With Alabama and Tennessee renewing their rivalry this Saturday, the Butch Jones storylines will resurface this week. On Wednesday during his teleconference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban answered several questions on Jones and his role with the Crimson Tide.

Saban said most of what Jones does is behind the scenes, mentioning film study and administrative type work as his most prominent duties. Saban added Jones has “done a really good job” and is “a great person to have” in the Alabama program.

In a followup question, Saban was asked whether it’s common to have an analyst back for a second season. The Alabama head man responded saying it’s been done before and that Jones “wanted to stay” in Tuscaloosa despite receiving other job opportunities.

Jones was the head coach of the Volunteers from 2013-17, amassing a 34-27 record. In his final season, Tennessee went winless in the SEC. Jones joined the Alabama coaching staff last year.

Here’s what else Saban said on Wednesday:

  • Mark Dantonio and recruiting at Michigan State: First off, I think Mark has done an outstanding job at his time there. Had some very successful seasons, we played them in the Playoff. I think Mark is a great recruiter, MSU is a great place, beautiful campus… I’m sure the expectations are very high there and I think Mark has done a good job meeting those expectations. I think it’s unrealistic to think you are going to have a great team year in and year out… but I think he’s done an outstanding job.
  • On the uncertainty of recruiting making creating depth more important: I think that’s part of it but it’s the human condition, people have a hard time dealing with success, being the best you can be. That seems harder to deal with when you are having success.
  • On Alabama’s penalties: I think it’s lack of discipline, I talk to them about that all the time… discipline is not something you just have on the field, it’s something you wake up with… that’s something we need to do a better job of.
  • On Tua’s comments “Stop it” on Bama running so many slant routes: I’m glad he has confidence and believes in what we are doing. Tua is a very humble guy, I don’t see anything problematic.on explosive SEC offenses: I think that it shows that coaches, and LSU has done that, has done a great job of showcasing the talent they have. We have done that here, relative to the players we have here, starting with the QB. when you do that, you have the opportunity for more explosive plays… Spurrier did it at Florida… so did Tennessee years ago, I think that’s not really a fair judgment on the league.
  • On some many freshmen playing on offense: I think that these guys have made progress, they have become more confident week in and week out… we are pleased with the progress they have made and we want to help them improve because we are not happy with the way we’ve played defense to his point.
  • On Alabama’s running game: We just want to have balance. I think, our QB doesn’t take off and run, our run stats aren’t great… when we do run, how effective are we vs. how effective are teams running on us? you can’t just look at rushing stats.
  • On Raekwon Davis filling run gaps: I think it’s a combination of things, players have to be disciplined and understand the overall scheme of where they fit… If everyone does there job, we will be successful in what we see. When players don’t understand that, mistakes are made.