Butch Jones Gets Raise The Old-Fashioned Way

By Zach Ragan | Dec 8, 2014

University of Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart announced on Monday that Vols head football coach Butch Jones would receive a two-year contract extension worth $3.6 million per year.

Hart prefaced the announcement of the extension by saying “Butch Jones has clearly reenergized our fan base, he is an outstanding ambassador for our university which transcends his role as head football coach. He and his staff have recruited at a very high level and in an effort to restock our talent base you see that unfolding”. Hart added that Jones “possesses a very unique skill set in my opinion. One that not too many people are fortunate enough to be blessed with. I value very much our relationship, both personal and professional”.

Some folks might not think Jones is deserving of a raise after just two seasons, in which he has a 11-13 record.

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But to think that is to be a bit short-sighted.

Results are what matters, but results aren’t solely defined by wins and losses. Yes those will have to come eventually (they’ve started to trickle in), but restoring Tennessee is much more than wins and losses.

Butch has already delivered more results than the previous two UT head coaches — combined.

Not only does Jones have Tennessee playing after Christmas for the first time since 2010, but he has energized a fan base that hit the lowest of lows in November, 2012.

When the Vols lost to Vanderbilt in 2012, and Derek Dooley was subsequently fired, fans had legitimate concerns as to whether or not Tennessee football would ever be “back”.

On top of the fact that UT’s on-the-field product was a complete disaster, they had an Academic Progress Rate issue that was looming quite large behind the scenes.

When Butch Jones took over at Tennessee, the Vols were dangerously close to dealing with APR penalties that could’ve included reduced practice time, reduced scholarships and/or post-season bans.

The football team’s APR rate was the lowest in the SEC. At 931, it was only one point above the minimum.

After just one semester with Butch Jones at the helm, Tennessee’s APR rose to 962, the highest score in program history.

That’s not something you can measure with wins or losses. That’s not something that gets a lot of attention on a national level.

But that is the reason Butch Jones deserved the raise he received on Monday.

Jones has completely changed the culture at Tennessee. He’s made in-state recruiting a priority and because of that he’s reaped some of the state’s best talent in years.

Former players have been welcomed back and embraced by Jones. He’s made an effort to get UT in the national spotlight. He’s loved by practically everyone he comes in contact with.

And with Sunday’s announcement that Tennessee will be playing in the Gator Bowl, fans are starting to see the results they’ve been waiting on since last decade.

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So how, exactly, did Butch Jones receive his raise the old fashioned way?

Well, he received it by doing all of the above.

The wild speculation the past couple of weeks was that Jones was receiving a raise because Michigan was coming-a-calling.

But Dave Hart confirmed on Monday that wasn’t the case.

Hart said Michigan, nor any other school, contacted him about speaking with Jones.

Now that’s not to say there weren’t feelers put out there. I’m certain there were. I don’t know which avenues they took to send those feelers, but they were certainly put out there.

But Jones never used Michigan as leverage to get a raise.

Not that there’s anything wrong with doing that. Nick Saban, Mike Gundy and Hugh Freeze have all done that in recent years. Jones may eventually do it too. The point, however, is that Jones didn’t have to. The Tennessee athletic department noticed (and rightfully so) that they have a great thing going with Butch Jones.

After years and years of heartbreak and suffering, the Vols finally have their guy. They found the one man in Michigan that was a Tennessee man and they locked him up.

I don’t necessarily subscribe to the theory of soul-mates, but it’s hard to imagine a better match than Butch Jones and Tennessee.

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