Butch Jones dismisses ‘society of negativity,’ says Tennessee has a lot to be proud of
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Tennessee coach Butch Jones seems to be aware that Tennessee is sometimes mocked on the internet, particularly for Jones’ sayings such as “champions of life” and “5-star hearts,” in widely shared (and highly clicked) headlines on the internet.
When speaking to the Knoxville Rotary Club, Jones dismissed internet mockery as part of a society of negativity.
“I know we live in a society of negativity, people get paid for clicks on the internet,” Jones said, per 247Sports. “But I’m here to tell you, when you step back and peel the onion back, look at the layers, we have a lot of things to be proud of.
“You look at how far we’ve come in four years.”
After a 15-21 run during three seasons with Derek Dooley as head coach, the Volunteers have gone 30-21 under Jones in four seasons. The Tennessee coach pointed to back-to-back nine-win seasons, back-to-back AP Top 25 finishes and three consecutive bowl victories as indications of the Vols making significant progress.
He also noted that Tennessee had its most players drafted (six) in the first four rounds in 15 years.
“So when you look at all those thing that everything that’s been accomplished, I think sometimes the negativity really is an insult to all the hard work and effort that has gone in by a lot of people behind the scenes,” he said. “Not just players but the support staff.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
