Jones tabs Scott to lead his offense

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones didn't need much time and didn't have to travel far to find his offensive coordinator. Jones went down the hall to tight ends coach Larry Scott to find his signal caller to replace Mike DeBord, who left to be the offensive coordinator at Indiana.

Sources have consistently told Volquest over the last two weeks that Scott was someone that Jones really liked. It became apparent following DeBord's departure that the former interim head coach at Miami, who just completed his first year at Tennessee, was the choice.

Jones along with Scott and the other offensive staff members spent the weekend interviewing quarterback coaching candidates as Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke interviewed for the vacancy last Friday. On Sunday, Jones interviewed Utah State assistant head coach Mike Canalas. Canalas worked with Scott at South Florida.

Scott worked closely with DeBord in 2016 as the Vol offense set a record for points scored. Scott according to many in the program had a big hand in some different things the offense did down the stretch of the season, something Jones seemed to more than hint at when he spoke to the media last week.

“I have really liked the way we have played football, particularly towards the end of the season,” Jones said. “I think the stats, the points per game and everything speak for themselves.

"I liked our balance. I liked the way we pushed the ball down the field. I liked our formations. I liked our different personnel groupings. So there is a lot that went into it. We have a very, very good staff here. When you game plan there are lot of individuals involved. It's a group effort. I think Mike Debord will be the first to tell you that. I'm looking for somebody that fits that can connect with our players. Obviously, develop our players whether it is an internal candidate or an external candidate.”

Scott has never called plays before which creates an unknown with him on gamedays, but it's obviously something Jones, who's heading into a critical 5th year, is comfortable with.

“A lot of times in terms of calling plays, a lot of those plays are scripted. A lot of them are done in your preparation in the week from situational football,” Jones said. “Obviously, communication on the headsets in between series, at halftime being able to make the proper adjustments. Calling plays is important, but that's not the only thing. I have been around a lot of great play callers that didn't have the experience prior to getting that opportunity. It's like coach Debord and I spoke about. He had never called a play and the first time he had called a play at a high level they won a national championship and went undefeated. So there's a lot that goes into it. It's the direction of the staff. It's the ability to communicate. It's the ability to motivate that side of the ball as well. Calling plays and experience is important, but there are a lot of other things that go into determining who our next offensive coordinator will be.”

With Scott officially in place, Jones' focus is squarely on his biggest priority.

“The number one priority that we have to do is get in here a great developer of quarterbacks,” Jones said. “Having some very talented quarterbacks in our program, the quarterback development is going to be obviously very, very important.”