Yes my friends and followers of The All Vol Call in Show, it's that time of the year. It's the official all sports but baseball off season. The breeding ground for speculation, assumptions, and drama.
The time of the year if you hear news about your current team, recruits aside, it's usually bad. So I've decided to have some fun this off-season as we wait for Tennessee football to roll back around. If you haven't noticed recent trends it seems every coach that coaches at UT ends up coaching against us as a coordinator somewhere for another school within the conference.
So today we are going to scientifically determine where Butch Jones will end up being a coordinator at in the South Eastern Conference during his next coaching stent. (Please take the science aspect of this very loosely.) There are currently 14 schools in the South Eastern Conference. There are a few schools I think we can safely eliminate from our list that Butch Jones will never coach at, or coach at again.
The No Way Jose, See Ya Next Tuesdays
Tennessee - As much as I want to see the Butch-Pruitt combo, "He said sarcastically", it's safe to say this will never happen. Here are two men that couldn't be cut further from the same loaf. I don't see how they could get along, nor do I see Butch Jones tucking his tail and coming back... and the fans, I couldn't even imagine their reaction, so this is a never will I ever situation without a doubt.
Florida - Dan Mullen is the only offensive minded Head Coach in the SEC East. I doubt he needs Butch Jones' offensive mastermind, but if you had asked me a few months back if Butch Jones, after being fired from here, would be taking on an intern role at Alabama I would of called you crazy, yet here we are. Regardless it's just a fit I don't see happening. Dan will want to run things his way, and his way alone. Tho I imagine Butch Jones would do a great job recruiting there after leaving Bama and actually could be a decent asset for them in some capacity. I just don't see offensive coordinator being that role.
Texas A&M - I'll keep this one pretty simple. You're going to notice a trend where any coach that is an offensive mind, won't have much interest in Butch Jones. I think Jimbo is to good of a coach, and unless things got terribly bad, there is no way Butch has a shot at landing here. They have to much invested in Jimbo Fischer to bring on a roll of the dice like Butch Jones at any point. Jimbo will have his guys, his team, and the people he knows for a while to come.
Auburn - Gus Malzahn. I personally think Butch Jones could learn a lot from him. I think he would of served a better role, and learned more going here more so than Alabama. But that is debatable considering he also seems to have no idea how to carry himself off the field with his cliches and "Butchism". Butch would love to have the offensive mind of Gus, but falls short of that closer to a Ron Zook level. I just don't see their need for him as an OC. They may be up and down, but they have a system that works, and I just don't see what he can bring to the table.
Georgia - Georgia is trending up. They like to win. Butch is doing the opposite in both aspects. To replace Jim Chaney with Butch Jones would show things have really gone off the rails in Athens. Even if Jim takes a better or head coaching job you can pretty much bank this won't be happening. As much as Georgia would love to hire our former coach and beat us with him (Screw you Lane Kiffin and Bama), I don't think it's worth the risk for them. I will note out of all the my "No Way Jose" list this, I think, would be the most likely.
Arkansas - This one won't take long. A new head coach with his own offensive system. I don't think Chad Morris has any interest in the offensive style of Butch Jones. I don't know how well Chad's offense and his head coaching abilities will last in the SEC. If we had to pick a team that Butch could Head Coach next, this one might be at the top of my list.
To Butch Jones, or not to Butch Jones, that is the question?
Alabama - I personally can't see them loving each other. But what I can see is Butch Jones listing to him. Butch Jones at Alabama gives him a great chance to grow. He can learn from one of the greatest coaches of all time. Nick Saban's greatness, as a coach, has built countless careers for his former Coordinators (Will Muschamp, Kirby Smart, and Jermey Pruitt to name a few). I think Butch Jones, when he leaves Bama, will be a better coach and possibly a better man. I just don't know how confident I am that Saban wants him as a coordinator. Then again he didn't really like Lane Kiffin and they managed to make that work for atleast a little while.
