There's a difference between Butch and Dooley and Kiffin. Butch has made us genuinely like him as a person. He has got us in his corner, and we are pulling for him as a man, not just because he's our coach.
Like, Kiffin, we always felt there was something shady about him. Never felt like he embraced Tennessee and its traditions. And he didn't. Hard to connect to a coach like that.
Dooley? Same thing. Redneck drawl, but never quite connected with the fan base. We initially liked him because he was the opposite of Kiffin. But he never gave us anything to connect with him on. Therefore, once the results started coming in, he had no leg to stand on.
With Butch? I genuinely like Butch as a person. I like the way he handles things on and off the field. The article this week about the ALS challenge, and Ray Guthrie, as well as the other things I've seen from him? I like it. The fact that he has seemed to reach out and recruit more prospects than Dooley did in his time here? I like it. The fact that he and his staff never seem to sleep? I like it. The fact that he genuinely seems to embrace Tennessee, and love our traditions and seeks to add to them, and make them better? I like it. The fact that he has connected back to the alumni and made them feel incredibly welcome, and they are all raving about him? I like it.
I mean, the key to keeping a job is making people like you. Now obviously, that only works for so long. But if it were to happen that Butch and Co. didn't go bowling this year, then it doesn't change my opinion of him. If anything, it just breaks my heart for him worse, because that would have meant that a lot of breaks didn't go our way.
We're going to be right there in a lot of games. We've got young, inexperienced talent. And that's going to produce some mistakes, and it may even cause a loss or so.
But I can't think of a time when I've been more excited to watch UT football since Fulmer left.
I love me some Butch Jones. Great man. Just hope he'll be remembered here as a great coach as well.
