If Butch Can't...

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

Win here, nobody can. Butch Jones is the real deal. I understand the irrationality of this board that comes from mainly high emotional investment to the team, but after calming down, if you seriously are questioning Butch as a coach, then you might want to root for another team.

He invests way more than even most other great coaches do. He "puts up" with the fan base and media and you can tell he is constantly trying to manage even outside things. I saw in the press conference where he even said he would have a session in the spring where he will seriously teach the media the difference in what's zone read and what's not since they along with a lot of the fan base don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

My point is Butch is a superstar coach in the making. Yes, there may be certain tweaks that need to be made, but overall, he's the guy, and I will support Butch to the bitter end because his recruiting is far superior to anything we've had in the last decade or more, and he's not even winning big yet, I love his coaching and in game management philosophies and overall, he is just extremely impressive in almost every aspect on and off the field. I see the development. I see the progress being made. I think we are an offensive line from being a ranked team and a dual threat quarterback (next year, dobbs) away from being able to fully do on offense everything that we want to do.

I know the loss at Florida hurts, but Butch isn't responsible for a decade of losses, this was his second, and he had it in the bag. Just a few costly mistakes from a young football team hurt us. No excuses, it is what it is. But I didn't see a scared team Saturday like I have seen most of the last decade. We aren't scared of anyone, just less experienced and deep than everyone. But we have to keep moving forward, and I know we'll get there. And all of this coming from a guy who did not like the Butch Jones hire at the time. He has proved me wrong. He's the guy. If he's not, no one is. Let him work, and don't think to compare other coaches' time frame of success with his. He's having to do a whole lot more than just come in and coach. He's having to clean up 5 years of suck and instill and teach a winning culture that's been lost. It's coming Volnation. I promise you that. Just hang in there. Oh, and I know, tl;dr

 

[BigOrangeVols]

:horse:

 

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

:horse:

Perhaps, but this is hopefully more a pick me up and a don't give up after a hard hard loss. Maybe something similar has been posted a lot, but I had to collect my thoughts before I could come back on here. Only took me nearly 3 days. lol

 

[Brianchevy]

Quality post.

 

[KnoxRealtorVOL]

I figured lol it's late and way too long

Haha I'm just busting your balls. Good post. The Volnation will come back around, including myself. Usually after a loss the meltdown mode goes until about Sunday night, in this case there are two problems. 1. The loss really really stings this time. We now have the stigma of a ten year losing streak, and we shouldn't have lost number ten. And 2. we practically have a bye week coming up, so this team will get no shot at redemption for two weeks. Both things are going to combine to drag the meltdown out a little longer.

 

[Orange to the Bay]

One of the more intelligent and reasonable post-game posts. And from a 22 year old. Impressive.

 

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

Haha I'm just busting your balls. Good post. The Volnation will come back around, including myself. Usually after a loss the meltdown mode goes until about Sunday night, in this case there are two problems. 1. The loss really really stings this time. We now have the stigma of a ten year losing streak, and we shouldn't have lost number ten. And 2. we practically have a bye week coming up, so this team will get no shot at redemption for two weeks. Both things are going to combine to drag the meltdown out a little longer.

Completely agree. I will say though, I'm kind of glad we have "bye week" coming up and that's because we've played 2 rivals very tough and lost both. Florida with the streak and everything was extremely draining. As much as we preach snap and clear, I still think we may need another week to get over it and get back on our game. Still hard on the fans though.

 

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

One of the more intelligent and reasonable post-game posts. And from a 22 year old. Impressive.

'preciate it! :hi:

 

[vol4life35]

Major major hyperbole

 

[alavolfan]

Good post and l agree with almost all of it...except this: I don't think Bajakian is the man for the offense. I think when the offense works, it is in spite of him not because of him..CBJ seriously needs to cut him lose-friend and loyalty or not. Stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...and our play calling is stupid....even the friggin sportscasters can see the predictability.

 

[LLcoolDave]

Win here, nobody can. Butch Jones is the real deal. I understand the irrationality of this board that comes from mainly high emotional investment to the team, but after calming down, if you seriously are questioning Butch as a coach, then you might want to root for another team.

He invests way more than even most other great coaches do. He "puts up" with the fan base and media and you can tell he is constantly trying to manage even outside things. I saw in the press conference where he even said he would have a session in the spring where he will seriously teach the media the difference in what's zone read and what's not since they along with a lot of the fan base don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

My point is Butch is a superstar coach in the making. Yes, there may be certain tweaks that need to be made, but overall, he's the guy, and I will support Butch to the bitter end because his recruiting is far superior to anything we've had in the last decade or more, and he's not even winning big yet, I love his coaching and in game management philosophies and overall, he is just extremely impressive in almost every aspect on and off the field. I see the development. I see the progress being made. I think we are an offensive line from being a ranked team and a dual threat quarterback (next year, dobbs) away from being able to fully do on offense everything that we want to do.

