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Butch Jones Should Not Be Worried With Fan Base

By Randy Sharber

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Butch Jones should not have to be worried about the Tennessee Vol Fan base over the Florida game result.

It is Florida Week for the Tennessee Vols football team, and for thousands of fans all over Tennessee, and beyond. You can feel it in the air.

I get more phone calls this week each year about what I think will happen in the Florida game than I do about my printing business in Franklin. Fans are fired up. They are also anxious, and a little uncertain.

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Tennessee has had a tough time with the Gators. I can’t even write “as of late” after that last statement. Why? Because it has been longer than “as of late”. “As of always” would be more like it.

I feel the Tennessee rival is traditionally Alabama. But for the younger Vol fans all over the State, they consider the Gators as their SEC rivals. They can not stand Florida. They have seen Tennessee victimized by Coach Urban Meyer, and then Will Muschamp for 1o straight years.

That is enough to get an opposing fan base fired up there alone. Urban’s arrogance is legendary. Muschamp’s all out nastiness to players, referees, fans and opposing fans is just as legendary. These two guys are just unlikable if you are on the opposite sideline.

Tennessee fans want this to stop Saturday. I don’t blame them. I am tired of listening to it myself.

But one of the things that I have been disturbed with this week is listening to local Nashville radio sports talk shows to hear them say that Butch Jones will lose the Tennessee fan base if the Vols lose in Gainesville. They even are saying that Butch will lose his team if the Vols lose in Gainesville.

This is absolutely absurd. Butch is 0-2 against Florida. He is not the reason for the decade long slide. Does he need to stop the streak? Yes. But if it goes South on Saturday, it should not be a roll out the for sale sign on Butch’s lawn.

Butch has blown three games going into his third year. Vanderbilt at home his first year. Florida at home last year, and Oklahoma this year. There is no doubt. But there is also no doubt this team is better than when Butch took over three years ago. Light years ahead.

Football fans are a fickle bunch. Just look at Indianapolis right now. Andrew Luck has had two bad games. Fans are actually booing him in the stands, and talk shows are unkind to the Pro Bowl quarterback. What a difference a year makes.

Look at South Carolina. Spurrier made them relevant. Now they are ready to run Spurrier out of town. A few years back he could have been Governor. Look, I know this is just the way it is. We live in a world of instant gratification. We live in a world of instant everything.

We can go to the store or restaurant and get our food instantly. We can pull up to a window and get our coffee instantly. We can turn on the computer and find out what is going on in the world instantly. So, why can we not win instantly? Write someone a bigger check and the wins just flow out of that check. That is what we want. It is who we are now as a society.

Look, I have problems with Tennessee football. I don’t like the spread offense. That is just me. I like the I formation. I like physical football. I come from the old school that says if you beat up on the other team you will win. How is that working at Arkansas right now though? So am I wrong? Yes and no.

Look at Ole Miss last week against Alabama. They were more physical than Alabama out of the spread than Alabama was out of the I formation. Why was that? Well, it starts with recruiting the players to fit that philosophy.

Butch is doing a great job in recruiting. He is bringing in five star after five star. But he needs more time to bring more of those guys. Tennessee was depleted. Simple fact. Now we are getting back to where we can compete.

Butch needs to worry about coaching his team up and recruiting better players. He needs to concern himself with schemes on the field, and not worry about what fans that have no idea of what it takes to building a winner.

Butch is not perfect by any means. I personally am proud that he represents the school in a great way. Do I wish he would win all of his games? Yes. But here is what I like about him as well. Would I let my kid play for him? Yes. In a heart beat.

I don’t agree with Jones all of the time. I rant and rave at the end of losses like the rest of us. I go back and say the things that everyone else says. “Well if he had gone for it there”, or “if he hadn’t gone for it there”. But I respect him as a man and as a coach.

No, this is not a make or break game like most say. If it is, then let’s look forward to finding the next ex head coach of Tennessee, and see how much longer it will take to get back to where fans want to be. Let’s wait til the end of the season and evaluate where we are as a program then. Not after Florida just because it is Florida.

I’m saying right now, if this game does not go Tennessee’s way on Saturday, and you start with the fire Butch Jones stuff, you will play right into the talk show guys trap. Don’t be that guy. Be smarter than that please.

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