I know a lot of fans are somewhere between self denial (you know what? I wanted him all along!) and pure dissatisfaction (This gy is already a liar! We needed a big name!).
As a Michigan fan, I was experiencing these things even stronger two years ago. Michigan fans had been told Jim Harbaugh was the goal and that, if Harbaugh bolted for the NFL, Les Miles would take the job. So to say I get how delusional with hope UT fans were is an understatement. When the administration waited until after RichRod's bowl game and still managed to bungle the coaching search, we were somewhat pissed. When Brady Hoke was hired, everyone thought, "man, thats like the fifth best guy interviewed max".
But Hoke had two things which helped him succeed. First, he wanted to be there; secondly, he wanted to connect to and unite the UM alumni in a way that it hadn't been since Bo Schembechler died and the program had become rudderless. He also brought in HIS coaching staff who understood his system.
Now, we got lucky. We got Greg Mattison from the Ravens, and he was able to take a defense that was slow, couldn't tackle, and looked generally confused (sound familiar?) and turn it into a unit that, well, was competent and knew how to tackle. We also got lucky because the Big Ten (never the deepest conference) had two of its big four schools get trashed by scandal (Penn State and Ohio State).
All this is to say that two years out, if you find a Michigan fan that isn't grateful to have Hoke, he is in a very small minority. He's proven he can recruit, his coaching staff can coach, and the future looks bright. Most of all, the fan base is united. I believe that Butch Jones might be able to do that-- unite the fan base. I think he will get himself connected to UT alumni, and I think he will recruit Tennessee hard. I think that he will recruit and recruit well. And while I don't think you guys will go 11-2, with your schedule 9-4 would be just as amazing. I also think his defensive staff has proven to at least produce competent players. And trust me, when you realize around midseason (I predict UT will win one of its first three very hard games) that your defense at least looks like it knows how to tackle, and you realize that your team is actually getting better, well, its going to feel good. Just don't judge Jones on his first recruiting class or his first four games. Judge him on whether he can rebuild continuity amongst the fan base, rebuild recruiting relationships, and make his team better in games 11, 12, and 13 than it was in games 1,2,3.
As a Michigan fan, I was experiencing these things even stronger two years ago. Michigan fans had been told Jim Harbaugh was the goal and that, if Harbaugh bolted for the NFL, Les Miles would take the job. So to say I get how delusional with hope UT fans were is an understatement. When the administration waited until after RichRod's bowl game and still managed to bungle the coaching search, we were somewhat pissed. When Brady Hoke was hired, everyone thought, "man, thats like the fifth best guy interviewed max".
But Hoke had two things which helped him succeed. First, he wanted to be there; secondly, he wanted to connect to and unite the UM alumni in a way that it hadn't been since Bo Schembechler died and the program had become rudderless. He also brought in HIS coaching staff who understood his system.
Now, we got lucky. We got Greg Mattison from the Ravens, and he was able to take a defense that was slow, couldn't tackle, and looked generally confused (sound familiar?) and turn it into a unit that, well, was competent and knew how to tackle. We also got lucky because the Big Ten (never the deepest conference) had two of its big four schools get trashed by scandal (Penn State and Ohio State).
All this is to say that two years out, if you find a Michigan fan that isn't grateful to have Hoke, he is in a very small minority. He's proven he can recruit, his coaching staff can coach, and the future looks bright. Most of all, the fan base is united. I believe that Butch Jones might be able to do that-- unite the fan base. I think he will get himself connected to UT alumni, and I think he will recruit Tennessee hard. I think that he will recruit and recruit well. And while I don't think you guys will go 11-2, with your schedule 9-4 would be just as amazing. I also think his defensive staff has proven to at least produce competent players. And trust me, when you realize around midseason (I predict UT will win one of its first three very hard games) that your defense at least looks like it knows how to tackle, and you realize that your team is actually getting better, well, its going to feel good. Just don't judge Jones on his first recruiting class or his first four games. Judge him on whether he can rebuild continuity amongst the fan base, rebuild recruiting relationships, and make his team better in games 11, 12, and 13 than it was in games 1,2,3.
