Tenacious D: I was wrong.

Discussion in 'Vols Football' started by Tenacious D, Dec 7, 2012.

  1. Tenacious D

    Tenacious D The law is of supreme importance, or no importance

    For the last several months, I have consistently said that Jon Gruden would be the next head football coach at the University of Tennessee. Now, with today's announcement of Butch Jones, clearly, I was wrong.

    First, while I can admit the ultimate error of my prediction, and the folly of the unwavering confidence I placed in it, I should be clear in re-stating my strongest belief that Jon Gruden was not only willing - but wanting - to be the next head coach at the University of Tennessee. I do not know if the true and total story of how it all went wrong will be told, or who would believe it, even if it were - but it is a fantastic and folly-driven one, to say the very least. But in any regard, Tennessee fans deserve to know what occurred, and to which end it served. If I had the complete and empirical means to do so, I would, but I do not, and can't.

    Secondly, I continue to stand by the accounts given to me by several and trusted others, all along the way. I was privileged that they entrusted me with the best and most accurate information that they knew, had gathered, or learned, and thank them for it. Throughout this process, too many falsely assumed that my unwavering belief was founded in the information I had accumulated, when in fact, it was always centered upon the high-character and trustworthiness of the person(s) relaying it to me, instead. That trust remains.

    Third, I will continue to take every care to protect those who have relayed this information to me, just as I have done throughout the entirety of this process.

    Fourth, while undoubtedly egregious, this error was made of the best and most honest intentions, and was not an attempt to troll, garner clicks on the site, boost membership (which is free, so I never understood that allegation, to be honest) or for any other purpose to speak the truth, as best I knew it.

    Fifth, the mistaken prediction was mine, Tenacious D's, alone. And just as I would have received all accolades had the prediction proven true, so too should I be willing to accept the blame, not only in equal measure, but also, alone. Were I not willing to suffer both the risk and reward equally, I should think that it would make me a truer charlatan than simply missing on a single prediction could ever hope to produce.

    Sixth, this thread is not to offer anyone a chance to defend me, nor to even support me - but simply to lie in the bed that I have so painstakingly made for myself over the last several weeks. And to that end, I would only welcome those who wish to express their anger, contempt, disappointment, disdain for my errant prediction, or to simply have the opportunity to tell me "I told you so!", or to express how foolish I've turned out to be. For those wishing for the chance, this is it - and you should know that I will not take any exception to whatever you might wish to express, and in fact, will likely join you in the belief that it is very well and richly deserved.

    I am enormously disappointed in how these events have unfolded. I did not wish that Jon Gruden would be named so that I may be "right" - but because I so strongly believed that Tennessee deserved such a highly acclaimed and accomplished coach. I still do.

    I do not know if Coach Jones will produce similar results, but I will certainly support him as strongly as possible, and hope like hell that he is everything that our program so desperately needs, and that he not only meets, but exceeds, the expectations of this beleaguered fan base - to represent our university and state with the same pride and character for which we are known and named, and that he routinely compete for championships. I sincerely hope that he can do those things, and more.

    And, in closing, I should point out some that I have been particularly difficult with throughout all of this, even as they tried to point out the foolishness of my position, and who I owe special apologies: Several posters here, Tony Basilio, Grant Ramey, Mr. SEC, Wes Rucker, and innumerous posters at VolQuest, OuterMonvolia and FeelsLike98.

    So, I am ready to eat my crow, to answer any questions or to respond to any comments that you might have.

    And I'm wearing a jock. A very small, and still oddly loose one, but a jock nonetheless.
     
    JayVols likes this.
  2. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    Shit, dude. I came here because it was free, not for your predictions. Better than sitting here for 4 months going "WE'RE GETTING BUTCH JONES!"

    I will be here, talking football, and hopefully eating my own helping of crow if Jones pans out.

    Thanks for the access to a free site to talk UT sports, TD.
     
  3. _Crew_

    _Crew_ Contributor



    [​IMG]
     
  4. Tar Volon

    Tar Volon Me Blog @RockyTopTalk.com

    Wish you'd been right. Glad that you passed forward what you knew anyways, and I don't think you were ever anything but classy in dealing with people who disagreed. Obviously you overstated some things, I'm guessing because of getting information from one side of the equation and underestimating the other side. But it can happen to anybody. Thanks again. Please Butch Jones be good.
     
