Tennessee Rewards Butch Jones with a Contract Extension
After leading the Tennessee Volunteers to their first bowl appearance since 2010, Head Coach Butch Jones was rewarded with a contract extension and a raise. Jones’ new contract runs through 2020 and will pay him $3.6 million.
"When you are rebuilding a program, you face many challenges in order to change the culture. The most critical piece of the puzzle is leadership, and we have the right man leading our football program,” said Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart.
Jones was appointed the head coaching position in early December of 2012, just three weeks after Derek Dooley was fired following an embarrassing 41-18 to Vanderbilt.
In his first year at Rocky Top, Jones faced arguably one of the toughest schedules in the country. Seven of the twelve teams were ranked, five within the top ten. To add even more difficulty, these games were all played throughout an eight game stretch with South Alabama providing a breathe of fresh air. The highlight of the year came from Jones’ first signature win at Tennessee, as Kicker Michael Palardy kicked a game-winning field goal to upset #11 South Carolina, 23-21.
Despite finishing the season with a 27-14 win over Kentucky, the Vols finished the season 5-7, a fourth straight losing season. However, hopes were high in Knoxville and the fans still had faith in Coach Jones. Throughout the entire season, commitments from top high school players from around the country landed Tennessee a top ten recruiting class.
If the 2013 season was not hard enough for Jones, 2014 was just as difficult. Tennessee was the only FBS who had to replace both the offensive and defensive lines. Also, Tennessee was the youngest team in the nation, starting only five seniors. Heavily relying on freshmen, the Volunteers still managed to compete at a high level and finished the season 6-6, earning a spot in the Taxslayer bowl against Iowa. Close games against SEC East rivals Florida and Georgia also garnered the Volunteers some national recognition and respect, two qualities that had been absent during the past few years.
Shortly after the announcement of Jones’s new contract extension, Jones addressed the media,” Before we move onto bowl preparation and talk about the bowl game and the University of Iowa, again I am very grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to be the head football coach at the University of Tennessee, and our administration since day one has shown tremendous, tremendous support.”