Vanderbilt - This one could go either way. I'm sure Butch would love to stick it to Tennessee from our former little sister school, but I don't know if he can take a step down in the Tennessee shadow that is Vanderbilt. So if I had to pick one SEC school Jones would actually turn down I think it would be this one. I'm speaking openly about this because you never know who their head coach will be. If Derek Mason doesn't keep beating Tennessee or improving he will be fired, but if he does to well he will leave Vanderbilt for a better school. Either way I don't see this being a great fit, but it's not completely improbable.
Missouri - This school is partially my inspiration for this list. I can't wait to watch Tennessee play Missouri this year as Derek Dooley takes the helm of Missouri's Offensive Coordinator. The fact they were willing to hire Dooley, makes me believe, if it doesn't work out, they will absolutely hire Butch Jones. Them just hiring a new coordinator from Tennessee though, makes me understand why it might not happen again if it fails. But Missouri loves to hire our old garbage. Cuonzo Martin and Derek Dooley are bother former Tennessee Head Coaches (Basketball and Football).
Mississippi State- Joe Moorhead is the first year head coach taking over for the highly coveted Dan Mullen. I think he is a fantastic coordinator with a great chance to find some success at Miss State. His biggest waver could be he has no SEC experience, which in this league, can be very important. Being an offensive mind he may not need someone like Butch, but he may need someone just like him. He has SEC experience, he's coached with Nick Saban, giving them maybe some help on actually beating Alabama, and maybe both of them together could come up with a pretty strong offensive game plan. He only coached one year in Division 1, at Penn State last year, and this is a pretty quick jump for him. He could easily be fired in two years if they don't surround him with the right people. Ole Miss - Some people thought they might hire Butch Jones over Matt Luke to help with some of the internal problems within the program. Sometimes when things go so far off the rail you need someone like Butch Jones to come save the day. He runs a clean program and despite his short falls on the field you can't knock how well Tennessee players did in the classroom. GPAs were at an all time high for the University of Tennessee. Things are going to be weird in Ole Miss for the next few years. Someone like Butch working along side Matt Luke could be great for the program. Some cliches and cheesy slogans might be exactly what you need to wash the Ol' Hooker taste out of your mouth.
The Big Tree Fitty
LSU - I would LOVE this. Ed Orgeron and Butch Jones.. It sounds like a match made in heaven. I can't even imagine the fantastic press conferences. I'm getting giddy, lol. There is no way Ed Orgeron will last in Baton Rouge, he just isn't a good coach. He was a bad hire. There is a reason you don't see LSU fans chirping for him on social media. Bringing in Butch Jones would be the ultimate flaming cocktail (Both former Tennessee coaches at that). Ed will have to fire his coordinators in a year or two to survive. They employed the amazing John Chavis after he left Tennessee, so maybe they will hire one more former Tennessee coach. Either way I sure hope so. Kentucky - Things arn't looking to hot for Mark Stoops. Kentucky isn't an easy job to turn around. The SEC is just to tough, and football will always come second fiddle in Lexington. Someone like Butch Jones could really save Mark. With all the experience Butch has in the East, I think he would be a very viable option for them. If this happens sooner than later, maybe Butch can sneak a game or two on Pruitt. I think this would make a fun game for Tennessee and something I would actually like to see happen. Maybe if Mark get's fired they would just let him take over. Throw that in your trash can and smoke it Kentucky fans.
South Carolina - I don't see Will Muschamp and Butch loving each other, but I think their equal hate for Tennessee could bring them together. Will always has offensive problems, and Butch always has... well problems with everything, but I could still see this working. If South Carolina has a backwards trending year this could be a hire that helps push South Carolina to another level. Will is a dick though, and might not let his former rival come there. If you can call it a rivialry at all, in Butch Jones' time at Tennessee he never beat Will Muschamp ONCE while he was at Florida or South Carolina (something I really hope changes for Tennessee this year under Pruitt. I'm sick of The Will Muschamp/Tennessee curse). So I think this is very likely senario, just depending on if Muschamp wants him or not.
I think Butch will end up somewhere in the SEC as an Offensive Coordinator or a Head Coach at some point. The SEC seems to recycle coaches, and if Dooley can get back in I believe anyone can. I would love to hear your opinions of where you think he will go! Please comment below and let me hear your opinions. Thank you!!