Butch says it takes 6 to 7 years to build a program in the SEC

[BeecherVol]

KB, I agree it was tone deaf of him. He should've anticipated how it would be interpreted (as witnessed here on VN). But remember: rumors running around about coaching changes early this season, including some speculation about Jones and Va Tech. Maybe part of the reason he talked about his long term plans here were to reassure any concern in that regard.

Tone deaf? Yeah, some. Didn't think through all the ways it could be interpreted? Absolutely. Stupid? Nah, wouldn't go that far. A travesty worthy of pulling our hair out, as some in this thread seem to be doing? Heck no.

Jones rarely gets very far away from basic comments, phrases or taglines that we hear every week. He has done a pretty good job of controlling the narrative during questioning and interviews for 2.5 years.

When he does break "silence" (so to speak) I imagine its pretty well thought out and calculated. So I don't buy that he had a brain fart or didn't stop to think how it would be perceived given the topic. He normally stays away from long term (actual numbers) projections.

Having said all of that, I think its an effort to temper expectations. There is really no other reason to put an actual amount of time of a comment like that.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Meh.

Football coaches are almost never known for the eloquence or accuracy with words. Plenty of great coaches put their foot in their mouths from time to time. Some made a career out of it. They still won lotsa games, and championships to boot.

We're getting too deep into worrying about what he says, I think. As long as he keeps the trend-line for #wins pointing upward, he's doing fine.

 

[KBVol]

Actually, from a recruiting perspective, it wasn't stupid at all.

Anyone he recruits today is going to be on the team 3-4 years from now when year 6 or 7 arrives. They'll be RS sophomores or juniors, with a very few non-RS seniors.

What about the promises he made to Hurd, Malone, Wolf, Gaulden, Barnett, et al? They'll be long gone.

Why not come out and say something like........"we're confident that we're on our way, we're gonna compete for championships soon....just like I told the 'legacy class' when they signed on and said they wanted to be the ones who turned Tennessee around. We've made great strides this season and last and those players, those leaders of this team are planning on being in Atlanta next December playing for the title we said we'd play for when we recruited then here".

 

[emzeeee]

Jones rarely gets very far away from basic comments, phrases or taglines that we hear every week. He has done a pretty good job of controlling the narrative during questioning and interviews for 2.5 years.

When he does break "silence" (so to speak) I imagine its pretty well thought out and calculated. So I don't buy that he had a brain fart or didn't stop to think how it would be perceived given the topic. He normally stays away from long term (actual numbers) projections.

Having said all of that, I think its an effort to temper expectations. There is really no other reason to put an actual amount of time of a comment like that.

People on VN are going to ride his dick no matter how he speaks. I'd much rather he be more coach speak than run his mouth about anything or any opponent.

 

[sjt18]

Actually, from a recruiting perspective, it wasn't stupid at all.

Anyone he recruits today is going to be on the team 3-4 years from now when year 6 or 7 arrives. They'll be RS sophomores or juniors, with a very few non-RS seniors.

Well, one, it tells current and future recruits that he basically sold Hurd, Kelly, and others a bill of goods since he "knew" that they wouldn't "help put Tennessee back where it belongs".

Two, even those kids don't want to hear about continuing to be a losing or middling team for the next 3 or 4 years. They want to believe that their coach expects to win NOW.

 

[emzeeee]

What about the promises he made to Hurd, Malone, Wolf, Gaulden, Barnett, et al? They'll be long gone.

Why not come out and say something like........"we're confident that we're on our way, we're gonna compete for championships soon....just like I told the 'legacy class' when they signed on and said they wanted to be the ones who turned Tennessee around. We've made great strides this season and last and those players, those leaders of this team are planning on being in Atlanta next December playing for the title we said we'd play for when we recruited then here".

Building a program != winning games

Stop trying to be pedants.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

What about the promises he made to Hurd, Malone, Wolf, Gaulden, Barnett, et al? They'll be long gone.

KB and SJT, he didn't say we won't win the SEC next year. Never said that at all. The potential for championships for Hurd, Malone, etc. is still as strong as ever.

