Cincinnati once more went to Central Michigan to hire Butch Jones as their head coach to replace Brian Kelly who also came to Cincinnati three years a go from Central Michigan but now has decided to accept a job offer from Notre Dame.
When Brian Kelly came to Cincinnati three years a go from Central Michigan he was like a breath of fresh air to the Bearcats, who have right now one of the most prominent football programs in the country. He lead the team to the win their second consecutive Big East Conference title, finished third in the BCS rankings which gave them a chance to play against Florida on January 1st in the Sugar Bowl.
Jones is very familiar with the Big East and with their wide-open offensive system, plus he used to work with Kelly before. Those were very important factors that entitled him for the job.
He worked with Kelly for approximately one year and then he left to West Virginia for an offensive coordinator job offer under Rich Rodriguez command. When Kelly was offered the job in Cincinnati, he was brought back to Central Michigan and created a great football program. They won the Mid-American Conference title and now will face Troy in the GMAC Bowl on January 6th.
Jones has been in touch with Kelly over the years and has traded some coaching ideas in this passed season. As Kelly left for Notre Dame last week knowing that Jones was coming to take his old job, Kelly has highly encouraged Jones to take over the prominent football program he left behind.
"He was on my staff, so he knows the system that we used and his system obviously mirrors a lot of things," Kelly said. "Some of the things, he has tweaked toward his personnel. They're not very far apart. It's going to be spread, fast-paced, exciting."
Jones was introduced to the team and players on Wednesday as the deal was made official and right before their first practice for the Sugar Bowl. He is trying to get familiar with the players, but they already know he has the same offensive philosophy as Kelly: fast-paced offenses with a lot of passes.
Jones started his coaching career as an assistant at West Virginia with Rich Rodriguez in 2005. He then went back to Central Michigan in 2007 were he took his first head coach job of his career. As head coach he set various records and beat Central Michigan's all time rival, Western Michigan, back in 2007. He leaded Central Michigan to the MAC title at Ford Field against Miami Ohio, and led the team to its second consecutive Motor City Bowl. Jones is only the ninth football coach in Mid-American Conference history to win the championship in his first season.
In this 2009 season he led Central Michigan to their third MAC championship with a 20-10 victory over Ohio. During his tenure the Central Michigan football program has grown and is now a strong team. We will have to wait and see how he does with Cincinnati.
When Brian Kelly came to Cincinnati three years a go from Central Michigan he was like a breath of fresh air to the Bearcats, who have right now one of the most prominent football programs in the country. He lead the team to the win their second consecutive Big East Conference title, finished third in the BCS rankings which gave them a chance to play against Florida on January 1st in the Sugar Bowl.
Jones is very familiar with the Big East and with their wide-open offensive system, plus he used to work with Kelly before. Those were very important factors that entitled him for the job.
He worked with Kelly for approximately one year and then he left to West Virginia for an offensive coordinator job offer under Rich Rodriguez command. When Kelly was offered the job in Cincinnati, he was brought back to Central Michigan and created a great football program. They won the Mid-American Conference title and now will face Troy in the GMAC Bowl on January 6th.
Jones has been in touch with Kelly over the years and has traded some coaching ideas in this passed season. As Kelly left for Notre Dame last week knowing that Jones was coming to take his old job, Kelly has highly encouraged Jones to take over the prominent football program he left behind.
"He was on my staff, so he knows the system that we used and his system obviously mirrors a lot of things," Kelly said. "Some of the things, he has tweaked toward his personnel. They're not very far apart. It's going to be spread, fast-paced, exciting."
Jones was introduced to the team and players on Wednesday as the deal was made official and right before their first practice for the Sugar Bowl. He is trying to get familiar with the players, but they already know he has the same offensive philosophy as Kelly: fast-paced offenses with a lot of passes.
Jones started his coaching career as an assistant at West Virginia with Rich Rodriguez in 2005. He then went back to Central Michigan in 2007 were he took his first head coach job of his career. As head coach he set various records and beat Central Michigan's all time rival, Western Michigan, back in 2007. He leaded Central Michigan to the MAC title at Ford Field against Miami Ohio, and led the team to its second consecutive Motor City Bowl. Jones is only the ninth football coach in Mid-American Conference history to win the championship in his first season.
In this 2009 season he led Central Michigan to their third MAC championship with a 20-10 victory over Ohio. During his tenure the Central Michigan football program has grown and is now a strong team. We will have to wait and see how he does with Cincinnati.
SHARE
