Butch Jones reacts to negativity on social media while calling out an unnamed fan base

Arkansas State Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones reacted this week to the negativity that spread on social media after his team's 73-0 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend.  Jones went viral twice after the loss to Oklahoma. First when he was consoled by a player on the sideline and later for a quote […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Arkansas State Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones reacted this week to the negativity that spread on social media after his team's 73-0 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend. 

Jones went viral twice after the loss to Oklahoma. First when he was consoled by a player on the sideline and later for a quote he dropped during his postgame press conference. 

On Tuesday, while meeting with reporters, Jones was asked about the negativity that's circulated on social media in recent days. 

The former Tennessee head coach said that he hopes Arkansas State fans are upset over the loss before pointing out that a lot of the negativity comes from another fan base. 

"I don't check that at all," said Jones (via KAIT). "I would hope that there would be people that would be upset. That means they have passion. But also I know that a lot of that is from another fan base. So I don't pay much attention to that. I guess the thing is, whether it's another fan base or whether it's this fan base or whoever it is, they care because they're watching. So they must have some invested [sic] interest to watch. I don't pay any attention to that. Trust me, I've been in the SEC for eight years. There isn't anything that I haven't seen." 

I can't say for sure which fan base Jones is referring to, but it feels highly likely that he's talking about Tennessee. 

And if he's talking about Tennessee, he's right that Vols fans seem to show interest in what he's doing, whether he's at Alabama with Nick Saban or at Arkansas State. 

That's not the case with some other former Vols head coaches, such as Derek Dooley. 

So why do Tennessee fans show specific interest in Jones and/or have a negative outlook toward the former UT head coach? 

Some of it has to do with a difference in personality. I think some Vols fans simply didn't like Jones' demeanor. Another reason, and this might be the bigger reason, is because Jones got really close to accomplishing something special at Tennessee. He recruited well and brought a lot of great players to Knoxville. He beat Florida for the first time in 12 years, defeated Georgia in back to back seasons, and took the Vols to three straight bowl games (UT won all three of those bowl games). But Jones couldn't quite get over the hump.

The Vols played some close games against tough opponents during Jones' tenure — specifically in 2015 and 2016. But for whatever reason, Tennessee just couldn't close the deal with Jones at the helm. Heartbreaking losses to Florida (2014, 2015, and 2017), Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina stand out more than the big wins against Florida and Georgia. The 2015 and 2016 seasons should've ended with the Vols winning the SEC East and crashing the College Football Playoff. But instead, Tennessee had to settle for trips to the Outback Bowl and the Music City Bowl. 

That's likely where a lot of the animosity toward Butch stems from. 

Jones had some good moments at Tennessee. But those moments could've been better. And those missed opportunities will haunt Vols fans, and probably Butch as well, for a long, long time. 

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