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n December 14, 2012,
Cityview:
Those of us who have
seen you in action thus far
can’Äôt help but notice extraor-
dinary energy and drive.
Where does that come from?
Butch Jones:
I have a drive to be the
best at everything I do. I also under-
stand the position that I hold. I’Äôm
working for a lot of individuals’Äîa
passionate fan base, a great adminis-
tration’Äîand I take great pride inmy
work. I don’Äôt ever want to let anyone
down. That drives and fuels me each
and every day. When I go to sleep at
night, I ask myself: How did I make
this football program better today?
I evaluate and self-evaluate every
day. I think we are doing the right
things. Is there going to be a miracu-
lous turn around? I don’Äôt know. I do
know it takes time. And I knowwe
are building a foundation; we have
standards and expectations in place.
We call it the Tennessee Standard of
Excellence’Äîand we’Äôre not going to
deviate from that plan. We’Äôre not
going to compromise. We talk to our
players every day about what it is to
be a champion. What is a champion?
It’Äôs not only about what happens on
the field, but also off the field. It’Äôs
how you practice, it’Äôs mental condi-
tioning, it’Äôs how you think, it’Äôs how
you react. It’Äôs team chemistry. It’Äôs
wanting more each and every day.
the University of Tennessee hired its
22nd head football coach’Äîand coach
number four in just six seasons. The Jon Gruden
rumors? Just talk-radio pablum. The Charlie Weis
discussions? Wasn’Äôt gonna happen. Maybe Louis-
ville head football coach Charlie Strong? He said
no thanks.
When UT Athletic Director Dave Hart made the
final announcement of a replacement for Derek
Dooley, a Knoxville bar greeted the new coach on
their marquee:’ÄúWelcome Butch Jones’ÄîWhoever
You Are.’Äù
Since then, Coach Jones has amassed a nation-
ally ranked recruiting class’Äîand now just about
everyone knows the name Butch Jones.
But really: Who is the man behind the name?
Lyle Allen’ÄúButch’Äù Jones, Jr., joins UT after three
seasons as head football coach at the University
of Cincinnati, where he finished with a 23-14
record and a #22 ranking at the conclusion of the
2012 season in the
USAToday
Coaches’Äô Poll. Jones’Äôs
overall head coaching record of 50-27 includes top
job stops at Cincinnati and Central Michigan.
As the Volunteers dive into the 2013 season,
fans are as optimistic as they have been in many
years. Thus far, Butch Jones has been part moti-
vational speaker, part counselor, and part all-
around football sage. His energy and optimism
are contagious; he has become the Pied Piper of
the Tennessee football program. New recruits are
signing, and stars from Tennessee’Äôs heydays have
come out of the woodwork. Peyton Manning, Ari-
an Foster, and Jamal Lewis, to name a few, have
all visited the new coach in recent months. So the
alumni are back and the fans are on board’Äîall
before the first few games are in the books.
We spoke to Coach Jones in his office in the new
$45 million Anderson Training Center, the new
home for the Volunteer football program.
O
InterviewConductedbyTerryAdams
EditedbyStevenFriedlander
PhotographybyNathan Sparks & Jimmy Chiarella
cityviewmag.com 81
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER