The Tennessee Volunteers have been the recipient of many jabs in recent years, if only because the program seems to perennially underachieve when compared to expectations. However, head coach Butch Jones apparently does not see it that way, as he addressed the media on Tuesday and said a fairly absurd thing.
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Jones' assertion that the Vols have been "contending to win championships" is an aggressive one. Over his tenure in Knoxville, the team is 30-21 and that actually includes three bowl victories in as many appearances. In short, the team has entered bowl season with a 27-21 record and Tennessee has failed to reach double-digit victories even once over that time frame.
In 2016, Tennessee opened the season as a top-10 team in the eyes of many (including the Associated Press poll) but the end result was a No. 22 ranking and a failure to reach Atlanta as the SEC East representative. It is possible that Jones sees something that the general public isn't seeing with this particular statement and context is always important. In the same breath, it would be very, very difficult to describe Tennessee has "contending to win championships" over the four seasons that Jones has been in charge of the program.
