Arkansas State Hires Butch Jones as New Head Coach

Butch Jones, currently an assistant at Alabama, was formerly the head coach at Tennessee, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.

Arkansas State has hired Butch Jones as its next football coach, the school announced Saturday. The news comes two days after former coach Blake Anderson stepped down to take the vacant Utah State job.

Jones, 52, is currently an assistant at Alabama. He has previously been the head coach at Tennessee, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.

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"Butch Jones's outstanding record of success at both the G5 and P5 levels is evident, and we're excited to having him leading our football program into the future," Arkansas State Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Terry Mohajir said in a statement. "He is the only coach over the last 12 years to lead Tennessee to back-to-back nine-win seasons, and he led Cincinnati and Central Michigan to four conference championships over a six-year period. 

"Butch has also worked with one of the most-well-respected coaches in history in Nick Saban the last three years at Alabama. Our candidate pool was fantastic, but following extensive and positive conversations with Butch, while also looking at his winning history, coaching and leadership abilities and vision for our program, we became confident he was the clear choice to be our next head coach."

The Red Wolves are 4-7 this year, snapping a streak of seven consecutive winning seasons.

Jones was at Tennessee from 2013 until his mid-season firing in 2017, posting a 34-27 overall record and 14-24 in SEC games. He led the Volunteers to back-to-back 9-4 seasons in 2015 and 2016, ranking No. 22 in the final AP poll both years.

Jones had more success at the Group of Five level. In six combined seasons at Cincinnati and Central Michigan, he won his conference championship four times. The Bearcats went 4-8 in his first season before winning consecutive Big East championships in 2011 and 2012. In 2009, his final year at Central Michigan, the Chippewas went 11-2 and finished ranked No. 23 in the AP poll.