Butch Jones fired at Tennessee: Coach let things that don't matter distract him from what does

You’ll get another head coaching job, Butch, because you can build programs, recruit and coach. You deserve some credit for turning around Tennessee football. You will get more of that eventually, though right now it’s time for a lot of touchdown dancing on your vacant lawn. If a better football coach comes in and wins championships on the foundation you laid, I guarantee your tenure will ultimately be viewed as a step forward. Maybe not a monumental step, but a step.

But, man, as you move forward you have got to stop with some of the pointless behavior that made your job at Tennessee tougher than it should have been. It’s tough enough already, right? I’m not talking about football decisions, though the best coaches fit their system to their personnel more than they fit their personnel to their system. You do need to be a little more open-minded. Your offense isn’t making defensive coordinators sweat like it did 10 years ago.

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I’m not talking about your catch-phrase addiction, either, and I actually agree with you — most of the clichés you churn out are said in other programs. Some of yours are over the top. You have to understand timing better and not spit them out when the fans are angry, and chill out on the obscure stats that illustrate how well you’re doing and insult the intelligence of everyone, and you must take more responsibility when things don’t go well. But there’s no question that when things are going well, nobody really cares about that stuff.

The reason you’re here right now is that you didn’t win enough. I’ve got nothing for you on staff hiring and player development and all the things you’ll need to do better to win at your next stop. I’m a sportswriter. I can tell you the difference between an adjective and an adverb, but I don’t know who your next strength coach should be.

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What I do know, as a sportswriter, is that your entire handling of the media aspect of your job was a disaster. And I believe it distracted you from doing this job to the best of your ability. It must have.

I can’t tell you to grow thicker skin for your next job. That’s you. I can tell you about strategy. Don’t waste time worrying about every little tweet you don’t like. Don’t waste time worrying about every little joke at your expense on the radio.

Don’t threaten to pull the credentials of specific reporters because it won’t work unless you have a reason much stronger than not liking the commentary. Don’t threaten the access of young reporters for comments that qualify as mild criticism at most. It’s embarrassing. Protecting your players, I get. Always thinking about recruiting and how media coverage affects it, I get.

Freaking out because of personal shots is counterproductive. You like to talk about avoiding "energy vampires," right? This is an "energy flesh-eating zombie," and you created it.

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Most of all, Butch, don’t waste time at your next stop trying to find a stooge. You know what I mean. Special access in exchange for favorable coverage — which, when things go this poorly on the field, turns into comical excuse-making that anyone with wireless can spot from a coffee shop a mile away.

It just makes you look worse. People aren’t that dumb. And though I realize some coaches think they need “allies” in the media, that doesn’t work as well in this age of instant connection and two-way accountability. As you wondered why some in the Knoxville media seemed so down on you, did you consider it was because you so blatantly played favorites for favors?

You know I have no complaints. You were welcoming to me from the start. You showed me around the facility before the 2016 season. You’ve helped me on the phone. You let me in to interview you and your family at your home for a Christmas story, and you were all great. This is not personal.

This is my job, which is saying what I honestly think. That’s what most people in my line of work do, because they value the trust of their audience over the short-term gains of getting grimy with their sources. And I think you betrayed yourself by letting your insecurities distract you from what actually matters in this job.

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At your next job, be more open and honest with everyone who covers you. Or tell them all nothing. It works for Nick Saban. Just please don’t bother trying to fix the game.

If you actually coach well and know it, they’ll say what you want them to say.

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.