Former Tennessee DC John Jancek goes on retweeting spree after ‘mutual’ departure from Vols
By Nick Cole
Published:
In a bit of surprising news, Tennessee coach Butch Jones and former defensive coordinator John Jancek had an after-season meeting that resulted in what was termed as a “mutual” parting of ways by some.
In fact, here’s the wording from Butch Jones on the decision, from the Vols’ official website for athletics:
“John and I had a long discussion this morning and we both came to the conclusion that it was best to part ways,” Jones said. “I want to thank Coach Jancek for his contributions to the University of Tennessee football program the past three years. His hard work and dedication to this program played a major role in our back-to-back bowl wins. These decisions are never easy especially for someone I have worked with at three different schools. We feel strongly about the direction our program is headed and will work diligently to find the best person available to lead our defense.”
But, as is usually the case when these kinds of things were said, the decision was likely not as mutual as these releases would have you believe.
Jancek started his post-announcement Twitter presence with three classy Tweets of his own:
I just want to say thank you to #GBO I loved your passion and I never wanted to let you guys down!! I enjoyed improving the defense! #VFL
— John Jancek (@LSUCoachJancek) January 6, 2016
I appreciate all the calls and texts from all the players!! You've got a great #GBO #Orange Swarm defense coming back!! Keep it up!
— John Jancek (@LSUCoachJancek) January 6, 2016
Tennessee has a great #Orange Swarm defense coming back next season!! #VolNation dominate! The players are awesome!!
— John Jancek (@LSUCoachJancek) January 7, 2016
But judging by the 32 retweets he made during the course of Wednesday afternoon, you may be able to draw your own conclusion on how he really feels about this decision.
Here are some examples of the Tweets that Jancek put on his timeline:
The #Vols allowed 20 ppg this year – 5th in the SEC. The year before Jancek? 35.7 – last in the #SEC.
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) January 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/danharralson/status/684852581844303872
That's twice in 12 months Butch jettisoned a coordinator who helped him get this job – a few weeks before NSD. https://t.co/iPPE1yxfsD
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) January 6, 2016
Defense improved from 35.7 ppg before Jancek to 29 in 2013. 24 in 2014. And 20 this season. Pleasure to cover, wish him nothing but the best
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) January 6, 2016
Good reading of the tea leaves here. https://t.co/wEihf7iMNO
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) January 6, 2016
This is also true. https://t.co/W8ZpC4a5FI
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) January 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/KBish15/status/684822149866086401
There’s little doubt that Butch Jones decided he was moving on from Jancek, who had been with the Vols for three years. That leaves one question to be answered– Why?
That’s something we may never know publicly, but Jancek did his best to use the power of Twitter to let fans know that it was not his choice.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
