Tennessee Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

2. It’s now or never for Butch Jones

2016 was a rollercoaster season for Butch Jones. After the Vols entered the year as a top 10 team, he started 5-0. There were games – like the Hail Mary between the Hedges – where it looked like he hung onto his job by a thread and others like the Alabama game where he looked utterly lost. In the end, they finished 9-4 for the second straight year and now must cope with plenty of losses.

Among the players involved in the exodus are Dobbs, Kamara, Barnett, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Josh Malone, and Cameron Sutton. Jones also has to deal with almost an entirely new coaching staff. Larry Scott went from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator, but he’s never called plays at the Division I level. They also replaced their o-line coach internally with Walt Wells, while Mike Canales will be Tennessee’s new quarterback coach.

There’s more pressure on Jones than ever to be a leader in the locker room. When there’s this much turnover heading into a season, everyone looks to the head coach. And the Spring Game will be the first time we’ll see them all working together.

Suffice to say, any success or failure the Vols have this season will be because of Jones. And if there’s ever a point where he loses the players, or if he finishes 9-4 again, the team probably won’t think twice about firing him.