When head coach Blake Anderson stepped down from his post on December 10 to accept the Utah State Aggies job, Arkansas State moved quickly to find his successor, announcing the hiring of Butch Jones two days later.

Spending the last three seasons as an offensive analyst/special assistant to the head coach for Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, Jones plucked from the Crimson Tide tree for one of his most important hires, as on Sunday it was reported by FootballScoop.com he will bring Major Applewhite with him to Jonesboro to be his offensive coordinator.

Beginning his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in 1990, Jones, 52, received his first head coaching position in 2007, taking over the Mid-American Conference’s Central Michigan Chippewas.

After three years in Mount Pleasant, he succeeded Brian Kelly as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2010-12.

Most noteworthy to Southeastern Conference fans, however, was his tenure at the helm of the Tennessee Volunteers from 2013-17, where he compiled a 34-27 (14-24 SEC) record and led the Knoxville-based program to three bowl games.

Applewhite, 42, has been an analyst for Alabama since 2019.

He began his foray into coaching as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, the Texas Longhorns, in 2003. Working his way up to the role of Mack Brown’s co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach by 2013, he assumed a similar role at Houston in 2015.

When Tom Herman bolted for Texas, Applewhite was promoted to head coach, totaling a 15-11 (10-6 American Athletic Conference) record. He went 0-3 in bowl games with the Cougars, unfortunately, including a 70-14 loss to the Army Black Knights in the 2018 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.