Basic HTML Version
CV:
You hold
yourself
to a very
high standard of excellence.
Where does that come from?
Was it a teacher, a mentor, your
family’Äîwhere did it start?
BJ:
That’Äôs an easy answer: My mom
and dad. My father was Chief of
Police for 30-some-odd years in our
hometown inMichigan. He was
my role model. My mother was a
hospital administrator. Neither of
themhad a college education. They
started from ground zero and worked
their way up, and they developed a
work ethic inme from age 14. I had
to start in one of the local restaurants
washing dishes. Many days I wanted
to quit’Äîand my parents wouldn’Äôt
let me quit. Shoot, I started offmy
coaching career in the National
Football League as an intern doing
the laundry at training camp!
CV:
With the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers?
BJ:
Yes’Äîback in the orange days! My
passion for orange started very early!
CV:
You have said that the new
coaching staff at UT is the best
in the country. What makes
this coaching staff the best?
BJ:
When [new running backs
coach] Robert Gillespie inter-
viewed, he pointed out that a
coach’Äôs job is to critique: Youmust
correct and demand, but a lot
of times players don’Äôt like those
things. So in order to coach, we
must build relationships and trust.
Look at any successful busi-
ness organization, any football
program, it doesn’Äôt matter: It’Äôs
all centered on people’Äîand we
have tremendous people. There
are so many different hats one
must wear to be an effective
coach. A good coachmust be an
excellent communicator’Äîand
must be able to teach, men-
tor, and command respect.
CV:
Does working with the same
coaches you’Äôve had on your staffs in
the past help at practice, in recruit-
ing, in setting the standards?
BJ:
Absolutely. It’Äôs a huge benefit,
and I think that’Äôs one of the reasons
why the transition to UT has been
seamless. I’Äôve known everyone
that we’Äôve hired. They’Äôve either
worked for me, withme, or I’Äôve
worked with them as an assistant.
I know the coaches’Äô families. The
coaches understand the standards
and expectations that I have, so
we all hit the ground running.
CV:
How did the loss of [run-
ning backs coach] Jay Gra-
ham affect the program?
BJ:
It had absolutely no effect.
Everyone has to take care of their
family and do what they feel is in
their best interests. But when there
is change, there is also opportu-
nity’Äîand Gillespie [Jay Graham’Äôs
replacement] has been a tremen-
dous addition to our football staff.
CV:
It did not go unnoticed that the
first pick in the recent NFL Draft,
Eric Fisher, was someone you
recruited and coached at Central
cityviewmag.com
82
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER 201 3
TerryAdams interviewsCoach
Jones inhis officeat thenew
AndersonTrainingCenter.