Arkansas State University isn't getting the same Butch Jones who was dismissed from Tennessee with a 4-6 record in November 2017.
When his five-year stint with the Volunteers ended, the Red Wolves' new head coach quickly found another home in the SEC when he joined Nick's Saban coaching staff at Alabama in 2018. Three seasons with the Crimson Tide gave Jones not only the chance to reap the benefits of working with the six-time national champion head coach on a daily basis, but also to reflect on his past and prepare for his next head coaching role.
On Monday, Jones' former boss spoke about the Red Wolves' new coach and his time in Tuscaloosa.
"Butch has done a phenomenal job here for us in the several years that he's been here," Saban said during a news conference Monday. "He's very well-liked by the players, really well-organized. He's been very helpful to me personally.
"He's going to stay involved to whatever degree that he can. We're extremely pleased and happy for him and his family to get this opportunity."
Jones will be introduced as the next head coach of Arkansas State football at 2:30 p.m. today in Jonesboro. ASU announced the 52-year-old's hiring Saturday night, just two days after Blake Anderson's resignation.
In his comments Monday, Saban alluded to the fact that Jones may still contribute to Alabama's preparation for Saturday's SEC Championship Game against Florida, but Jones is already plenty busy in Jonesboro.
On Wednesday, in addition to his introductory news conference, Jones will juggle the opening of the early signing period only days after taking over the program. He's already found success on the recruiting trail, receiving a commitment from Yale graduate transfer Alan Lamar on Monday and a pair of oral pledges from class of 2020 recruits Tristan Shorter and Ethan Hassler on Tuesday.
As Jones prepares to take over his fourth program after tenures at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee, he does so with perspective gained from his stint with the Crimson Tide.
"The last three years of being at Alabama, I was able to sit back and evaluate everything that we were able to do and what we did in the last three places that I had been," Jones said. "And you sit back and you self-reflect, and I challenged myself."
After five seasons spent living under the constant pressure of leading the Volunteers, Jones opted in 2018 for the closest thing to relative obscurity the SEC has to offer: an offensive analyst role at Alabama. He was paid, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, just $35,000 in 2019 while continuing to collect monthly installments of his $8.26 million buyout from Tennessee. Before the 2019 season, Jones moved up to the role of special assistant to Saban.
Even with the promotion, Jones' duties with the Crimson Tide allowed him the opportunity to take that step back. Jones observed Saban with a front-row seat, watching how one of the most accomplished head coaches in college football runs a program.
Jones became ingrained in "The Process," Saban's philosophy of dogged preparation and work that emphasizes success in the present over concern for past or future outcomes. It's the doctrine that courses through the Crimson Tide and fuels the perennial winners, and Saban even wrote a book about it.
"It's about continuing to build upon the success and work every day to just be better as a football program," Jones said. "That's the one thing being at Alabama really taught me."
"The Process" is something Jones intends to bring with him to the Red Wolves.
"[At Alabama] you hear all about the term 'The Process,' and what really defines 'The Process?' " Jones said. "Actually being able to experience that and being a part of 'The Process' ... will really help us here at Arkansas State."