That's a good question. Here is my response.
For a number of reasons, it would behoove most to neither confirm nor deny the capacity of any preexisting professional or personal relationship, past or present. Those who know the man probably won't answer at all or they might even answer as if they are someone who doesn't know him at all. For that reason, like most posts on anonymous message boards, it's best practice to take any response gleaned with at least a dash of salt because the reliability of the content source is unverifiable at best to all but perhaps the most credulous among us.
Having provided that disclaiming preamble, I find it important (in the spirit of fairness to the creator of this thread and all others) to perform a cursory critical analysis of the question before offering an answer. To do this correctly, one first considers his or her audience. After all, this isn't an entry into a journal that only the author reads, but a measured response returned with the aim of putting to rest any doubts on the part of the questioner. The creator of this thread was kind enough to offer a glimpse into his (or her) own position on this topic so that all who answer may know where he stands on the matter, philosophically.
From the limited insight provided in the opening post, one may surmise a notion held by the thread creator, that he (and even Vol Nation as a collective entity) is one who possesses an interest that entitles him to a say regarding the coaching performance of Lyle "Butch" Jones. But does he now? Do any of us? Considering he is no longer officially responsible for his previous job duties, what would be gained from chastising the man as a result of his previous employment? Whether it is combative or supportive in nature, it is my opinion that any such criticism at this juncture is not apropos.
To double-down, I offer in support of this opinion, that confronting the former coach at all would be only the act of a loser who is unable to reign in his passion for the Vols in a conduct becoming of a rational adult. History would bear record and show I am not alone in this proposition with the work of Immanuel Kant's Second Formulation of the Categorical Imperative lending its voice of approval in support. Let us simply appeal using logic. If we do not possess the right to demand Jones suffer verbal harassment as punishment for his previous professional performance, then such a conduct as deemed (by the thread creator in his opening post to be) language too inappropriate for publication on this forum is a violation of normative ethics in at least two different ways. First, since we as rational moral agents would not wish to be treated in kind, it is unreasonable to assume the right to treat Butch Jones in this way. The other way such behavior violates our moral duty is because it demonstrates a faulty view of a human being as merely an object to be used as a means to an end instead of treating our fellow man as deserving of dignity on the same basis of autonomous will that justifies our own worthiness of equal treatment. To echo Kant's assertion, as rational moral agents, we should never include a human as an objectified and dispensible variable in a hypothetical imperative's maxim, but it is our categorical duty to do unto others as we would have them do unto us whether it results in a desirable outcome for ourselves or not, simply because it is the right thing to do.
In summary, while it may temporarily appease our emotions to give Butch Jones "a piece of our mind" about his performance as a college football coach last season, that would be using him as a means to the end of satisfying only our own feelings without regard to his. Additionally, even if we were content to throw ethics out the window to "really let him have it", it would not profit any of us in any real way. The termination of Butch Jones from his role as football coach was well within the right of the University in the sight of the law and man. It serves as an adequate response or "punishment" for a perceived failure to produce a result that met expectations on the football field. For this reason, at a minimum, my words to Butch Jones, if I ran into him on the street in a close enough proximity that the common courtesy of acknowledging him was called for on my part, would be the same words I'd urge you as the creator of this thread and indeed all Vol Nation to say to the coach who did manage to coach teams to recent back to back winning seasons at the University of Tennessee. Good day, sir.
