Tennessee has fired coach Butch Jones with two games left in a regular season in which the Volunteers started ranked but are now still winless in the Southeastern Conference.

Vols athletic director John Currie said Sunday in a release that "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."

Sports Illustrated first reported Jones was out.

Jones went 34-27 overall and 14-24 in the SEC over five seasons. He led the Vols to bowl victories each of the last three years before the program took a giant step backward this fall.

The Vols (4-6, 0-6 SEC) have dropped five of their last six games, including a 50-17 loss to Missouri on Saturday.

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