Is Butch Jones blaming Tennessee fans for social media negativity after Arkansas State rout?

Butch Jones has not coached Tennessee since he was fired following a 4-6 start in the 2017 season. Still, it appears as if the Vols fan base is front and center of the Arkansas State coach's mind.

Jones appeared to blame Tennessee fans for social media negativity following a moment in Saturday's 73-0 defeat by Oklahoma, when he needed to be consoled by safety Justin Parks on the sidelines of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The brief video went viral on social media, to the point an Arkansas State reporter asked whether he addressed it with his team.

Jones was quick to say he doesn't pay attention to social media before hinting that it wasn't just Red Wolves fans behind the negativity surrounding the loss.

"I would hope there'd be people that would be upset. That means they have passion," Jones said. "But I also know that a lot of that is from another fan base. So I don't pay attention to a lot of that. ... Whether it's another fan base or whether it's this fan base, they care. Because they're watching. So they must have some invested interest to watch."

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Here's the entire clip of Jones' answer, courtesy of Chris Hudgison of Jonesboro, Arkansas TV station KAIT:

It's possible Jones could have referenced fan bases from either of his previous two coaching stops (Cincinnati from 2010-12 or Central Michigan from 2007-09). But his most recent tenure, prior to taking over at Arkansas State, was with the Volunteers.

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Jones coached at Tennessee from 2013 through part of the 2017 season, going 34-27 during his tenure. He had three winning seasons in five years, including two 9-4 campaigns in 2015-16, and went 3-0 in bowl games. But he also went a combined 3-12 against rivals Georgia, Florida and Alabama, which includes a winless streak against the Crimson Tide. (Infamously, he did not smoke his first victory cigar in the "Third Saturday in October" until he was an assistant under Nick Saban in 2018-19).

He ultimately was fired in Knoxville in 2017 after a 50-17 blowout to Missouri dropped the Volunteers to 4-6 on the season, including winless in SEC play. Jones, in his third season coaching Arkansas State, is 5-20. His team went 2-10 in 2021 and 3-9 in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Butch Jones blaming Tennessee fans for social media negativity?