photo by Tennessee Athletics
Two years and one day after being introduced as Tennessee head football coach in Neyland Stadium, Butch Jones was back at the podium, once again seated next to athletic director Dave Hart.
The news on Monday was as good as it was on that Friday two years ago. Before speaking on the Volunteers' first bowl bid under Jones, the tangible evidence of the program-building that he has done, Hart announced a two-year contract extension, and a bump in pay to $3.6 million annually, that will keep Jones at Tennessee through the 2020 season.
"When you are rebuilding a program you face a lot of challenges in an effort to change the culture," Hart said. "It takes a tireless effort in everyone in the organization to make that come to fruition. Clearly the most critical piece is leadership and we have the right man leading our football program at the University of Tennessee.
“Butch Jones has clearly re-energized our fan base, he is an outstanding ambassador for our university which transcends his role as head football coach. He and his staff have recruited at a very high level and in an effort to restock our talent base you see that unfolding."
Jones spent much of his time on Monday focusing on the task at hand, the Vols' upcoming date with Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl. But he did show his appreciation to Hart as well. Not just for the confidence given in his progress with the extension, but for the behind-the-scenes support that has allowed him to build the program.
"I am very grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to be the head football coach at the University of Tennessee, and our administration since day one has shown tremendous, tremendous support," Jones said. "You heard Dave speak about all of the time you use the word team. This has been a great, great team effort. We talk about in our football program everyone being all aligned. It's an organization. It's a family."
Jones is 11-13 in two seasons at Tennessee, 6-6 this season while playing the most freshmen in program history. Defensive lineman Derek Barnett and tight end Ethan Wolf each became the first UT players at their positions to start a season opener, part of a freshman class that saw 21 of its members play on opening day.
The Vols are not only building on the field, but also in the classroom. Tennessee has set program records for team GPA and APR under Jones, with numerous players earning Southeastern Conference and national academic honors.
"If you look at our academic environment when Butch got here and look at where we are today, that is a significant change for the better," Hart said. "Why is that? Because it is not lip service; because he focuses on academics."
It was a message that Jones hammered home while talking about the bowl preparation. Tennessee is in final exams this week, and it's that classroom where their head coach wants his team focused.
"Right now I want all of their total focus on exams and winning in the classroom, that's first and foremost," Jones said. Then once we win in the classroom, then we go into bowl preparation."
The news of Jones extension was greeted warmly by the players, a feeling almost as exciting as the news of receiving the bowl bid had been a day prior.
"It's huge because I believe in coach Jones," offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson said. "I know he can do a lot of great things. I would really want him to stay as long as possible and be able to get freshmen coming in next year all the way through all five years and just keep building the program up. It really gives us a lot of confidence in him. I want to be one of the VFLs coming back and being excited to come to a game and cheer on the Vols."
At the end of the day, extending Jones' contract was not about the current climate in college football or the state of any other program. It was about Jones and Tennessee.
"Butch Jones is our coach and will be our coach for a very long time," Hart said when asked what message the extension sent. "We are appreciative that he is our coach and his tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed."