Botch Jones.
Botch Jones? Look closer. Tennessee’s head coach has done a good job
Unfair expectations serve to diminish the job he’s done.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
I’m guilty of calling Tennessee head coach Butch Jones that on social media. Anecdotally, it feels like he gets less from Tennessee’s talent than most would. And his mistimed, cornball sayings come off as excuse-making.
But, on the other hand, he’s also done a good job rebuilding Tennessee from the crater it was in after Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley.
And that work seems to have gone unappreciated.
Following the win over Georgia Tech on Monday, Jones’ Volunteers are now 21-8 in their last 29 games, after starting 10-13. Yet the calls to fire him still came at all points during the game, and after.
The Vols were a popular pick to win the SEC East in 2016, but came up short. But Tennessee did not miss the expectations of Las Vegas oddsmakers and national pundits by all that much. And once the injuries Tennessee suffered on defense are factored in, missing the expectations does not seem all that bad.
Jones has gone 9-4 in consecutive seasons. The last time Tennessee won 18 or more games over two seasons was 2006-07, under Phil Fulmer.
Among SEC teams, only Alabama and Florida have won nine or more games in each of the last two seasons.
Jones doesn’t measure up to a standard that requires him to produce nationally elite teams, but he is producing consistently good teams. That should be considered success at Tennessee.
Jones’ recruiting has been quite strong, and the Volunteers are on much better footing than when he took over. Tennessee ranks 15th nationally in my Blue-Chip Ratio measure, which tracks which proportion of a team’s signees rate as four- or five-stars over a four-year period. And Tennessee is sixth nationally in the 247Sports rankings for the class of 2018. The Volunteers don’t appear to be slowing down.
Tennessee fan expectations are a bit out of whack. Their memories of the glory days don’t take context into account.
Tennessee is a much tougher job than people realize. Yes, Fulmer won a national championship in 1998, beating a Florida State squad without its Heisman-winning QB, Chris Weinke.
But Fulmer’s overall record shows just how difficult it is to win big at Tennessee.
Fulmer won the SEC East in six of his 17 seasons. He was 5-12 against Florida, going 2-1 against Ron Zook, 0-4 against Urban Meyer, and 3-7 against Steve Spurrier. And while he had an 11-6 record against Georgia, he was just 3-5 against Mark Richt.
His record got fat against failed Alabama coaches, going a combined 8-2 against Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula, but 2-4-1 against Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.
Fulmer is considered the recent gold standard at Tennessee, yet he had a losing record against almost all of the good SEC coaches during his tenure.
The Vols have to be careful about expectations. They are the only SEC East team that must face college football’s No. 1 program on an annual basis. They are at a recruiting disadvantage compared to Florida and Georgia, due to the lower amount of talent in Tennessee. And the layout geography of the state results in the University of Alabama being 90 minutes closer to a talent center in Memphis than Knoxville is.
Jones has done a good job at Tennessee. Don’t let unjustified expectations skew the perception of the progress.