I know the loss at Florida hurts, but Butch isn't responsible for a decade of losses, this was his second, and he had it in the bag. Just a few costly mistakes from a young football team hurt us. No excuses, it is what it is. But I didn't see a scared team Saturday like I have seen most of the last decade. We aren't scared of anyone, just less experienced and deep than everyone. But we have to keep moving forward, and I know we'll get there. And all of this coming from a guy who did not like the Butch Jones hire at the time. He has proved me wrong. He's the guy. If he's not, no one is. Let him work, and don't think to compare other coaches' time frame of success with his. He's having to do a whole lot more than just come in and coach. He's having to clean up 5 years of suck and instill and teach a winning culture that's been lost. It's coming Volnation. I promise you that. Just hang in there. Oh, and I know, tl;dr

I am not saying CBJ is or isn't the guy. I am hoping he is. He can recruit like a mad man, he is a pro at the pressers, can come up with the right verbiage and optics..but what is it about his actual coaching that makes you think he is the guy? What is it about him that makes him the only one who can win here? You said "if he's not, no one is"...so, what specifically is it about his coaching and his x's and o's that you see? I am genuinely curious because I may be overlooking something you are obviously seeing

 

[Volle]

I am not saying CBJ is or isn't the guy. I am hoping he is. He can recruit like a mad man, he is a pro at the pressers, can come up with the right verbiage and optics..but what is it about his actual coaching that makes you think he is the guy? What is it about him that makes him the only one who can win here? You said "if he's not, no one is"...so, what specifically is it about his coaching and his x's and o's that you see? I am genuinely curious because I may be overlooking something you are obviously seeing

Yes, I'd say the jury is still out on Coach Jones "gameday coaching" skills, but any benefit of the doubt I had is now gone. A great coach doesn't lose a 9-0 lead with 8 mins left!

 

[UT_King]

I am not saying CBJ is or isn't the guy. I am hoping he is. He can recruit like a mad man, he is a pro at the pressers, can come up with the right verbiage and optics..but what is it about his actual coaching that makes you think he is the guy? What is it about him that makes him the only one who can win here? You said "if he's not, no one is"...so, what specifically is it about his coaching and his x's and o's that you see? I am genuinely curious because I may be overlooking something you are obviously seeing

Dead on.

 

[CA_Vol]

Win here, nobody can. Butch Jones is the real deal. I understand the irrationality of this board that comes from mainly high emotional investment to the team, but after calming down, if you seriously are questioning Butch as a coach, then you might want to root for another team.

He invests way more than even most other great coaches do. He "puts up" with the fan base and media and you can tell he is constantly trying to manage even outside things. I saw in the press conference where he even said he would have a session in the spring where he will seriously teach the media the difference in what's zone read and what's not since they along with a lot of the fan base don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

My point is Butch is a superstar coach in the making. Yes, there may be certain tweaks that need to be made, but overall, he's the guy, and I will support Butch to the bitter end because his recruiting is far superior to anything we've had in the last decade or more, and he's not even winning big yet, I love his coaching and in game management philosophies and overall, he is just extremely impressive in almost every aspect on and off the field. I see the development. I see the progress being made. I think we are an offensive line from being a ranked team and a dual threat quarterback (next year, dobbs) away from being able to fully do on offense everything that we want to do.

I know the loss at Florida hurts, but Butch isn't responsible for a decade of losses, this was his second, and he had it in the bag. Just a few costly mistakes from a young football team hurt us. No excuses, it is what it is. But I didn't see a scared team Saturday like I have seen most of the last decade. We aren't scared of anyone, just less experienced and deep than everyone. But we have to keep moving forward, and I know we'll get there. And all of this coming from a guy who did not like the Butch Jones hire at the time. He has proved me wrong. He's the guy. If he's not, no one is. Let him work, and don't think to compare other coaches' time frame of success with his. He's having to do a whole lot more than just come in and coach. He's having to clean up 5 years of suck and instill and teach a winning culture that's been lost. It's coming Volnation. I promise you that. Just hang in there. Oh, and I know, tl;dr

Good to hear from you Butch, but shouldn't you be figuring out how to block UTC?

 

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

Major major hyperbole

how so?

