I’m not here to tell you that the majority of college football coaches have great moral fiber. The very nature of the job questions one’s integrity on a daily basis.
With millions at stake, it’s hard to be a saint. However, Butch Jones apparently took his power to an all-time extreme.
In case you haven’t heard, many were quick to attack Jones, who was fired on Sunday after Tennessee was pounded by Missouri 50-17.
Former UT receiver Jayson Swain was quick to call out Jones for his behavior at UT.
“My 1st reaction is not happiness,” Swain tweeted. “My thoughts immediately go to the former staff members, assts, & former players of Butch Jones. They had their world turned upside down & careers negatively impacted by probably one of the worst Human beings I’ve encountered I️n a long time.”
That’s pretty strong from a former player who propped up Jones for years and made thousands of dollars off of those “Butch Please” shirts that most UT fans are using to wash their car right about now. And in Jones’ defense, Swain has never been thought of as the most jolly person around the program. Maybe the two had some sort of personal issue, but I tend to believe Swain in this instance.
Remember what former VFL Coordinator Antone Davis said about Jones when he resigned earlier this month.
“I want you to know that I am not leaving Tennessee because I want to,’’ Davis wrote in an email to UT athletic director John Currie in a report by WNML. “I am leaving because I must. My biggest regret and fear is that I am leaving behind student-athletes and co-workers that may be subjected to the same treatment I have received…In closing, I deeply regret that things have been allowed to transpire, causing a high level of anxiety and other health issues thus creating my need to resign.’’
Several former players defended Davis to me in private. It was Jones who they questioned.
Most former players are the worst to listen to when you want frank, objective news on their program. Like uber fans, they want to believe and, more importantly, want you to believe that their program and their head coach is perfect in every way. That’s why I appreciated former UT defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth when he strongly criticized Jones before he was fired.
Haynesworth loves UT football as much as anyone I’ve ever known and he isn’t afraid to speak his mind. In an interview with WGOW, Haynesworth criticized Jones’ offense, UT’s early season defensive alignment and said Jones just needed to go play his clarinet, a reference to a picture of a pimply-faced Jones in a band uniform with his trusty woodwind.
For the record, Jones was livid when a reporter discovered that picture and tweeted it. Jones then berated the reporter. That wasn’t the only time. If Jones had an issue with a reporter or critic, he often let them know in a nasty manner. I’ve had issues with coaches before but most were professional even when their careers were in peril. Former UT coach Phillip Fulmer was a great example.
Here is what former UT reporter Reed Carringer said about Jones on his Facebook account:
“Butch Jones was an abusive, vindictive, immoral, tyrannical dictator during his time at Tennessee. He cared only for Butch Jones and would destroy anyone in his path who threatened or challenged him. While I’m happy folks here won’t have to deal with him anymore, I’m sad his players and staffers ever had to put up with such a small minded and hateful man.”
Carringer is one of the colleagues I respected the most when I covered UT football on a daily basis. He’s a good man who has dedicated his life to his family and his two adopted daughters. If you can’t get along with Carringer, you’re the problem, not him. He decided covering Jones wasn’t worth it and pursued other opportunities.
This all comes back to the strangest aspect of fandom that I’ve never understood. There’s a blind allegiance to coaches until the bitter end. Fans don’t need to have such an allegiance to be a fan. The institution is the reason to be a fan, not the coach.
It will be interesting to see how fate deals with Jones’ career. He has already reportedly called UT prospects to gauge their interest if he finds another head coaching job. They had better be wary if they decide to follow Jones. And if another school decides to hire Jones, it had better realize it would be getting a coach with a unique set of baggage.
