Can Butch Jones Be Saved?

Yes, he can.

I'm neither saying that he can and will save himself, nor that he should be given the necessary time and patience to do so.

I'm not blaming anyone who may have already given up on him, be it recently or long ago.

I'm not delusional enough to believe that Jones possesses the necessarily personal insight, aptitude and fortitude to identify how to get out of the deep hole which he's dug for himself, or that he could follow the path to redemption, once identified.

To be sure, and thanks to his own incompetence, arrogance, and self-sabotage, his margin for further error beyond this point is so damned thin as to essentially be non-existent, but he can be saved at Tennessee. In fact, I think that he can not only survive, but can win back much of the support which has been eroded or completely lost for him, during the '16 season.

Further, questionable as it is, I think that he could still win here, and could not only make people like me shut my mouth, but be glad that he's here.

Here's what it would take, IMO:

1. Go out his way to place the totality of blame for any bad thing associated with the program on his own shoulders. If someone tries to re-assign or spread blame to anyone but him, he should correct and singularly reassume it, instead.

2. Stop saying stupid shit. Stop imitating how you think a coach should speak and sound, and just speak like a human being, first. Stop trying to forcibly introduce some self-important and Zen-like quality to yourself. Stop believing and so desperately seeking confirmation as being the smartest guy in the room, and let go of the notion that you need to be.

3. Make necessary and long overdue changes to your staff. Be a loyal friend on your own time, and on your dime. Hire quality and well-proven assistant coaches to replace the cronies you've brought with and brought in, and who can bring more to the recruiting trail, the film room and in-game strategy than simply being able to say they've been with you for a long period of time. Once hired, get the hell out of the way and let them do their damned jobs.

4. Win the bowl game by beating the shit out of Nebraska. You don't need a loss and a 2-game losing streak going into the off-season, as the pressure will only continue to build. Frankly, he's not handling the pressure at existing levels, and the last thing he needs is even more, and which just festers for the 8 months until our next game.

5. Finish big and strong in recruiting this season. Like Top 5 good. Whatevever it takes or requires. Not Top 15. Not even Top 10. Top 5.

6. If Gaurantano is as absolutely monstrous as he is widely believed to be, pray that he performs like it on the field, and can almost singlehandedly raise the level of play of the entire team - or at absolutely worst, that his progress towards it will be both rapid and imminent.

7. Beat GATech in Atlanta to start the season. Get it rolling early.

8. Beat UGA, UF & Bama, or be damned and incredibly close to it. You can't be out of any game. Absolutely maul every other team on the schedule - like double-digit wins, at the very least.

9. Win the SECE. Yes, the road to Atlanta will inarguably be more difficult next year, than it was this year. Tough shit - you shouldn't have squandered the previous two seasons by failing to make it there in much easier years. If you can't get to Atlanta once in 5 years, there's no defending you, anymore.

Its a tough list, and many of these aren't just unlikely to occur, but perhaps threaten the bounds of the miraculous. But the path to redemption exists, fraught with danger and precipitously-sided as it may be.

My prediction: Long odds being noted, I think he's more likely to save himself, than not, and will.

 

It can be done, but can a coach entering his 11th year as a HC suddenly figure it out?

Odds say no

 

Looks like it's either Tennessee football or Butch Jones that gets saved. The other one will fall by the wayside.

 

This is where I'm at. There is no silver bullet for the man.

 

He is not capable of it at this point in his life, imho. Not here. I think the Travis Haney article is going to set him into full-blown paranoia mode. He will have to take a smaller job where his mind can calm and only then will he be able to self reflect.

This is not the place for self reflection. You need to know who you are already before you get here.

 

There is absolutely zero chance of 1, 2 and 8 happening, Tenny, and you know it. We all know it.

I remember Hat's warning about Butch when he was hired; the Cincy fan base was sick and f'ing tired of his bullshit, hokey coach speak, he's loyal to a fundamental fault, and he shifts blame off on assistants and players.

It's all come true.

I wish I had more of a sunnier disposition and outlook but, we're talking about a coach that has done something that hasn't been done since the 1920's: lose to Vanderbilt TWICE.

F. Him.

Next.

 

Way to really bring everyone down today. LOL. I guess you signed Tony's pledge?

 

If he changes about 75% of what he is as a coach he can succeed.

 

I think he can save himself and not reach to far above mediocre. UT has done a great job of lowering the bar.

 

I think Jones has awakened, now understands what he has to do, and will make the changes.

How the results of those changes shake out is still TBD, but all are within reach.

 

I don't think he is salvageable at all. Nothing in what I have heard him say or show leads me to believe that he has changed or has the ability, at this point in time, to change.

I do believe people can change, and have seen it myself. But you have to be in the right place and position to do so. I don't think the pressure cooker of big time football is such a place. He will have to take a lesser job somewhere, someplace that will allow him time to reflect. Tennessee is not such a place.

 

I think he is past redemption. That said, if he recognized his shortcomings as a coach and addressed them appropriately I would have no problem getting behind him.

 

Making (the right) staff changes are just a part of it.
Tweaking things on your side of it as a manager is doable and great coaches constantly stay ahead of the curve.

Jones needs to hit home runs in both areas right now. Right now he's beating out grounders and borderline errors to reach first base.

Asking a lot.

 

I get how difficult and unlikely it may all be, but my question is this:
If these 9 things occur, would it save him, both in your individual opinion or in the likely mind of most TN fans / boosters / Admin?

 

If he wants to save himself, he needs to come back from Atlanta in December with some hardware and a shot at the playoff. Otherwise, he can GTFO. Same way I felt going into this season.

 

I don't think there is any doubt...certainly no doubt that I could get behind him should those 9 things happen. Quite honestly if he could somehow just accomplish #2 in short order, like now, it would make it easier on him.

 

I think a lot of it depends on how it happened. If we come out and do a Cal/Stanford play at the end of the game to beat GaTech, there is no hope for the season.

If he dominates early and often, destroying mediocre teams and imposing his will on UF and UGA and then head to Bama undefeated and plays them like the '09 game, where they are sweating the whole game, then I would raise my head up and take another look.

 

Is it even possible to make good assistant hires on the hotseat like this? I remember 2012

I guess we did bring in Pittman...

 

I'm convinced some fans will take the current Butch Jones, 8 wins, and corny cliches going forward. They think UT football is defined by Dooley and this is above and beyond greatness.

On the opposite end of that you have most posters here. With the majority of fans being in between somewhere.

 

That list of 9 is pretty much asking him to be something he is not professionally and personally. He may check off a few of them.