giving Butch Jones a $500,000 raise after an 8-4 season
Jones is being rewarded for improvement on the field and great recruiting.
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart released the following statement:
But Jones has done an outstanding job leading this football program on and off the field. As I said recently, Butch has brought stability to our program. When we hired Butch four years ago, he laid out a vision of how he wanted to build this program back to where we all want it to be. We have made great strides, however, it remains an ongoing process.
Most importantly, we have the right leader to get us to our ultimate destination and we are rewarding him accordingly.
The Vols have improved in each of Jones’ three seasons, going 5-7 (2-6 in the SEC) in 2013, 7-6 (3-5) in 2014 and 8-4 (5-3) in 2015. They’ve made a bowl game in each of the past two seasons, and are headed to the Outback Bowl this year.
Tennessee has recruited well under Jones, but even that’s taken a dip. After two top-10 national classes in a row, the 2016 class currently ranks No. 21 in the country, eighth in the SEC.
If anything, Jones’ raise isn’t about what he’s done so far, it’s about keeping up with the market for a coach who seems to have his team on the right path. According to the USA Today coaches salary database, Jones’ salary will rank fifth in the SEC. His previous salary ranked 12th in the conference.
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