This board doesn't get it RE: Butch Jones and Purdue

First of all, it's probably not happening, so everyone breathe.


Still with me? Good.


Ok. Now let's say it DID happen, some of you think that it's good news for your program or that it's a sign that Tennessee is falling apart and you can laugh.


YOU'RE MISSING THE BIG PICTURE. Butch clearly cannot handle the stress of coaching an SEC program that has high expectations. We knew in year 2 that Lyle was never going to be a championship level coach, but that he could win enough games to get us out of cellar. The team we had this year was good enough to win 11 games, and we ended up winning 8. This is Lyle's ceiling. We're better than we were 4 years ago, BUT 8 wins is not good enough.

The fans are ready to move on, the players are ready to move on, and Lyle is ready to move on.

But firing him is not an option for a few reasons. 1. Buyout- we're in a much better position financially, and paying a huge buyout at this juncture is a stupid business decision long term.

2. We have an outgoing AD, he can't fire Butch and hire someone else.

3. Firing an 8-4 coach looks like a rash emotional decision to perspective coaching candidates. While everyone agrees that Lyle can't take this program to the next level, you can't justify termination based on Tennessee's record over the last 9 years.




However, if he leaves on his own, it's the best possible thing for all parties involved.

1. We not only avoid paying a buyout, but Purdue (or whoever) would actually OWE us money. I said a couple weeks ago that we're gonna be flush with cash, and we are, whether he leaves or not.

2. We no longer have to sell the program as a rebuilding project, so we're going to get better candidates than we have with the last 2 coaching searches.

3. The incoming AD (hopefully Blackburn) gets to avoid firing Butch next year. If the new AD is Blackburn, he's dedicated to winning and understands the importance of spending money to get the best possible people for the job. Check his resume, Blackburn should scare the shite out of this conference, he's a beast.

And 4. For Lyle, he gets to leave before the bottom falls out next year. He can claim that he brought Tennessee out of the celler, and he did. He gets to leave for a less stressful job with lower expectations after 3 consecutive winning seasons.


You better hope Lyle doesn't leave for Purdue, or whoever, because it's bad news for your team (unless you're Alabama, because not even Zombie Robert Neyland can derail that train ).





But as I said, it's probably not happening, because we're not that lucky.