KNOXVILLE - The brick-by-brick foundation Butch Jones laid in his effort to rebuild the University of Tennessee football program could not survive the 2017 collapse.
Jones was fired Sunday, two games before the conclusion of his fifth regular season as the Volunteers' head coach.
His tenure ends with a 34-27 record that included a 14-24 mark against Southeastern Conference opponents. The terms of Jones' buyout have not been announced, but a previously released copy of his contract shows the university could owe him roughly $8 million for the remaining time on his deal, which runs through the 2020 season.
Brady Hoke, an associate head coach and defensive line coach, will serve as the program's interim head coach. Hoke was previously a head coach at Ball State, San Diego State and Michigan and has a career record of 78-70.
Jones' firing means the Volunteers will have their fifth coach since 2008 when they take the field next season. The once-proud program is 62-61 since former coach Phillip Fulmer led Tennessee to its most recent SEC East division title in 2007. Fulmer was fired the following year, and the program has posted just one winning record in conference play since.
That came in 2015, when Jones led Tennessee to a 9-4 overall record, including an Outback Bowl victory that set the stage for a 2016 season filled with expectations. With senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs back to lead the offense and standouts Derek Barnett, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cameron Sutton returning to lead the defense, the Vols were heavy favorites to win the SEC East.
VOLS 2017 SCHEDULE
Sept. 4 vs. Georgia Tech (W, 42-41, 2 OT)Sept. 9 vs. Indiana State (W, 42-7)Sept. 16 at Florida (L, 26-20)Sept. 23 vs. Massachusetts (W, 17-13)Sept. 30 vs. Georgia (L, 41-0)Oct. 14 vs. South Carolina (L, 15-9)Oct. 21 at Alabama (L, 45-7)Oct. 28 at Kentucky (L, 29-26)Nov. 4 vs. Southern Miss (W, 24-10)Nov. 11 at Missouri (L, 50-17)Nov. 18 vs. LSUNov. 25 vs. Vanderbilt
They were ranked ninth nationally after a 5-0 start but lost four of their final seven regular-season games. The slide included league losses at South Carolina and Vanderbilt that cost them the division title and a probable Sugar Bowl appearance. It also angered a fan base that had patiently waited through a rebuilding process highlighted by apparent victories on the recruiting trail.
Jones inked three consecutive top-15 signing classes from 2014 to 2016, but the on-field product never aligned with the recruiting stars, especially this year. The slide that led to Jones' firing began with a 26-20 loss at Florida in September that raised questions regarding the play calling of first-year offensive coordinator Larry Scott.
A lackluster 17-13 victory over Massachusetts the next week raised more questions, and Jones described the performance as unacceptable. Two days later, he launched into a fiery rant against media coverage of his team.
Defensive tackle Shy Tuttle had reportedly been punched in the face by a teammate during practice, and the injury kept Tuttle out of the UMass game. But when asked about it, Jones said Tuttle "fell on a helmet" and proceeded to chide reporters for their insensitivity towards the program's recruiting efforts.
The following week was when things truly unraveled. With second-year head coach Kirby Smart and freshman quarterback Jake Fromm, Georgia handed Tennessee a 41-0 loss, its worst home defeat since 1905. Jones benched junior quarterback Quinten Dormady in favor of redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano for the next game, against visiting South Carolina.
The Vols again failed to score a touchdown and lost 15-9 when a potential game-winning pass sailed through the hands of Brandon Johnson as time expired.
Top-ranked Alabama then spanked Tennessee 45-7 to drop the Vols to 3-4. The streak of games without an offensive touchdown ended the next week at Kentucky. Tennessee, led by Guarantano and freshman running back Ty Chandler, held a five-point lead for much of the fourth quarter before a final-minute touchdown lifted Kentucky to its second win over Tennessee in 33 years.
Asked by the Times Free Press after that game, Jones said he "absolutely" expected to have the support of first-year athletic director John Currie for the rest of the season. Two days later, Currie said he believed supporting his football coaching staff and players as they prepare for the game "is the best thing I can do for our football program right now."
The Vols snapped a four-game losing streak with a 24-10 victory over Southern Mississippi on homecoming as an effort by some fans to boycott the game in protest of Jones' continued employment largely failed.
Then came this past Saturday's game at Missouri. With Guarantano injured and freshman quarterback Will McBride starting, the Vols fought to tie the game at 17 late in the first half. Missouri, which started the season 1-5, proceeded to use a dominant offensive performance to roll to a 50-17 victory.
When Jones arrived after the 2012 season, the Vols had endured three straight losing records under Derek Dooley. To make matters worse, the program was on the verge of receiving penalties because of its low scores under the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate measurement.
Jones' first season was highlighted by a 23-21 win over No. 11 South Carolina at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee later lost to Vanderbilt 14-10, ending its bowl chances. A 5-7 record was generally met with forgiveness by fans acknowledging the team's talent deficiencies after the Dooley era.
Narrow losses to Florida and Georgia haunted the Vols early in 2014 but also showed the program could compete against its chief SEC East rivals again. Tennessee limped through a 1-3 October before closing with a 4-1 November to finish 6-6 and qualify for its first bowl game since 2010. The stretch was highlighted by a 45-42 overtime victory at South Carolina in which Dobbs, then a sophomore, cemented his status as a budding star.
Tennessee easily defeated Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl, setting the stage for a promising 2015 season. With the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class from the 2015 signing period entering the program - on the heels of the seventh-ranked 2014 class - joining returning stars, Tennessee was predicted to finish second in the SEC East and received 36 first-place votes from media before the season.
Heartbreaking losses to Oklahoma (in overtime) and Florida early in the 2015 season tempered the program's momentum, but the Vols closed with six straight wins. In total, Jones led Tennessee to 11 straight wins across the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Since that stretch, the Vols are 8-10 overall, including 2-10 against SEC opponents.
Jones has been credited for the academic strides the program made under his watch - the Vols are no longer at risk of penalties for their APR scores - but his tenure was not free of scandal.
Weeks before the 2016 season, the university settled a lawsuit brought by eight women who alleged the school violated Title IX regulations through a policy of indifference toward sexual assaults committed by athletes. Incidents of alleged sexual assault committed by football players and the response, or lack of response by the football program and athletic department, were at the center of the allegations.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.