Leadership Reps: Power ranking the best Butch Jones cliches

By John Buhler | Oct 21, 2017

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Head Coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers is seen on the sidelines during the second half of their game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /

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KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts during the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

8. I don’t view it as disappointment

“I don’t view it as disappointment. The way I view it is that we didn’t accomplish everything we set ourselves out to. And again, our goal every year is to win a championship and to compete to win a championship.” – Jones during 2017 SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama after not winning the SEC East in 2016.

Alright. Let’s figure this one out. 2016 could not have been a better year for the Tennessee football program to get to the SEC Championship. The Georgia Bulldogs were in their first year with Kirby Smart as their head coach. Tennessee actually beat the Florida Gators for the first time since 2004 in 2016, 38-28 in Knoxville.

Yet, Tennessee wasn’t the team that got to go to Atlanta out of the SEC East that year. That’s because they went 8-4 (4-4) on the year and lost some unthinkable SEC games. Sure, at Texas A&M and home versus Alabama were understandable, but losing to Arkansas and Vanderbilt was not copacetic.

Even with three SEC losses heading into the rivalry game with Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee still had a shot at making a New Year’s Six Bowl at 9-3 (5-3) on the year. Instead, Tennessee laid an egg and lost to the in-state rival Commodores, 45-34. That win allowed Vanderbilt to become bowl eligible for the first time under head coach Derek Mason.

Though Jones would rally the troops to beat No. 24 Nebraska in the Music City Bowl, why couldn’t you win a rivalry game in Nashville weeks prior? If you cannot view 2016 as a disappointment or a massive missed opportunity for the Volunteers football program, then what defines disappointment? Not going to a bowl? Come on!

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