As of now, Butch Jones is still Tennessee's head coach.
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That's a fact despite many believing Jones should have been fired weeks ago.
The Vols have been abysmal this season with two blowout losses to SEC rivals, including a 45-7 drubbing at Alabama on Saturday. Yet Jones remains employed and — unless something changes — will be on the sidelines for Tennessee's game at Kentucky this weekend.
But that hasn't stopped fans from voicing their displeasure and pointing out the inevitable. Whether it's today, tomorrow or at the end of the season, Jones will likely be fired. It's gotten to the point where even his own players are starting to acknowledge it.
Defensive back Nigel Warrior posted a photo of the painted UT Rock with a tombstone that reads "R.I.P. Butch 2012-2017" on his Snapchat on Monday featuring the "eyes" emoji.
Of course, Jones was hired in 2012 and is presumed to be fired at some point this season. While the post doesn't necessarily mean Warrior wants his coach to be fired, it's easy to take it that way and he's at least acknowledging the likelihood of it happening.
FanBuzz's Take
Once again, another ringing endorsement for firing Jones. I don't get it. Is John Currie just choosing to act oblivious to the fact that Tennessee fans — and possibly even players — hate their own coach or is he just a sitting duck of an athletic director?
Jones promised Vols fans a steady "brick by brick" rebuilding process. The majority of the fan base and media members bought into his claim early and pointed out how much the team had improved from the previous regime.
But now it seems like the only differences between Jones and his predecessor Derek Dooley are his willingness to recruit in-state, benefitting from many legacy players wanting to play for the same team as their fathers and facing an easier SEC East schedule which, by the way, he failed to win a division title playing against during the past two seasons.
Otherwise, Jones — like Dooley — is a coach who is in over his head in the SEC. If two blowout losses didn't prove it, perhaps barely beating a winless UMass and Georgia Tech or choking in a winnable game at Florida did.
Tennessee is the laughing stock of the SEC right now. Quotes like "champions of life" and "five star heart" were bad enough when the team was semi-competitive, but now the Vols are back to getting routed by rivals and expecting losses, just like the Dooley era.
However, when you have SOUTH CAROLINA fans wearing t-shirts begging for you to keep your coach, you've reached a new low.
It's time for a change, John. Wake up and do your job. Seriously, as a diehard Tennessee fan and alum I'm sick of tuning in every Saturday and debating whether it would be better for my team to lose because you continue to give Jones more chances to win out and keep his job.
