Only a fool or the Grinch would attempt to argue that Butch Jones hasn’t dramatically improved the Tennessee football program in his two full seasons and two games as head coach.
Athletic department giving is up. Recruiting is way up. Academic performance is way, way up over that of more than one previous coaching regime. In every way save one – on-field success – the Volunteers are becoming Exhibit A for how to rebuild a once-proud program from the ground up.
That said, should the Vols fall at Florida 10 days from today for their 11th straight loss to the Gators, the last vestiges of a honeymoon will be over for Jones, the Big Orange Nation’s disappointment over yet another defeat against a bitter rival too much to swallow.
Not that this is necessarily the coach’s fault. Reintroducing yourself as a force to be reckoned with in the Southeastern Conference takes time. It might be easier to achieve world peace.
But as it prepares to enter Florida’s Swamp by beating up on Western Carolina this weekend, UT is 0-6 under Jones against its three most despised rivals: Alabama, Georgia and the Gators. To further frustrate Volniacs everywhere, in four of those six defeats, the Vols owned the lead at one point.