December 7th, 2012 at 9:02 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 9:58 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 10:01 AM ^
I think South Carolina has started to produce/recruit players on a level comparable to what Tennessee used to (John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth, Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, etc.), but Fulmer had those teams playing on a national championship-caliber level. Spurrier hasn't reached that point at South Carolina; he hasn't been able to reproduce what he had at Florida, especially on offense.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^
Add in that their guaranteed crossover game is Alabama, which puts them at a competitive disadvantage with every team in the SEC East, save perhaps Florida, which is tied to LSU.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:11 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:25 AM ^
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think Jones will do okay at Cincinnati. Not great, but okay.
More importantly, though, I hope this hire helps Michigan's case with Derrick Green.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:36 AM ^
He already did okay at Cincinnati...not great, but okay.
See what I did there?
December 7th, 2012 at 9:33 AM ^
Touche.
Those double "N" schools always throw me for a loop.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:52 AM ^
This was my first thought. You can tell that MGoBlog is rubbing off on you when your first concern for every question is the effect on Michigan recruiting. I wondered about Green immediately. Hope it trends him in a goblueish direction.
December 7th, 2012 at 9:26 AM ^
that is originally from our state. Go Butch, represent little ole' Saugatuck, MI!!!
December 7th, 2012 at 8:28 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:48 AM ^
The scary part is, this guy isn't too far off. Rebel flags and the distinct impression that the civil war isn't quite over hangs in the air around here. There were a number asking if Fulmer was still available.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:32 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:43 AM ^
I think he's the next head coach of the Eagles. I just think the timing will be right - no one has mentioned it. I'm going with Gruden to the Eagles next year.
December 7th, 2012 at 9:26 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:33 AM ^
They wanted Gruden as bad as we wanted Harbaugh...
They settled for Jones like we "settled" for Hoke...
...except Jones has never beaten a ranked team, is from the North, has never recruited SEC country, and could quite possibly cause some Vol fans to off themselves.
Good luck with that.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:42 AM ^
They wanted Gruden as bad a we wanted Harbaugh...
However the next part is completely wrong. Butch Jones was like #9 on their list. This is more similar to us and Rich Rod than it is us and Hoke.
They were open with their interested in Gruden, Strong, Briles, Petersen, Patterson and Gundy...then there were a few other names that didn't go public that also told them no.
This was baaad for them. Personally, I always thought they should've been after Kirby Smart because I knew they weren't getting anyone else other than MAYBE Briles or Patterson.
This is completely different from Hoke, we always had Hoke on the radar and when Harbaugh didn't come - Hoke was still there. Butch Jones wasn't anywhere NEAR UT's short list at the beginning of this process. Hell, he probably wasn't on the "long list" either.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:55 AM ^
Nobody actually knows for sure how the Michigan search played out in 2010. DB kept it under wraps pretty good. Can you definitively say how many candidates he went to after Harbaugh before he settled on Hoke? Or if he even went to Harbaugh?
Nobody knows.
The bottom line is our fanbase was underwhelmed by Hoke similar to how UT is reacting to Jones. Except Jones has no ties to nor experience with Tennessee.
December 7th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:44 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 8:45 AM ^
Now we'll see if Butch is any good. Still not sold on the guy. He landed at CMU after Kelly woke it up. Landed at Cinci... after Kelly woke it up.
This is the first time he's walking in to a dumpster fire. Now we'll see what he's made of. Seeing that Peyton will be retiring from the NFL in 3 ~ 4 years, that's about how long Butch has.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:48 AM ^
...should have hired Payton Manning to be their head coach. They absolutely love that guy down there.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:51 AM ^
As soon as his playing career is over.
He'll have some great assistant coaches and they'll officially be back because of the buzz which will help recruiting.
No way Peyton gets anything less than the #3 rated pocket passer in the country whenever he wants him.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:24 AM ^
Why would he.................the only thing he could do is tarnish his golden image. He has nothing to gain.
I could see the headlines now................"25 years later and Peyton still can't beat Florida"
December 7th, 2012 at 8:59 AM ^
From the RCMB, I kid you not: "Tressel to DC if Narduzzi leaves? Charbaneau says him or possibly Barnett..."
December 7th, 2012 at 9:21 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 9:26 AM ^
Mike Tressel genius, i kid you not
December 7th, 2012 at 9:36 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 9:11 AM ^
A MAC/Big East coach at UT? They just aren't serious about football in that conference, are they?
December 7th, 2012 at 9:37 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^
Nothing short of a C-130 could ferry Mark Mangino without a high probability of crashing.
December 7th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
There's no "of" in would've. It's would have, dammit.
December 7th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^
Unlike Kiffin and Dooley, he has years of experience as a HC at the D1 level. They'll be back sooner than a lot of people think. Too much history there.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^
false, per UT fans, they hired jon gruden who is just dressing up like butch jones.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:29 AM ^
Tennessee has some really good offensive talent. If they had any defense, they could have went 8-4 or 9-3. Only the Alabama and Florida game were blowouts, and even the Florida game they were in it until the fourth. Lost to UGA by 7, USCe by 3, Mizzou by 3, Miss. State by 10 in games they put up a lot of points.
Although they lost to Vandy by 23, LOL.
Good luck Butch.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 10:34 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^
Hopefully Narduzzi takes the Cincinnati job. Say what you will about him, but he's done an impressive job in forming a very good defense out of some moderate talent. Without him, Dantonio is just Jim Tressel without good players.
December 7th, 2012 at 10:46 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^
Depends on if he wants to be a HC or not, I suppose. Some coordinators want to be head coaches and dream of an NFL gig some day, others just want to be coordinators in the NCAA. Since he stayed at MSU this year I often wonder if he was an actual HC candidate at Cincy last time around, or if fans were just throwing his name out there.
December 7th, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
it was mcgwire who said that.
December 7th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 12:24 PM ^
Is there a program that has fallen farther than Tennessee? For all the program hiccups teams like FSU, USC, Texas, and Michigan have had; they come nowhere near the dumpster fire that is Tennessee.
I'd feel bad for them except....well, I digress, I don't feel bad for them at all. Their struggles have been pretty hilarious to witness.
December 7th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^
I think it's possible to suggest that USC's 1991-2001 decade is equivalent, particularly the latter half from 1996-2001 where their records were 6-6, 6-5, 8-5, 6-6, 5-7, 6-6, and losing every year to both Notre Dame and UCLA.
Now it doesn't seem as bad, since we know what followed, but that's a pretty significant collapse for a program of USC's stature with its built in advantages.
December 7th, 2012 at 1:44 PM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 2:45 PM ^
I don't disagree that USC has considerable advantages, but it's certainly a comparable collapse.
I think Tennessee's recruiting disadvantages might be a bit overblown. If we think of a map without state boundaries, Tennessee's well situated to recruit from the talent rich upcountry south. Knoxville is 3 hours from Atlanta, Greenville, and Charlotte. What hurts them is not so much their weak recruiting area but all the other programs that compete for players within it. USC's advantage is as much the lack of an alternate "home team" as its location itself.