He didn't rule out a thing. He just said his rebuilding job won't be FINISHED until year 6 or 7. It doesn't have to be a finished product to start racking up championships. He never said it did.

 

['Boro-vol]

This article is an inconvenient Truth for the disciples of Butch. It's straight from the horses mouth.

An AD worth his salt would have Butch in his office immediately, explaining to him how it will not take HIM 6-7 years to rebuid. He would also follow it up in the media, letting it be known that the expectations at Tennessee are higher than that.

I hope Butch does it...I really do. It would be best for the program. But the faith of many is shaken....and moving the goal line again is not very reassuring.

 

[emzeeee]

Jones has made note of it in the past with his comments about Oklahoma. Building a program up ideally means you have YOUR recruits as seniors leading the team and then exiting the program and YOUR recruits coming in to a consistent program with solid leadership. That takes more than 3 years.

If he said "We're confident we're on our way" it would have been 85 pages of VN parroting "win the important games before getting confident".

Have you seen what happens as far as depth when players get injured? It takes years to build. We're still in the phase of one or two key injuries being able to ruin a season.

Tennessee fans across all sports are so quick to jump down the throat of their coaches, it's hysterical.

 

[BeecherVol]

People on VN are going to ride his dick no matter how he speaks. I'd much rather he be more coach speak than run his mouth about anything or any opponent.

Im not arguing that. And don't really care what his says about his opponents. He chooses "coach speak" in regards to that which is irrelevant by itself. I was just using that point to say when he breaks the trend of being vague or repetitive there is probably some thought put into and a reason. He doesn't get outside of coach speak very often. I tend to listen more when he gets outside robot mode.

 

[TAF]

I tell my CEO that I need another 6 or 7 years before he can actually judge my performance...

He didn't accept that answer, for some reason...

 

[BeecherVol]

KB and SJT, he didn't say we won't win the SEC next year. Never said that at all. The potential for championships for Hurd, Malone, etc. is still as strong as ever.

He didn't rule out a thing. He just said his rebuilding job won't be FINISHED until year 6 or 7. It doesn't have to be a finished product to start racking up championships. He never said it did.

But if it don't happen we have the "6 or 7 years" comment to fall back on.

 

[sechamp2012]

It actually does take 6-7 years if you are Butch Jones and you are doing on the job training. He is just setting the fans up for next year when he has those in games melt downs.


Gators coach disagrees with BJ

Gators will lose 4 or 5 next year can't keep having lucky wins forever ask Auburn.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Most of us have figured out that almost anything that comes out of his mouth is BS coach speak

No one will take this seriously, as they shouldn't. Butch doesn't even believe it.

Remember, we are talking about the guy who said "Best Staff in America"

Most of us who have been around football for more than 60 years know that Butch is correct.

 

[BenGrimm]

I don't think national championships should be the expectation but if we win the east we will have opportunities to win conference titles and get in the mix. I don't see the SEC champ being excluded from the playoff

As long as they have no more than 1 loss I agree. But if a 2-3 loss team were at to upset that 1 loss/undefeated team in the SEC CG I don't think they get in (assuming there are 4 other 1 loss/undefeated conference champions).

It would a lot of chops falling for a 2 loss team from any conference getting in.

 

[McDad]

We sure enjoy slicing and dicing everything CBJ has to say, don't we? Keep in mind context is missing in his statement because this was uttered on Vol calls which leads me to believe it was a response to a specific question. Unfortunately, we dont know the question and are therefore missing context.

For the sake of argument, taking his words at face value, he may have a valid point. Depends on one's definition of prominence. To me, prominence doesnt ONLY mean immediate success but perennial success. Bama is the definition of prominence, because BAMA has a stable culture (of cheating, ha!), ethusiastic fans, engaged alumni, a national presence every year, and they don't rebuild, they reload. Thats the kind of program i want for UT (minus the cheating). 6-7 years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. Heck, some programs have been unable to return to and/or maintain prominence after 2 decades (Miami). Nebraska has floundered both in wins and as a program for a while. Michigan, too. Penn State had as near a death penalty as anyone ever and how long ago was that handed out? 6 -7 years may be a good average eve n as we can look around and see programs doing it sooner (from the outside looking in).

