Tennessee's Jones: It's 'pretty easy' to ignore critics

Butch Jones said Tuesday he isn't bothered by all the noise coming from outside his program, much of which has been about his job security at Tennessee.

"It's all part of the territory," the embattled coach told reporters. "It's pretty easy on me. I get up, I come to work, I don't listen to anything. Again, all our focus is on South Carolina. All of our focus is on this work week. It does not affect me or the staff at all."

Jones and the Volunteers are on a bye week, but fallout from their 41-0 loss Saturday to Georgia remains, with many in Knoxville begging for Tennessee to make a coaching change.

Jones' indifferent stance toward his critics comes a week after he ripped the media for being too negative about the state of Tennessee football.

The Vols will carry a 3-2 record into an Oct. 14 meeting with the Gamecocks, with Jones' seat presumably hotter than ever. He owns a 33-23 record at Tennessee as he nears the midway point of his fifth season with the program.