you handle the situation surrounding Butch Jones and the UT Football Program
Would you have a more hands on our hands off approach?
Hands off. He gets two things. Standards for performance and as much support as I could possibly muster.
If he needed double the money for staff salaries, I'd do my best to give it to him.... but the standard.... is championships... and not just the SEC East.
How would you handle extensions and raises? What would you base them on and why
Must produce a high quality product on the field. Play at a consistently high level. Win a fair share of games against the top programs. Seldom lose to low level programs.
IMHO, Jones should get neither a raise nor an extension. The only compensation changes I would be willing to consider is incentives.
What would be your expectations?
As the East currently stands: 9+ wins every year, SEC East at least once every 3 years, SEC at least every 4 to 5 years.
Until a real playoff is established between the champions of the power 5 plus 3 at large (or something like it), I wouldn't withhold raises or extensions for not making it.
Who would be your top 4 coaches to replace Jones with if needed?
Not sure. I would probably want someone who had demonstrated a strong ability to beat teams that have better talent. Fuente is one guy I really like.
But more importantly, the standard doesn't change. If you find the right guy on the next try then great. If you don't, keep looking. That's what Bama did. That's what UF does. USCw does it. Keeping a guy for a long tenure doesn't guarantee success... at all.
I would love to see Jones be humble enough to admit his mistakes and personal weaknesses and fix them. He does some things exactly how you'd want them done for long term success.