 

[VOLCLASSOF2014]

I am not saying CBJ is or isn't the guy. I am hoping he is. He can recruit like a mad man, he is a pro at the pressers, can come up with the right verbiage and optics..but what is it about his actual coaching that makes you think he is the guy? What is it about him that makes him the only one who can win here? You said "if he's not, no one is"...so, what specifically is it about his coaching and his x's and o's that you see? I am genuinely curious because I may be overlooking something you are obviously seeing

Well a wise man once said that it's not all about the x's and o's but more about the jimmies and joes. Having good players is most of the battle. However, there are a few things I've observed that have me optimistic about his coaching ability. 1. We have the youngest team in the country, yet coming into the florida game, we were the least penalized team in the country. Same for 3rd down defensive conversions. I thought we were out of character a little bit with those two stats saturday, but I believe we'll get back to excelling in those areas.

2. I think overall player development has been very good. In year 2, guys like Worley, Jordan Williams, JRM, McNeil, Mike Williams and I'm sure there are more, but those guys look like totally different players. They are playing some good ball for us, and after last year I don't know that maybe 1 or 2 of those guys would have been considered huge contributors. Plus you factor in development of guys like AJ, Cam, and our receivers, and also the freshmen who have played, Butch has had them ready to play and they are doing very well for us.

3. Last but not least, and this one may be more subjective, but I like Butch's conservative approach. Much like Fulmer, Butch is not going to usually make a boneheaded in game decision that will leave you scratching your head as far as clock management goes. We're not going panic and go for it on 4th down when we don't have to and we're not going to be careless with the football a great deal. We're going to try to be in it in the fourth quarter, which we claim to be our best quarter because we believe we're superior in our conditioning, and win the game there. Fulmer won A LOT of ball games with that same philosophy. Yes, I do wish at times we would just go all Baylor on people and put up 70, and maybe one day when we have all the horses we will, but for now, I like Butch's way because he's giving us a chance in the 4th quarter. Could not say the same about the last coach.

As far as my remark about if he can't win here no one will... that is more of an indictment on the people who are already saying he's on the hot seat etc. That's ridiculous. The fact that we're competing like we have been has been amazing considering how many freshmen we're playing in significant roles and that we are starting everybody new on both lines and yet are 4 points from being 4-1 is not bad. People are quick to point out some of these coaches who came in and did wonders in year 2 at their respective schools. Well, not every success story is a quick fix. I guarantee you that nick saban could come in here and not do a better job than Butch has. It's not all about on field at UT. A lot of it, especially in a rebuilding job like ours is, is a lot of outside things like managing fan base and media, and I think a lot of people have started to take for granted his recruiting. The fact we are pulling in top 5 classes after 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, 5-7, 5-7 is unfathomable. If he can't do it, it's because he wasn't given enough time. And if he's not given enough time, our fans are a bunch of buffoons. People expecting SEC championships in year 3... I mean I think we'll compete, but look at a program like miss st and south carolina, sure they're not the same caliber program as we are traditionally, but in years 5, 6, 7, you start to see the fruits of their labor, and they have become relevant. Perhaps South Carolina currently isn't a great example, but you get the gist.

 

[VolFootballlover]

Win here, nobody can. Butch Jones is the real deal. I understand the irrationality of this board that comes from mainly high emotional investment to the team, but after calming down, if you seriously are questioning Butch as a coach, then you might want to root for another team.

He invests way more than even most other great coaches do. He "puts up" with the fan base and media and you can tell he is constantly trying to manage even outside things. I saw in the press conference where he even said he would have a session in the spring where he will seriously teach the media the difference in what's zone read and what's not since they along with a lot of the fan base don't seem to be able to tell the difference.

My point is Butch is a superstar coach in the making. Yes, there may be certain tweaks that need to be made, but overall, he's the guy, and I will support Butch to the bitter end because his recruiting is far superior to anything we've had in the last decade or more, and he's not even winning big yet, I love his coaching and in game management philosophies and overall, he is just extremely impressive in almost every aspect on and off the field. I see the development. I see the progress being made. I think we are an offensive line from being a ranked team and a dual threat quarterback (next year, dobbs) away from being able to fully do on offense everything that we want to do.

