Improvement is Nowhere

#1
vik

vik

Vol in Kolorado
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#1
This is my “first-post-burn,” the title of which is a classical reference that harkens back to Butch’s predecessor. Indeed, for Team 120, “Improvement is Nowhere.”

The narrative that Butch improves every season is now dead. The talent has come but the wins have not. An 8-4 regular season in 2016 is worse than the 8-4 in 2015. The 2015 losses were by a smaller margin, and came against better competition. We were statistically worse, too, especially on defense, where the disappointment can only be described in terms of Sunserian proportions.

Where, exactly, did “Team 120” improve? We can take it position group by position group – what position group, if any, got better, and which groups got worse? It’s not a pretty picture. Are we one percent better than a year ago?

I mean, this is Butch’s fourth year. This was the best team Butch Jones will ever have. It was going to be the intersection of experience (17 returning starters, plus all special teams skill positions, many of whom were 2-year starters already), and a very favorable schedule (Alabama & Florida at home, Georgia & USCjr with new coaches, and a high profile out-of-conference game in our own state). Not to mention a senior quarterback.

Sure, we’ve had a lot of injuries, but Vandy hadn’t scored as many as 45 points on any SEC opponent since 1971. Vanderbilt accomplished things against Tennessee that they hadn’t accomplished since the 1920s. Injuries are never an excuse for Vanderbilt turning a 10-point deficit in the 3rd quarter, into an 11 point win in the 4th. Besides, our team was just as injured when we defeated Kentucky, who is a better team than Vanderbilt. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball, and if you can dodge a Wildcat, you can dodge an Anchor. No excuse for this game.

That’s what Butch needed to say, but he went into hiding. Remember when we all laughed at Steve Spurrier for his 58-second post-game press conference after losing to Tennessee in 2014? Well now we have Butch Jones and his sub-4 minute thing where he ninja-poofed before even the regular media folks showed up. I guess he felt he didn’t need to explain himself to anyone, and so he wasn’t going to. That’s quite the arrogance. What would Butch’s body language coach say about that?

Or, maybe he reached into his bag of clichés and came up empty this time. Please no more clichés. Just stop. Quit trying to pass your coaching clichés off as some sort of deep introspection. Otherwise, next season, we’re going to be talking about how Team-121 is going to be searching for those 60 points. That’s right! 60 points, spread across four games, was all that separated Tennessee from an undefeated season! How does that stupid cliché sound now?

You are fortunate that Tennessee is not in a position to fire you, because we are in transition at the Chancellor position and at the Athletic Director position. Polish that resumé like you polished that turd of a loss you were responsible for at South Carolina. We now know you were looking around for other jobs before this season even began.

Thank you for your time, your service, and your dedication, but you Sir, have reached your full potential as our coach. You were exactly what we needed after Dooley went to go look for Rommel. You’ve recruited well, but you don’t understand when to call time-outs, which penalties to accept or decline, or when to attempt a two-point conversion. How about you own that, Butch?

I will snap, but I will not clear. This is the third strike. You are on the hotseat now and forever because you lost twice to Vanderbilt. FOREVER on the HOTSEAT!

Put that in your little resiliency pipe and smoke it.
 
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#2
#2
Brick_by_Brick_2.jpg
 
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#5
#5
Thanks for bolding the part that says this was the best team Butch will ever have. The bold type caught my eye and I read that first. And after reading that, I looked at how long the rest of it was and decided it would probably just be a colossal waste of my time.
 
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#9
#9
The Tall Gguy said:
Nicely stated.

Thought it was a bad hire when announced.

I have been flamed here for stating that opinion.
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I didn't think he was a bad hire at first. He wasn't a "home run" but he was certainly respectable. He wasn't a ready-made for Prime Time SEC coach and he hasn't grown into that role either. It was forgivable, for me at least, for Butch and Co. to make mistakes in the early two years. The team was as green as he was to the SEC. Mistakes and inattention to detail were in plain view on the field and on the sidelines. The problem, however, lies in his either unwillingness or inability to learn from his mistakes. Either way it is his rather disturbing lack of coaching growth that has me wondering if Tennessee can do better with someone else manning the helm.

