On Friday afternoon, Butch Jones and his family stood in the Peyton Manning Locker Room at Neyland Stadium and formally accepted the position as the University of Tennessee's 24th head football coach.
"It is my pleasure to introduce the head football coach of the University of Tennessee, Butch Jones."
The audience applauded as athletic director Dave Hart made the long-awaited announcement. Since former head coach Derek Dooley was released on Nov. 18, Volunteer fans anxiously anticipated the upcoming news.
Jones met with his players at the University of Cincinnati on Friday morning and told the team he would be taking a position in Knoxville. From that moment on, Jones said he considered himself a part of the tradition and family at UT.
"It truly is an honor and a privilege to be your football coach," Jones said.
Hart said one of the selling points for Jones was knowing that he would never be around a more passionate fan base than the one at Rocky Top. Jones said he and the fan base have the same expectations for the Volunteer's football program.
"It's our goal to give everyone the kind of football program that you can be extremely, extremely proud of and continue to build upon the legacy and the proud tradition that the University of Tennessee has been so proud of throughout the years," Jones said. "To our great and passionate fan base and everyone here who loves this program, we will be working to be champions each and every day."
Jones said he was ready to begin work immediately.
"I'm fired up because I just left my new team and we started in small steps to just lay the foundation and the standard that's gonna be in our football program," Jones said. "I'm excited to roll my sleeves up and get started."
Some of his first tasks will be bringing together a team of coaches and staff who will be able to support the program Jones hopes to create.
"I can assure you that we will put together the best football staff in the country, not just the South Eastern Conference, but the entire country," Jones said. "I have a checklist of what I'm looking for."
Jones said he's looking for coaches with character who can teach his players the game of life and the game of football. He said he wants his staff to be focused on character and motivation on and off the field.
"We want great teachers and individuals who have a passion to be here at the University of Tennessee," Jones said.
Despite a concern that Jones was not Hart's first choice as coaching candidate, Hart said he felt Jones was the man for the job.
"Butch was on that short list all along, but we did not get face to face till last evening. I knew he was weighing the Colorado job, I knew he had been offered a couple other jobs, and I knew he felt secure in Cincinnati," Hart said. "But it was not 20 minutes into what turned out to be a conversation that lasted throughout the night that I could see genuine passion. It wasn't artificial when he said, 'Dave, this is my dream job' and I knew that was coming from his heart."
Jones said he wasn't worried about his future at Tennessee.
"I think I was my wife's third choice and that's worked out for 20 years," Jones said to a roomful of laughter.
Jones added that Alabama head coach Nick Saban and LSU head coach Les Miles have both had successful coaching careers after coming to the SEC with no experience in the league. His own 50-27 record (.649) through six seasons as a head coach speaks for itself.
Jones has won four conference championships in his six years experience, in the Big East at Cincinnati and the Mid-American Conference at Central Michigan.
In closing, Jones once again committed himself to the university and to the program.
"I will give my all for Tennessee today," Jones said.
Source: http://utdailybeacon.com/breaking-news/2012dec7-butch-jones-named-head-coach/
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