John Currie, it’s time to make the decision on Butch Jones

This is John Currie’s off ramp. And I can’t figure out why he isn’t taking it.

Until now, he had to be careful, sober and rational, and resist the emotional wave carrying the Tennessee football fan base to the conclusion that Butch Jones needed to be fired as fast as possible.

Currie had to consider, as a first-year athletic director, the national perception of the potential firing, and specifically how it might be viewed by the pool of coaches from which he had to find Jones’ replacement. If Jones’ firing brought with it the perception that Currie has a quick trigger, that would scare away coaches who hoped for patience and viewed athletic department support as a critical factor in changing jobs. After all, he would be judged far more harshly if he made a hire that led to another firing than he would be for holding on to Jones too long.

But the season unraveled at a much faster pace than expected, and after Saturday night, Currie is safe from the perception that he’s too rash, and starting to build a reputation of being too indecisive. At this point, firing Butch Jones is a safe move.

Tennessee assured that 2017 would be considered a season of regression with its 29-26 loss at Kentucky, its fifth defeat of the season. It heads into November without an SEC win, having been outscored in conference games 156-62. The Vols have been beaten by three middling squads in South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida and embarrassed by the conference’s powerhouses in Georgia and Alabama. There is nothing about this season that suggests upward trajectory, and it’s difficult to make a credible argument that Jones wasn’t given enough time to fix the program.

So exactly what forces in Currie’s mind are preventing him from making a move, I’m not sure.

It is certainly not a pleasant thing to fire a man, even in cases when you’re legally bound to structure a seven-figure buyout plan for him on his way out the door. The position of football coach at an SEC program requires total devotion, and for all that there is to be said about Jones, he met that requirement over his five seasons. To his credit, he brought the program back at least to the point of being a Top 25 program that could go 8-4 and win a bowl game, which meant that it was inarguably in a better place than it was under Derek Dooley. So making the call to let Jones go can’t be one Currie is looking forward to making.

But the most important program in Currie’s athletic department is flailing. The Vols need three wins in their last four games to become bowl eligible. Southern Miss, Missouri and Vanderbilt are still on the schedule, so they should still be able to get there, but after the loss to Kentucky and the scare against UMass, there’s no reason to believe they’re a lock to win those games. The fan base has turned against Jones as much as possible, and it’s even more angry after Florida parted ways with Jim McElwain and got into the coaching market first.

There is little to this season worth saving. And considering that Jones will have to answer questions about his job status for as long as he stays on the job, bringing stress to himself and everyone in the program, there’s little reason to believe that a Brady Hoke, Larry Scott, Bob Shoop or Robert Gillespie wouldn’t have just as good of a chance of taking this team to the a bowl game as he would.

The one tangible thing to be lost by getting rid of Jones is his recruiting prowess and the class he has built for 2018. That group currently includes a five-star recruit in Knoxville offensive tackle Cade Mays and seven 4-star recruits. But if it’s Currie’s position that Jones needs to be retained to make sure those players enroll at Tennessee, then he should state clearly that Jones will be the coach in 2018 regardless of what happens in November, because the continued uncertainty makes it more and more possible that one of those commitments might change their minds. Some already have.

Besides, this team began the season with 31 4- or 5-star recruits on the roster, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Several of them have suffered injuries, but 13 were listed as starters on the team’s depth chart last week. Jones has suffered some tough breaks in terms of injuries, especially in the last two seasons, but the depth of talent he has brought in should have been enough to buoy the program and it hasn’t.

At this point, the case to fire Jones has been made. Currie has all the evidence necessary and has seen all the losses necessary to justify it. The only reason I can see for Currie to give Jones another week is if he plans to give him another year.

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