I think most people on here would agree that we should have hired Brian Kelly over Lane Kiffin 4 years ago. Well, this time, why not hire the guy who is most like Kelly was then?
I'm talking about Butch Jones. He followed Brian Kelly at Central Michigan and was so successful that he took over for him at Cincinatti as well.
What I like about Jones is that he has won conference championships at two schools (2 in 3 years at CMU and working on doing the same in his 3rd year at Cincinatti). He's been excellent at taking the talent he has and consistently beating other teams with similar talent and occasionally knocking off a team from a major conference as well.
When he went to Central Michigan, he also ended a long losing streak to their rival N. Illinois, something Kelly wasn't able to do. And then he never lost to them again (I point this out simply because we have a few long losing streaks that it may be nice to get rid of).
Also, he's considered to be a better recruiter than Kelly was and has been bringing in higher ranked classes.
I think this guy is the surest thing out there in the mid major ranks and I really hope we look long and hard at him. He's a young guy who could be at UT a long time and he's a proven winner. And historically, it's a much safer bet to hire a solid proven winner from the mid major ranks than it is to hire some old guy retread who has previously been fired from a major college job (like the other Butch, and like Tuberville, Cutcliffe, Petrino, etc.)
I'm talking about Butch Jones. He followed Brian Kelly at Central Michigan and was so successful that he took over for him at Cincinatti as well.
What I like about Jones is that he has won conference championships at two schools (2 in 3 years at CMU and working on doing the same in his 3rd year at Cincinatti). He's been excellent at taking the talent he has and consistently beating other teams with similar talent and occasionally knocking off a team from a major conference as well.
When he went to Central Michigan, he also ended a long losing streak to their rival N. Illinois, something Kelly wasn't able to do. And then he never lost to them again (I point this out simply because we have a few long losing streaks that it may be nice to get rid of).
Also, he's considered to be a better recruiter than Kelly was and has been bringing in higher ranked classes.
I think this guy is the surest thing out there in the mid major ranks and I really hope we look long and hard at him. He's a young guy who could be at UT a long time and he's a proven winner. And historically, it's a much safer bet to hire a solid proven winner from the mid major ranks than it is to hire some old guy retread who has previously been fired from a major college job (like the other Butch, and like Tuberville, Cutcliffe, Petrino, etc.)
