DiderotsGhost
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Given the connection between Butch Jones and Charlie Strong, this may always be an interesting comparison. Butch and Strong were rivals in the AAC / Big East at Cincinnati and Louisville. Charlie Strong was offered the Tennessee job and declined. Both Butch and Charlie took over major programs with Butch at UT and Charlie at the other UT. With Charlie Strong now rumored to be on the hot seat, I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast.
1. Butch Took Over a Worse Situation
Derek Dooley left the UT program in shambles. In late 2012, Tennessee was in the worst shape it had been in since Johnny Majors took over in 1977. Our roster was thin, our team had a losing mentality, and Butch inherited one of the worst UT defenses of the past 3 decades. Let's also not forget that Derek Dooley kind of didn't bother to recruit Offensive Linemen his last two seasons. I'd argue Butch took over one of the worst situations at a "top tier" program in college football in the past 3 decades.
Meanwhile, Texas certainly declined in Mack Brown's late years, but I don't know that the situation was comparable to ours. Brown's 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were ranked #4 and #2. The 2013 class dropped off a bit, but was still at #17 (and still much better than any Derek Dooley class). The year Brown was fired Texas finished at #16. Brown seemed to have lost control of the program in the last few years, with major disciplinary problems on the team. But talent-wise, the situation in Austin in 2014 was worlds better than the situation in Knoxville in 2013.
2. Butch Has Performed Better
I don't want to downplay the fact that Strong took over a mess in Texas. It's clear that Mack Brown was not developing the talent there well and there were a lot of kids that were just "bad apples" on the roster. At the same time, Charlie went 6-7 in the first season and is 4-6 this season (with Baylor and T-Tech left on the schedule). Assuming Strong loses to Baylor that either leaves him at 5-7 or 4-8 this season. Butch took over a worse situation and went 5-7 and 7-6 in his first two seasons and seems to be turning the corner a bit in Year 3. Charlie Strong's struggles in Austin emphasize just how difficult it is to rebuild in a major conference program in the modern era. This makes Butch Jones' rebuilding job look all the more remarkable.
3. Butch Has Recruited Better
The biggest surprise with Charlie Strong is that he took over the nation's #1 recruiting powerhouse and has ... well ... not managed to do much with it. He did land the #9 class for 2015 which was moderately impressive, but really, top 10 classes at Texas are almost expected. For 2016, Strong's class is currently ranked all the way down at #45. While it's very unlikely that Texas finishes that low, it's difficult not to notice that the class is mostly filled with 3 stars, and Texas seems to be losing out on the top players in the state.
The #1 recruit in Texas right now isn't even considering Texas. He's mostly looking at SEC schools like Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Alabama. The state's #2 recruit has committed to Houston! The #3 recruit has committed to Baylor and #5 has committed to LSU. Texas has major advantages in recruiting, but it seems like the top kids in the state are barely even considering the Longhorns. To lose the state's top Defensive Tackle prospect to Houston almost seems insulting! Imagine if we lost the top DT in Tennessee to Memphis or Louisville?!
Meanwhile, Butch Jones has been one of the best recruiters in the nation, booking the #7 class in 2014 and the #4 class in 2015. Thus far, 2016 has been not been quite as strong as those two classes, but we're still ranked #17. And we already have two blue chip recruits for the 2017 class, including the #1 QB.
Could Strong Get Fired?
There's a good chance that Strong is gone after this season. It's really tough to rebuild a program, but certainly it's a lot easier at places like Texas, Florida, USC, and Georgia where you have major advantages with recruiting. However, Strong's lackluster recruiting raises a lot of questions about whether he can succeed long-term at Texas.
That said, I think Strong is just the latest in a line of "great coaches" that have struggled with the public relations management aspect at elite schools. We saw RichRod fail at Michigan and then succeed at Arizona, in spite of the fact that the latter should have theoretically been a tougher gig. The boosters hated RichRod after Year #1 and the pressure never got better in spite of improved results. Brady Hoke, who succeeded wildly at Ball State (with very few resources) and turned around San Diego State, also struggled at Michigan. Then there's Will Muschamp at Florida, who also seemed to struggle mightily with the public relations side of running a major program. It's becoming clear that you have to be more than a "great football coach" to run a top-tier program in college football, and a lot of these guys simply lack that CEO and Public Relations attributes required.
Miami might have a "lower ceiling" than Texas, but Strong would probably be better off in that environment. At Miami the fans barely pay attention until ... ya know ... you lose 58-0 at home to Clemson. He'd probably have 3-4 years to rebuild without having to worry about too much; similar to the Louisville job.
We Might the Right Hire, Albeit Somewhat Accidentally
In hindsight, if Charlie Strong is struggling so much at Texas, I don't think he would've succeeded at Tennessee either. We got lucky that he turned us down, as Butch Jones was clearly a better fit in Knoxville. The jury is still out on whether Butch can be an elite, championship-winning coach, but there's absolutely no doubt that the program is in much better shape than the one he inherited. I don't know if you can say the same thing about Texas.
