Riley Morningstar

Butch Jones was effectively fired at approximately 8 p.m. on September 30th, moments after being shut out by Georgia.

Yes, Jones is currently preparing for a beating of seismic proportions in Tuscaloosa this Saturday, but that moment is when it all ended for him.

There are multiple indictments against Jones and his failures this season, starting with the national joke of a trashcan being used on the sideline as a battle cry and the bone-headed play calling late in Gainesville.

When Larry Scott was promoted to offensive coordinator nine months ago, Scott was tasked with preparing Quinten Dormady for his first start and using stud John Kelly like the workhorse he is. Instead, over its last three games Tennessee has totaled 37 drives with two resulting in the end of game, one on downs, five turnovers, 23 punts, and only six scores.

Of those six scoring possessions, two were touchdowns that came against UMASS in a grim foreshadowing of how the next three weeks would unfold for Tennessee. Kirby Smart gave Jones the Al Golden treatment.  There was no coming back from that for Jones.

In comparison to Golden, Jones is still around with a program seething in three lackluster and embarrassing outings.

Here’s where I side against the public outcry for Jones to be fired immediately after Georgia and South Carolina, and why it’s dead wrong:

New athletic director John Currie wasn’t going to fire him heading into a bye, nor would he fire Jones before traveling on the road to Alabama. Why put that on interim coach Scott or Brady Hoke? I highly doubt Currie, a pragmatic man, would panic similarly to Joe Alleva did in removing the interim tag for Ed Orgeron at LSU.

Jones’ buyout ranges from a reported six million with potential contractual stipulations that push the six to as high as a clean nine million.

To be a head coach with a fanbase as passionate as Tennessee’s is, the head honcho has to be able to keep himself in check when speaking with the media. Jones has failed mightily in that department.

This is the primary argument to ending it this last Sunday:

  • Jones and the “fake news” rant stating that the media should do everything to pump out sunshine around a program. That’s not how the media works, Butch. The local fanboy sites can do the leg work on that one for you.
  • In the same presser, Jones stated defensive tackle Shy Tuttle’s injury was caused by landing on a helmet when speculation swirled that it was caused by a fellow teammate. “The injury was caused not by a teammate. He landed on a helmet, and that’s the truth.”
  • Apparently bye weeks can rank in greatness.

  • Butch, does having one of your guys stomp a highly touted freshman recruit still count towards having a historically great bye week?

  • Almost in the same breath: “You don’t have to get a physical rep, it can be a leadership rep.”
  • Okay, I’ll quit piling on even though this has all happened over the last three weeks. Lastly, after a 15-9 home loss to Will Muschamp (who’s 6-0 against UT as a head coach) Jones provided this insightful nugget: “I thought we did all the things it takes to play winning football except one element…and that’s score touchdowns.”

I realize I’ve completely contradicted myself in my argument against firing Jones until this Sunday, but I stand by what I wrote. The above blunders are embarrassing to a historic program, but that wasn’t the time to let the axe swing down. There never is a “perfect” moment for firing someone from their job, but I’m against throwing an interim to the wolves. Jones knows what’s coming. Saban will show no mercy with the precursor of being notably snarkier with the media dating back to the Ole Miss win.

In my mind, the ultimate sin of Jones’ tenure lies in his failure to win the East.

Since 2013, Missouri won the East twice, with Florida taking the last two titles.

Georgia has been machine-like this season and stands to be the East winner. They won’t be slowing down either with recruiting heating up through one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation with the commitment of Justin Fields. Blue chip guard Jamaree Salyer stands in line to be the next Bulldog prize sooner rather than later.

Florida has grown restless in year three with Jim McElwain sitting at 3-3, and possibly staring down a very realistic 5-7 record.

According to Rivals, here’s where these three teams have ranked in recruitng classes dating from now to 2015:

  • Florida: 9, 9, 14, 23 (13.75)
  • Georgia: 12, 3, 9, 6 (7.5)
  • Tennessee: 7, 15, 15, 5 (10.5)

And therein lies the main problem. Tennessee has had its chances to get to the “next level.” Poor in game coaching and preparation has hindered the Vols from making at least one SEC title appearance. Recruiting has been adequate in the ever-competitive landscape across the southeast.

It figures to only grow worse by the day in Knoxville for Jones, but come Sunday morning, the Volunteers will have some serious soul-searching in looking for their next head coach to lead the program out of mediocrity.