 

[VOLINVONORE]

It actually does take 6-7 years if you are Butch Jones and you are doing on the job training. He is just setting the fans up for next year when he has those in games melt downs.


Gators coach disagrees with BJ

Gators are and have been loaded with talent and experience. Their problem was they had a coach who could recruit but was a worst coach than Dooley. Dooley could not recruit or coach and left a roster almost void of SEC talent at every position.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I tell my CEO that I need another 6 or 7 years before he can actually judge my performance...

He didn't accept that answer, for some reason...

Missed the part where Butch said not to judge him.

And are you in charge of a program with tens of millions of $$ in revenue per year, with hundreds of millions of $$ in facilities, competing nationwide for "market share" (wins) with 65 other equally prominent and high-profile programs? Are you scrutinized week in and week out by the media? Are you bringing that behemoth back to relevance after seven years of mediocrity, driven down by your predecessors?

If all those elements perfectly describe your job, then you've come up with a great analogy.

 

[Dudleys87]

I'll take 7 years of Jones before hiring another Dooley.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Well, one, it tells current and future recruits that he basically sold Hurd, Kelly, and others a bill of goods since he "knew" that they wouldn't "help put Tennessee back where it belongs".

Two, even those kids don't want to hear about continuing to be a losing or middling team for the next 3 or 4 years. They want to believe that their coach expects to win NOW.

Bunch of B. S.

 

[BeecherVol]

Jones has made note of it in the past with his comments about Oklahoma. Building a program up ideally means you have YOUR recruits as seniors leading the team and then exiting the program and YOUR recruits coming in to a consistent program with solid leadership. That takes more than 3 years.

If he said "We're confident we're on our way" it would have been 85 pages of VN parroting "win the important games before getting confident".

Have you seen what happens as far as depth when players get injured? It takes years to build. We're still in the phase of one or two key injuries being able to ruin a season.

Tennessee fans across all sports are so quick to jump down the throat of their coaches, it's hysterical.

Eh. There are plenty that go full on middle school crush mode when he talks about bricks and such things as well. Fans hang on to words at each end. Many have nothing to do with the end game. Occasionally you get a nugget that is relevant.

 

[TAF]

Missed the part where Butch said not to judge him.

And are you in charge of a program with tens of millions of $$ in revenue per year, with hundreds of millions of $$ in facilities, competing nationwide for "market share" (wins) with 65 other equally prominent and high-profile programs? Are you scrutinized week in and week out by the media? Are you bringing that behemoth back to relevance after seven years of mediocrity, driven down by your predecessors?

If all those elements perfectly describe your job, then you've come up with a great analogy.

I run an over a half a billion $ division of a global company with 31 manufacturing facilities throughout the world. So...I make decisions everyday which involve 10s of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of $s...media scrutiny is everywhere from being a prominent company and selling to global, prominent companies that in turn sell to global consumers...so...yeah, pretty much, and then some.

K?

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I run an over a half a billion $ division of a global company with 31 manufacturing facilities throughout the world. So...I make decisions everyday which involve 10s of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of $s...media scrutiny is everywhere from being a prominent company and selling to global, prominent companies that in turn sell to global consumers...so...yeah, pretty much, and then some.

K?

Never heard of you.

But nonetheless, I'll keep an open mind. Tell me about how the program was a dumpster fire when you took over.

p.s. Did I miss the part where Butch said not to judge him until then? Or did you make that part up?

 

[Volador]

I'd say "15-17 years" if I were Butch

 

[emzeeee]

Never heard of you.

But nonetheless, I'll keep an open mind. Tell me about how the program was a dumpster fire when you took over.

p.s. Did I miss the part where Butch said not to judge him until then? Or did you make that part up?

I'm the Queen of England.

It doesn't really matter who someone says they are on here anyway. He's going to use whatever built up superiority to trash the guy anyway.

The results will speak for themselves.