Butch Jonesā seat is beyond scorching following Saturdayās loss to South Carolina, and Twitter is ready for Tennessee to make a change.
The long-term fate of Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones was probably decided weeks ago, but Saturdayās result at Neyland Stadium certainly didnāt help.
Tennessee mustered just 253 yards of total offense and stalled near the goal line in the final seconds of a 15-9 loss to South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville. With a mark of 3-3 that includes an epic beatdown at the hands of Georgia and a nervy win over UMass, Tennessee looks to be in for a season that could rival the worst of the Derek Dooley era.
After coming over from Cincinnati in 2013, Jones looked to be in for a promising tenure at Tennessee with a number of elite recruiting classes. Jones has managed a 33-24 record while capping out at nine wins with all that talent, and the Volunteers have not won the weak SEC East under him.
Saturdayās game was likely a must-win for Jones to survive at least until the end of the season, and mustering nine points against the Gamecocks isnāt particularly inspiring. As you might expect, Twitter isnāt super thrilled with Jones at the moment.
Some fans and analysts note that Tennessee should fire Jones ahead of whatās sure to be a horrific loss at Alabama next week. The Volunteers would do well to follow that advice, as thereās no benefit to letting the Jones saga drag on until December.
Thereās absolutely nothing Jones can do to save his job at this point, which may have even been true before losing ugly to South Carolina. Jones has completely lost the Tennessee fanbase, and a dysfunctional locker room plus weekly cliche-filled press conferences arenāt helping his case either.
Things are going to get really ugly if Tennessee keeps an unpopular lame duck coach, so the Volunteers should make the move before the end of the weekend, Meanwhile, Tennessee can get a head start on searching for its next coach, which could prove to be a major factor before the yearly carousel really gets going.
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Whether the Volunteers want to give an unemployed coach like Chip Kelly a call or start scouting someone like Purdueās Jeff Brohm, having a two-month advantage over the rest of the competition will help them make the right hire. Keeping Jones past the weekend will only lead to more anger from the fan base and worse efforts on the field.