“I think we have to understand what do we want out of our media,” Jones said. “This place with the drama, and again, these are kids and I think we all have children and we’re all adults. Are we focused on Tennessee football from a recruiting standpoint, from all the positive things we’ve done, from all the positive things this football program brings to the community, this great fan base? Are we in the reality world of TV?”
First, who is the “we” and “our” that Jones is referring to. It’s not his media nor is it his team’s. It’s the media that is put in place to report, analyze and offer opinions. It’s not the media’s place to support him or his team. Fortunately, Jones continued to preach.
“I think all of us as human have to self-check ourselves. You may not like that answer, but I’m a father. I have three boys and I think we sometimes have to put ourselves in a role of a parent as well,” Jones said. “And I understand y’all have jobs to do. My expectations as the head football coach, I’m the caretaker of Tennessee football.”
So Jones thinks the media need to “self-check” itself. It may be time for Jones to find a mirror. As for the “caretaker of Tennessee football”, that doesn’t mean Jones gets a pass when the product on the field hasn’t improved in half of a decade under his watch.
“I love our kids and I’m going to protect our players and I”m going to protect our programs,” Jones went on to say. “Sometimes the negativity is overwhelming.”
Then quit. If Jones cares so much about UT football and the negativity is so overwhelming, then step aside with no buyout and allow the Vols to rebuild (once again) with a full wallet.
The incredibly ignorant dissertation continued.
“If everyone is Vols fans, how do we let our opponents use this in the recruiting process with fake news?” Jones said. “Sometimes, again, we have to check ourselves. What are we here for? What’s our values and principles that guide our life every single day? And I appreciate everyone in this room. You guys have a job to do, and I’m respectful of that. I’m friends with a lot of you guys in the room and I appreciate it, but there comes a certain time where enough is enough.”
Again, Jones is so out of touch it’s startling. To think that the reputable reporters in that press conference are UT fans or his friends is laughable. Jones thought he could control the media from the first moment he was hired when he used the ole’ “brick by brick” term. Maybe that worked at smaller schools where he once coached. It won’t work at an SEC school.
Instead of rambling on as he did on Monday, Jones could have said anything that happened with Tuttle was a team matter and he would not discuss it.
Instead, Jones proved he’s concerned about the wrong issues, likely can’t handle the position he holds and did absolutely nothing to help his cause publicly. No one should be surprised. Despite his best efforts otherwise, that’s been his consistent message from the moment he was introduced at UT’s head coach: that he’s in way over his head.
