Butch Jones To Michigan Rumors Continue To Circulate

Thanks to Nick Saban, a college football coach denying interest in another job, or reaffirming his commitment to his current job, means absolutely nothing these days.

So despite the fact that Vols head coach Butch Jones, on numerous occasions, has told fans and media that he’s committed to Tennessee, fans continue to worry he could bolt for Michigan.

I can’t blame Vol fans for being concerned. I’d be a bit jaded too, after watching Lane Kiffin leave after one season on Rocky Top.

There was a report recently that Michigan reached out to Jones. The report also said Jones will not be a candidate at Michigan.

Of course this time of the year, things rarely are settled that easy.

A tweet from respected Tennessee beat reporter Wes Rucker sent fans into a frenzy on Thursday.

Rucker tweeted that Jones and Michigan have “known mutual interest”.

There’s no doubt that Jones and Michigan will have some mutual interest. Jones is an up-and-coming coach that is setting the recruiting trail on fire. He’s led Tennessee to their best season in four years and he’s done it the right way.

On Jones’ side of things, he’s from Michigan. There’s not much else that links them, but in a day and age where we reach to connect folks to schools, geography more than suffices.

When asked about leaving Tennessee, in late October, Jones said “It’s not even worth discussing. There’s no validity to it”. A short time later Jones added “We work every day to build this program and I plan on being here for a very, very long time”.

However, as I mentioned before, until Michigan hires a coach, Vol fans aren’t out of the woods.

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Anything is possible.

But personally I don’t believe Jones is going anywhere.

I’m not so naive to think that Jones is an angel sent from heaven that wouldn’t dare leave Tennessee. I also don’t think he’s anything like Lane Kiffin.

If Jones wanted to leave to go to Michigan, it wouldn’t make him a bad person. He’s entitled to seek employment in a location that makes him and his family happy. That’s why contracts include buyout clauses.

But I truly believe that Tennessee is where Jones wants to be. He’s embraced everything about Tennessee more than anyone could’ve hoped. He’s embraced former coaches, former players, traditions, other programs and so on.

Jones would be crazy not to take Michigan’s call. Almost everyone reading this, no matter how happy you are in your job, would take a call from another place of employment, just to listen.

In the end though, I think Jones ends up with a raise for not only himself, but his staff as well.

Tennessee is already working on a new contract for Jones. Once the recruiting dead period begins, I’d look for an extension/raise to be announced.

Until then, stay away from the Twitter rumors. It’s too difficult to separate the rumors with no merit from the ones filled with truth.