Butch Jones finally made up his mind about a coaching job and Tennessee finally ended it's long coaching search as BJ will move to Knoxville to coach the Volunteers. Whit Babcock put out a statement that said:
"I would like to thank Butch Jones for his time at the University of Cincinnati,” Cincinnati athletic director Whit Babcock said in a statement. “With that said, we are excited about the future of this program and this job will be extremely attractive nationally. Our search will begin immediately.”
That's pretty much what I'm guessing we all think. Steve Stripling will coach the Belk Bowl against Duke. I absolutely hated Tennessee when I was growing up and have never liked them. I think I said that in the Tennessee preview last year. I don't really care how Butch Jones does at Tennessee. I hope he doesn't get fired after 2 seasons, but I don't really want him to win the national title next year.
The way that Butch handled this week is really going to make his memory at Cincinnati negative. This season was good, but this season was ultimately very disappointing. Cincinnati could have won the league and they blew the 2 games that they needed to win. Especially Rutgers. I think Butch could have won here next year. But the thing about Butch Jones is that we all would have faced uncertainty if he stayed. I don't think anyone would believe that he would stay after next year. It seems like he would always be angling out the door.
And that's fine. Cincinnati is where people come to get their coaches. Know why? Because Cincinnati kicks some mother fucking ass. Sorry to drop an f bomb at 8 am, but it was necessary. Cincinnati football has proven the last 9 years that no matter who the coach is, it's a winning program. Dantonio, Kelly and Jones all had success here. They all got big name jobs. Some of them have succeeded more than others, Brian Kelly at UC and Notre Dame, but all 3 have proven you can win here. Cincinnati doesn't have a football tradition. It's like the UC timeline is Greg Cook, 1997 Humanitarian Bowl, everything that happened in the 2000s. I think Cincinnati is still finding itself as a national player. The next coach may stay or he may go. But I know damn well that he will come to Cincinnati and he (or she, who knows maybe it's historic) will win football games. These Cincinnati Bearcats are our Cincinnati Bearcats no matter what.
Butch Jones will always be a part of Cincinnati history. But today, he is history. All the best to his family. Have fun in Knoxville. I don't care if you win or not. We will know we will be winning back in Cincinnati.
Go Bearcats. Beat Duke.
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