

Vandy outscored Tennessee 21-3 in the second half to go on to a stunning 45-34 win in Nashville Saturday night.

Butch Jones was going to have to answer to a lot of hard questions to the media. How did his defense give up a career night to a struggling Vandy QB? Why couldn’t his defense find a way to stop the Commodores on 3rd and long? Why did he decide against kicking a field goal with 1:37 left to make it a one TD game? What does this loss mean for the future of the program?

These questions mostly went unanswered.

Butch went to media room pretty much immediately after game. Most reporters weren’t there yet. Took questions for less than 4 minutes — WBIR Sports (@WBIRSports) November 27, 2016

Butch Jones knows he pulled a fast one on the media. After games, there is a “cool off period” for players and coaches. This also gives media members time to post quick game stories before they head down to hear from coaches and players. Jones knew by blowing through the cool off period he would avoid the majority of the Tennessee media.

Apparently Butch’s presser was over before I made it down here. It didn’t last long, it sounds like. — Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) November 27, 2016

Apparently Butch’s presser has already started and ended. Wow. That was fast. — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 27, 2016

Less quotes from him means more analysis from the media in postgame coverage. Not a smart move for many reasons. https://t.co/SANBnHugCK — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 27, 2016

I don’t care what the excuse is for why it happened. Butch Jones knows how to conduct a post game press conference after a loss. He’s had plenty of experience doing it at Tennessee.

I’ve seen some media members say there were only about four people in the press room who asked questions, and at the first sign of silence UT media relations whisked Jones away. Even so, this is an incredibly weak move by Jones.

His players, the actual leaders of the program, rose to the occasion and answered the tough questions. QB Josh Dobbs, defensive end Derek Barnett, lineman Brett Kendrick, and wide receiver Josh Malone were some of the players who stepped up, when their coach disappeared.

Players said they were “embarrassed” by the loss. The defense giving up 608 yards to Vanderbilt was “unacceptable”. There were no excuses about injuries or cliches. It was real, truthful feelings from the players.

#Vols‘ Derek Barnett: I’m not blaming any of this on injuries. We still had 11 guys on the field. We just didn’t do what we needed to do. — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 27, 2016

#Vols‘ Josh Malone: “Everybody around here needs to self-check. This shouldn’t have happened. … This is ridiculous.” — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 27, 2016

Brett Kendrick: “We should never lose a game like this” — Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 27, 2016

Dobbs on missing out on SEC East, better bowl games: “The opportunities were there, we just didn’t take advantage of it” — Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 27, 2016

Jones showed who he is. He’s thin-skinned and not willing to follow his team motto of “own it”. News flash: thin-skinned coaches don’t last very long, especially in the SEC. This offseason is setting up to be a very difficult one. Jones has been exposed.

Follow Austin Stanley on Twitter @AustinStanley81.