I know the loss at Florida hurts, but Butch isn't responsible for a decade of losses, this was his second, and he had it in the bag. Just a few costly mistakes from a young football team hurt us. No excuses, it is what it is. But I didn't see a scared team Saturday like I have seen most of the last decade. We aren't scared of anyone, just less experienced and deep than everyone. But we have to keep moving forward, and I know we'll get there. And all of this coming from a guy who did not like the Butch Jones hire at the time. He has proved me wrong. He's the guy. If he's not, no one is. Let him work, and don't think to compare other coaches' time frame of success with his. He's having to do a whole lot more than just come in and coach. He's having to clean up 5 years of suck and instill and teach a winning culture that's been lost. It's coming Volnation. I promise you that. Just hang in there. Oh, and I know, tl;dr

I have to disagree with .you.other coaches can,have,and will win here.I have yet to see anything other than press conferences and recruiting that makes me think he's the guy.The great coaches do more with less.The x's and 0's have done very little to prove anything. Give me the hunger and play calling of the Georgia game and we win by 14

 

[Volumnus 2011]

I have to disagree with .you.other coaches can,have,and will win here.I have yet to see anything other than press conferences and recruiting that makes me think he's the guy.The great coaches do more with less.The x's and 0's have done very little to prove anything

A great coach is a great team manager with great assistant coaches. I think Butch is a near perfect team manager. Whether or not he has great assistant coaches is yet to be seen. Just IMO

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

As I said with Dooley, a head coach shouldn't be forced to fire assistants. Part of the head coach's responsibilities is assembling a staff. Ultimately it's the head coach who will fail or succeed based on the performance of his assistants. If the staff is bad enough that the AD has to step in and compel change then you may as well go ahead and fire your head coach.

 

[VolPhanner]

3. Last but not least, and this one may be more subjective, but I like Butch's conservative approach. Much like Fulmer, Butch is not going to usually make a boneheaded in game decision that will leave you scratching your head as far as clock management goes. We're not going panic and go for it on 4th down when we don't have to and we're not going to be careless with the football a great deal. We're going to try to be in it in the fourth quarter, which we claim to be our best quarter because we believe we're superior in our conditioning, and win the game there. Fulmer won A LOT of ball games with that same philosophy. Yes, I do wish at times we would just go all Baylor on people and put up 70, and maybe one day when we have all the horses we will, but for now, I like Butch's way because he's giving us a chance in the 4th quarter. Could not say the same about the last coach.

Conservative Eh? Conservative would have been run run run the whole second half with a two score lead. Why even try to pass the ball? There was NO reason for Worley to be dropping back on 2nd and 3 with a two score lead. Your defense has shut them out. Keep good field position. RUN RUN and PUNT if you have to. That is conservative.

 

[driscokid]

Yes, I'd say the jury is still out on Coach Jones "gameday coaching" skills, but any benefit of the doubt I had is now gone. A great coach doesn't lose a 9-0 lead with 8 mins left!

Really? But Saban is a great coach and he has lost plenty of leads..and went for a very ill-advised field goal from 60 yards out..

 

[1967vol]

Stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....

So you think practice is stupid?

 

[Cartervol]

Wins in recruiting, wins the presser. I like Jones but i've yet to see anything on gameday that's all that special.. I'll reserve my judgement for next year though. Although i still think Oline could be a problem and we'll be breaking in a new QB. 2016 is looking more and more like his make or break year. I think we have one more ugly one to go.. Jones better get even better about calming down the masses. They'll be pretty restless in a couple of weeks and even more so next year. This is a tough gig, Jones is still learning on the job about that..

 

[walkenvol]

2. I think overall player development has been very good. In year 2, guys like Worley, Jordan Williams, JRM, McNeil, Mike Williams and I'm sure there are more, but those guys look like totally different players. They are playing some good ball for us, and after last year I don't know that maybe 1 or 2 of those guys would have been considered huge contributors. Plus you factor in development of guys like AJ, Cam, and our receivers, and also the freshmen who have played, Butch has had them ready to play and they are doing very well for us.

I think this escapes most of the fan base. I've been following the Vols for a long time, and I don't recall ever seeing so many returning players make such visible improvements over an off season. In past years there would usually be one or two who would step up big from one season to the next, but this year it seams like 10+ of the returning players made huge progress which is very encouraging for the future.

 

[19bat51]

Yes, I'd say the jury is still out on Coach Jones "gameday coaching" skills, but any benefit of the doubt I had is now gone. A great coach doesn't lose a 9-0 lead with 8 mins left!

Although I have to agree with the jury still out part of your statement, I respectfully disagree with your last statement. The coach did not lose the 9-0 lead, the team lost the lead. Coach Jones cannot tell Worley to sidestep a blind side rush. Great coaches have and sometimes always will have their team lose a 2 possession lead in the 4th quarter. It happens. Unfortunately, it happened to our team.