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Tennessee fires head coach Butch Jones

Mark Zerof / USA TODAY Sports

The last grain of sand has fallen in the hourglass of Butch Jones' career at Tennessee.

The university has fired the 49-year-old after leading the Volunteers to a disappointing 4-6 record this season, Tennessee athletic director John Currie confirmed in an official statement Sunday.

"Unfortunately, we are not where we need to be competitively. For that reason, I have asked Coach Jones to step down as head football coach," Currie said. "I know Coach Jones will be successful moving forward, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

Currie added that associate head coach and defensive line coach Brady Hoke has been named head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

The final straw apparently came in the form of a 50-17 blowout loss to Missouri. Despite three consecutive bowl victories and back-to-back nine-win seasons on his resume at Tennessee, a disappointing 2017 season proved too much for Jones to keep his job.

The now former Volunteers bench boss endured much scrutiny from the fan base due to the on-field struggles, although he did receive support from outside sources like former Tennessee great and NFL MVP Peyton Manning throughout the year.

Over the course of his four-plus years in Knoxville, Jones led Tennessee to an overall record of 34-27 but only a 12-24 mark in conference play.

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