Butch Jones really wanted to see his 2018 recruiting class in action, but he couldn’t make it to the finish line to close the 2017 season. Tennessee pulled the plug on Jones after a 4-6 start to the season.
The temperature was already rising in Knoxville after an embarrassing end to the 2016 season. With a Sugar Bowl berth on the line, Tennessee laid an egg against Vanderbilt and was forced to the Music City Bowl. Going 9-4 and losing to Vandy with that roster just wasn’t good enough, plain and simple.
With so much roster turnover next season, the wheels fell completely off.