Alabama analyst Butch Jones will travel with the team for Saturday’s game at Tennessee, where he served as head coach for the past five seasons.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Wednesday that Jones will be with the team in Knoxville, as he has for all other games this season. Jones has been assisting offensive coordinator Mike Locksley by providing observations of practices and games.
“Any time you have somebody on your staff that just coached at a place, he obviously knows more about the personnel,” Saban said Wednesday, “But their schemes on offense and defense are completely different from what they’ve been in the past, so that’s no real advantage at all.”
Jones went 34-27 at Tennessee before being fired Nov. 12, 2017. His hiring at Alabama was finalized March 20, and he is earning $35,000 this season.
“Butch can’t coach the players,” Saban said. “He works hard in terms of assisting our coaches and planning and preparation. Butch is a very bright guy and he’s done a really good job of that. He basically assists Mike as much as possible.”