Butch Jones Wants Mike DeBord to “Enhance” Offense, Not Rebuild It

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Butch Jones introduced Mike DeBord, his new offensive coordinator, on Friday morning. The two have known each other for years, and Jones wants the offense to remain steady despite the new hire. PHOTO: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers officially introduced Mike DeBord as their new offensive coordinator for their football team late Friday morning, holding a press conference in which DeBord and head coach Butch Jones spoke to the media about DeBord’s hiring process and the plan moving forward.

DeBord was hired after former offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian left to become the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL, but DeBord won’t come in looking to move the Vols in a totally different direction. Butch Jones stressed as much, saying:

"I wanted an individual who could walk into the room and fix the problems of the entire offense…I wanted a teacher and a fundamentalist, an individual who understood the fundamentals. Mike DeBord was the right fit. I wanted an individual who could come in and understand our terminology, our coaching staff, and someone who could enhance our offense, not rebuild it. Our offense doesn’t need to be rebuilt. It needs to be enhanced.-Butch Jones on new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord"

According to ESPN efficiency ratings, the Vols finished 55th in the nation in offensive efficiency in 2014. The Vols also finished 11th in the SEC in total offensive yards per game with 370.5 yards per game. While those numbers aren’t particularly phenomenal, the feeling around the offense improved dramatically once Joshua Dobbs took over at quarterback in the final five games of the season.

DeBord will manage an offense that returns 10 starters from the 2014 season, including Dobbs, running back Jalen Hurd, and wide receivers Marquez North, Von Pearson, and Pig Howard. The Vols will also bring in new skill position players who will have a chance to make immediate impacts, such as running backs Alvin Kamara and John Kelly, and wide receiver Preston Williams.

Both Jones and DeBord stressed that the Vols aren’t a “finesse offense” despite the fact that spread offenses are often labeled as such. Jones and DeBord said running the ball is important to them both, and Jones stated that he “will never run a finesse offense at the University of Tennessee.”

One issue Vol fans had with the 2014 Vols was the inability to create big plays in the passing game and the inconsistency the quarterbacks would show, especially Justin Worley early in the season. DeBord, however, appears to work on alleviating those issues, saying that “if the quarterback doesn’t like it, we won’t do it. I’ll never press the issue.”

DeBord hasn’t coached an offense in college since 2007 when he was the offensive coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines. He spent some time in the NFL after that, but he’s been Michigan’s Administrator of Olympic Sports for the past two years. But despite the extended time away from college athletics, DeBord claims he’s not “rusty.”

“There’s no rust,” DeBord said when asked if he feels rusty after years away from a college football offense. “If anything, I feel fully charged. Coach Jones said it’s like riding a bike, and I’m pedaling really fast right now.”

According to Mike DeBord, the interview process with Jones stressed “fit” and comfort, something that was apparent as soon as DeBord became the leading candidate for the job. Before he interviewed DeBord, Jones asked him to look at four games from this past season, evaluate them, and tell Jones what he would have done differently, analyzing the Vols’ offense. DeBord even said he and Jones spent two hours looking over just five plays from the 2014 Tennessee offense, deeply analyzing the nuances of the offensive schemes.

Butch Jones wanted a coordinator he was comfortable with and who could come in and keep things running smoothly for the Vols. Jones and DeBord have known each other for nearly two decades, and the two coached together at Central Michigan from 2000-03. The roles were reversed then, with DeBord as the head coach and Jones as the offensive coordinator. While the two went their separate ways in 2003, the two never forgot each other, keeping in contact via phone calls for years afterwards.

Now the two are reunited at Tennessee, and in terms of “fit” with Butch Jones’s plan for the future of Tennessee football, Mike DeBord makes a lot of sense. If he is to come in and “enhance” the offense as proclaimed, then the 2015 offense shouldn’t miss a beat.