Butch will get his fifth year. Until the new AD is in place a new coaching decision will not be made. He has been given a reprieve, so to speak. It is up to him to change and right the ship. Or may he walk the plank before the ship goes down.
 
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#11
#11
You guys sure come out of the woodwork for doom and gloom huh. I am used to the usual suspects but this is band wagon jumping of a different kind.

Btw no one wants to read a novella on here. Next time try an executive summary and maybe someone will read it
 
#13
#13
We hired a guy who lost to Dooley based on him liking our gameday atmosphere. I had my head in the clouds hoping for a Grudenesque hire. I was disappointed but Butch has been better than I expected him to be, primarily on the recruiting trail. Now, it seems that recruiting has stalled out and I'm not sure what good he is to us. I understand the administrative situation at UTK but I just wish for once we could be the program that doesn't give the staff a chance to leave the program in cinders on their way out the door. A nice clean break with a kind word and the announcement of a new coach who we've all heard of and whose past accomplishments portend well for success in the SEC. What's so dang hard about that?
 
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#16
#16
VolunteerHillbilly said:
We hired a guy who lost to Dooley based on him liking our gameday atmosphere. I had my head in the clouds hoping for a Grudenesque hire. I was disappointed but Butch has been better than I expected him to be, primarily on the recruiting trail. Now, it seems that recruiting has stalled out and I'm not sure what good he is to us. I understand the administrative situation at UTK but I just wish for once we could be the program that doesn't give the staff a chance to leave the program in cinders on their way out the door. A nice clean break with a kind word and the announcement of a new coach who we've all heard of and whose past accomplishments portend well for success in the SEC. What's so dang hard about that?
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This has recently been my thoughts as well. And my opinion, just an opinion, is this.

We are kind of stuck in a perpetual cycle of suck thanks to Mike Hamilton/Dave Hart. Dooley came here, the writing was on the wall quite early yet we took our time keeping him around, and when we fired him he had depleted our talent pool, pissed off the fanbase, and made this a very unattractive place for coaches to come.

Next, we hired Butch. He came here, revitalized the program and put us on stable footing, but never really won a game he wasn't already favored to win, and had several terrible losses. But because of our Athletic Department's ineptitude alongside our general administration, Butch will be around for at least 1 more year. Recruiting has already stalled. We will have a lot of young talent next year, and the schedule is even tougher. If we go 7-5/8-4 as I expect, recruiting will still be stalled, you will see a few transfers, there will be an even more furious and fed up fan base, and by the time Butch leaves TN will no longer look attractive to top coaches looking to go into somewhere with some talent and win a championship. It's just going to be a constant rebuilding cycle every few years because our administration is slow to pull the trigger and has proven they will never spend the big money to make the right long term hire. It's just a cycle of buyouts and new contracts with "up-and-coming" unproven coaches hoping that something sticks.
 
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#21
#21
JPL said:
Unfortunate for Butch to be getting called out in the media like this but that's exactly what happens when you lose to arguably the two worst teams in the SEC.
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Well, to be honest, he deserves the criticism. It isn't really unfortunate, it's part of the job. When I have my year end review, my boss points out all the areas of improvement I have been deficient in if there are any, and makes a note of it on my performance review.

It's the same here, except Butch doesn't really have a "boss". He is held accountable by the media and fans. That is where his year-end review comes from.

Look at all the talent that has come in, who we held huge expectations from, and has failed to make the splash we expected.

This is just my opinion on the matter, and I realize some will disagree.

