Tennessee Football: The 5 Biggest Accomplishments for Butch Jones in 2014

With a recent bowl victory and another elite recruiting class on the way, the Tennessee Volunteers begin the offseason with as much hype and momentum as any program not named Ohio State—and a lot of that momentum is due to head coach Butch Jones.

In his first meeting with his new team on Dec. 7, 2012, Jones said he wanted to win championships at Tennessee. 

And to his credit, he's putting all of the pieces in place to make Tennessee a championship-level program. 

Jones' accomplishments in 2013 were essential to make the Vols a competitive team moving forward. He avoided a grades-related disaster by improving the team's APR, he locked down the state in terms of recruiting and he finally ended Tennessee's embarrassing losing streak to ranked teams.

Roster-wise, the 2014 season looked like it might be even worse than 2013 from a win-loss standpoint, but Jones exceeded expectations and got Tennessee back to the postseason for the first time since 2010.

While he didn't have the second-year on-the-field success of coaches like Urban Meyer, Nick Saban or Mark Richt, Jones did a great job winning the games he was supposed to and continuing to change the culture in Knoxville this past season.

Here are five of his biggest accomplishments in 2014 and a breakdown of how they will benefit the team in 2015 and beyond. 

He Taught the Team How to Win Tough Games

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Throughout Derek Dooley's tenure at Tennessee, the Vols suffered through countless excruciatingly close losses.

The LSU debacle in 2010, the Music City Bowl loss in overtime and multiple close-but-no-cigar games against Georgia and South Carolina proved that learning how to win isn't just an empty coach-speak phrase created for postgame press conferences.

So when the Vols fell behind by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter against South Carolina on Nov. 1, it looked like they were headed for another painful road loss and another season without a bowl game.

But a team that had a tendency to pack it in when the going got tough pulled out a win that no one saw coming. It took exceptional play in all three phases of the game to get to overtime and come away with a victory, but when it happened, Tennessee's season and perhaps the program itself changed overnight. 

Credit Jones with making the team believe that no deficit was too large for a late-game comeback and making game-saving and game-winning plays with the outcome of its season on the line. 

He Pulled Tennessee out of the SEC Gutter

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The Vols didn't win the SEC East in 2014, and according to the official standings, they weren't even close.

While they don't hand out banners for 3-5 seasons in conference play, victories against South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt this season proved one important point: The Vols are no longer bottom-dwellers in the SEC.

Jones took a program that was on life support when he was named head coach on Dec. 7, 2012, and started winning streaks against two East rivals in the Gamecocks and the Wildcats and reclaimed in-state superiority over the Commodores. 

And while it's true he has yet to topple one of the big three in Georgia, Florida and Alabama, getting Tennessee back to a middle-of-the-pack SEC team after so many years of futility is a huge accomplishment for his second year in the program.

He Notched Tennessee's First Bowl Win Since Jan. 2008

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Making a bowl game for the first time since 2010 was a big accomplishment for Jones and his staff—especially considering the challenge of replacing both the offensive and defensive lines and depth that consisted of freshmen backed up by more freshmen.

To actually go and win the bowl game was another challenge entirely, but the Vols not only left Jacksonville with a win, they left town with a resounding victory in a game that was never in doubt.

Tennessee had Iowa's number from the opening possession, and the Hawkeyes were helpless as they watched the Vols jump out to a 42-7 lead. 

TaxSlayer Bowl victories aren't often remembered as pivotal moments in college football history, especially in the lore of a program as rich in wins and tradition as Tennessee. 

But ending the 2014 season on a high note and capitalizing on momentum that had been building since Tennessee's comeback victory against South Carolina was the perfect segue to national signing day and spring practice. 

He Stocked Up on More Bricks

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The biggest question about Jones when he was named Tennessee's new head coach was if he could restock the Vols roster with elite talent.

Todd Kelly Jr.'s commitment to Tennessee on March 10, 2013, followed by elite running back Jalen Hurd's commitment just four days later, proved that Jones might be a better recruiter than many expected.

Now, with an elite 2014 class that made headlines this season under his belt and a 2015 class that could be even better, Jones is regarded as one of the top recruiters not only in the SEC, but in all of college football.

Landing commitments from top in-state players like Kyle Phillips, Jack Jones and Jauan Jennings, not to mention out-of-state prospects like Shy Tuttle, Kahlil McKenzie and Alvin Kamara, gives Tennessee another injection of talent that could even the playing field in the SEC much sooner than anyone imagined when Jones was hired.

He Laid the Foundation for Success in 2015 and Beyond

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Tennessee's strong finish to the 2014 season, including a blowout (up until the last minute) victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the TaxSlayer Bowl, created a positive buzz around the program that carried over into the offseason.

Saturday Down South's Brad Crawford predicts Tennessee to win the SEC East in 2015, and Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel predicts Tennessee to start next season ranked in the Top 25. 

Unlike the Vols' hyped 2012 team that featured an outstanding passing game and little else in terms of depth or talent, Tennessee's roster should be young but extremely talented across the board in 2015.

Jones' brick-by-brick mantra doesn't just apply to the recruits he is signing at a feverish pace, either.

It also applies to the culture change he created at Tennessee. Everything from the way players treat their academics, their approach to practice and their level of play on game day has improved significantly since the day he stepped on campus.

Whether 2015 is officially the team's breakout year or not, the Vols are in good hands with Jones at the helm for the foreseeable future.