  5. Snakeonia

    Snakeonia Active Member

    no biggie Tenny, I ended up being wrong, but I posted what I was told, from people I trust. still enjoy this site way more than that crap hole VN
     
  6. TurtleTiz

    TurtleTiz Member

    Thank you. Your Grumor brought me here. The honesty and great people will keep me here.
     
  7. gcbvol

    gcbvol Fabulous Moderator

    Thanks for sharing what you believed and owning what you posted.

    One request: will you consider changing that Hart avi? Makes me nauseous.
     
  8. reVOLt

    reVOLt Contributor

    We're cool.

    But I'm physically ill due to what is insinuated in your post.

    Edit to add: Agree with GCB, please change your avi... I can't stand to look at that guy anymore.
     
  9. Volst53

    Volst53 Super Moderator

    It's not the turn of events that we wanted but Internet fame is for [ussies pay] anyways.


    I'm still interested to see how the Dave and cheeks thing plays out to the end.
     
  10. lumberjack4

    lumberjack4 Chieftain

    I came to this site before Gruden and will be here long after. I much prefer this site over the others. It sucked things didn't work out, everything looked like it was lining up and there were others with their sources that said things work looking good as well. It was nice to believe in the future of the program again, if only for a little while.

    I guess my only question, if you know or would answer it, is how close did we get? The fact that it appears the boosters are not directly contributing to the Jones contract makes it sound pretty damn close.
     
  11. gorockytop101

    gorockytop101 New Member

    Buuuuuurrrrrrrnnnnnnn hiiiiiiiiiiiim!
     
  12. dknash

    dknash Chieftain

    Questions:

    Are Cheek/Hart's jobs in jeopardy? If so, how did they pull this hire off, especially with such an exorbitant buyout - essentially forcing a lame duck choice on the next AD?

    Are the major boosters on board with Butch Jones as head coach? Or is there as much resentment in the booster ranks as there seems to be in the rank and file?

    I believe that pretty early on you said that Tennessee fans should expect a great hire and framed the situation as somewhat make or break for fan confidence in the university. Given this resolution (and this may be obvious, just not getting that tone from the OP), would you say that the administration acted in accordance with the ideal fan standards?

    Thanks. May you live in interesting times. (collective you for the fanbase, just to clarify)
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2012
  13. Lexvol

    Lexvol Super Moderator

    I can drink to all of that.
     
  14. hohenfelsvol

    hohenfelsvol Beer run

    I have and will continue to in the coming days and months.
     
  15. nashvillevol

    nashvillevol New Member

    Is there anything you can give us about the coaching search that would explain how the results were so far apart from what you thought would happen? How did we end up with Butch Jones?
     
  16. utvol0427

    utvol0427 Chieftain

    Tenny, for the first time in several years, your info made it enjoyable to be a Tennessee fan. Most of us on here actually had hope that we might become relevant again. Thanks for that. No one with half a brain gives a shit you were wrong.
     
  17. Tenacious D

    Tenacious D The law is of supreme importance, or no importance

    I was told that Gruden expected it to be all worked out, allegedly, until late in the evening, last night.

    I don't want to speak for anyone here, but I was also told that Jones originally told his AD and players that he was remaining in Cincy as of last night.
     
  18. Tenacious D

    Tenacious D The law is of supreme importance, or no importance

    I am out of the prediction business, DK.

    However, the only way that I think the situation could be any worse is if Hart and Cheek (and his entourage) survive this. If they do, it might be a better use of our time to start thinking about the leadership being provided by DiPietro, the BOT, and if that fails, the Governor.

    It's one thing to think that you're living in a disgusting cess pool of human waste, and quite another to fall in it.

    This goes well beyond Jon Gruden and Butch Jones - as they are just small fragments of the disconnect between the University, and the native population it is intended to serve.
     
  19. reVOLt

    reVOLt Contributor

    I am at a loss for words.
     
  20. Tenacious D

    Tenacious D The law is of supreme importance, or no importance

    I hesitate to hasten a guess (recall, I am the same guy who was so glaringly wrong).

    But I believe that I can best sum up my personal belief, based on everything that I believe I know to be true (again, I've been wrong before) like this: Dave Hart and Jimmy Cheek did not want Jon Gruden at Tennessee, and while they each made overtures as if they would accept it, however begrudgingly, that's not how it always played out.
     

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