1) Khalil McKenzie. It was a true shame he got injured. I hate it for him. He seems like a great young man. But he was the #1 overall recruit on Scout and top 10 almost everywhere else. Yes, he sat out a year for football, but through 1.75 years of playing, he hasn't really made a big splash and he struggled to break protection and get pressure on the QB. This is a guy that a lot of people were projecting as a #1 overall pick in the draft before he even played a snap.

2) Kyle Phillips. Showed out in the All-American game. Has had some flashes. Yes, he was behind DB. But still nothing marvelous through 2 years.

3) Justin Martin. #1 JUCO CB in his class if I remember right. No easy way to say this, dude has flat out sucked since arriving here. Especially in the Florida game. He is constantly burnt.

4) Kongbo. Still developing to the game. Not played football too long, but was dominant in JUCO and still struggles to break contain even against some of the weaker OL's.

5) Drew Richmond. One of the most desired players of the 2015 class. Had a whole year of a redshirt for development time. Has struggled to get the starting job and has been unimpressive since being here.

I could go on, but I realize it is just rambling at that point. I realize a lot of people will disagree with me and say "Well they just need more TIME. They haven't been here long enough." Well, it doesn't seem like Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, or any of the great coaches have any trouble getting the most out of their young and talented players. So why should we hold Butch to a lower standard?
 
#22
#22
JonGrudensAgent said:
Someone will do a thread with it soon enough and it cements what I have thought of Jones' vaunted recruiting for 2 seasons now.
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The perception of Butch being a great recruiter is another misconception that is all too clearly being realized. The "busts" and attrition rate just about equal a years worth of probation.
 
#24
#24
VersaceButch said:
Well, to be honest, he deserves the criticism. It isn't really unfortunate, it's part of the job. When I have my year end review, my boss points out all the areas of improvement I have been deficient in if there are any, and makes a note of it on my performance review.

It's the same here, except Butch doesn't really have a "boss". He is held accountable by the media and fans. That is where his year-end review comes from.

Look at all the talent that has come in, who we held huge expectations from, and has failed to make the splash we expected.

This is just my opinion on the matter, and I realize some will disagree.

1) Khalil McKenzie. It was a true shame he got injured. I hate it for him. He seems like a great young man. But he was the #1 overall recruit on Scout and top 10 almost everywhere else. Yes, he sat out a year for football, but through 1.75 years of playing, he hasn't really made a big splash and he struggled to break protection and get pressure on the QB. This is a guy that a lot of people were projecting as a #1 overall pick in the draft before he even played a snap.

2) Kyle Phillips. Showed out in the All-American game. Has had some flashes. Yes, he was behind DB. But still nothing marvelous through 2 years.

3) Justin Martin. #1 JUCO CB in his class if I remember right. No easy way to say this, dude has flat out sucked since arriving here. Especially in the Florida game. He is constantly burnt.

4) Kongbo. Still developing to the game. Not played football too long, but was dominant in JUCO and still struggles to break contain even against some of the weaker OL's.

5) Drew Richmond. One of the most desired players of the 2015 class. Had a whole year of a redshirt for development time. Has struggled to get the starting job and has been unimpressive since being here.

I could go on, but I realize it is just rambling at that point. I realize a lot of people will disagree with me and say "Well they just need more TIME. They haven't been here long enough." Well, it doesn't seem like Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, or any of the great coaches have any trouble getting the most out of their young and talented players. So why should we hold Butch to a lower standard?
Click to expand...

And all those coaches had 5 star talent on their rosters or atleast the programs had a coach before them that still recruited well.
 
#25
#25
I am tired of everyone on here trying to compare Tn to Ala Clemson Michigan. Their programs were not the $#*£ show we were left with after Dooley. You cannot build good depth in 4 years from that starting point. Should we be in the Sec champ game or Sugar Bowl with limited injuries..Yes! We played the back half of our schedule with undersized DE at DT. We lost our best linebacker for the year and his back up for most of it. There was no cohesion on our OL all year. Our 5 star running back took his ball and went home. We had 19 starters out with injuries at one time or another. Thats why the season ended this way.
 
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