Former Tennessee head coach and current Alabama offensive analyst Butch Jones has reportedly emerged as one of the first candidates to get a serious look from Rutgers as it searches to find a replacement for Chris Ash. 

Rutgers parted ways with Ash in September, four games into his third season, and according to NJ Advance Media the school has "kicked its search into gear" with Jones as the first candidate interviewed for the job. Rutgers is set to play at Illinois on Saturday and Alabama is off this weekend, next in action on Nov. 9 in the highly anticipated showdown with LSU in Tuscaloosa. 

Jones was a graduate assistant at Rutgers from 1990-92 and the Michigan native is believed to be ready to get back into the mix for a head coaching position after two seasons as an offensive analyst on Nick Saban's staff in Tuscaloosa. The 51-year old was 34-27 during his time with Tennessee (2013-17), including back-to-back nine-win seasons and top-25 finishes in 2015 and 2016. Prior to Tennessee he served as the replacement to Brian Kelly at both Cincinnati (2010-12) and Central Michigan (2007-09). At both stops Jones led the program to two conference titles in three years before moving on to the next job. 

Whether Jones is a top candidate for Rutgers or just one of the first that's available for interview thanks to the open date in Alabama's schedule and his non-coaching position on the Tide's staff is yet to be determined. But considering the increased pressure on schools to make an early hire in order to allow that coach time to secure a class for the Early Signing Period in mid-December, it makes sense that Rutgers would want to get its interview process started with available candidates as soon as possible.