Butch Jones Hired As Tennessee’s Next Football Coach

It’s official. Butch Jones is leaving Cincinnati to become the head football coach at University of Tennessee.

According to ESPN, Tennessee announced Friday morning that Jones, 44, had agreed to a six-year contract with the Volunteers. Jones will replace former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley who was fired in November after going 15-21 during his three years with the program.

Jones, CBSSports’ Big East Coach of the Year in 2011, leaves Cincinnati after three seasons as its coach. During his tenure with the team, he compiled a 23-14 overall record, and a 19-6 record over the past two seasons. In 2011 and 2012, he lead the Bearcats to a tie for first in the Big East.

Cincinnati won the Liberty Bowl last season, and is scheduled to face Duke in the Belk Bowl on December 27.

“I would like to thank Butch Jones for his time at the University of Cincinnati,” Bearcats’ athletic director Whit Babcock said in a release. “With that said, we are excited about the future of this program and this job will be extremely attractive nationally. Our search will begin immediately.”

Prior to his stint at Cincinnati, Jones was 27-13 in three seasons at Central Michigan, where his teams won 20 of 23 conference games and reached three bowls.

When asked about his thoughts on being hired by Tenneseee, Jones said he was taking over “the best college football program in America.

“We’ll be working to be champions each and every day,” Jones said. “We will be a champion in everything we do. That’s not only on the field but off the field.”

ESPN’s Ed Cunningham breaks down Tennessee’s hiring of Butch Jones in the clip below: