Butch Jones staying in the SEC? Butch Jones trading orange for crimson? Maybe – and it’s the core of one of the most unexpected coaching stories of the offseason.
Jones reportedly is in discussions with Alabama about taking an off-field job with the Crimson Tide, as reported by AL.com. The role most likely would be an offensive analyst job, a position that Nick Saban has used extensively during his time in Tuscaloosa.
Jones was fired late in the 2017 season as the Vols were enduring their first winless SEC season in history. But Saban has a long history of success salvaging coaches’ careers – Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, who joined the Tide as an analyst, come quickly to mind.