Jones VS Strong

I was a bit confused and frustrated by the hire last week but I did a lot of research on Butch Jones this weekend and the more I learn about him the more I like him. Here are few things that make me feel better about the hire.

Most people would have been happy with Charlie Strong. A comparison between Strong and Jones, I think is an excellent indicator because they coach in the same conference, have been head coach in that conference for three years each and play head to head every year. I have heard concerns over Jones recruiting because he has only recruited two 4 star players to Cincinnati and no 5 stars. Strong on the other hand has recruited ten 4 stars with no 5 stars to Louisville. On the surface that could look like a negative, however Butch Jones’ Bearcats have beat Charlie Strong’s Cardinals two of the three years they have played. Strong’s only win over Jones was a 34-31 OT win at Louisville. One thing I like that I have heard over and over about Jones’ teams is that they over achieve.



Recruiting Classes

Charlie Strong – Louisville, 3 year average - 40

2012 – 42

2011 – 29

2010 - 48



Butch Jones – Cincinnati, 3 year average - 53

2012 – 50

2011 – 49

2010 - 59



Win/Loss Record

Charlie Strong – 24-14

Butch Jones – 50-27



Jones has won four conference championships in six seasons as a head coach, including the Big East title in 2011 and 2012 with Cincinnati and the 2007 and 2009 Mid-American Conference titles at Central Michigan. He earned Big East Conference Coach of the Year honors from the league after his 10-win season with the Bearcats in 2011 and earned the same honor from CBSSports.com this season. He will have a much tougher challenge ahead of him but I think if you can coach and consistently beat your peers at a lower level there is a good chance you can do it at a higher level. Both Nick Saban and Les Miles took a similar path to success in the SEC. Neither had SEC experience when they got here but like Butch Jones they were winners. Bottom line is he has won everywhere he has been. Something that could not be said about the previous coach.



**To me, this is pretty much sums it up**

In Butch Jones three years at Cincinnati, Charlie Strong brought a higher ranked recruiting class every year yet lost to the Bearcats two of the three years AND in those three years Butch Jones put SIX guys in the NFL while I can’t find a single Louisville player that has entered the league while Strong has been their head coach. To me that is superior coaching. Time will tell but we may have gotten the better of the two.

 

strong started with absolutely nothing though. surely kelly left jones with SOME decent players off that bcs team.

 

Is this not the first year a Strong-recruited kid could go to the draft from Louisville?

 

I agree with this.
Strong built a program that was down into a champion. Jones has somewhat kept a program that was at or near the top - at or near the top. Same thing with Central Michigan

Which is a better fit for where Tennessee is right now?

 

Cincinnati Head Coach Butch Jones Iced Louisville's Kicker At The Exact Wrong Time, And The Bearcats Lost Because Of It

 

This was my response on the VN thread. It fits over here to.

 

One can only hope his tenure here is 3 years

 

Pretty well sums it up

 

Yes, and the same for Jones. That point wasn't really about recruiting but about coaching up what you have.

 

You would think so wouldn't you? However, although Jones did follow Kelly I think the idea that Kelly left a stacked team for Jones is somewhat of a myth. Jones actually recruited much better than Kelly.

Brian Kelly - Cincinnati, 3 year average - 72
2007 - 89
2008 - 67
2009 - 60

In fact the Louisville team Strong took over had more talent than the team Kelly left for Jones (At least going by recruit ranking) which leads me back to superior coaching. Getting more out of your players.

Steve Kragthorpe - Louisville, 3 year average - 57
2007 - 41
2008 - 55
2009 - 76

 

What's your evidence it's a myth? And i imagine after a BCS bowl it's a lot easier to recruit to cinci. the difference between 57 and 72 doesn't mean much. means both had a lot of unranked players. obviously a lot of those unranked players for cinci were pretty damn good.

 

No He didn't that is one of the reasons he left look at his first year there and the two following. First year was a horrible then look what he did the next two it took him one year to fix it.

 

My evidence is that the classes Kelly brought in were not that great. Now, I do think he got them to play above their talent level but the point was that he didnt leave some talent loaded roster for Jones like some seem to think.

 

please tell me you are posting from a phone or something. periods and commas are your friends.

 

the classes were great enough for him to almost go undefeated. obviously the class ratings were wrong no? tell me how many returning starters they had. that would be meaningful.

 

looks to me like he had sufficient talent returning to be competitive: Cincinnati Bearcats 2010 College Football Preview

 

Groves, I know you've said before you like Taggart's potential. I've seen a lot more about him down here since USF hired him. I was already impressed by what he did at WKU, but really like what I've seen and heard from him. If we were not going to hire a proven championship-caliber coach, my preference would have been to take a chance on someone like Taggart. I'm not sure Tennessee could have necessarily risked the fan and media perception/backlash of a Taggart hire, but I love the potential.

Obviously is he very young and early in his career, but how would you measure him against Jones? Could he put together a comparable staff at UT? Recruit at a high level here?

 

I dont think you get it. Im not knocking Kelly. What I am saying is he didn't recruit very well. He obviously coached them up though. My point is that he didnt leave a talent heavy roster for Jones like alot of people seem to think.

 

he returned 13 starters, 8 from one of the best offenses in college football. he had 3 players drafted after his first season as well. whether kelly coached them up or not they were "up" when jones arrived. he certainly had ample talent to do better than he did.

 

In his three years at Cinci he won two conference titles and was named coach of the year. If you don't want to admit he could be a good hire that's cool but facts are facts.