I'm going to share my view on the program starting from when Butch was announced the HC to now and beyond.
Year one:
When Butch Jones was announced as the head coach, I was like everyone else who collectively said "Who???". I was skeptical of the hire, so i was in wait and see mode. In that year, most reasonable people looked at the roster and expected a 5-7 year (6-6 if they had some breaks go for them). I said 6-6, but that was a heart pick as I really thought that it would be year 2 when we would go to a bowl. We would end up going 5-7. While we did unfortunately lose to Vandy, we pulled off a big upset against a top 15 South Carolina team. At the end of the year, I was still in the wait and see group, but I started to become a little more optimistic.
Year two:
One of the biggest questions people had about Butch when he was hired was " Can he recruit at an elite level in the SEC?" He answered that question with a resounding yes when he landed a top 5 class coming off a 5-7 season. Let's just say that my hope for this program grew a good amount that day. Most people expected 6-6, with the more optimistic fans thinking 7-5 and more skeptical fans saying 5-7. I thought "If Butch is the guy that can possibly bring this program back to the top in the near future, then we need to get to a bowl this year and win it." Through the ups and downs of the year, we finished 6-6 despite having one of the youngest teams in the country. We would go to the taxslayer bowl (a bowl nobody thought we would be in) and crush a decent 7-5 Iowa team. After that year, I was no longer on the wait and see side. I became convinced that Butch is the guy that will bring this program back to its glory days within the next few years.
This year:
After the bowl game and another top 5 class, the national media started to notice the progress of Tennessee. Some of them started up the hype train for the team, and named UT a preseason favorite to possibly win the SEC east and reach the SEC Championship game. This caused some fans to have an expectation of 9-3 in Year 3 (with a few people saying 10-2 if breaks go our way). Others who didn't fully buy into the media hype thought 8-4 would be really good progress, while those who were still not sold on Butch thought 7-5 or worse. I was in the 8-4 crowd, as I thought that we were still a year away from going to Atlanta. While we were just a few plays away from going to the SECCG, we finished strong down the stretch and reached 8-4 and are now going to play a good 10-2 Northwestern team in the Outback bowl.
Year 4:
I believe that this is the year that (barring injuries, suspensions, ect) we will finish 10-2, go to the SECCG, and go to a New Year's Six bowl.
To sum it all up, my view on the program today is that we are heading in the right direction and we are getting close to being back. :rock: