Everybody's angry, but what other choice do we have but to give Butch Jones a chance. He's going to have to draw me in with some wins first, but if he does, I will be in full support of him. I'm angry that I was so convinced that it was Gruden that I didn't get behind Strong at all. No one to be mad at but myself for buying into it. I'm angry at the AD because this job was reportedly the best opportunity out there, yet we didn't get the best available. That is a disconnect. There must be something there that we don't know about which made this NOT the best job out there. What is it? The admission/academic standards? Strong turned down nearly $4MM. Why? I would also like to know why Peyton Manning was trying to get Jones to Colorado if he knew his Alma Mater had an opening. There's something missing there. Did Peyton still believe that Gruden was coming at the point he texted Jones? I feel like the coaching search was rushed. We had a lot of time to get a battle plan together, so why did the last week feel like something that was just slapped together?
I was pretty mad yesterday, but I'm settling down now. I still think Butch Jones was not our best possible hire, but there are three factors making me feel a bit better: *He's a player's coach. We really needed one of those after Dooley, and it should help recruiting. *The people saying he's good are people I respect. When we hired Dooley, it was a bunch of local Louisiana folks telling us how great the hire was. Now we have Bruce Feldman trying to talk us into it and Chris Mortensen saying it was the Bill O'Brien hire of this season. Those folks know their stuff, and if they're onboard, I probably shouldn't be so quick with the "unmitigated disaster." *I remember how much I used to love watching his Central Michigan teams. Still not onboard, but less mad than I was yesterday.
The #1 thing I hear from people trying to sell him is that his players love him. He tried to sell that himself in the press conference, but I had heard it about 10,000 times before that.
That pretty much describes me to a T. (hehe, haha) I don't blame Jones for jumping at the opportunity. Heck, I didn't blame Dooley for it. Now, I may have some issues with Jones and ethics/integrity if it indeed went down as has been reported on this board, but I can't blame the guy for taking the job. Does that mean I think he can do it? Not at all. I think he's at best an 8-4 guy. That is not acceptable to me. Look, I hope I am 100% dead wrong and within three years we're title contenders again. I just have serious issues that he can recruit and if what I have heard is true, if his staff will be capable of competing in the SEC. He's got to prove it to me. If I ever meet him I'll tell him as much and that I truly hope he does. But as of now, he's best known as the guy that the worst coach in Tennessee ran out of Neyland Stadium in 2011***. *** - And yes, I know you can't make a judgement based on one game nor am I attempting to do so.
I'm now ambivalent. Living in Alabama has already put football into perspective (for me). The pure, unadulterated insanity of these moron Bammers has shown me that football is just a game. It was enough to move me out of being a fanatic. Now that UT has replaced mediocrity with mediocrity I'm further freed to treat college football as simple entertainment that I can take or leave and if I'm smart I'll take a nice hike or go for a long drive rather than sitting on my fat ass watching a team that has shown itself to be content with "competing".
old yes but I was ready for the Vols to disband the Sociology Dept and spend 10 million/year on Gruden!
This was our chance to prove that the Dooley hire was a fluke. Like Kiffin or not, he was a former NFL coach, albeit with some baggage that we ignored. That means Bill Battle would have been our last bad hire. Not now. The next time a coaching search comes around, I feel like our short list will be dumbed down b/c of the last two hires. Our new home in the second (or third) tier of college football is looking like it's going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I'm spending my day sifting through 2013 schedules to figure out where I'm going to attend games next season. It's shaping up nicely.
I've told anyone who will listen that I'm done with UT football until the powers that be adhere to the standard of excellence that should be held here. I'm already struggling to have that disconnect and its the day after. It's a really tough spot for UT fans. It was easy with Derek to separate between he and the University. Love the University and hate Derek. Now with this hire, the hate is directed towards the administration, so in one way you want the coach to fail see it blows back on them but on the other hand that would go against the love we all feel for the program. I say just move on cause sitting here [itch bay]ing about it gets us nowhere. If he wins, all will be forgiven by the majority of the fan base. I don't like anymore than you do but it's where we're at. Sadly.
College football as a whole is about to face a very trying time. More and more fanbases are demanding wins. There are too many teams for them all to be winners, and if you lose one game, the whole season is shot. Hell, lower rung teams are paying coaches 1-2 million a year. And with television being what it is, with every game now watchable from the house, attendance is down across the board. Also, because of TV, you are no longer tied to your local school to be a fan. Someone in Knoxville can be just as big of a Bama fan as someone that lives in Tuscaloosa. 30 years ago, you had to root for TN because that is all you got. Local radio carried the games or you went to the game. Not that many games were on TV. Cable and satellite, hi-definition TVs and big overstuffed Lazy Boy chairs have rendered going to the game unnecessary. All it is going to take is one little jostle and the whole thing will come crashing down around them. College football should look at NASCAR as a cautionary tale. While the countries appetite for football is orders of magnitude higher than that of racing, the economics of it will make the downfall of college football that much worse. And it all starts with apathy, of which I now have plenty. Norris Alan, Class of '95
They did that to us with Dooley. They are doing it again with this one. Somethings amiss here because the Cincy players,were clapping when he left in such a classless manner.
Fans are saying he won it? Bullshit and that's effed up. Everybody has a script when it comes to accepting, unless it is coming from our heart, like Gruden would have done.
