If you haven’t heard (and how could you not have at this point), former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones has been hired on as an off-field assistant at Alabama. Tide head coach Nick Saban drew headlines earlier this month when he called Jones an “intern” at Alabama, implying that Jones was there to learn under Saban rather than providing any insight himself to Alabama’s staff.
Now Butch Jones’ salary at Alabama has been revealed, and the “intern” tag applied to him seems even more fitting.
The Knoxville News Sentinel issued an open records request to Alabama and inquired about Jones’ salary. Alabama released the info and revealed that Jones is making just $35,000 this year as an offensive analyst for the Tide.
Tennessee owes Jones $8.26 million as a buyout for terminating his employment before his contract ran its full course. That payout will be given to Jones in monthly installments from now until February of 2021.
Any salary that Jones receives will mitigate that buyout for Tennessee. But his earnings at Alabama will barely cut into that buyout total.
Jones’ $35,000 salary at Alabama reduces Tennessee’s buyout of his contract by a mere .4 percent. His annual salary at Alabama is less than what a large portion of Vol fans make in a year.
For comparison, the Vols’ lowest paid assistant coach, tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer, will make $205,000 this year. It’s not been reported what Tennessee’s off-field assistants make annually, however.
At Tennessee, Jones went 34-27 overall and just 14-24 in SEC play. He’s earned a 84-54 overall record in his 11 years as a head coach.
