Tennessee is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and the Vols have lost four of their last five games overall. Butch Jones’ seat has never been hotter than it is right now, and national analysts are calling for his job.
Paul Finebaum of The Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network and ESPN Radio was on SportsCenter on Sunday morning to discuss the day of college football on Saturday. And he had some very strong words on Butch Jones and the Vols.
“Butch Jones is still the football coach there, which I cannot understand,” Finebaum said on Sunday morning. “I would not have let him get on the plane last night, but obviously he needed a ride home.
“But I cannot imagine this university allowing this to go on any longer.”
As of the writing of this article, Butch Jones is still the head coach for the Vols despite Finebaum’s proclamations.
According to Finebaum, however, there have been confusing messages coming out of Tennessee as it pertains to Jones’ job security and when he might be let go.
“There’s mixed signals coming out of that school right now,” Finebaum stated. “One report said they’re going to let him go to Kentucky. If Tennessee needs to beat Kentucky to show that it’s a legitimate program, they ought to shut it down.”
Tennessee has beaten Kentucky all but one year since 1985. The Vols own a 79-24-9 record against the Wildcats since the two teams first played back in 1893, and only five of Kentucky’s 24 victories over the Vols have come since 1965.
The Vols have historically dominated Kentucky, but the Wildcats have a better overall record than Tennessee heading into this upcoming weekend’s match-up between the two teams. Tennessee sits at 3-4 while Kentucky is 5-2.
But Finebaum wasn’t the only one with strong opinions on Butch Jones on Sunday.
Former player and current SEC Network analyst Booger McFarland also shared his thoughts on Jones and Tennessee’s football program currently.
“I go back to the game against Georgia,” McFarland said. “Peyton Manning is there being honored and you lose 41 to nothing to Georgia.
“To me it’s not if, but when. And if that’s the case, what are they waiting on? Put the man out of his misery.”
The Vols have been outscored 127 to 36 in SEC play this season and have yet to win a conference game in four tries so far. Tennessee is averaging a mere 205.5 yards of offense over their last four contests, and the Vols are last in the SEC in third down conversions and red zone efficiency.
Most believe it’s a matter of “when” for Jones rather than “if” he’s fired at this point. And if these national analysts had their way, Jones would be let go as Tennessee’s head coach already.
One Response
Butch Jones is just the latest symptom which can be visible in the “patient”. The symptoms before were visible in the form of Derek Dooley and Lane Kiffin. The underlying disorder is the AD position. The underlying cause to the disorder is the Chancellor and President positions.
But the patient is sick because of a malignant tumor – The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees (BOT). The tumor started growing when Joe Johnson and Doug Dickey retired, and showed its first big sign of sickness in 2008 with the manner in which they ran Phillip J. Fulmer out of town. The patient has been terminally ill ever since.
And now we have the Guvnah himself as the Chair of the BOT, and his greasy brother as its biggest donor. The miracle of all miracles now is for John Currie to be able to make this decision based upon what is best for this football program (especially considering the conference it’s in), and for Jimmy Haslam, and Jimmy Cheek, and Beverly Davenport, and Joe DiPietro, and all the cronies to stay out of it COMPLETELY. If any of them REALLY want to help, it’s simple: just go out and raise enough money for Currie to get the right heavyweight coach, and leave your input at the door.
For the past ten years, the UT “system” has been about other things than establishing and maintaining a top tier football program, and the management of this university has simply gone steadily downhill in that time.
So please keep in mind that the Head Coach position, and even the AD, are simply the “fever of 104”, or the “rash”, or the “broken arm”. The real cancer is embedded deep within the walls of this institution.