Tennessee trying to avoid another disappointing finish

Butch Jones is safe. Really, he is. Last season was a disappointing finish after a 5-0 start, but Tennessee still won nine games, including the Music City Bowl.

From a departmental standpoint, he’s fine (even with new athletics director John Currie going through his first football season). Maybe he’s lost some of the fans due to his bubbly, look-on-the-bright-side persona, but nothing will bring them back like winning games.

Which, considering all Tennessee lost and the schedule it’s facing, may be tough to come by this year, even in an open SEC East.

“I think all you have to do is look at it that it’s difficult to win, and it’s difficult to win championships,” Jones said at SEC Media Days. “But I’m still proud of the way our team responded.”

The Volunteers were nearly decimated by injuries last year, which strangely may have helped Jones in the long run. It very clearly affected the team, and even Jones’ harshest critics had to admit that.

The injuries ended the thrill of that undefeated start, and helped to gloss over how the Vols got to 5-0. They were just plain lucky against Appalachian State and Georgia and didn’t win so much as survive against Ohio. But wins are wins, and the injuries made losses slightly easier to swallow (although that Vanderbilt loss stuck out as listless and uninspired).

Still, Tennessee beat Nebraska in its bowl game and is the first Vols team in 20 years to win three straight bowl games. That’s something to trumpet. As is consecutive nine-win seasons.

Jones has rebuilt the program but 2017 may be a delay in the construction. The Vols have an awful lot of questions and not enough time to get them all solved before playing Georgia Tech on the road in Week 1.

Who’s quarterback after Joshua Dobbs left (pocket passer Quinten Dormady or the more mobile Jarrett Guarantano)? Tailback John Kelly is a guy new offensive coordinator Larry Scott (first year as OC, ever) can build around, but can he play a full 12 games? Jauan Jennings is a gamebreaker at receiver, but that won’t matter without a decided QB or anybody else to help him.

That’s just the offense. Career sacks leader Derek Barnett is gone and the best candidates to replace him were all hurt last year. The Vols are great in the secondary but if all they’re doing is running up to tackle opposing tailbacks, they’re not going to get a lot of PBUs.

After Georgia Tech comes at Florida in Week 3. Hosting Georgia in Week 5. South Carolina, then at Alabama in Weeks 7-8. Wind up by hosting LSU before Vanderbilt.

It’s a credit to how the Vols fought through adversity last year – or a testament to how weak the SEC East is – that Tennessee was picked third in the division. That may have the Vols feeling pretty good about their chances.

They were picked first last year, with a lot more proven talent, and finished 4-4.