Here's to hoping for a strong finish to our third season with Butch.
GO BIG ORANGE!
1. Butch Took Over a Worse Situation
Derek Dooley left the UT program in shambles. In late 2012, Tennessee was in the worst shape it had been in since Johnny Majors took over in 1977. Our roster was thin, our team had a losing mentality, and Butch inherited one of the worst UT defenses of the past 3 decades. Let's also not forget that Derek Dooley kind of didn't bother to recruit Offensive Linemen his last two seasons. I'd argue Butch took over one of the worst situations at a "top tier" program in college football in the past 3 decades.
Meanwhile, Texas certainly declined in Mack Brown's late years, but I don't know that the situation was comparable to ours. Brown's 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were ranked #4 and #2. The 2013 class dropped off a bit, but was still at #17 (and still much better than any Derek Dooley class). The year Brown was fired Texas finished at #16. Brown seemed to have lost control of the program in the last few years, with major disciplinary problems on the team. But talent-wise, the situation in Austin in 2014 was worlds better than the situation in Knoxville in 2013.
2. Butch Has Performed Better
I don't want to downplay the fact that Strong took over a mess in Texas. It's clear that Mack Brown was not developing the talent there well and there were a lot of kids that were just "bad apples" on the roster. At the same time, Charlie went 6-7 in the first season and is 4-6 this season (with Baylor and T-Tech left on the schedule). Assuming Strong loses to Baylor that either leaves him at 5-7 or 4-8 this season. Butch took over a worse situation and went 5-7 and 7-6 in his first two seasons and seems to be turning the corner a bit in Year 3. Charlie Strong's struggles in Austin emphasize just how difficult it is to rebuild in a major conference program in the modern era. This makes Butch Jones' rebuilding job look all the more remarkable.
3. Butch Has Recruited Better
The biggest surprise with Charlie Strong is that he took over the nation's #1 recruiting powerhouse and has ... well ... not managed to do much with it. He did land the #9 class for 2015 which was moderately impressive, but really, top 10 classes at Texas are almost expected. For 2016, Strong's class is currently ranked all the way down at #45. While it's very unlikely that Texas finishes that low, it's difficult not to notice that the class is mostly filled with 3 stars, and Texas seems to be losing out on the top players in the state.
The #1 recruit in Texas right now isn't even considering Texas. He's mostly looking at SEC schools like Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Alabama. The state's #2 recruit has committed to Houston! The #3 recruit has committed to Baylor and #5 has committed to LSU. Texas has major advantages in recruiting, but it seems like the top kids in the state are barely even considering the Longhorns. To lose the state's top Defensive Tackle prospect to Houston almost seems insulting! Imagine if we lost the top DT in Tennessee to Memphis or Louisville?!
Meanwhile, Butch Jones has been one of the best recruiters in the nation, booking the #7 class in 2014 and the #4 class in 2015. Thus far, 2016 has been not been quite as strong as those two classes, but we're still ranked #17. And we already have two blue chip recruits for the 2017 class, including the #1 QB.
Could Strong Get Fired?
There's a good chance that Strong is gone after this season. It's really tough to rebuild a program, but certainly it's a lot easier at places like Texas, Florida, USC, and Georgia where you have major advantages with recruiting. However, Strong's lackluster recruiting raises a lot of questions about whether he can succeed long-term at Texas.
That said, I think Strong is just the latest in a line of "great coaches" that have struggled with the public relations management aspect at elite schools. We saw RichRod fail at Michigan and then succeed at Arizona, in spite of the fact that the latter should have theoretically been a tougher gig. The boosters hated RichRod after Year #1 and the pressure never got better in spite of improved results. Brady Hoke, who succeeded wildly at Ball State (with very few resources) and turned around San Diego State, also struggled at Michigan. Then there's Will Muschamp at Florida, who also seemed to struggle mightily with the public relations side of running a major program. It's becoming clear that you have to be more than a "great football coach" to run a top-tier program in college football, and a lot of these guys simply lack that CEO and Public Relations attributes required.
Miami might have a "lower ceiling" than Texas, but Strong would probably be better off in that environment. At Miami the fans barely pay attention until ... ya know ... you lose 58-0 at home to Clemson. He'd probably have 3-4 years to rebuild without having to worry about too much; similar to the Louisville job.
We Might the Right Hire, Albeit Somewhat Accidentally
In hindsight, if Charlie Strong is struggling so much at Texas, I don't think he would've succeeded at Tennessee either. We got lucky that he turned us down, as Butch Jones was clearly a better fit in Knoxville. The jury is still out on whether Butch can be an elite, championship-winning coach, but there's absolutely no doubt that the program is in much better shape than the one he inherited. I don't know if you can say the same thing about Texas.
Here's to hoping for a strong finish to our third season with Butch.
GO BIG ORANGE!
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