Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones drew humor from fans suggesting the Volunteers already contend for championships. But the fact is, he was right.
Yes, we know it was another thing to laugh at him about. Tennessee football has not lost fewer than four games since Butch Jones arrived in Knoxville.
And they have only finished the year ranked two of the four seasons Jones has been there. Meanwhile, they have no division, conference, or national titles to show for it, nor do they even have a New Year’s Six bowl appearance.
So you could see why it was a bit humorous when Jones suggested the Vols have contended for championships already at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla.
Here’s his exact quote: “The first element that goes into winning championships is contending to win championships, and our program has done that.”
So when you add his five-star hearts and champions of life comments, it’s understandable to make fun of him for this.
And I’m not here to suggest that Butch Jones shouldn’t be on the hot seat.
However, he’s right.
The Vols have indeed contended for championships the past two years. Let’s just start with last year.
Tennessee football started the season 5-0 with wins over the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs, and they were an overtime victory away from being 6-0 after facing the Texas A&M Aggies.
Who wasn’t sure they were in the driver’s seat of the SEC at that point?
The Vols were one turnover and a slew of injuries in the secondary away from being 11-1 last year. And they did not know the SEC East was out of reach until the second to last game in November. So yes, they contended for the division title, meaning they were in contention for the SEC Championship.
Meanwhile, the year before, Tennessee football finished the regular season 8-4. They went 5-3 in the conference.
Meanwhile, they finished second to the Florida Gators, who went 7-1 in the conference. If you followed the trajectory of the 2015 season, it was clear the Vols were out of it early.
However, we should note that they lost to the Gators 28-27 on the road after being up 27-14 in the fourth quarter. If they hold that lead, they win the East.
So while the game was early in the year, if you break it all down as a body of work, the Vols were clearly in contention to win the East that year. The deciding game just happened to be in September.
Now, there are numerous reasons to be frustrated with Butch Jones’s performance in four years in Knoxville so far. And yes, he’s had some cheesy quotes.
But criticizing him for this one is just idiotic. He’s right, and it’s just inaccurately piling on to suggest anything otherwise.