Former Vols HC Butch Jones has 'hot seat' status updated ahead of 2023 season
Former Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones was hired as the head coach at Arkansas State ahead of the 2021 season after serving as an off-field assistant at Alabama for three seasons (2018 to 2020). The first two years for Jones at Arkansas State haven't gone very well. Jones is just 5-19 during his first […]
Former Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones was hired as the head coach at Arkansas State ahead of the 2021 season after serving as an off-field assistant at Alabama for three seasons (2018 to 2020).
The first two years for Jones at Arkansas State haven't gone very well.
Jones is just 5-19 during his first two seasons as the Red Wolves' head coach. He went 3-9 this past season.
As a result of his poor first two seasons, Jones will enter the 2023 season on the hot seat according to CBS Sports.
From CBS Sports: Jones is salt of the earth. Before Arkansas State, he won everywhere he has been as a coach. He was an indispensable part of Nick Saban's staff for three seasons as he rebuilt his game after Tennessee. At ASU, Jones has won just two Sun Belt games (5-19 overall). The schedule suggests a bowl is possible and a 2022 contract extension through 2026 suggests security. Complicating things: New AD Jeff Purinton, entering his second season, didn't hire Jones but is pleased with the direction of the program. The Red Wolves have had the conference's best recruiting class the last two years. There is reason for hope: In his career, Jones is a combined 29-9 in his third seasons.
Jones got a bit of a bad rap for how his time at Tennessee ended — the first time the program went winless in conference play — but he's typically found some level of success everywhere he's been as a head coach.
The former Vols head coach had two nine-win seasons at Tennessee. He also won 10 games at Cincinnati in 2011 and he won 11 games at Central Michigan in 2009.
I'd bet on Jones finding more success at Arkansas State in 2023 than he did in his first two seasons, though he might need to at least reach bowl eligibility to keep his job for another season.
Featured image via Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports