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'The culture is a disaster:' Jones, Vols trending the wrong way
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:51 am
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:51 am
Travis Haney wrote the article, I think Travis is living up in Nashville now so he's close to the buzz up there.
This is excerpted, free article, fair use, as follows:
Travis goes on to write ...
It's a long article but there is this as well ...
This is excerpted, free article, fair use, as follows:
quote:
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Four years ago this week, Butch Jones arrived at Tennessee bubbling with optimism as he greeted the challenge of repairing and resurrecting a storied-but-beaten-down football program.
“We’ll be working to be champions each and every day,” Jones told reporters in December 2012. “We will be a champion in everything we do.”
That rings painfully familiar to Tennessee supporters. It turns out Jones’ recently ridiculed message — that the Volunteers’ senior class had won the “championship of life” — was consistent with things he had said from the very beginning.
The marked difference in reception is related, clearly, to the current climate. Fans were left deeply disappointed this fall that the Vols had fallen short of the stated goal of reaching the SEC Championship Game and at least competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Even those inside the football building had acknowledged in past seasons that, given a veteran nucleus and improving talent, 2016 was the year Jones’ tenure had been building toward.
Yet once those goals were gone for the team, Jones had failed to connect with fans in that moment of frustration.
“You talk about the time and place to say something like that - and that is not what our fans wanted to hear,” one Tennessee administrative source told 247Sports, referring to the “champions of life” comment. “That will never go away. That soundbite will never go away.”
Jones evidently failed to adequately prepare his team that week, as well. Those same angry fans reached a fury a few days later as they watched Vanderbilt dominate Tennessee late, outscoring the Volunteers 21-3 in the second half, for a 45-34 victory.
“I don’t know why,” one Vols staffer told 247Sports, “but it meant more to them. It’s like they didn’t understand what was out there.”
Travis goes on to write ...
quote:
Even with a brutal four-game stretch of Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M and Alabama in the middle of the fall, the sense was that a 10-2 season would get the Volunteers into the SEC title game with an outside shot at a playoff berth.
That would’ve been correct, as it turns out, but the team squandered the Eastern Division at South Carolina and then blew a shot at the Sugar Bowl at Vanderbilt.
The South Carolina loss came after a bye week.
“I have no explanation for that one,” one UT source said. “We just weren’t going to win that game no matter what.”
The Vols did end an 11-game losing streak to division rival Florida, and they did beat Georgia with a Hail Mary. But make no mistake that in a year perceived both internally and externally as a “prove-it” season, Jones’ Vols proved they were not ready for title contention.
It's a long article but there is this as well ...
quote:
Reported facts from the 2016 season, however, seem to back those saying there were internal issues that undermined ultimate success:
- Injuries riddled the team, particularly on the defensive side, but sources told us that philosophical squabbles between defensive assistants also undermined performance.
- Receiver Preston Williams, citing a lack of targets, decided to transfer midseason, before playing No. 1 - - -- Alabama in one of the biggest home games in years at Neyland Stadium.
- Running back Jalen Hurd, one of the highest-rated recruits Jones has signed, decided to leave the team midseason, saying he would transfer to play a different position.
- Defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo, sources said, all but refused to play tackle, leaving less talented players to fill the spots when players were injured.
- Multiple players were suspended or dismissed for drug-related issues, a source said — though that isn’t uncommon in major programs. (And the Vols did avoid arrests, one UT official pointed out.)
- Sensing the vibe put off by the veterans, sources indicated that some freshmen, including ones getting reps, were lackadaisical in their effort to learn. A coach said one freshman, who played a lot of snaps, was unable to recognize basic scheme principles because of a lack of work ethic.
“The culture is a disaster,” said someone who works in the football building.
Read more here: LINK
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:56 am to scrooster
Lyle has sent his best men to figure out who the mole is.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 10:58 am to scrooster
Ummmmm... The way Tennessee is trending, they're one QB and a playmaker or two away from winning the SEC.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:05 am to scrooster
Haney just pwnt Baby shoes back to biblical times
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:09 am to scrooster
Thanks. Good article. It gives some "inside" backup to the issues that have ranged from suspected to downright obvious to anyone who knows much about CFB and paying close attention.
This post was edited on 12/7/16 at 11:21 am
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:09 am to scrooster
quote:
“You talk about the time and place to say something like that - and that is not what our fans wanted to hear,” one Tennessee administrative source told 247Sports, referring to the “champions of life” comment. “That will never go away. That soundbite will never go away.”
I'm guessing that game where the Vols looked rather shabby and Butch was coaching poorly toward the end of the 1st half, where he made a stupid decision and boo birds came out at Neyland and you could then see Butch tell one of his players "F*** them" about the fans - I'm guessing that didn't go over well either.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:11 am to UF
I wouldn't say scoring on every possession vs Tennessee Tech would equate to playing shabby
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:12 am to Nukeese
quote:
I wouldn't say scoring on every possession vs Tennessee Tech would equate to playing shabby
Oh so they were booing for no reason?
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:13 am to Nukeese
quote:
I wouldn't say scoring on every possession vs Tennessee Tech would equate to playing shabby
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:13 am to UF
Booing because he chose to kick a FG on the 1
And cause nobody likes Lyle
And cause nobody likes Lyle
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:16 am to scrooster
Great recruiter, bad coach, and is losing control of his program.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:19 am to SECFan1995
quote:this. And still no sign of Prof.
Great recruiter, bad coach, and is losing control of his program.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:19 am to Nukeese
On the 1 against FCS team, coming off the loss to SoCar.
He's a retard.
A. Could have scored easily.
B. Should have scored.
C. Coming off the loss you don't take your foot off the gas in the 1st half. You pour it on and try to let the fans know the last loss was an aberration.
D. You don't give the fans more to complain about after you blew it against UF the prior year and blamed it on a chart and so forth.
E. If for some reason you do decide to kick the FG to end the half, and you make over $4 million per year, you don't act like a Nancy and get pissy with the fans.
He's a retard.
A. Could have scored easily.
B. Should have scored.
C. Coming off the loss you don't take your foot off the gas in the 1st half. You pour it on and try to let the fans know the last loss was an aberration.
D. You don't give the fans more to complain about after you blew it against UF the prior year and blamed it on a chart and so forth.
E. If for some reason you do decide to kick the FG to end the half, and you make over $4 million per year, you don't act like a Nancy and get pissy with the fans.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:19 am to SECFan1995
(no message)
This post was edited on 12/7/16 at 11:20 am
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:20 am to SECFan1995
This great recruiter title he's given is a myth. He happened to luck into a dozen highly rated legacy recruits and some of the most talented classes in state history that he could sell instant playing time to.
His recruiting this year is much more in line with where he is as a recruiter, getting his arse handed to him by Clemson in state and not being able to close on hardly any highly rated recruits.
His recruiting this year is much more in line with where he is as a recruiter, getting his arse handed to him by Clemson in state and not being able to close on hardly any highly rated recruits.
Posted on 12/7/16 at 11:20 am to UF
Oh yeah, and stalling at the 1 yard line against an FCS team is shabby.
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