Butch Jones Speaks About Scheduling, Alabama And The SEC
By Zach Ragan
Apr 20, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones signs a helmet for a fan before the spring Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The annual SEC meetings got underway in Destin,FL on Tuesday. Among the big topics of discussion will be the debate over rather or not the SEC should extend their schedule to nine conference games instead of eight.
Butch Jones, the new head coach of the Vols, discussed scheduling and other items during a short media session on Tuesday.
Being one of the new guys in town, Jones wouldn’t come out in favor of either an eight or nine game schedule, saying he wanted to sit back and observe what others had to say before forming an opinion on the matter.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has been very vocal about favoring a nine game conference schedule. If the SEC were to retain a eight game schedule there’s a possibility the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry might not be an annual meeting. Jones wouldn’t comment too much on the Alabama rivalry, only saying “we need to start winning a few more of those games to make it a rivalry”.
The Vols have not beat the Crimson Tide since a 16-13 win in Knoxville in 2006.
In light of the recent comments made by Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis, in reference to Nick Saban, Jones was also asked by the media what he thought of Saban.
Nice try, but you’re not going to get Butch Jones that easy, he’s proven to be nothing but a first class guy, that’s very well respected by other coaches, and for good reason.
Jones responded with nothing but praise for the Alabama coach:
"I’ve got total respect for Nick Saban. It’s amazing what he’s done there [Alabama], he’s done a tremendous job"
The Vols head coach was also asked what it was like being a head coach in the SEC. Jones said “you’re competing against the best of the best….everyday it’s 4th and 1 for the national championship”.
He also mentioned that there’s a lot more attention from the media saying “everything is a story….everyday is football season in the SEC”.
There’s definitely no doubt about he last part of that quote. Football is religion in the SEC, if you don’t live it, you just can’t quite understand what Saturdays in the fall are really all about.
Folks in Ann Arbor and Columbus make disagree, but take a trip to the holy grails of Athens, Knoxville and Tuscaloosa come September and they’d likely change their minds.
For more on the Vols and the SEC make sure to follow along on Twitter @vols_zach and @AllforTennessee